Not a minute past midnight

The affection of his found family only brought his excitement higher, his neck craning down to return Artorias' nuzzle as best a bird could do while his mother came and took her place at her side. Both wolves were clearly weighed down by the sudden awakening, but Zephyr was able to bathe in his joy beneath their proud smiles all the same. Maybe he should have waited till morning. "Too fast?" He chirped in reply. "No, it's too slow!" The raptor had been taught enough of wolf customs to know the rough life cycle of a wolf and was well aware that the coming of a canine's first year meant freedom and adventure. It was the age a young wolf could set out apart from their parents and start lives of their own - in different packs even, should they choose - though Zephyr felt he hadn't lived nearly enough to even consider the possibility. He wanted time to go faster, so he could be on the way to well and truly grown like a wolf at his age would be.

His frustration at the years not flying by fast enough was swiftly halted by the logic of a well-learned parent. The raptor's curved beak parted in silent argument, but no words tumbled out. Artorias' reasoning was sound, Zephyr didn't want to celebrate without the rest of his family and friends around... nor would the castle be quite pleased if he made his way from balcony to balcony, waking each wolf at the stroke of midnight. His plumage wilted as he considered his early arrival and what he was to do now, would he just... make his way back into his room and go back to sleep? It felt so anticlimactic.

Another interruption broke him from his thoughts and the excitement returned to his eyes as his Aegis and father procured from the shelving an ornately decorated box of wood. A present! His talons tapped heavily against the floor as he peeled off toward the gift in question, crouching over it low to the floor. He craned his neck down to lift the lid with his beak as each parent wished him their happy birthdays, displacing the lid from the box carefully and sliding it aside with reverence.

It took a moment for the gift to truly make sense in his head (had they given him new talons? He had talons.) though as he lifted the finely crafted weapons from their box and began to inspect them, their purpose became more clear. Artorias had been giving him sword lessons since the day they had visited the northern wolves from his mother's side of the family, but the weapons were unwieldy and unsuited for everyday use. Flying with a sheathed sword snug around his waist might impede his movements or landings, and keeping the weapon in his talons sounded even less practical. While he would still practice swordplay with his father for enjoyment sake, this weapon would allow him to defend himself or wolves of the Hallows much more reasonably.

Placing the weapons back gently within the box, he looked up from them to flick his gaze back between the parents who'd adopted and raised him, touched. The soft, emotional appreciation lingered a moment, and then the joy returned. Zephyr extended his wings wide within the room, swooping them around both wolves swiftly and pulling them both against him tight in an embrace. "They're perfect; thank you! I love you guys."

"Zephyr"