a love like this

ONYXIA FEAR IS ONLY WHAT YOU MAKE IT

There wasn't a part of her that wasn't consumed by the warmth of her children. Each one of them nestled up into a different part of her fur. Their smell, their small paws and ears, the way they looked at her. She couldn't help but to soak up every moment. There were times where she was lost in total bliss, and others that she felt the anxiety swell within her. Was she doing a good job? Were they getting enough nutrition, was she present enough? Ruel had to step in many times to ensure she was also getting enough sleep. It seemed to evade her when she felt the constant need to check if they were simply still breathing.

Being a mother was so exhausting, yet rewarding.

Her cold nose pressed into the cheeks of each one of her children, "Oberon, Mishka, Saphira, and Noah...you don't know how you all changed my life for the better," she said in a nearly quiet whisper. Four. Four sets of paws, ears, tails and eyes. What a surprise it was to them both that she had carried four small children, especially after laughing in the face of the Nurse who told her it would be.

"Time to get up," she began to roll over to her side, being careful she was in the clear before doing so. "Sleep is nice, but let's go explore the castle?" She nudged each pup carefully, the small groans causing a soft smile to tug at her lips.

code by claerie

Sleep embraced him and yet it was never a luxury that would last for long as the youth would always stir. Always rise to greet the moon, the stars, the sun; whatever lingered in the sky to illuminate the halls in gentle flickering light. All that paved a path for his… misadventures. Each waking hour the foxian youth made one attempt after another to wander the estate unsupervised, leave nothing but the forged stories of his imagination guide his paw steps and risk delving into places his parents forbid. Surely something exciting resided behind proclamations of safety. They were just keeping all the fun for themselves or, more likely, didn’t want him to make a mess of things or steal away with important items.

No matter what they tried to hide exhaustion dampened their gaze, it was as clear as the reflections of love which shone alongside it. However, in these fleeting moments, both Ruel and Onyxia were granted a semblance of peace. For the cover of dreams kept Noah from trouble though did not silence a racing mind as it fabricated stories behind closed eyes. Limbs twitching and kicking against his brother Oberon, the unfortunate soul he’d settled closest to as they’d whispered of what the dawn may bring. Of how they would wake to wander beneath the stars - only for such a mission to fail as they’d slipped into slumber.

At least until the shock of a cold nose pressed into fur, eliciting a groan from his lips as he flopped over as if to ignore his mother’s rousing. Just a little bit longer. That’s all he asked for. Only for something more enticing to reach his ears and bring the shield of lids to crack open. Explore the castle? What castle would just let them all in like that? Not that he particularly cared for such an answer as everything within him focused upon adventure. Limbs stretched - being sure to press off whatever siblings he could reach - before finding themselves beneath him. The boy’s tail waving wildly behind him as he stared up at his mother, “Are we goin’ now mama? I wanna esplore!” And he would do so with or without the others.

The boy of embers was just as easily content sleeping as he was awake along his siblings or parents, or both. Noah kept him up into the nights, and dragged him along side him during the day. Sleep was an easy feat for the boy, though only if his pest of a brother would keep his feet out his ribs, stomach, or off his rump- whichever they landed on was dependent on where they all succumbed to the hours of slumber. His sisters were a most welcomed company, but they rarely told stories long enough for Obe to drift off to; Noah was best at embelishing tales (the things he says he's done, or will do) so as to keep Oberon interested, not matter how tall the tales may be.

Oberon himself dreamt of said tales, easily treading the dreams that were no doubt curated by the tales of Noah. And it seemed the more he dreamt, the deeper he was wrapped up in his slumbers. And so, when a voice coo'd to him, it was distant but familiar and soothing. It was Onyxia, coaxing the four pups awake from their sleeping states. A short snore came from the smaller of the twins, a sigh following after as he settled further into the warmth of whoever was closest to him- Mishka? Saphira? He couldn't feel a paw in his side, so it couldn't be -- a mere second after this thought, four paws were finding purchase on his side followed by a groan and all too exuberant bounce upwards and across his body, and likely their sisters as well. A fiery orb flittered open as he was drawn from his dreams and was attempting to locate the source of this disruption.

