*steals*

Skoll had been distant from the pack, first in heart and then in body, but the news had reached him that his friend had had her puppies. Now that he was level-headed and had concluded his dutiful patrol of the southern lands, he could visit her like he should have ages ago.

The boy—albeit closer to a man, now—galloped across the territory in his lupus form, his tail curled over his creamy back and his nose skating close to the ground. He hadn’t asked anyone about where Terra was, but he’d figured she would make a more natural den rather than give birth in an old human structure. There were advantages to both in terms of comfort, safety, and privacy, but he knew which one was right for the feral coywolf, and so he trotted around in search of a subtle opening in the soft ground.

Her smell reached him finally, and Skoll announced himself with a few happy barks from a distance, running closer. Once the den was in sight, however, the coyote’s tawny shape visible, he slowed down drastically and presented himself less boldly. Some instinct told him how new mothers were prone to act, even if he hadn’t experienced it, and he made sure to keep himself open and obviously not a threat as he stepped forward.

“Hey, Terra!” the wolfdog yipped, grinning broadly. “I’ve finally come to visit!”

This post is awkwarddd.

It was strange to think of his friend as a mother, but at least he hadn’t been around enough to see her get all big and fat and awkward. It just wasn’t right for the agile trickster to be hindered by something like that, and even to see her laying calmly in the mouth of her den was a bit odd. He wanted to ask about it but kept his mouth shut, his eyes instead curiously looking at the line of her brown back, wondering if he might catch a glimpse of what was within.

Her returned greeting made him grin, his tail wagging harder. “We all missed you,” he quipped, his smile turning teasing. “There was a lot less troublemaking going on without you, though,” he added, still as a jest. He’d done his share of making trouble for the pack, although he wasn’t sure he wanted to discuss it with her—at least, not yet. Then again, he hadn’t really talked about the scuffle and shirking of duties with anyone but his mother, and he’d been deeply ashamed then; it might be easier to get it off his chest with his friend.

The wolfdog yawned loudly, jaws agape and tongue curling among his white teeth. He then flopped down on his belly before her, patting at the earth with his forepaws. “So—I wanna see ’em,” Skoll requested, grinning lopsidedly.

Posting from school, lalala.

Skoll snorted at her playful remark, twisting so that he could scratch at the side of his neck with a pale hind paw. “I’m afraid I’ve been boring,” he half-lied. He sort of wanted to get everything off his chest, but he didn’t want to ruin the pleasant atmosphere with whining. He decided he’d talk later, and only smiled until he thought he saw something nudging around Terra’s dark-booted legs. His ears cocked forward in interest then lay out to the side when he saw the look on the new mother’s face. She wasn’t normally hesitant, but she complied with his request anyway, turning and sending the small bundles deeper into the den.

The boy couldn’t remember when he was that young, but he knew that there was little danger of escaping when he was in a nursery room, or wherever his parents had kept his litter. It must have frustrated him to be surrounded by walls, but it did make the outside world more surprising and magnificent when he’d hardly had a glimpse before. He nodded at her explanation then blinked as a pup wobbled to the mouth of the den.

Quickly, the wolfdog stepped forward and lowered his front half in a sort of play-bow, his forelegs spread to form an obstacle for the ’yote pup. He grinned then leaned forward to carefully sniff the little one. “They’re adorable! What are their names?” he asked when he caught a glimpse of the adventurer’s sibling in the den.

Skoll grinned mischievously. “I can only imagine the kind of trouble they’ll get into in the house,” he said, remembering the fun he’d had getting into things, as well as the mess he and the coywolf had made of the Dauphin’s fabrics closet. He foresaw a lot of missing trinkets and nests of blankets and clothes appearing all over the place, but it would all be in good fun. He knew the puppies would probably only be encouraged to make mischief, considering their mother.

Half-sprawled at the mouth of the den, he nodded and committed the boys’ names to mind. He let his tongue poke out between his jaws teasingly, and he watched Loki waddle forward on shaky legs before Terra pushed him backward. He reached with a careful paw to tap Ananse on his nose, deterring him from sneaking past the doggish guardian, before withdrawing it and grinning again. “Stubborn little things,” he remarked as he watched their determined progress toward the light of the outside world. “I’ll help you keep an eye on them whenever you need me to, you know.” He took his attention off the cubs long enough to shoot his friend a warm look. “Whether it’s planting my butt here while you go hunt or making sure they don’t leave the territory before they’re ready. I think I’d be good at distracting them from the wrong kind of trouble, at least.” Or so he hoped.

Maybe wrap up soon? We can have an Adelle/Skoll thread soon. :3

Narrow jaws fastened gently around his ear, and Skoll grinned before shaking his head to free it. He nodded as she accepted his offer, looking forward to the time he could spend with his baby pack-mates. It was a little crazy to think that, once upon a time, he’d been only a small puppy and he and Terra had play-acted as humans, telling a story with dramatic narration and actions. He wondered if he might do the same with her offspring.

He glanced curiously at her words and smile, and it brought a smile of his own to his lips. “Well, I’m here now, too,” he said, and moved over to lean against her affectionately, his tail uncurling to smack against hers. “Maybe we can wear the kiddos out, and you can go find food or sleep while I watch them.” She deserved that much after all the babysitting she’d done for him.