It was late when Mortis returned from his patrol today. There had been an incident with a predator, and he had been the senior wolf on duty. He had cleared out the big cat and her cubs, and was hiding a limp as he returned to the family den. He let out a big yawn and shook out his wings as he approached, and found Wynter sitting by the door with his Kea overhead. The other pups had already gone to bed, had Wynter waited up for him?

He immediately banished any sign of his exhaustion, a grin appearing on his muzzle as he swooped down and kissed her on the crown of her head. “Hey sweetheart, couldn’t sleep?” He asked her gently, wondering if there was something on her mind, or if she was just waiting for him.

Ooc self reminder note: thread to talk about the history of the Armada



"Speech"

Wynter gave her head a little shake as she continued to sit and wait by the door of the den, refusing to let herself yawn as she waited for her dad to get home. She loved to sleep under his wing and the fact that he wasn't here to sleep next to didn't feel right! Her mother had of course assured her that he would be home soon enough and that she should go ahead and get to bed, but after laying there and pretending to sleep for a while she just couldn't quite get to sleep so she gave it up and sneaked away from her sleeping siblings. She planted herself by the door to wait for him and for a little bit she was on her own, but soon her dad's companion found her and perched near by to keep her company. Finally, just as she was about to lose the battle to her sleepiness, she saw her father's familiar form approaching the den and she perked up, her tail wagging happily at the sight of him. She smiled and stretched her head up to meet him as he leaned down kiss the top of her head. She nodded to his question, replying, "I couldn't sleep till you came home." Her head tipped curiously as she asked, "What were you doing, dad?"

"Wynter Carpathius"

Her sleepily little eyes brightened at the sight of him, and it was hard to keep his composure and not melt into a gooey pile right there in front of her. There was nothing in the world more wondrous or more precious than these kids. Seeing her waiting there for him to come home… it was everything he never knew he wanted. Blinking rapidly for a moment, he came closer, pulling her into a gentle hug. “Well, I’m here now little one, if you want to sleep” He whispered, pulling her gently onto his forepaws.

“I was directing a predator and her cubs out of Armada territory, so there wouldn’t be any conflict between them and us” He explained. It had been stressful herding her. Both for him and for her, no doubt. But it had to be done. A protective mother cat was the last thing they needed in pack lands.

"Speech"

She was more than happy to snuggle into her father's fur as he hugged her into him, nuzzling into his warmth happily as he told her she could go to sleep now if she wanted. She was more interested in finding out about what he had been up to first, though, so she questioned him and she got her answer in his explanation about the predator and her cubs that had to be evicted from their pack's lands. She made a soft 'ooooh' of understanding, but frowned a bit as she thought about it while leaning into him for a moment. "How do packs work, dad? Why couldn't they live here too? How long has this been our place?" she questioned, ever curious and giving him a string of questions as a pup was prone to do. She probably would have thought of more to ask if it hadn't been for the yawn that interrupted her. Still, despite her yawn and the tiredness she was fighting, she looked up at her father expectantly since she had full faith and belief that he knew all of the answers to everything. As far as she was concerned him and momma were the smartest wolves ever. Well... and maybe grandpa.

"Wynter Carpathius"

Instead of Wynter closing her eyes to be carried to bed, she snuggled up to him and began to question him. A little lost sleep wouldn’t harm either of them, and he hated to relinquish any time of father-daughter bonding. So he moved his wing around, cupping it gently around her to shield her from the wind, and settled in against the patio.

Very well, story time until she slept, he could do that. “Well, packs work on hierarchy and teamwork. We have a wolf that leads us, like Sirius. In a pack as large as ours, we have wolves that help him to lead, like Hazel and Keahi. A predator like a jaguar and her cubs can’t coexist with us because we are both territorial, and there's high competition for resources.” Was that too much for a pup to take in? He’d never really explained things to a pup before, let alone his own. He just hoped he wasn’t botching it.

