Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Tamsyn stood next to the river that flowed down into the falls, peering closely at her reflection and turning her head one way and another. Ever since the temperatures began to drop with the newly dawned winter, she noticed more and more white hairs growing in around her eyes. A few graying hairs here and there around her muzzle had become a common feature and wasn't nearly as surprising, but these seemed so strangely stark white and far more concentrated around her eyes that she wasn't really sure what was causing them. Already they were just a few weeks into winter and she had white hairs completely surrounding her eyes. It didn't seem to be effecting anything but her looks so she supposed in the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter, but it was very curious if nothing else. With a hum she leaned away from the water's surface and let her eyes scan the territory instead, walking along the river till she reached the top of the falls so she could look down over the rest of the land the pack owned. Everything was lightly dusted with snow from this morning and occasionally a cloud of mist filled the air in front of her nose.

Winter seemed far more harsh right away than last year, though she did remember the nasty snow storm she got caught in with Sirius. A small smirk crossed her lips as she thought about the memory, remembering how she had to convince the Warlord that the little bear they came across was no threat to them. It was crazy to think that was just a year ago... oh how things changed so fast. A chittering behind her made her lift her head to look at the bare tree behind her and saw Blue climbing down to reach where she was. Tamsyn chuckled softly and walked over to the tree, pausing to let the lemur climb down and find his usual place on her back, holding on to the fur on either side of her neck. "Couldn't we move further south now instead of waiting till spring?" His speaking had improved by leaps and bounds over the last few seasons, which Tamsyn fully credited to the fact that he had to communicate with her more often now because of the pups so he was forced to put his lessons into practice.

She gave a little bark of laughter and a little shake of her head as she went off at a light trot to head toward the border to do her patrol. "Surely you don't want to try and move all the pups in the middle of winter," she reminded him, though she did wonder if perhaps it would have been a good idea to make a quick move in the fall before the cold set in. Of course, she knew that they could certainly make the trip now, but it would be much easier in the spring when the pups would be even closer to being a full year old. "Besides, don't make me leave the den I love before I have to!" She got a few disgruntled chitters in response, but otherwise he didn't comment again. She chuckled a little, but otherwise left him alone about it. She knew this certainly wasn't his preferred climate and she had thought about sending him on ahead of them to Auster to wait out the winter, but he was such a big help with keeping an eye on the pups as they roamed on their own. Besides, as much as he probably wouldn't admit it, she knew he had really taken to helping Gwynevere with her herbs. It was adorable to watch and his nimble hands really did have a knack for that sort of work.

She started working her way around the border of the pack, doing her usual patrol with practiced steps that she barely had to think about any more. There was a path lightly worn into the ground created by her and the other fighters of the pack from their frequent patrols, leaving almost a visual representation of their border. Of course, the dirt line was sightly obscured by the snow, but even with that coverage she still knew exactly where she should walk. There were a few worries that lingered on her mind about the move that Resin had planned, but having to learn another new home again was certainly one of them. She knew that she would be able to without much problem, but when they had moved here she had been less worried since it was pretty much right next door to the Armada and she had been through here several times before. This new place in Auster was almost completely unknown to her and she only worried because they would be taking their family there. Of course they could certainly scout ahead before they moved everyone over and she was almost certain they would, but... she was still prone to worry all the same. That was something about her that only grew ten fold since becoming a mother.

Her patrols would certainly get more difficult as winter wore on and more snow accumulated over the ground, but for now she just had to put up with the cold numbing her paws. Her fur blocked it out for the most part, though she did feel it a little more where her fur wouldn't fully grow around her left leg. It was a bit concerning that this cold had come on so dramatically and she worried that the winter would only get worse from here. Her mint eyes shifted upward to look at the cloudy sky above them and she gave a flick of her ears. She wanted to hope that she was wrong, but none of the signs pointed that way. She walked in silence for a while, but eventually gave a glance back at Blue over her shoulder. "What's your favorite season, Blue?" The lemur scoffed in response, as if the answer wasn't clearly obvious. "Summer, of course," he answered as he buried his face into her scruff, almost completely blending into her fur like a strange lump on her shoulders. Tamsyn laughed lightly and grinned with a little shake of her head. She couldn't disagree though. The weather was far nicer and it was also the season when her children were born. Although it would be slightly bitter sweet for every summer going forward since that meant that their pups would be getting a year older every summer. She was proud of how they were growing up, but they kept getting farther and farther away from the little fluff balls they were as newborns.

Eventually she found her way back around to the den she shared with her family and as soon as they got close to the entrance of the den she felt Blue stir on her back, hopping off of her and running inside - going to burry himself in a pile of furs if she had to guess. She snickered and shook her head at him again before turning away from the den to go find her lover. There had been so few times for them to be alone together since the pups were born and for once they all seemed to be off and occupied with something else - one small benefit of them getting older - and she wasn't one to pass up on such an opportunity.

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"Tamsyn" | "Blue" | think