Momma to the rescue! 300+

Savina had been away from Crimson Dreams for a little while on a trip to an old human town that lay a ways down the coast. She had discovered it on a recent excursion away from the pack. It was not nearly so large as Halifax was, but it was also much closer to her home than the large old city was. Barrington, as she had learned it had been named, was also not nearly so unnerving as the dead city could be at times. It was a much more quite place that did not have the towering concrete structures of the city. Ever since the weather had turned colder, the woman had been worried about her adopted son. His coat did not thicken out as much as even her own did, and he often complained of being cold. At night she had made sure to cover him in many blankets to keep him warm, but he needed something to keep him warm during the day as well. She had knit him a scarf, but he could not put it on himself since he had yet to learn to shift.

The Consul had taken Lexington, her mate's horse, out to Barrington to search for a nice heavy coat for Denali. Like the scarf, it unfortunately would not do him much good until he could shift, but she had to do something for him. If he kept being so chilled all the time he could get sick and even though she trusted her daughter's skills as a healer, she did not want Denali getting to the point of needing her help. During her search, Savina had found a few coats and some other items that could help keep her young son warm, including some mittens and a hat. She would have to cut out places for his ears, but that would be simple enough. Pleased with her finds, she loaded Lexington back up and rode back home.

When they reached the manor she awkwardly dismounted and took all the things she had found. Riding the large stallion was not something she was good at, but she had taken it slow and thankfully had not fallen off. The horse seemed to know that she was not that confident upon his back and so made sure he did not move too jerky or fast. Smiling, she patted the horse's neck and headed inside. When she came in, immediately she saw a figure laying motionless on the floor. At first she didn't recognize him, but the fur patterns alerted her to the fact that it was Denali. "Denali!" Savina rushed over to him, looking him over. He had changed! But had he hurt himself? "Are you okay?" she asked, her hand coming to his face.

<3 SoSuWriMo 257

When he first looked at her he seemed dazed and she wondered if he had fallen and hit his head. Should she call for Cambria to come take a look at him? But then he sat and up and spoke without any issue and she sighed with relief. Unlike Silvano, who had had to work for his first shift and had wanted it so badly, it seemed Denali had perhaps not been quite ready for his but it had come to him anyway. The boy ran to her and hugged her and she hugged him right back, one hand soothingly petted the back of his head. "Shhh, it's okay sweetie. I'm sorry it scared you, but I promise it isn't always like that. You'll be in control of it now." The woman leaned her face down to give her son a kiss on the top of his head. It was so interesting how different pups could react to their first shift, especially now that she had such a marked difference between her two young sons. Hopefully this was just a momentary fright though and Denali would not be afraid of his new found ability.

Denali pulled back a little, haltingly confirming that he thought he was alright. Keen emerald eyes looked over her adopted son, a smile soon forming on her lips. "You look fine to me. More than fine, actually. You've turned into quite the handsome little man!" she said grinning and ruffling his spiky new hair. Hopefully some humor would help to calm Denali's nerves.

He's so cute ^^ SoSuWriMo 319

Savina could understand Denali's surprise and shock at suddenly changing into his new form. Back in Italy where she had been born, her pack had been against shifting forms and it had been banned even though many members of Monti Sabini were in fact luperci. The only an exception was allowed was when a luperci pup went through their first shift, since such things could not be stopped. Savina had also been frightened the first time she had changed and had wanted to immediately go back to her four legged body before anyone could see her. The Marino had never tried changing again until she had lived in Nova Scotia for a few moons, and then she had needed to ask for help with it since she had locked all instinct and knowledge about the process away deep inside her mind. "Shhh, Denali you don't need to be sorry for anything. I know it can be scary. You have nothing to apologize for." He hadn't done anything wrong, not at all.

Her other words seemed to dismiss any and all lingering concerned or bad feelings about the incident and she beamed down at him as he thanked her. Savina did not view the boy as any different from her other children, even if he had not come from her womb. Denali was her son, just as much as Gotham or Silvano were and she loved him with all her heart. The multi-hued youth stepped back and looked at her with that curiosity she knew well. "Oh, I was just out on a little trip to one of the nearby human towns. I know how cold you've been, so I got you some presents! Do you want to see them?" The mother knew that he would, but she couldn't help but want to build up some excitement about it, especially after Denali had been so upset just mere seconds before.

SoSuWriMo 277

When she had first taken the boy in that night he had appeared on the Crimson Dreams borders, she could not have guessed how much he would come to mean to her. The Consul had come to love her adopted son so much and thought of him in the same terms as she did any of her children that were hers by birth. Even though she could never say she was happy about the tragedy that had befallen his real parents, she was so glad that he had found Crimson Dreams when he had. What might have happened to him if he hadn't? It was not a scenario the Marino wished to envision. It was impossible to imagine her family without the thin-coated boy now.