“The Armada have lived in the North for only a year now, but the pack has been around for six years. Would you like to hear about where the pack came from?” He asked the sleepy little Princess.


"Speech"

Wynter happily settled into the familiar warmth of her father's feathers and smiled up at him while he explained how a pack worked with a leader and other wolves that helped them do it. Once he explained how they and the jaguars both wanted the same resources that helped clear up why they couldn't all live here. She guessed she wouldn't want them eating the food that her dad caught for her and her siblings. It made her wonder if they could all live here if there was enough food for them all, but maybe the jaguars and them just didn't get along or something. It was still a really big concept to grasp for a sleepy pup, but she still nodded along as if she understood every single word. When he shared that the pack had been around for six whole years her eyes widened and her mouth fell open with awe. "That's so long!!" she gasped, not even able to comprehend just how long that was! It sounded so long to someone that even a day felt like a long time. She nodded eagerly as he offered to tell her more about the pack and she looked up at him expectantly, hanging on every word as she fought off another yawn.

"Wynter Carpathius"

Her sleepily little nods put a grin on his face, and he chuckled softly. He was exhausted, and could feel his own desire to yawn, but he didn’t want to waste a moment of this. ”It is, isn’t it? That’s longer than I’ve been alive” He admitted. He patted her head gently, wondering if she would slip into sleep halfway through the telling. But that was okay, if she did.

“The Armada was formed by your Grandpa, and he did it to create a pack that would serve as a vanguard for the Ashen Empire. That’s led by Venom, she's a good friend of our family.” He explained. Hmm, he should probably organise some playdates at some point. He wanted his pups to be worldly. He wondered if Halo could bear to leave the Armada long enough for them to travel to Ashen, and then to the Hallows. Letting their children make friends with their family and allies. Food for thought, and for later. “The Armada moved to a place called Sea’s Plains and Tall Grass Plains a year after it was formed. That’s where I was born - on the beach there. We had this little bridge over an inlet outside our den. Me and my littermates would play there for hours.” He said, voice trailing off. He was the last. He was the last of his litter to remain in the Armada. The thought hit him rather suddenly. His heart ached for those siblings.


"Speech"

She kept her sapphire eyes on his face as he began to tell her about her grandfather and the pack he formed, how the Armada had been part of something called the Ashen Empire. She didn't know who Venom was, but if she was a good friend then she'd make sure to remember the name for later. All the while her eyes began to droop and they'd blink closed occasionally, but she still listened. By the time he was telling her about the beach where he grew up with an inlet and a bridge where he and his siblings would play, her eyes had closed and hadn't reopened. Her eye lids felt too heavy to open them, but she still smiled at the memory that her dad shared as she leaned her head more heavily into his soft fur. "That sounds fun, Dad," she told him sleepily, her little jaws stretching wide in a deep yawn that she couldn't fight off before it happened. She wrapped a little foreleg around his much larger one, leaning into his giant limb as she used him as a pillow. "Can we go there sometime? I wanna... see the... beach..." she muttered, her words becoming more and more difficult to understand until they finally gave way to quiet snores as she fully dozed off, deeply asleep under the familiar warmth of her father's wing.

"Wynter Carpathius"

Mortis looked down at her sleepy form and closed eyes. Her ears still twitched, telling him she was listening. Even if she was clearly losing the battle with sleep. “It was the best” He agreed quietly. Or was it? He didn’t think he would trade a moment of this here and now for a thousand days of his childhood games.

“I’ll take you there”” He promised, but it was a whisper to a sleeping from. Grinning down at her like a fool, he rocked her gently in his paws to ensure she was truly asleep. Then, moving slowly and carefully, he picked his way into the den. Fighting back a yawn of his own as he placed her gently beside Wylan, already curled up with his siblings at their mothers side. Kissing Halo on the cheek, he wrapped his wing gently about her and the puppies, cradling them in a little cocoon of soft darkness.

-exit via sleep-


"Speech"