Crystalline blues slid open at the splash of water, her den was seated in the most lovely of places. A small stream drooped down from the top, making a constant trickle of never-flowing water from the top of her den, into a tiny stream that continued on down the mountain. She had seen no one save for Nnoitra and Desdemona since she had given birth, she had called to them to announce her pups, they had come, congratulated her and had vanished, Luce wouldn't have it any other way. No one else in Tortuga gave two shits about her and she was fine. She had everything she needed here, in the form of her young pups. Jacques was missing from his place within her embrace and she frowned. She had told them not to leave the den without her, not yet, they were still far too small. her tail would lash behind her, angry it seemed, before her head would slide beside the water, seeking her son. She would find him, playing in the stream, he anger would vanish just as quickly as it had come, relief taking its place. Escaping the clutches of her den she approached him swiftly as to not wake his siblings, she was already beginning to slim back down, it wouldn't be long until she returned to that flawless lithe bodice she worked so hard to maintain. "Jacques, playing without me? And here I thought I was your favorite?" The French accent escaped her hard and heavy, she had already begun teaching them simple words in French, they would know her native tongue if it killed her. She lowered her maw, to nuzzle him softly, showering the lad in affection. Speech,

The hour was early but that didn't matter to the boy; he didn't consider the terror that would burst in to existence in his mother's heart, either. Many aspects of life were still distant from him - but that was how children survived. Jacques was a playful thing. He was innocent, and hungry to learn about the odd things outside of the den. While not an outright ambitious boy, he was quite advantageous as his body grew bigger and stronger. Jacques had begun leaving the den during his mother's restful hours, often on his own and without any form of supervision. It was a terribly dangerous thing for a child to do, but Jacques was oblivious to the dark nature of the world. He just wanted to extend his grasp of understanding; although perhaps not in those terms. As soon as the morning light had begun filtering through the den's mouth, he had awakened. His violet gaze locked upon the spiralling dust as it danced up towards the light, and the boy eagerly rose to his paws to follow it.



It was chilly outside, but Jacques was not mindful of the cold. He plodded along with his eager, reaching steps - his legs often going too fast for his body, resulting in a stumble or a fall. A number of these moments occurred, but like any bouncing baby boy, Jacques just got right back up again with a solemn little chirp, and kept moving. This continued for a solid twenty minutes, and the majority of the time Jacques tumbled in circles. He managed to make it to the edge of the world, which was a big feat for the child (although he was not aware it was just a small stream, a safe little nook of water that pulsed by him). Maman had showed it to them a few times, and every time Jacques was amazed by the colors - by the movement of the water, the feeling of the fluid as his paws touched the surface; it was all very magical.



On this fine morning Jacques was still half-asleep. The cold of the water was a shock to his system, and brought about a myriad of squawks and whines as he stumbled in reverse, and then plopped his rear down upon the grass. His noises would have been enough to alert a passing predator - but to his glee, it was not a predator that found him, but his mother. "Jacques, playing without me? And here I thought I was your favorite?" She cooed, with an affectionate little nudge, and he let out a little giggle. "Mama!" he chortled happily, with an accompanied lifting of his forelimbs - perhaps he was trying to hug her? - and then he lost his balance, and rolled on to his back like a fat and fluffy egg.

Luce was slowly changing, her mindset completely evolving to a level of maturity it had never obtained before. Luce had lived the life of an adolescent for years, Partying, drugs, sex, she had no limits, no boundaries, she did what she wanted, when she wanted too, nothing more and nothing less., but her pups, her beloved children... they had changed her as they had grown within her womb. She was no longer Luce, she didn't own her body anymore, her pups did, she was theirs in every sense of the word and there was not a damned thing she wouldn't do for her offspring. She would be whatever they needed now and until her dying day. Protector, guardian, friend, encourager... they would never be alone. She watched her beloved pup, watched him splash through the tiny trickling stream and whine as the bitter cold sent a shock through his system. All of her pups had imprinted upon her, her and no one else. Luce had made sure of such. They adored her, they loved her, and she smothered them with all the love, all of the affection she had never received. They would never suffer as she had, they would know nothing but her undying love, regardless of what they did or what they had done. She made her presence known with a soft coo and he responded swiftly. Whimpering her name, forelimbs wrapping around her snout before he fell backwards onto his spine, writhing on the ground. Luce chuckled, a smile painting itself upon her maw as she buried her nose into his fluffy tummy, blowing cool air across his flesh, before licking him quickly, tickling him, playfully. Luce may not be the most pure of role models but she took to motherhood like a duck to water. Speech,