Surreal

Surreal padded heavily along the edge of the Plains, her ears attuned to any sounds of other wolves coming from within. She had been monitoring the area since she’d explored it after the siege. Thus far, only other rogue scents criss crossed the land; the old stink Arcanum had left behind was nearly gone, now. A small smile pulled at her jowls, before an enigmatic kick from within her womb forced a grunt from her lungs. Right in the kidney… Any worries that her litter hadn’t taken this year had been erased by now, with all the vigor the little bodies had in kicking and wriggling, she guessed there were at least two healthy bodies in there, maybe three. She hadn’t told Regulus or Zuriel yet that they would be expecting new siblings, and very soon. She could guess how they would take the news. Regulus would be delighted, fascinated, and completely perplexed at how they had come to be. Zuriel, she supposed, having listened to Erani’s teachings most closely, would have a better idea of how it had happened. Surreal gave a soft, thoughtful hum. She’d have to find a fully trained healer to continue Zuriels training. Her middleborn daughter showed great promise, having been able to keep Falk from gaining an infection, or dying from self-starvation. Surreals path curved inward to the Plains, and, as she reached the old Meeting area, she leapt up onto the boulder, her haunches lowering to the stone. While she felt lighter this time around, the litter inside her still was heavy, and she’d be glad to birth them out. Mismatched eyes of blue and gold gazed across the plains to the patches of woodland that held her mothers den. And this time, she had a feeling that she would be able to bring her children into the world where they truly belonged. She sat straight as a queen, eyes turning back toward where she had come, toward the Willows. It was time to tell her first litter that they would be having siblings soon enough. Her muzzle lifted, jaws parting in a call for her children and for her mate. And should any of her other family hear her call, they were more than welcome to join. She was always one for happy reunions.

Regulus

Regulus raced headlong along a rabbit trail, hot on the big bunny heels of a rabbit. He’d begun to really flesh out, now that he’d reached his top height, and now that the injuries from his short skirmish with the tiger were healed sufficiently for Zuriel and his mother to say he could run and hunt, he was making up for lost time. The rabbit zigzagged ahead, and he tried his best to keep up. Of course, with his larger size, sharp turns were tougher. Then, his prey vanished down a bolt hole. He skidded to a halt with a growl, then set to digging. Dirt flung in all directions behind him, but mister four lucky bunny feet was well ensconced in that hole. Regulus pulled away with a grumble. He swore he could hear that rabbit giggling at him. Cinder caught up at last, looking up at her friend with large sapphire eyes amused. “Too big to get him, huh?” She mewed, whiskers twitching as she grinned. Then she slipped into the hole. There was a scuffle inside the hole, and Regulus hunkered down, trying to block the hole so the rabbit would only have one place to run. His open jaws. That worked a little too well. Suddenly, his mouth was full of fur, as the rabbit all but ran half down his throat. He gagged, then snapped his jaws shut, wrenching a screech of agony from the no longer so lucky rabbit. He jumped backward and shook his head hard. The rabbits twitches ended soon enough, and that was when his mothers voice rang out from some distance away. He knew his mother had been keeping an eye on their prospective land for a while. He’d also wondered at the change in her scent, and the way her middle seemed to have gotten bigger. LIke she’d gorged herself on a deer… And hadn’t lost the weight. Cinder popped out of the rabbit warren, looking smug about the success they’d had, and he jerked his head toward the direction his mother had called from. The somali cat nodded, and they set off. In a short amount of time, Regulus and the cat reached his mother. He bounced up onto the boulder, dropping the limp rabbit and nuzzling his mothers shoulder. "Dia duit, Máthair. Rug muid coinín ar do shon." he greeted her in the Old Tongue, tail waving behind him in a blood red blur. At his mature height of forty-two inches, he just about towered over his thirty-six inch mother. His side brushed against her swollen one, and right then, he felt a sudden, rippling shove, coming from inside his mother. He stepped away abruptly, turning to stare at the rippling swell of her stomach. “"Gur díoladh ... Máthair, tá .. Cad a rinne tú a ithe lá atá inniu ann, agus bhí sé fós beo nuair a shlogtar tú é?"” He asked, only half joking as he watched the strange rolling ripples cross his mothers belly.

