I may tell you to run

The two litters were tied together by more than the young boy knew. It was more than blood. His half siblings... they were more than that. Ten children brought up in this world without their mothers. All ten of them would be Valen's problem. Problem. As time went on, it was likely that Ivy would be a problem. There would be some time before his sense of self preservation kicked in. There would be more time than that before he realized his differences, and the fact that he couldn't always keep up in a fight with his larger siblings. Even more time before he realized that the loss of his mother turned him into a creature hewn by bitterness and pain. Right. The little wolf had all the time in the world, be it for the better or for the worst.

He could only hope that it was for the better. It should be, right? He allows himself to be absorbed in his mother's song, allowing it to bring the comfort and closeness to her that he craved. The things that keep him up at night, they're not... they're not great. Hell, positive feelings aren't the ones that will keep sleep at bay. At least Ivy can feel the warmth that her lullaby brings, the way it spreads in his chest. Though he hears the question in the darkness, Ivy doesn't stop his song in the middle. He can't. He was almost done anyway. Still, he had to keep the waver from his voice as he finished the last verse, knowing he had an audience now. Why was this so much harder when he knew someone was watching?

As the lullaby faded into silence, Ivy caught his breath. Right, there was that question he should probably answer. "Ivy." There was no question of getting into trouble... it had to have been another kid asking, and they were out past their bedtime too, so it wasn't like they had some high horse to yell at him and tell him to go to bed. Well... had he woken someone up? Whatever man. Ivy doesn't want to be hostile though, because maybe it was someone like him. Maybe it was someone sorta sad, who couldn't sleep. "Who's askin'?"

"Speech"