The Sugarwoods
WC: 307
Black paws moved across the ground as the four legged male moved though the lands like a swiftly moving shadow. He was on a mission to go see his father, and see how he was doing in the lands. He was glad that his father had turned back up after so long of being gone, and yes granted that the last time that they had meet they didn’t actually see eye to eye, but never the less Noah was Lucifer’s only father. Then so fourth he must make sure that his ageing father was well in health. It was what a good child should do, after all. He expected that one day Jazper, Taliesin, and Noah would all be coming to check upon him. The male was knew that if the day that would ever come where Noah was no longer able to care for him-self that he would just find a small black hole and would go there and be bitter and wouldn’t let anyone around him. It assumed the black child how someone so kind and loving hated other around when he was sick.
The scent of his father was all around here, he wasn’t sure if this was just a temporary place till he found a pack, or a better place to live. Lucifer sniffed around noting things about the lands, before pushing out a soft bark. Hoping that his father would come to his bark, he was past time to visit him again and maybe gather some of his father’s wisdom on his whole Jazper matter. Lucifer was lost as what to do with the boy and his whole mate topic. Lucifer hated coyotes, and would rather them not be intertwined with his blood lines. He didn’t want to disown the boy, but he was willing to if it came down to it.
Noah sat quietly on a nest of bark, hair moss, feathers, and scraps of old quilts. The small, one room hut he had taken refuge in had seen better days; many better days. Half of the roof had long caved in and the door had rotted off its hinges long ago. Still, it was a ready made shelter and saved him from digging a den out of the frozen dirt. It served its purpose and if he did decide to stay in the area, he could easily fix it up into something cosier.
His head hung low and his eyes were closed but relaxed. It had been several seasons since he had tried to shift and it was not coming back to him easily. In truth, to shift on purpose had never come all that easy to him. Most of the time, a shift came by accident or in his sleep. Meditation did not seem to be helping either.
The interruption did not annoy him. In fact, he was rather relieved to give up the attempt for the time being. Plus he had begun to wonder if Lucifer actually meant all the stuff he had said and would really visit Noah. The grey male rose stiffly, shook, stretched, and walked just outside the dilapidated little sugar hut.
“Over here lad,” he called, feeling a bit of dejavu. Marco Polo had been a favourite game of his youth.
The voice of the older man echoed though the lands, but Lucifer was able to pick out the actual voice quite quickly, he gave his tail a shake and quickly rushed to his father’s voice, his blue eyes filled with life as he rushed to where his father was. He dipped his head, not touching him, he didn’t seem so open to his warm touches the last time they had meet up. He couldn’t help but to smile seeing him standing there in front of him.
”I didn’t get a chance to tell you how happy I am that your back around. I really did miss you.” He gave a soft laugh as he lowered his head making a soft humming sound. Looking back up to his father he wanted to cry this was like a dream, one of the dreams that he would have while laying next to Deuce and the boys, as they slept away so sweetly and thought of nothing of how they were doing, he would hide the pain from Deuce even.
The new Lucifer was so vastly different than old one Noah was use to that Noah was unsure of how to respond. As a pup, the boy had hated him. As an adolescent, he had seemed to go out of his way to tick Noah off. And as a young adult, he had seemed to want to change but persisted in old habits. As a first time father, it left Noah rather bewildered and feeling like a complete failure. Noah knew he wasn’t cut out for raising pups and had giving up on ever having a good relationship with his cubs. So it the new, loving son was a bit unexpected for him. He honestly did not know how a father was suppose to behave in a god relationship.
Part of him worried that it was all a ruse and he was just being set up for something unseen. Yet he hoped with all his heart that the boy had truly changed. Noah wanted to be part of his son’s life but did not have a clue how to go about it. He did not want to mess the boy up again.
“Yeh did say it,” Noah said, reaching over and nibbling the fur between Lucifer’s ears. Maybe Noah had been in some terrible accident and now he was dreaming of all the things he wanted so badly. If Summer suddenly showed up, then he would know it had all been too good to be true.
“Yeh’ve done well fer yerself,” he said, leading the way back into the hut. He was still unsure of what to say or do. Lucifer and Charm were all Noah had left of Summer. He couldn’t bare losing them again.
The male lowered his ears he wanted his father to touch him, he wanted to have his father happy to be around, he had been working so hard over the last two years to get his father to say he was happy for him, or he was proud to have him as a child. For him to hear those words out of his father made his heart feel like there was some great race that he had won. Lucifer stood up and followed his father, with a chuckle. ”I wish you were around just six months ago. I was the lead hunter of a pack, was a sub-leader with Conri and Naniko, before everything went sour. Noah, Taliesin, Apollo, Sirius, Deuce and I all lived there, I would have loved for you to come and see me then. Now…here I am. You’ve missed so much.” he moved towards the gray male he wanted to be close to him. Offering up a smile to the grey male Lucifer lay down, as he thought. ”You’re a grandfather, and then a month later you became a great-grandfather. But I suppose since Deuce and I are not together any more you’re just a grandfather. Two boys, Taliesin and Noah, Tal looks like his momma, and Noah…well from day one took on more of your looks, he was the smaller of the two but ate at lot and grew quickly, and has your ash colored coat. I wanted to honor you and keep your spirit alive somehow. I would have named one after mom…but I believe the female passed when Deuce miscarried. Thanks to them damned coyotes.” Lucifer gave a soft snarl as he shook his head with a sigh laying it down, he stopped talking, and he knew he could go on and on.
300
It took him a few silent moments to figure out what Lucifer was talking about then re-piece it together. At first he had thought Lucifer had just been throwing his name in there as an address but the further the boy got into it, the more Noah knew he was missing something. Once the younger wolf explained that a pup had been named Noah, the original Noah had to go back and re-think about Lucifer had told him. It certainly made more sense the second time around. There was a lot to take in but there was just one thing that he couldn’t get though his head or out of his mind.
