yay puppy!

It hadn't taken her long to feel right at home in Mati's room. Well, their room now. Each time she thought of it that way it made her heart flutter a little. To think that something physical actually belonged to both of them and not just one of them. It seemed to make what was between them more real, more tangible. Not that the Marino had ever doubted the strong emotions that bound them together, but she couldn't help but be ecstatic at the new steps that they were taking in their lives together. It was so wonderful to share that space and have it be their own. To always go to bed together and wake up beside each other in the morning. Thankfully the room was very large so there was enough room for Cambria's healing books and supplies and Enzo's cage along with all of Mati's paints and canvases and sketchbooks. There was stuff everywhere, but it was cozy instead of claustrophobic, and so very colorful. Her old room had been pretty plain, this one was much more exciting.

Mati had gone out to go find something and so Cambi had set herself to tidying things up a little bit. Mostly her own things, as she didn't want to try and organize Mati's things and make it so her lover couldn't find them later. Even if they did share the room now she didn't want to impose her presence where it might not be needed. Plus the chocolate hued fey wasn't a neat freak. A little clutter was nice, and made things feel more homey. She liked the various sketches and paintings laid out all over the place. She was reorganizing her healing supplies when she heard a thud and then scratching at the door. Curious, she stood up and walked over to the door, opening it. Sea green eyes moved down until they saw the little form of Anu's son, Cypress. "Oh! Hi there," she said smiling. What a nice little unexpected surprise.

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Before she had opened the door, Cambria had assumed that it was either one of her little siblings or one of Mati's. The pack was busting with pups at the moment and it was no surprise to her that some of them would be running about inside. Plus any of the six pups could have easily made their way to this door, for there was a sibling to each of them that now resided in the room. When she saw it was one of her lover's little brothers though she was very excited because she hadn't gotten to spend much time with any of them. It would be fun to get to know the little boy better! When he saw her his smile faded though and he seemed disappointed. Her own happiness began to falter until he quickly recovered his excitement. "Hi Cypress. Mati isn't here right now, but she'll probably be back sometime soon." Honestly she had no idea when the Church fey might be back, but she had no qualms with entertaining Cypress until his big sister got back no matter how long it took.

Something seemed to distract the little pup though, and before she knew it he had dashed in-between her legs and into the large room. A startled coo and flapping was elicited from Enzo at the unexpected and loud intrusion which only added to the momentarily chaotic scene. Cypress tried valiantly to try and gain some traction on the wooden floor, but it was all in vain and finally he lost his footing and slid under the bed with a yelp. "Cypress!" Cambi cried with concern. The slender Marino hurried forward and got down on her hands and knees to look under the bed. The dust was thick under there, and the pup had kicked some of it up, making her cough. "Cypress? Are you," another cough, "okay?" She hoped that he hadn't hurt himself.

Cambria wouldn't have been mad, even if Cypress had done it on purpose. It wasn't like he had done anything dangerous, or broken anything. Even if he had, she doubted she would have been anything close to angry with him. The Practitioner wasn't the disciplinarian type. She was no good at scolding or anything of the sort, so the little boy really had nothing to worry about from her. She didn't even think that Mati would scold him for this, unless it was telling him to be a bit more careful walking around.

It was difficult to keep her face down there with all the dust floating around and she was glad when Cypress scooted his way out from underneath the bed. Cambi lifted her head up and gave one big sneeze before looking back down at the boy. He had his head hung a little low, and he softly apologized to her. Cambria only smiled, relieved he wasn't hurt, and wiped the dust bunnies off of his face. "It's okay Cypress, you don't have to be sorry. I was just worried you might have hurt yourself is all," she said reassuringly. He really didn't have any reason to be apologetic.

Cambria wasn't so old that she couldn't remember what it was like to be a growing pup learning how to control your body and move around. She hadn't been the rambunctious type at all, but that didn't mean she hadn't had her fair share of stumbling around on paws that seemed to big for your body. You always felt embarrassed when you messed up around adults too, even though no one in Crimson Dreams would ever be anything but encouraging to a pup. You just wanted to grow up and make the grown ups proud. Cambi remembered that feeling well.

The Marino giggled softly as Cypress gave her hand a soft lick in thanks for cleaning him up. It was amazing how fast pups could recover from embarrassing incidents. She had never quite been that way, but most other pups she had known were. "Oh really?" she questioned humorously. "If you do it again, maybe slide under something that isn't filled with dust bunnies, yeah? I think that'd be more fun." There was no harm in encouraging his playfulness. Much better for him to want to slide around under things than to jump off of them.

Quickly the boy's attention was stolen by one of the many colorful paintings that filled the room. He excitedly bounded over to it and Cambi crawled after him on her hands and knees. "Do you like that Cypress? Your sister made it. She's really talented, isn't she?" There was really no questioning Mati's artistic abilities, at least not in Cambria's eyes.