Zuriel weaved in and out of the willows that she had called home for her whole life. Even as her various family members began to vanish and reappear at odd intervals, she had remained. She was stedfast and stable in this place... but she knew their mother had other ideas. She sighed sadly as she looked around at the graceful, draping branches of the willows. She would miss them if they really were going to move. There was such a great collection of herbs growing here as well... Ah well. If she understood correctly they wouldn't be moving too far away. It wasn't like she couldn't come visit or come to collect herbs from time to time. Suddenly her mother's call caught her attention and her two-toned blue gaze looked up toward the noise. Well, maybe this move that had been lingering on her mind wouldn't take so long to arrive after all. She was about to take off toward the call when she remembered her father. He'd need a guide she was sure. Turning back toward the den they had all shared she ran toward it, her small frame making it easy for her to be light on her paws and dart between the many trees and plants. Sure enough, when she arrived she found her father slowly moving toward the call with his nose to the air. She slowed to a stop and smiled a little. At least he was trying now. That was leaps and bounds above where he had been and it truely choked her up a bit to see him out and about on his own. "Come on, Dad," she said with a soft chuckle as she came up along side him so that her shoulder was parallel to his. She lead them through the trees, making much quicker progress than if he had tried to make this journey on his own. Her shoulder brushed gently against his to turn his path when needed. All things considered they made very good time and after a little while they arrived in the clearing. Of course her brother beat them there, but that was no surprise. She spotted him staring at their mother's sightly swollen side with confusion and she couldn't help the little snort of laughter that escaped her. She of course had noticed the subtle changes in their mother over the last few weeks, all the signs obvious from their grandmother's teachings. Zuriel hadn't said anything though, not wanting to prove herself wrong or bother her mother with her predictions. She was sure Mother would tell all of them in due time, but it was hilarious to see how confused her brother was by it all since the healing lessons had never been his favorite. With her father delivered, she settled onto her haunches maybe a foot or two away from Regulus's side, a smile on her muzzle and her tail waving gently behind her. It was good to see most of her family in one place and in good health again. "Talk" "You" Think

He was stretched out in front of the den with his head on his paws when he heard Surreal's howl. His head lifted and turned toward the sound, his ears perking curiously. She had spoken so much of reclaiming the Plains, even before her and Regulus's disappearance. It had been a dream of hers for a long time and of course he would support her the best he could. However he wondered if now was the best time with them expecting again and all... An excited flutter danced through him again at the thought and he smiled. There was a very real time in his life when he had wondered why he was even being left alive, but now that his mate and most of his oldest children were back in his life he knew now that he had to figure out a way to keep going. He rose to his paws and tried to remember all of the things that Surreal had been teaching him about getting around blind. He had only gotten a short distance when his daughter's scent and voice reached him. A quiet relieved sigh passed his lips and he smiled down at her. She was such a blessing to him. He was sure that if she hadn't forced her care upon him he surely would have been dead by now. He let her lead him without complaint, but he did his best to try to remember the path from the Willows to the Plains, just in case he might need to get back at some point. Soon enough he smelled the distantly familiar scents of the Plains. So many memories flooded his mind. This was where he met Surreal for the first time, where he met her family and slowly began to learn that his bloodline didn't make him a bad wolf. Then the scents of his mate and son came to him and he smiled. Leaving Zuriel's side, he followed Surreal's scent till his nose brushed against her cheek and he nuzzled her cheek and neck lovingly. "Calling meetings already, my love?" he commented with a chuckle as he settled down beside her. Speech Thought Others

Surreal

Surreal had only to wait a few minutes until her massive red son made his appearance, paws and hind legs caked with dirt, and a rabbit dangling from his jaws. Cinder trotted alongside Regulus, an Surreal noted the smug, feline grin on her face. So another rabbit had made it down the warren to what it had thought was safety. Surreal gave a soft chuckle at the team the two made. As Regulus mounted the boulder to settle beside her, she returned his nuzzle with a lick to his forehead, where a fleck of dirt clung to his fur. She smiled at his use of the Old Tongue. "Go raibh maith agat, mo daor, mac salach. Shíl sé seo ar cheann a bhí sé sábháilte sa bhaile, rinne sé? Go han-mhaith déanta, dá tú." She praised them warmly. As her eldest born pressed against her, one of the denizens of her womb gave a particularly lively wiggle and kick, which set the others to moving. By the way Regulus jumped away and stared at her belly, she guessed he’d felt it. A moment later, she laughed at his question. Just then, Zuriel arrived, leading Falk. She took the time to admire her daughters silvers and blacks and light build. She would be an eye-catcher to the young males of the world.. Zuriel seemed amused by her older brother, and as Falk settled beside her, Surreal smiled. ”Family only, for now. It’s good to see you out and about.” She grinned at her family, head held high. ”Now. Your father and I have some good news for you two. You’re going to be older siblings soon.” She smiled happily at her children, particularly watching Regulus for a reaction. It was bound to be amusing.

Regulus

Regulus was confused as to why his mother was laughing at his question. Seriously, she had something in her stomach, and whatever it was, it was wiggling like mad. Didn’t that hurt? He was about to ask, when he heard Zuriels familiar giggle and the tread of both her and their fathers paws approaching. It did him well to see his father moving around, and as his father joined his mother, and Zuriel sat beside him, he almost felt complete. But there was one thing missing. One wolf. Faite. He still held onto the hope that they would find his youngest sister. He wasn’t about to give up on that hope, not unless they found her body. He nosed Zuriels shoulder with a smile, then turned his attention to their mother as she spoke to them. News? Were they moving in? Her news, however, was that they would be older siblings. Weren’t they already? Faite was the youngest… Wait… He finally lived up to the intelligence he was supposed to have. Puppies. There were going to be puppies… But where they were getting them from was still a mystery to him. Judging from the way his mother was looking at him, he had the oddest feeling that he was behind by a step or maybe two. “I’m going to be a big brother?” Well, this was exciting! His tail began beating the stone under his rump as the prospect of more siblings. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t exactly sure where they were yet.