Tamsyn led her youngest children up the slope from the beach to the castle, smiling as she watched them closely to make sure her little adventurers didn't go wandering off along the way. She didn't regret for a moment raising them out in nature, taking them out to see the world, and building their adventurous spirit, but The Hallows was and would always be a huge piece of her life and heart and she wanted them to know the pack as well. Her older children were still here and family was very important to all of them so this would be the first real chance for these little ones to get to know their older siblings since they were still little, sleeping beans when Artorias and his litter came to visit.

"Come on, you three! This way!" she told them, herding Juniper, Sierra, and Malik through the gates of the castle and into the courtyard. Once they were ever so slightly more contained to the walls of the castle she could relax a bit since she knew that they were at least somewhere safe. "Explore and roam, but don't go outside of the walls, okay? And don't eat anything unless I okay it first!" she told them, chuckling as she watched them start to terrorize the castle grounds and gardens. She let out a little howl for Artorias to let him know they were here while trying to keep up with where they were running off to.

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley

The tiny wee girl went charging into the castle grounds with noises of delight. Everything was so monstrously big, but she was kind of already used to that already. The large stone walls towered above her, and the keep was the most awesome thing she had ever seen in her life. She wanted to go to the top! To the very, very top. And know what it felt like to be tall! She saw the entrance to the keep, and immediately began racing towards it. “I won’t, mumma!’ she promised, throwing the words behind her as she took off. Little paws carrying her into the building. Of course, she was immediately lost. But wait, were those stairs? She raced over to them, and eyed the giant steps with great trepidation. Could she manage them? ”Speech”  ’Thought’

Walking through the gates that brought them into the castle yard alongside his parents, his hazel gaze was turned up ward toward all the super tall things around them with awe. He had seen the castle from a distance forever from the beach where they were born, but it was even bigger up close! He had been excited when their momma told them they were going to go visit the castle and their other family members just because he wanted to see what the castle was like up close—especially after hearing all the stories about it from her. Now that he was here he decided it was very, very cool right away, but he couldn't imagine living here. If it looked this big from the outside it must feel even more huge on the inside! How would he ever remember where everything was and how to get there?!

He listened to his mother dutifully as she told them the rules and where to stay and he nodded obediently while Sierra promised to obey before promptly racing off. He wasn't nearly as energetic as his sisters so keeping up with them was sometimes a problem, but he watched as his tiny sister ran into the castle proper. He looked around the castle grounds a bit trying to decide what he wanted to look at first. He spotted a structure that was completely clear off to one side beside one of the walls of the castle and it was absolutely filled with all kinds of plants. Curious, he walked over to it and tapped his paw on the pane of glass, his head tipping to the side as he tried to understand the concept of this thing that was hard but clear at the same time.

"Malik of the Sea"

The howl that rang out in his mother's voice lifted the young alpha's heart and brought a wide smile to his face. He hadn't seen his mother or half-siblings since his first visit shortly after their birth, and with Tamsyn and Kane raising their litter off the land, it sometimes became challenging to know when he would see his family again. This surprise visit was more than welcome, and he was quick to hurry to greet them. Heading out of his dojo that he'd been straightening up in preparations for the coming spring, Artorias rounded the corner of the hall into the foyer where he spotted a small dark lump of fur gazing up the grand staircase. Though sometimes it was hard to tell Juniper and Sierra apart, he recognized his half-sister's unique facial markings and scent, as well as those bright blue eyes.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Art said with a wide smile and chuckle, coming up to Sierra and reaching a large azure paw out to go to scoop the small girl up by her midsection. "An intruder in my castle? The punishment will be ten thousand kisses and nuzzles!" He laughed and went to cover little Sierra's face and forehead in kisses and licks across her crown, making exaggerated sounds of attack as he did so. Seeing his half-siblings up and about was thrilling to the young man, who had only known them as tiny puppy nuggets nursing from their shared mother. Now they looked more like little wolves than jellybeans, and already the Aegis couldn't wait to see who they would grow up to become.

"Artorias"

Sierra was looking up at the massive steps, when suddenly a blue figure took up most of her view. She squeaked when she was scooped up by the middle, but offered no fight. Letting him carry her up on his paw until she was close to his face. There, she could see the amber of his eyes, and the grin as he called her an intruder. “Not an intruder, not an intruder!” she squeaked She wiggled against his kisses, but she wasn’t really trying to avoid them. Instead, she leaned two paws on his face, and began to lightly nip at his fur, growling like a great big demon (or a very tiny cat). ”Speech”  ’Thought’

Juniper gazed up and around the high walls of stone in awe. She had seen the tremendous castle from a distance back at the beach their den had been on, but this was her first time actually going into the structure with her family. Wow, everything was so big! Wide mint eyes that mirrored her mother's almost perfectly drank in the sights around her, the little pup practically vibrating with excited energy. She wanted to go explore and run and play! She wanted to see things from the walls and the high tower! She wanted to run through the gardens and play in the flowers! So when their mother told them to stay within the castle walls, of course the first thing the devious little girl wanted to do was go explore beyond the castle walls. With a groan, a roll of her head, and an overly dramatic sigh, Juniper reluctantly agreed with a drawn out, "Yes, Mama..."

As soon as they were set free, Juniper watched as Sierra immediately sprinted into the castle and Malik began to wander the castle grounds. She decided to follow after her brother, poking about the gardens and sniffing at the variety of flowering plants and bushes while he headed for a glass structure. Every so often though, Juniper's eyes would drift over to the castle gates—and to the wide, wide world beyond just waiting for her.

"Juniper of the Sea"

Much to Artorias' delight, as soon as he scooped up Sierra, the little wolf began to wiggle and squirm about in his grasp, play fighting against his affectionate assault. His tiny half-sister squealed out that she wasn't an intruder, growling and nipping back at his muzzle while he kissed and nuzzled her soft fluffy tummy. "Not an intruder? Hmm, let's see..." Artorias pushed his nose to her ticklish tummy, giving exaggerated sniffs as he pretended to analyze her scent. "You're right, you smell much too sweet to be an intruder. You must be made of candy instead!" In an instant, Art began to growl and nip playfully back at Sierra's vulnerable and squishy tummy in an attempt to tickle her further.

After a bit more flailing and growling from both wolves, Artorias finally relented as his sister's paws kicked at his face, doing nothing in the way of damage, but Art put on a good show of feigning injury. "Oww! Okay, okay, you win!" he said as he carefully set Sierra back down on the floor, grinning from ear to ear while he watched the feisty pup. She definitely had their mother's spirit in her, that was for sure! "Those stairs are pretty high. Where are you heading off to, Sierra?"

"Artorias"