Word Count :: 000
She was growing older as well, though Soran definitely bested her in that category. Naniko felt that canines only grew wiser with age, and she personally stayed very healthy with all of the running and walking that she did around the borders of the pack. She was a paranoid and ever-vigilant leader, up at all hours and only catching sleep when her children laid down for a nap or two. Her insomnia wasn't improving so far despite Ravesque sleeping in her den with her, so she relaxed when she could and spent more time with her children during the day between patrols.
Naniko nodded when she was asked about the rest of the litter, who remained back at home. "Yes, three total. All boys, which is just my luck...all three are troublemakers. But this one seems a little better about it...at least out in public" So far, anyway. Who knew how they would develop as time went on. Naniko hoped that they would all become more well-behaved with the training and discipline that she gave them as they grew. "One is nearly as white as I am, but with some gray in his fur as well...and the other looks like his father, brown and black with a little cream." She explained.
The whelp looked quite surprised as the larger female crouched down to his level, setting a toy next to him. He had played with a few things in their den before, but in the weeks before this point he had been too young to really grasp the idea of playing. Still just a baby at only a month and a half of age, the puppy stared at the furry thing in front of him. It had a weird smell compared to the scents around him...but one that matched the female who had given it to him. Was it alive? He poked at it with his paw, yipping as it lurched forward toward him. How frightening! He went to Naniko's side, shaking and whimpering softly. His mother laughed, shaking her head. "What is going on in his head, I wonder. He looks afraid of it."
Talk turned to the tales of Soran's journey around 'Souls, and the darker female explained why she had chosen to live in Crimson Dreams. Naniko didn't know what she knew of her rocky past there, but if Soran was content not to speak of it then she wasn't about to bring it up. The idea didn't please her, that she might be buddying up with one of her greatest enemies...but she also believed that Soran would not such a thing out of spite and that she did respect Naniko as well, regardless of her choice to join the pack that she had been thrown out of. "I don't like it...but I can try to understand. When you came here, you did not know that I had left and created this place, in any case." She concluded. And that was that. She changed the subject, speaking of the war next. "I have heard of no war, honestly - we are very far from AniWaya."
Image courtesy of Mocodragon@Flickr; Table by the Mentors!
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