After spending a good few hours the day before with just Fionha, he knew that was something he wanted to continue with all of his children. He wasn’t sure how often he would be able to do these little dates with his pups, but he knew that they would all grow up far too fast and he didn’t want to miss a moment of it. They were all developing such distinct personalities and it was his favorite thing to see how they were growing and changing in front of his eyes. He rushed through his early morning patrol, did a bit of hunting to continue building the pack’s store of food, and checked in with some of the wolves around the pack so that he could get back to the den he shared with his family to continue this week of togetherness with his children. The work he did for the pack was important, but his children were far more important than any of it. He didn’t really have any particular pup in mind as he neared the den, just keeping an eye out to see who he would spot first. The unique brindled tan appearance of one of his sons caught his attention. He smiled as he was able to completely shove all of the thoughts about the pack off to the side and approached Emilie with his tail wagging gently behind him. He gently and affectionately nudged the boy’s cheek with his nose and said, “What have you been up to today, Emile?” "Talk"

Emile was digging away at a little blue flower, he was gonna bring it home for his mom! He was sure she'd love it, she was always collecting little plants after all. He was so focused he didn't notice his dad until he was practically on top of the boy, Emile stopped mid dig and leaned into his father's nuzzling. He giggled, a high childish laugh that could only come from such a young man, his voice wouldn't stay that pitch for too long. His father asked what he was up to and the boy gestured back towards the flower with his nose. "F....or mom." He said. "To aaaaaaaaaadd to her collection." He nodded matter-of-factly and turned his attention to digging again. "Speech"

Art by Kolokolchek

Ulric grinned when his son revealed that the flower he was digging up was intended for his mother and nodded in agreement. Emile had such a gentle soul and he quietly hoped that the pale, brindled boy would always hold on to at least a little bit of that. It seemed that a good majority of their children had taken after Azariah's inherent sweetness and for that he was grateful. His only goal in life was to protect that innocence and make sure that they had the best life he could provide for them. "She'll love that," he replied as he settled down onto his stomach next to Emile while he continued his digging. Occasionally he would reach over to help pull out a particularly hard clump of dirt or rock and would sometimes use his large paw to sweep away some of the loose dirt that Emile had already dug up to get it out of his way. "Maybe we could replant it in a bowl for your mother," he suggested, giving Emile a curious tilt of his head. "Or maybe plant it outside of the den if we can keep it intact enough. What do you think?" "Talk"

Emile grinned up at his father as he agreed his mother would love that, nothing would deter him from his self-appointed mission but it felt nice knowing he had his father's support and the boy enjoyed spending time with him. It would come as little surprise to anyone who'd met him that the boy valued the ability to simply exist with someone else without having to speak... though he'd yet to face any real negative reactions to his stutter he was getting to the age where he was very much aware of it... and that others didn't struggle to make their tongues work the same way he did... so being able to spend valuable time with someone without having to struggle through his own resistant voice. Occasionally when his father would stick his paw in to remove a rock or hard clump of dirt the boy would giggle happily and pounce on his father's much bigger paw with his own forepaws. His father suggested they replant the flower for his mother and paused thinking for a moment. "A b-b-b-...owl I think." He said, that way if anything ever happened it could be moved! "Speech"

Art by Kolokolchek