Liam Catori awoke with a start from the short nap he'd taken at the beginning of the afternoon, his fuzzy head hitting the bark of the tree he'd been leaning against. Ouch! he hissed moodily. He was having a hard time sleeping as of late, hence the little snooze in the middle of the day. His subconscious mind was plagued with gruesome images of his baby brothers and sister – while he absolutely loved his new-found status of big brother, the fear that something would happen to them was rendering him a complete and total mess. He blamed Noah's sudden departure for his abandonment issues. He was trying really hard to keep his brother out of his mind but it was a difficult task when fast asleep. As if it had become a natural instinct of his, Liam pushed Noah out of his mind and instead focused on the present; on Skoll, Hati and Lottie.
As the pups grew older, Liam found himself getting to know each of them individually. They weren't just 'pups', they were his little siblings and they had different personalities. That in itself was kind of fascinating to the young wolf. Since finding out about his mother's pregnancy, he had assumed they would all just come into the world and be his little brothers and sister – all one and the same. He had never really grasped that they would actually be individual beings. They were like him – a wolf with a personality and needs and... other stuff. They would eventually grow up and want to do things and learn things... Liam was excited to teach them everything he knew because; according to him, it was a big brother's job.
Stretching and yawning, the young wolf straightened up from his sitting position and scanned the immediate surroundings with his bi-colored eyes. His ears perked up as he heard sounds from inside the Victorian home he shared with his family. He had fallen asleep just outside under a thin tree, its leaves already beginning to shed, a sign that Fall had really fallen onto Cour des Miracles.
Liam had never really seen Fall before so he was excited for the new colors in the trees and the new smells all around. The entire earth was dying, only to come back to life next year beautiful again. Liam would be older next year – he would have celebrated his first birthday. He would be bigger – stronger... maybe as strong as his dad! He would then be able to protect his young siblings like a big brother should. Liam would also be smarter next year, maybe as smart as his mother! The ideas brought a wolfish smile to his black lips, a twinkle in his one green eye. He really wanted to be a great big brother. A role model for them. Speaking of big brothers... Liam had only walked a couple dozen feet when he spotted Kable.
The younger Catori quickened his pace somewhat, a Kable, escaping his mouth as a request for the older wolf to wait so that Liam could reach him. Have you seen mom and the puppies today? he wondered. Liam's arm moved back somewhat to gesture in the general direction of where he had been coming from – towards the Victorian house. While Liam had seen his mom and siblings, he hadn't seen his dad. But then again, Liam wasn't too surprised. His dad was the King and he had many tasks to do.
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