“ ‘Ow can I be a grandfather then a great-grandfather so soon?”
The question had his so confused that the truth of the whole matter had not sunk in completely. The family had expanded. HIS family had expanded. He had kept the family line going. It wasn’t something he had ever really considered. Noah had always been a favourite uncle, big brother, or cousin with the rest of his family. The new role would be strange and wonderful at the same time... when it managed to actually hit him. Meanwhile, he flopped down on the nest of cozy things and left his son enough room to do the same if he chose.
“Small pups don’t always stay small. None but clan know dis,” he took a moment to look at Lucifer and make it clear that it was going to stay that way, “but I was a runt.”
Lucifer couldn’t help but to laugh at his father, he just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that within a year that he could be a grandfather and a great grandfather. Lucifer lowered his head trying to find the soft laughter, most seem to forget that Deuce was well old enough to be mated to his father, and be his mother, lifting his head up he gave his father and gentle nudge, and gasped quickly stepping back away, forgetting his father didn’t seem to have wanted his touch the last time they meet.
” Dierdre and Pilot had pups. Well she vanished during the fire, Naniko found them and took them to Deuce to nurse off of her, since she had the boys just about a week or two before that. It made the most logical choice after all.”
Lucifer shifted his weight over his paws as he moved to laying down, looking over at his father, with a smile. He was glad that he didn’t seem upset that he had names his first son after him. I have a hard time seeing you as a small little thing. He coughed as he looked down to the ground, then back to his father.”Have you thought about getting into a pack, dad you know you’re not getting any younger. I would hope that you would pick a pack where you’re loved and your family is.” He knew the topic could turn this nice time with his father to something that was going to start a fight, and really Lucifer didn’t want that to happen.
Mistaking the laugh was directed at the fact Noah had been a runt, Noah leaned over and gave Lucifer a soft nip, the equivalent to a light shot in the arm. Since it was his son, Noah did not get to touchy about it. In his younger years, size had always been a touchy subject for him but he seemed to be mellowing as the years went by. He had long since accepted the fact that there was just nothing to be done about his size. Once he had stopped worrying about other’s perception of him and trying to blend in, he found life to be a lot less stressful and fitting in became ironically easier.
“So when did this all ‘appen?” He was keen to find out if his grandpups were still pups. Maybe he could take them all out hunting or on a fun field trip. He could not remember leading a puppy adventure since the days of Chimera.
The subject of age, unlike size, was a newer one and thus made him stiffen. He did not like thinking about how he was leaving his prime and would soon be considered an old wolf. There was so much in life he had not yet done and he was running out of time. His parents, grandparents, and great grandparents had all been great and loved leaders. He had never been able to stay in a pack for more than a few years at a time and had never really gotten anywhere. He had been a failure as a parent and protector. He wasn’t ready to grow old.
“Ney lad,” he said stiffly, “I’m young enough to keep upstart males in order and defend my little patch of land. I’ve never been very successful in pack life and I’ll be damned if I’m going to take orders from a bunch of cubs.”
Okay, so he didn’t feel old but he did sound like a grumpy old man from time to time. But who could blame him? With all he had seen and done, it wasn’t a big surprise that he did not want to start from the bottom of the pecking order yet again.
306
He narrowed his eyes upon his father as he looked at him. What in the word did he do to earned getting nipped at, he gave a grunt, he would have taken it if it was earned, lord knows Iskata would nip and bite upon him if she view it was within her role and he had earned it. Did he care for her? No not at all, but he loved Deuce deeply, and wanted to be with her and so he was there dealing with whatever she would deal upon him, hoping that one day he would once again find that tenderness that he so dearly longed for with in her arms. The male looked back to his father his blue eyes always fighting to hide how finally he was living a life that he knew he had to live for Deuce and no longer for his self.
”March, March 21, and then again on April 1. During the fire the other boys were born during the fire.”
Lucifer wish that he could get his father to see that his size wouldn’t always save him. He was getting older and with the winter coming he would need the warmth of a pack, and Lucifer knew Iskata would grant him admission, the black male sighed shaking his head. ”Dad…your size might be nice and I know that you’re stronger then what you may look, but how long will that last? Winter is hard for anyone to make though...and for a loner…it’s even harder! Dad…I don’t care where….I just want you to be around for many more years.” Lucifer pushed his body to the ground leaning against his father. ”Though I guess if you still don’t want to start from the bottom and work up…I’ll stay with you though out the winter…to help you get though it.”
He couldn’t help himself. At Lucifer’s narrowed gaze, Noah chuckled. The nip had been a harmless, teasing one. The look on Lucifer’s face reminded Noah of puppy Lucifer. The boy might have been a pawful when he was young but he had been an adorable little scamp. Noah missed those puppy days and regretted not being a bigger part of Charm and Lucifer’s young lives.
March? Noah vaguely remembered in his readings that particular moons had strange names. He had never fully grasped the concept. It had seemed overly complicated and ultimately pointless. Instead of focusing on that, and the number thing, he tried to listen better and stop letting his own mind distract him.
The lad was confusing him. Why would he thing that a large size would be beneficial? Noah had said he was young enough to hold his own but his size actually made surviving harder. Fuelling such a large body meant extensive hunting. Yet he wasn’t about to further worry the boy and wisely kept his muzzle shut. When Lucifer started talking about bunking down with Noah, the older male could not hold his tongue any longer.
“Nonsense Lad. Yer not leaving yer pack. It wouldn’t be da first winter I’ve spent alone. Yeh’ve got nothing ta be worried fer.”
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