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 Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:41 pm
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(ooc: "daycare" is not an official ic term! just using it for the title)
Magpie was tired. She couldn't be happier! But all about the pack, there were previously full wombs laid bare, and puppies galore. Rain Song and Sparrow had produced three brilliantly colored babies, and most recently Hidden Away, who honest to gods had no clue that she was with child for most of her gestation, had two pups of her own with proud new father Red Oak. (Were there more? She was beginning to lose count.) It was a joyous time for the pack - one that had a past so riddled with loss and sorrow - but boy, was it an exhausting time to be a caretaker.
But Magpie took it in stride. Her work was more important now than ever: continuing to help raise up the next generation of Swiftfell wolves. Each of these little lives were so precious to her, and she nearly choked up thinking about how honored she felt to have such a meaningful job. A mother and a caretaker - how lucky was she?
Anyway, Maggie was now headed back to the puppy care area, the dens in which the caretakers found themselves more often than now, feeling refreshed from a quick walk meant to clear her head. Working with the youth could be exhausting, and every once in a while she just needed a little breather. Not a break - that sounded harsh - but, you know. Something.
Now, she stepped back into the den area, and found a few of the puppies playing, accompanied by Hidden Away, just outside the designated caretaker dens. Magpie smiled, bright and wide, and walked toward them. She couldn't remember how it felt to be a new mother and working in the dens at the same time, every minute of your day dependent on the breath of a little bundle of fur that somehow made its way to the world through you. But she was proud of Hidden Away for how she was handling it - with grace and pride.
When she approached, one of the newest puppies made his way up to her.
Hidden Oak was not a quiet puppy. On the contrary, he was quite chatty and persistent. He didn't care if you didn't want to hear from him, he was going to find a way to make you care or die trying. Well, maybe not that extreme, but you get my drift. Little Oak saw the caretaker approach - she looked tired, even though she was smiling, how odd - and immediately bound up to her.
"Magpie? Magpie! Where did you go? You missed so much-" The little wolf was about to start blabbing off about nothing of note when his mother stepped in.
Sighing, Hidden Away addressed her son with a voice that was only more mildly stern in comparison to her normal, lilting tone. "Hidden Oak, leave her alone. What she does in her own time is her business. Quit it, will you?" She was exhausted, and it showed - her nerves were a little frayed at the edges, but overall she was doing well. She had been hoping for one, healthy puppy and had somehow been gifted two. Even if it was a bit overwhelming, she could not be more thankful for the turnout. Her and Red Oak were blessed, by whom she did not know.
When she saw Hidden Oak retreat, she gave a meaningful look to Magpie - something along the lines of "I feel you, girl" - and looked back at the other pups. These next few months were going to be quite the adventure. |
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:32 pm
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Fat-Boy Lark watched with narrowed eyes as one of the newest puppies waddled its way up to his mother, while he sat on his cute little rump, back legs splayed out to left and right, pouting. He wanted to take a walk with her but she had insisted he stay behind with the other puppies.
With a determined look, Lark the Chubster made it to his feet and padded his way over to where Hidden Oak was chattering away. Feigning ignorance, the dark pup sauntered between Little Oak and his mama, nearly sitting on the poor, smaller child. "Mama! I'm hungry!"
Little Red watched the two while curled up against her mother's side. One ear that insisted on flopping down, and her paw covering one eye as she lounged against Hidden Away, made her look the picture of serenity. Generally, she was an even-keel child, so long as she got her regularly scheduled naps and maintained a full tummy. Because her brother talked more than enough for the both of them, she rarely found the occasion to voice her opinions or needs for comfort. How could life get any better?
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:02 pm
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Rain Song was finding that she greatly enjoyed motherhood. She has always enjoyed being around any of the pups of Swiftfell that were left in the caretaker's expert care. But having some of those pups be her own? There was not greater feeling of elation to the shy shewolf. She let her blue gaze settle on the several pups around the care dens, a gentle smile forming. She had been lounging, allowing the pups to climb all over her and snuggle up to take naps, attempting to give other caretaker's a break.
