tempting newborns

It was not possible to miss the sounds of tiny paws and bodies crashing overhead and Zephyr tipped his head to track the noise as they tumbled down the grand stairs and scampered off to play and explore. The crashing sounds continued at the base of the stairs and into the hall where he sat patiently waiting and before he knew it, a pitch black puppy exploded out into the room. The raptor dropped his attention from the toy, giving the child a grin as she whispered, seemingly awestruck by his presence. It was a much better reception than some he'd received over his short life.

"Hi!" The bird's peep was all he could get out before his little sister had begun to drown him in questions. Zephyr watched her intently, devoting his every ounce of attention to the new puppy and loving her more with each word she spoke. When her endless questioning had ceased and her wiggling body began to bounce, Zeph found space to reply. "You're pretty too! I don't think you need to grow feathers, you have such beautiful long and flowing fur. But here - " Turning his head to his tail, he began to fish through the feathers there until he'd found one that was about ready to be moulted - black like the color of her coat. He plucked the feather swiftly to minimize the pain of it, maneuvering toward his new sibling to place it gently with his beak behind one furry ear. "- Now you can touch it whenever you like, and remember your big brother is always here for you."

She wanted to play (which was fine, Zephyr still loved to play too and it would be seasons before he grew into a more mature mind to match wolves of his age) but it brought up a question. What did baby wolves play? Would his mother and father pluck him alive if he took one of their little ones on a flight around the castle? Perhaps he should wait until they were older for joyrides. "What do you like to play?" He posed back, contemplative. Wolves as far as he was aware hunted, fought, made things and explored. "We could play hide and seek in the castle. It's a lot more fun to play with a bird because I can't smell where you are."

"Zephyr"