Slowly his other gem would reveal itself and he gave a shake to his pelt before starting into a stretch, heavy lids were adjusting to waking anew and he glanced up to Onyxia before following the path of a bounding Noah. His stretch ended with him left in a sitting position, his little muzzle parted with a yawn before soft chords mumbled between little exaggerated yawns, "Too earlyy for esplorin.. maybe yous should carry me on your.. shoulders, Mamaa" he gave a lazy blink before his lips connected to form a smile, his tail thumping behind him as he glanced up to Onyxia.

A single eye flicked open as the sounds of her brothers' voices filled the air. Saphira groaned, snuggling deeper into her mother’s warm fur. Truthfully, she had no desire to get up and wanted to sleep all day, but her mother and brothers were persistent. One wanted to 'esplore,' and the other seemed to think their mother was a horse.

Saphira groaned again as she wiped her small paw across her eyes. She carefully rolled out of the way of her siblings, trying not to put too much weight on her sister Mishka. Her brothers, on the other hand, got a face full of small toes as she rocked herself onto all four paws.

She said nothing to them and instead let out a long yawn, clearly still tired and wanting to go back to sleep. Onyxia, however, wasn’t having it and urged them all to go out and play, promising to follow close behind. Saphira, feeling a twinge of jealousy at her sister Mishka, who was still snoozing, decided to wait for her to wake up.

Onyxias gentle whisper wasn't enough to rouse Mishka from her deep slumber. She was always so wired when it was bedtime, and she was the daughter that fought tooth and nail until the very last second; until she was so exhausted and over-tired that she would waver, rocking back and forth as her heterochromatic eyes fluttered, struggling to stay awake. And often, she'd faceplant forward, limbs splayed in all directions, which may include into the side of one of her siblings, and the second her head hit the plush surface, sleep overtook her.

She'd been like this since day one, and probably wouldn't change, much to Onyxia's chagrin.

"Time to get up," again, her voice. While it was pleasant to her ears, the idea of waking up definitely wasn't a nice thought at all. With a grumble, she purposefully rolled away, stuffing her face into whatever was close to her which ended up being a piece of bedding. Her brothers awoke, their voices drifting over to her and the tiniest of growls rumbled from within the young girls chest. Don't they know how to keep quiet when others are sleeping?!

"Sleep is nice, but let's go explore the castle?" her mother nudged her then, and she was forced to relent. Unsteadily, she sat up, not opening up her eyes until she was nearly nose to nose with Saphira. Dual-coloured eyes blinked at her as they tried to adjust and focus, but sleep sand stuck to her eye lids and dried out her eyes.

And it took a few moments, but the word finally registered.

Explore.

Like a switch going off within her mind, Mishka was instantly awake. Swiping a paw across her eyes to clear them of whatever sleep was left, energy flooded her limbs as she jumped up and began to pounce and prance around her mothers limbs; weaving in and out of them like an annoying cat.

"Adventure! Let's go let's go let'sgolet'sgolet'sgo," her tongue hung from her jaws as she left her mothers side to pester her siblings to move faster.

ONYXIA FEAR IS ONLY WHAT YOU MAKE IT

They all groaned from their cozy little spots, and if she let them, she was sure they would have stayed in bed until noon. She knew better than to do that, though, as she didn’t want them to confuse morning with night—doing so would almost certainly cause her to lose sleep.

“Exploring,” she repeated with a soft smile as Oberon became very excited and Noah suggested he get a ride on her shoulders. She leaned down so Noah, and anyone else who wished to, could hop on. “Make sure you hold on tight; I don’t want to leave you behind by accident.” She would never do that, but sometimes kids needed a little fear mongering.

Saphira and Mishka were the last to roll out of their comfortable slumber, but they were excited all the same.

“Follow me,” Onyxia said with a smile as she led them out of the mansion’s quarters—a place she was still growing used to and was grateful that the children knew nothing else. At the back, in one of her favorite spots, there was a maze she knew all too well how to navigate. With four kids in a maze that had only one entrance, which also served as the exit, she would be careful to let them explore while keeping a close eye on the only way out. Even so, they had other options: a pond with some fish and a gentle waterfall, a large yard for running around, or a sunny spot for those who didn’t wish to exert all their energy and sunbathe instead.

“Where do you guys want to start?” A part of her felt like she was healing her own child through them, and she was so happy to be part of a life where they could just be children with no worries.

code by claerie