bout to get fruit punched

The way Thalia had held her children close to her chest, so tight at first they surely felt like they couldn't breathe sometimes, was beginning to loosen. Slowly, but surely, as they grew older and stronger. It was the most important thing to her that they grew to be capable, capable beyond what she and Theory could even envision. The world was a cruel place, after all, but Abraxas was even crueler.

Idly pacing through the Orchard, trying to keep an eye on as many children as she could as they wandered about and played, she zeroed in on Lore. For a long while she simply observed, always interested in seeing how her children interacted with the world. Never had she expected to become a mother, but now that she was one, she slid easily into the role. Protective, sometimes overbearing, and critical to a fault, but all out of love.

One wrong move and Lore found herself sliding headfirst into the log she'd been studying, kicking up at the air to try to untangle herself. Maybe a softer mother might move to rescue her, but in every mistake there was always a lesson, and she and Theory wouldn't always be around to save them.

"Never let your guard down," Thalia warned her, far more warmly than she spoke to wolves other than her own offspring, as she drew closer. Gently she scruffed her daughter, aiming to lift her up and away from the hole she'd accidentally made for herself. "You must always watch your back, even if you're at home, and especially when exploring something unfamiliar." Anyone could turn at any moment - family or otherwise - and she needed her children to have that sense of awareness of their surroundings. This little mishap was a good segue into Lore's first proper fight lesson, Thalia thought to herself.