Aurielle Adravendi

Their children were growing like weeds. She and Red had been hard at work laying the pups’ foundations in the histories of both sides of the family, Reds and Aurielle’s. Today it was time to add to what they knew so far and see what they’d remembered. She settled in the widest part of the ravine, just outside the cave mouth, haunches settling on the soft sand as she called for them, all five expected to attend, and hopefully, Red would sit in and add more about his family to today’s lesson—she always did enjoy learning more about his background. She’d become surer that they wouldn’t bloody a nose coming down the steps, and they’d grown and strengthened enough that they had better motor control on the way down. She smiled as she heard the pattering stampede from inside, the chatter of young voices. It had been so long since the cave had heard such things, if one didn’t count herself and her brother. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He was loving the doting grandfather role he’d settled into. Today, he knew was a history lesson, and he figured he was well-suited to teaching them as he had his daughter and son. Son… He missed Aramis. But he knew in his heart that the dark, shimmering boy – man now – was alive, at least. He ambled down the steps with a small sack of dried meat strips, dropping the sack on the sand and taking a seat by his daughter as she called for the pups. He bent to nuzzle her ear, soaking in the scent and touch of his one remaining child. “Today’s going to be fun, I think.” It always was when the pups were involved.

He’d been poking around through the crafting supplies when he heard his mother’s call. He was quick to drop the strips of leather he was fiddling with, scampering through the cave and toward the mouth in a flurry of sparking light, tail wagging in a blur as he slowed and took the steps carefully. He was first! He’d beaten his brother and sisters to the lesson, although he could hear them coming. He took the moment of time he had to press into his mother and grandfather, placing quick kisses on their muzzles and briefly became distracted by the pooled glowing hair of his mother’s tail before he spotted the sack and smelled the meat strips. While they were still mostly reliant on their mother’s milk, they pups had graduated to eating a little meat, though it was usually softened in water to make them easier to chew. He’d heard Paladin mentioning that back in the old days, and still sometimes in loner groups, mothers chewed the meat and swallowed it, then horked it back up for the pups. With their advanced capabilities of cooking and preparing food, he’d said, they didn’t need to rely on such instincts quite as much. He finally took a seat in front of the two adults, glancing between them and back at his siblings as they arrived before he asked, “What’re we learning, Mum, granda?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Aoife was clumsily braiding grass together, her tongue stuck out between her too-large fangs in concentration as she messily plaited the stems into a loose semblance of a braid. She had seen one of the primates braiding rope and had wanted to try for herself, since her paws were more more nimble than usual and she could think of a lot of ways that a rope would be handy if she could figure it out on her own. It was hard though, partly because she was still so young and clumsy but also partly because unlike the primates, her paws were not really hands. The soft pawpads on the bottom of each toe, and the retracted claws, and the fact that her "thumb" was mutated from a dewclaw meant that her paws would never be quite on par with true hands. She persevered though, and she thought she'd be good enough to tie knots and lace things together like the primates did, once she grew up a little.

When her mother called out she dropped the grass immediately, but Ardyn still managed to beat her to the punch. The tiny girl didn't bother slowing down at the stairs, instead bouncing down them recklessly, throwing herself from one to the next like they were stepping stones in a river and hitting the ground level in a deliberate somersault and continued to push herself into more somersaults - flop, flop, flop - until she somersaulted one last time and her heels drummed down into the sand by her brother and she tucked her forepaws innocently over her belly as she peered up at her mother and grandfather. "I'm here!" she announced unnecessarily and in a sing-song tone, then reached up to bat at her brother's fur to make it shimmer.

The call had come when Amorielle had her eyes closed tightly, brows scrunched up, nose to the air as her paws carried her forward in oversized steps. The self-appointed challenge of making her way through the cave system blind was going quite well, with the barest of stumbles, but of course their mother had to interrupt her little game. The girl stumbled and took a few steps more, but with her siblings beginning to rush past, she relented with an overly dramatic sigh. Opening her eyes, she scuttled after them, moving past the entrance into the light of day.

She took her time as she always did, dawdling down each stair with a cheerful indifference, but managed to come in third behind her eldest brother and youngest sister. She was never overly late for these lessons, so far.

The sight of her bright red grandfather and moon-white mother set her tail a-wag, and she rushed in, reaching up on her hindlegs to plant kisses on their chins before dropping to her paws. "Is that f'r us?" She wiggled around Regulus' forelegs, humming appreciatively at the scent of the meat strips before zipping over to sit with her siblings, swinging around to face the adults.

Forelegs spread, she slid forward onto her belly on Aoife's other side, tail thumping in the sand. Her eyes opened wide and suddenly curious, silently reflecting Ardyn's question. Even when half her attention pulled her in different directions, there was never a dull moment when her mother had something to teach them.


"Speech"

The red girl, Laoise, was quick to spring to her paws and race down towards her mother and grandfather. The girl stumbled quite a few times, her large paws being a nuisance due to her young age. Laoise was excited, especially since her grandfather was joining whatever lessons her mother would be teaching. Though, she was more excited about staring at her grandfather's red fur. The girl was racing towards the gathering of her family, grumbling her frustration at not being first. She wasn't the quickest, no matter how hard she tried, she was rarely first. However, the girl's puppy-chunk wouldn't stop her from trying.

Tumbling down to her place next to her siblings, Laoise held her chin up before saying, "I wasn't first because I was busy..." the girl paused, her brow furrowing as she thought of an excuse," okay I can't remember, but it was important." She then proudly smiled at her siblings, short tail wiggling happily.

Laoise then moved closer to her grandfather and mother, a warm smile on her maw. She placed her paws on her grandfather's shoulder, so that she could reach his face. She planted a big lick along her grandfather's cheek before giggling and plopping down to pad towards her mother. The girl only gave her mother a dainty peck on the cheek, her fur bristling with excitement as she pondered the point of the lesson. The girl plodded to her siblings, giving them each an affectionate lick to the cheek or forehead before she plopped down next to Amorielle. She grumbled softly at a developing itch along her neck. Laoise suddenly swung her back-leg up to scratch at the itch, her brow furrowing in concentration.

Coran tried to always be fast when he could help it, really.  However he had put in a lot of effort playing earlier in the day and it had worn the the cream and white colored pup out. Sprawled out with his belly up and paws tucked to his chest little Coran was taking a power nap.  It was only a light sleep so the activity was enough to wake him.  Woopsy! It was the wrong time to take a nap. Hopping up he ran with full intention of fluidly charging down the steps in an impressive display.  It was one of those things where gravity decided to help out to a point.  Coran did leap to each of the steps without problem.  The issue came when he planned to stop after the last step but his body seemed to have its own opinion as he stumbled a few awkard strides and then plopping on his rump with back legs akimbo.   The imperfect landing didn't seem to concern him though.  Standing up Coran loped over to his mom, hopping up on his back legs to present each one's jaw with a quick lick then bounding over to his siblings and taking a seat. Last.  How did he end up last? "I'm sorry, am I late? Did I miss anything?" The sorry was genuine but this his eyes latched onto the meat strips.  They looked like fun to chew on.p> Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think