300+
Rio remained unaware of her mother's questionable past. Naniko had been absent too frequently with her pack duties to give any of the answers that her daughter desired, and she was too afraid to ask anyway. Mama was busy with important things — the sable girl was old enough to realize that there was something dark about the birth of her older half-siblings, and this feeling deterred her from bothering her mother, afraid to upset her unnecessarily. The child had grown accustomed to the idea that there was no time for her in her mother's life, as it had been the way of her own life since her first memory. Sometimes she wished that her absent dam was more like Xeris, who seemed to have all the time in the world for her babies. Perhaps Naniko had spent precious little time with Mati, too. Rio wondered if the bronze-furred woman would understand the occasional desire for a real mother.
A walk sounded marvelous, and behind her thin frame Rio's long tail swung to and fro. Yes! she said, stumbling in her excitement. It was more difficult than she'd expected to keep her balance; it seemed much easier to loose her footing with only two paws touching earth. Fortunately, Mati's free arm was around her waist to keep her from falling. She lifted her arm to grasp the woman's shoulder with a weak grip, but this would undoubtedly help her keep upright. Periwinkle eyes carefully noted the way the older fey carried herself so that she might emulate. Before she tried to do so, she grew wide-eyed, suddenly worried about how long she had been away from Phoenix Valley. She realized that she'd lost track of time in the circumstances that had arisen, but there was no reason to make her nanny worry. Is it okay if we go toward my home? As she spoke, the child carefully stepped forward, allowing her body to guide itself. A few unsteady steps later, she could walk slowly, and gave a soft squeak of delight. This isn't so bad, she said, glancing up at her sister for approval.
.Riogift003 b {font-weight:bold; font-family: Georgia, serif; color:#b08d91; letter-spacing:1px; }
.Riogift003ooc {text-indent:20px;font-style:italic; padding:5px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#7e7f97; text-align:left;}
.Riogift003 p {text-indent:20px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px;}
.Riogift003 {margin:0 auto; width:346px; background-color:#effafe; background-image:url(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/ ... ift003.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #9fa2b3; padding: 150px 0px 5px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#8c8da2; letter-spacing:.3px; word-spacing:.8px; line-height:12px; text-align:justify;}
</style>
[/html]