Now she watched with amusement as they all seemed to get a second dose of energy. Especially as Maggie returned to the area. It was as if she was a brand new wolf suddenly appearing with the greatest of tales to share. Rain couldn't help the small chuckle.
"Now, now, Chickadee. Let Magpie settle before all your questions." She said gently, watching her only female pup loudly question the other caretaker. Beside her, another of her pups was sprawled out, feet gently moving in the air as he dreamed.
Flopped on the ground, nestled against his mother's side, Sycamore Harpy had been happily dozing until the sudden chatter started up again. Which meant he was totally missing something exciting. The pup flailed and rolled to his paws, shaking his little body as he heard his sisters voice.
"What did I miss?!" He immediately stumbled over to bump in to Chickadee, tail wagging, then looked over at Lark.
"Didn't you just eat?" Harpy couldn't recall if he had, but the pup just shrugged. "Was there anything exciting out there, Magpie?!" He asked, turning to the adult wolf. His tail still wagging.
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 3:06 pm
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Magpie recognized some of her own exasperated self in the way Hidden Away told little Oak to knock it off - it was pleasant, in a strange way. Hidden Away had her own troubles in the past, so it was lovely to see her thriving as a new mother, even if she was beyond tired from it. Motherhood was the greatest gift nature could give, after all! (Right?)
Then, before she had a time to groan at Lark about always being hungry (he was looking a little pudgy, though she thought she imagined that), the cute little Chickadee Bark made her color-laden way onto the scene. Magpie smiled at the young girl, struggling not to wince at the decibels behind her voice. Rain Song interrupted, but Maggie decided to be nice to the girl anyway. "My walk was lovely, thank you so much for asking, Chickadee Bark." She glanced at Rain Song and smiled, grateful for the way the new mother was so easily taking on the job. Then, Magpie found herself stifling a laugh as Chickadee teased the round little Lark. Right, so she wasn't imagining it.
Bumping into Chickadee was a Sycamore Harpy, blinking sleep out of his eyes, and also demanding to know how her walk was. Jeeze, if she had known it would cause this much chatter, she would've just stayed behind!
"Nothing much is going on out in the packlands, I'm afraid. Maybe I'll have more exciting news for you tomorrow," Magpie responded to Sycamore Harpy with a gentle voice and a smile. She decided not to intervene on the matter of the pups - with Lark and his eating habits. Sometimes it was best to let pups work things out for themselves. It helped them grow, or so she liked to tell herself.
Hidden Oak was about to moan at his mother, when another puppy - this one, Lark - toddled over to take over the attention of his own mom. He pleaded for food - which, honestly, didn't sound like such a bad idea...
Deciding to let his eyes wander, he spotted his sister, sitting all by her lonesome, looking the picture of peace. And of course, he decided to bound off in her direction. She looked too at peace. And it was a brother's job to fix what he saw as broken. "Red, Red, Red," he sang as he approached her on unsteady paws. He was still young enough to get away with the clumsiness, but soon it would be suspect.
"Why are you always so tired?" Oak whined as he flopped onto his back next to Red Herring, glancing over at his little sister.
Hidden Away was watching, completely at peace with everything, when she realized she should probably help Magpie and Rain Song. They were practically covered in puppies, and even if her own two weren't in on it (of course, Oak was bothering Red, as to be expected), she was still a caretaker. Plus, she liked to be rescued when she was in the same position. Treat others as you'd like to be treated, and so on.
She rose to her paws and trotted the short distance to the other two females, grinning at the, both. Now that her mateship with Red Oak was, ahem, consummated, she couldn't keep this dumb grin off her face. She figured she looked silly at times, but that didn't matter. All that did was all this love in her heart.
She was about to speak up, when one of the other puppies (gods, how many were there?!) approached.