At the mention of presents, Denali perked up and his tail began to wag in excitement. Savina chuckled lightly, smiling down at her son. "You sure can," she answered. The woman turned around and picked the items she had dropped upon entering the manor back up and brought them over for Denali's inspection. There were two coats that she had found, the hat, and a couple pairs of mittens that she laid out before him. "They're clothes, to help keep you warm! There's also a scarf for you that I made myself, but I don't have it with me right this moment. Do you like any of these?" She had a feeling he would. If it were one of her daughters, she would have been more concerned since they would have more of a sense of fashion, but she thought Denali would just be happy to have something to keep him warmer.

SoSuWriMo 260

Savina could hear him following quickly behind her. Secretly, she hoped Denali never lost that excitability and playfulness that he had. It was likely too much to hope for, for everyone changed as they grew. She certainly was not the same wolf she had been when she was his age. At the very least though, hopefully he would get to keep that part of him longer than most did. The Marino woman's goal was to try and shield her children from the harshness of the world for as long as she could without actually interfering with their growth. It was a touch balance to strike, but she felt she was doing a rather good job of it right now.

Denali's grin was all the reward she needed when she showed off what she had brought for him. When he put on the hat she couldn't help but laugh at the sight of his ears trapped beneath the knitted fabric. "I'll have to cut out some holes in that so your ears can still stand up," she said smiling. He quickly donned a pair of mittens and finally grabbed one of the coats. He got his arm through one sleeve, but was having difficulty with the second one and started turning in circles like he was chasing his own tail. Savina stifled more laughter and stood up to help her son. Placing a hand on his shoulder to stop his spinning, she then picked up the other side of the jacket so he could get his arm into the other sleeve.

Savi should put it on the fridge in the kitchen! X3 SoSuWriMo 325

It was a good thing that she had made her journey to find winter clothes for the boy today. Savina had thought it might still be some time before he would be able to wear them, but here she had come home and his change had taken place! The woman could barely believe the perfect timing. Not to mention the excitement of his gifts seemed to have worked wonders on making his jitters after changing go away. It was amazing how easily Denali could bounce back from something scary, it was a trait that she wished she had herself. The woman had a bad habit of letting things get her down, but her thoughts were far from such problems now, all too happy to see how excited her son was. "You're welcome," she said brightly. As Denali pulled his hat off she extended her hand to take it if he wanted her to. "I can get some holes cut into it today, so you can wear it the next time you go outside."

The Consul's ears perked as her boy said that he had something to show her, something he had made. She was quite interested to see what it was. With so many children, it was hard to keep track of the various activities that they occupied themselves with. It had been easy, when they had all been smaller and stuck mostly to the mansion, but as they grew and explore outside more and more and she didn't get to see them quite as much it was more difficult. Denali scurried off to find whatever it was he wanted to share and then came back, his bouncing gait making the mother's tail wag happily. He took a hold of her arm and was urging her to follow him away out of the common room. Savina eagerly followed her son's lead, her eyes trained on the sheet of paper he held in his other hand.

No it isn't! SoSuWriMo 297

Savina took the hat from her son and gave it a quick inspection. It wouldn't be hard to fix at all, just a couple of small holes would do the trick. A hat was not something she had ever taken much of an interest in for herself and she couldn't say why, but she was very glad that Denali was excited about it. "You're welcome Denali," she said warmly, smiling. It was probably very good that he was excited about all the clothes she had brought back for him. Savina had thought that her pelt was thin when she had spent her first winter here in Nova Scotia, but her adopted son's fur was even thinner than her's had ever been. It seemed such an oddity to her and the last thing she wanted was to him to get sick because he was constantly so cold.

Denali pulled her aside and when he revealed what lay on the piece of paper the woman's face lit up and her tail began to wag. None of her children had really taken after artistic pursuits, so being presented with a work of art, no matter how simplistic it may have been, was wonderful to her. "That's so sweet of you Denali! I love it! I'll have to put it up some place where I can always see it!" It didn't matter that it wasn't bright and colorful or skillful, it had been made by her dear little boy and she would treasure it always. It would remind her of when he had been so small, before he had shifted and taken such a large step towards being an adult. It would provide a small window back to his younger days, and that was something a mother always wanted to have.

And now we have to wrap it up XD; Erinfail

It could have been the ugliest thing in the world, and Savina would have still loved it because her son had given it to her. There was nothing ugly about the sweet picture he had given her, littered with his pawprints though. She meant every word she had said to him and her tail wagged happily to accent that point. It would be put up maybe in the kitchen, or in her and Kansas' room. Somewhere that would make it clear to Denali that she was proud of his work, and by extension, him.

It seemed there were now other things on his mind though, and she looked back to her brown colored boy with curiosity. It was odd for him to be embarrassed about anything and she worried about what it might be, but when he breached the subject her smile returned instantly. She couldn't blame him for wanting to stick to his newly gained form. "I'm pretty sure there is, but unfortunately I don't know anything about it. I don't know if anyone in Crimson Dreams knows, but I'm certain that is how they hunt in AniWaya. They use tools and stuff to help them." Savina wished she could be of a bit more help to Denali on this subject, but an idea popped into her head. "Tell you what, someday soon why don't we take a trip over there and they can teach you." The Consul had wanted to meet up with Dawali again, and this would offer the perfect reason to make the short trip to the tribe's lands.