Hopefully she wasn't encouraging the boy into an activity that would get him into trouble, or worse, get him hurt. She couldn't really imagine anything too bad happening from Cypress sliding around all willy nilly on the floor, but if there was a way to do it, pups would certainly find it. She made a mental note to inform Mati and Anu of his new found activity so they would be able to keep an eye on him as well. It would be awful if she encouraged him in something that he would eventually have to come to her with a cut or sprain for. Cambria would feel just rotten if that happened. Still, such concerns didn't need to sour the mood at the moment. "Yeah, dust can be pretty annoying. It stuck to your fur and got all over the place. Cypress was right, it just was plain not fun.

The Marino had gotten enough experience with her own little siblings to know how quickly their focus could change from one thing to another, so it was no surprise that the same was true of Anu's young boys. Cypress reminded her quite a bit of her sister Artemis, in fact. "Talented? Well, it means when someone is really good at something. Like your sister is really good at doing drawing and painting, and your mom is really good with plants." Hopefully that explanation would make sense to the boy. Cambi sometimes forgot that pups his age were still learning everything.

As introverted a pup as she had been, one would have thought she would have been quite the knowledge-seeker, one who had her knows constantly buried in a book. That hadn't been the case though, and Cambria couldn't really say for sure why. Perhaps though it was another unfortunate side effect of her severe self confidence issues. For so long she had felt that she was pretty much good for nothing. The girl hadn't felt she could excel at anything until she had come across healing. Once she had started her lessons with Dawali she had immersed herself in the art and had been hungry for any and all information she could get about it. She had finally found her calling, it had just taken her a while.

The Marino smiled modestly when Cypress asked what it was she was talented at. "Well, it isn't quite as neat as what your sister does, but I'm fairly good at healing. Helping someone when they're injured or sick." It was something she couldn't help but be proud of, but of course every good healer hoped that their services would be needed sparingly. Cambria was a safeguard just in case something bad happened, but she never hoped that she had work to do.

It was nice, having someone listen to her so carefully. Having someone find her to a font of unknown knowledge. It didn't matter the Cypress was a young pup, it was no less flattering as far as Cambria was concerned. It was amazing to her that she had something to say that was interesting enough to him that he could remain focused on speaking to her and asking her questions for so long. It was nice, having some small hand in the boy's development. His next question made her think for a moment. "I think that everyone has something they're talented at, yes." If she of all people had found something she was good at, anyone could. "I think sometimes you can. I decided I wanted to learn healing so I started taking lessons from a healer. Other things people are born with I think, like your sister's artistic talent." That was how she thought of it anyway.

As was inevitable, something else finally captured the boy's attention and his head turned to look up at the cage that Enzo was sitting in. Cypress asked what it was, and Cambria smiled before making a soft cooing noise, a signal to make the mourning dove come to her. Enzo flew out of his cage and landed on her shoulder, eying the wolf pup with caution. "This is Enzo, a friend of mine. He's a dove. I found him when he had a broken wing and I took care of him while he recovered." Cambi had been lucky enough that the bird had decided to stay with her instead of taking off back on his own in the wild.

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It didn't surprise her that the call she made had caused the young boy to giggle. It would sound funny if you had never heard such a sound before. Cypress ducked instinctively as Enzo flapped over him but he was quick to recollect himself and awe crossed his puppish features. Anu's son then ever so slowly began to scoot up to get a closer look at the avian that had perched upon her shoulder. "Yes, I think so too. He's not as bright as some birds, but I think subtle colors can be just as pretty." Of course she was biased. Enzo was her dear friend and no other bird, no matter how vibrantly plumed, could ever top him in her heart. "Oh yes, he's all better now. He could go back out and live on his own now, if he wanted to, but he decided to stay with me." It had been the dove's choice. No matter how dearly she loved something she could not keep them with her against their will. That was why she had let her caterpillar-turned-butterfly Leafy go.

Cypress, seemingly in a daze, slowly made his way into her lap. If he were being more rambunctious she might have stopped him, not wanting him to accidentally hurt the mourning dove, but he was being so careful that she saw no possibility of that. Enzo, on the other hand, was not a fan of the young wolf coming closer and flapped to move from his mistress' shoulder to the top of her head. His feathers poofed up, making him seem larger then he actually was. Cambria giggled at both of their antics. "Enzo isn't really sure what to think of other wolves. If you spend enough time around him though he'll get used to you."

A yawn split the pup's mouth wide and sleepiness seemed to creep into his bright blue eyes. With a smile, the Marino scratched him softly behind his ears. "Looks like someone needs to go have a nap." Cypress needed lots of sleep while his body grew.