Magnolia had been napping, thank you, when Magpie returned and caused all of this hubub. Magpie, her mother, though internally she regarded her formally. She couldn't tell you why she thought that way, she just did.
Magnolia wasn't a dark cloud. She wasn't a stick in the mud, or a wet blanket. But something... dark followed her wherever she went. Her dreams, keeping her whimpering and kicking in her sleep, loosely featured her "good friend" Huck, but much more than that she couldn't recall.
Yawning, her little maw pulled wide over growing teeth, she got up and shook out her fur. Spotting Hidden Away, still a few feet from where most of the others were gathered, she ran over, deciding to beat the new mother to the group. Everything was a competition with Magnolia - and she just constantly had to prove she was better.
She practically plowed into Chickadee, who was sitting on another little wolf pup. A grin found its way onto her face, and she looked around. "Why are we all bothering my mom?" - which was met with an instinctual sigh and a stern "Now, now, Mags," from her mother. But Magnolia didn't care. She still just liked pointing out how much others liked her mom, and the fact that she got to claim her as her own. Not particularly a family-oriented puppy, she just always felt like she had something - anything - to prove.
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:28 pm
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Rain gave Magpie a small, sympathetic look. It wasn't like she'd been gone forever. But even the caretakers needed to stretch their legs and take a small break from all the pups. Their enery levels were head to keep up with at times! Sweet Lark did make her chuckle a little. The poor dear was always so hungry...
"How are you doing?" Rain asked Hidden Away as she joined them, watching Hidden Oak and Red Herring with some amusement.
Harpy just yawned widely, before nodding his head in understanding of Lark. "My momma says I am too. What sounds good then? He asked the other pup curiously. Maybe more of that chewy meat stuff? Or a bone to play with?! Ooooh, he'd love a bone to gnaw on and flip around with his paws and... he stumbled a little.
"Oops, sorry Chickadee. I forgot." Harpy gave his sister a little nuzzle before getting to his own paws and eagerly listening to the exciting things that Magpie saw.
Or, well, okay, not the most exciting things. The pup heaved a sigh. Then canted his head towards Magnolia. "Hiiiii Magnolia!" He called, wagging his tail. "We just wanted to know if there was anything exciting out there." He added in.
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:24 pm
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When Hidden Away stood up, little Red went tumbling backward in a not-so-gracious manner. "Oomph!" Rolling on her round tummy, her stubby legs went straight into the air and she found herself wiggling to right the suddenly colder wold. Grumbling growls as she attempted to stand and get comfortable again, she found her brother staring at her with an annoyingly chipper expression. "I'm not always tired." She was close enough to try and wave a paw at him, as if to boop him on the nose, but was just out of reach. "Its suppooooosed to be nap time." Giving up on her attempt assault, the small pup yawned wide, making a squeaking noise as she did.
Lark opened his mouth to respond to Harpy about the same time that his sister came in shoved him aside. Blinking, the brown pup had deja vu of himself and his siblings. Seeing the younger pup recovered, but then may have a touch of attention problems, Lark shrugged and looked about the circle for anyone who may provide him sustenance. Someone would have to feed him before he withered away into nothing.
Noticing the two smallest pups, who often received the most attention, he thought he might succeed in sitting nearer them. With that thought, Lark hopped to his feet and made his way over to the smallest, reddest puppies in their group. Looking inconspicuous as he could, he sat on his butt, glancing at the adults, and back at the puppies.
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2020 8:03 pm
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Truly, Huck thought, this was a Purgatory if it wasn't straight up hell. Out of nowhere came a baby boom, something he was now expected to take care of with a big smile on his face, because the future is in our children and all that s**t. Well, wouldn't Dad be just so ********' pleased, at least? Look at all these wolves just shacking up and finding true love or whatever and then banging 'til the moon came out, and then some still even. And now all the squealing idiots ran amok like they owned the place.
Granted, there were a lot of them at once. So maybe they did.
He wondered if he would die of irony poisoning for having to take care of his father's second batch of kids after basically being glared at for suggesting his own. (You know, for fun. And the good of the pack.) Two girls and a boy again, too! What a streak for ol' Thrush and his new piece of a** to enjoy.
Huckleberry hadn't thought about them aside from his angry internal rants--not that the baby fatass was anything special anyway--but strangely, he was starting to...well, if not be fond of the twins, at least tolerate them. They were weirdos, and he had to respect that on principle. Magnolia even seemed to be an up and coming work of chaos, assuming someone didn't quash her instincts now. Huck supposed that was what he was there for: to nurture the natural rebellious instincts all pups had when someone kept telling them what to do. Though how Magnolia and Lily were supposed to be twins went over his head.
Lily, by contrast...was weird. Really weird. Not, like, bad weird, at least to Huck, who surprisingly was pretty patient when it came to anything off-beat, but definitely not the sprightly pixie her sister was. She was clinging to him right now, in fact, perhaps drawn in by familiarity and the fact that he wasn't a gaggle of loud puppies whining at the other caretakers.
"C'mon, kid," he said after a moment, lifting his foreleg away. "Better just get it over with, right?"
Lily didn't mean to be silent as the grave, she just...didn't have a lot to say usually. Should she? They seemed to. From behind Huck's leg, she peered with owlish eyes at the group surrounding Magpie and Hidden Away, dreamy and yet shy, her mind already drifting away from the present. Magnolia was being aggressive as usual, and Lark was trying to wrest everyone away from Mom again. And the others...oh. What were their names again? Swiftfell members went by birds and trees, but when they started mixing them for names, Lily got confused quickly. Was it Red Oak or...Blue Oak? Little Oak? What was the girls' name again, the one with blue on her?
Her ears drooped as she tried to remember, as if the weight of her thoughts pulled them down. Lily knew she should be joining them, but...did she have to? She'd just be in the way, she thought, because she wasn't all that hungry, and she wasn't energetic like her sister. She was just sort of there, wondering weird things: like the fact that the new parents had below litter size averages. She had made a count after asking the healers, who had also given her a strange look for her curiosity. 4.25: that was the litter average so far. She didn't know what .25 would mean, unless she attributed it to stillbirths - she had heard the word before and asked Huck when everyone else had shooed her away from asking such a question. And these two mothers had given 2 and 3, with girls outweighing the boys again overall. That was also a Swiftfell trend for some reason.
It all wasn't really important, Lily figured, but it stayed in her mind like it was. Little things often did.
She blinked when the protection of Huck's body left her. Suddenly feeling naked, she took a step back. She could go to Momma, yes, but that was a long walk between Magpie and him...
"Look," Huck told her, dipping his head down so he almost looked at her upside-down. "If I have to deal with it, you have to deal with it. Just go sit with your mom or something if you're that scared."
Lily continued not to say anything. He sighed.
"Here, I know what'll cheer you up. I bet you everyone's already playing matchmaker with you pups," Huck told her, his smile strange still for its inverted position. "You could find twu wuv out there. Find your magical 4.25. Or more, if that's your thing."
Lily glanced at him but didn't seem appeased. Puppies making puppies seemed weird. Where did you put them? Although she supposed Lark could hold a lot if he wanted...
"Or! You can matchmake yourself and start calculating things. I dunno. I'll come with you, Lils, but either way we ain't stayin' here." And with that, Huck moved to join the group.
Lily froze for a moment, looked antsy for another, and then began to waddle after him like a duckling until she was able to close the gap with Magnolia. Quietly she skirted the play group and nestled against her mom, seemingly tired just from that short trip.
"Well, hoooowdy, everyone!" Huck greeted casually as could be. "I heard something about being hungry and exciting stories? I'm thinking we can solve both of those if we let them come with us on a hunting trip." He looked to Hidden Away, Rain Song, and Magnolia for confirmation, though it was more a smug challenge - for he knew most pups would prefer anything new and exciting, damn the risks. "I'd say they're starting to get old enough, right?"
[ 963 ]
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