[ P ] Family Gathers

Cian sat near the entrance of an earthen den, utterly exhausted. His children had all been energetic, but these new pups brought the chaos to an entirely new level. And the difference between three rambunctious pups versus four was surprisingly stark. In other words… The ember-hued man found their latest brood to be rather overwhelming. Not that he would complain, for within the chaos was immense joy. He kept vigilant watch during the day: ”River, please don’t bite your sister. Indie, wait — be careful climbing, not so high! Maple, no — stay with the rest of us, okay? Now where’s Cricket…? Don’t wander too far!”

And so were the current days of his life. Journey had gone off to College, the first in their clan to pursue an education. Fern was away on her own quest. Summit came and went, but never strayed too far or too long without returning to the family. Piper and Soraya were teenagers now and discovering who they were as individuals. And Daisy… No one had been able to find her. The four youngest were still young toddlers, and there was seldom a dull — or quiet — moment.

Despite the constant activity, Cian still found time to worry and fret over his children that he couldn’t guard or protect. He thought of each of them every day, hoping that they were safe, happy. With a weary sigh, the brute pulled himself to his paws, casting a final glance at the den where his babies slept soundly before moving away, seeing the nearest stream. Instead, a familiar, beloved scent caught his attention, and flame-colored eyes darted about the forest expectantly as his tail began to wag.



@Soraya + @Clover

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

P

ouncing around the forest, Soraya often found herself honing her own skills and abilities. She would pounce on small prey and even things she couldn't really taste - like bugs. She wanted to be ready for the real world. She had no aspirations to go to college, or to join the military. She just wanted to grow in her own way, and her parents were not pushing her any specific way. If she had to guess, they would probably try to keep her home to watch the babies. Yuck! She was not going to be on baby duty. She hadn't even wanted her family to include these additions to the family tree. But it was out of their paws now. Firefly was soaring over her head, watching as she moved about the floor. He was always keen to stay close to her, watching out for any predators that might ant to bring harm to her.

She was chasing some bugs, until she found another thing chasing the bugs but in its own unique way. She stopped, her eyes stared at him intently. It was green and slimy, almost had a shine to its coat - if they even had coats. She could not be sure of this fact. Stalking close to the ground, her poppy-colored eyes watched the green little guy jump. She watched the way that the body was hoisted off the floor from just the pressure of the legs against the earth. How could it go flying? Did it have wings? She didn't see any feathers and didn't see any wings. She was studying this creature, and then when she felt she had it, she started to hop just like him. In her mind it was just like him, but in reality it probably looked more like a fox trying to hop like a rabbit/kangaroo monstrosity.

Firefly let out a soft shriek, one that pulled Soraya from her studies and mimicry. Lifting up her eyes, she looked and found her father close by. "Dad, dad, what is this?"

@Cian & @Clover

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Settling into motherhood again had been the most surprising challenge. It had been so natural and easy to adjust to the first few times around. This time it simply felt...different. Clover loved her children, all of them, so deeply and so profoundly, but she constantly felt a darkness surrounding her. No one else seemed to notice it or react to it whenever its presence was so stifling, sometimes she felt as though she could not breathe.

Focus...see yourself through it... The mother would tell herself as she witnessed the laughter and play of her pups through a vignette of shadow attempting to close in on her. She would have to fight it back, peel it away before it came to the surface. There was an immense fear of letting it be seen by her little ones, that it would somehow seek to swallow them into nothingness with her. Clover could not let that happen...no matter the cost.

Clover watched Cian leave the den and rested her chin back on her paws with a long sigh. She was curled up around the pups and begged sleep to whisk her away into dream with them. She couldn't even bring herself to close her eyes for fear that she would not wake up. Her ears flicked upward at the sound of one of her teenage daughters outside with her father and she slowly lifted her head. As carefully as she could, she rose, ensuring the babes were still sound asleep before she crept to the entrance of the den. A small smile settled on her lips as she simply watched father and daughter from afar, wary of putting too much distance between herself and the pups.

@Soraya @Cian

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

The male’s tired visage brightened visibly at the sight of his daughter — among the bunch, Soraya was by far the largest amongst the girls, almost rivaling the size of her father and elder brother Summit. And not just in size: of the entire family, Soraya looked most like Cian, more than any of the other children. Her attention was focused on a creature that, at first glance, looked like someone familiar… ”Prince?” Cian’s heart jumped hopefully — was it Fern’s beloved pet frog? But Fern wasn’t there and hadn’t been for weeks. ”Oh, it’s — it’s not Prince, is it? It looks a lot like him. A toad, maybe?”

The brute sighed as he turned to look at his daughter, her flame-colored eyes so like his own. ”Raya, I — I am glad that you are here. I miss you when you’re gone. And… There is s-something I wanted to talk to you about.” He hesitated, feeling an odd sense of nervousness as he addressed his fiery offspring. ”Summit came to me recently. He was… concerned. I hear that — that you have been considering a — um, different life path than — than what we m-might have expected,” he continued, heart thudding within his chest with anxiety. ”I – I can’t stop you from pursuing a military career. But you should know what it is really like before you make that decision.”

He inhaled sharply, bracing his nerves as he confessed his secret: ”I was born and bred to be a soldier, Raya. And – you deserve better than what that life can offer to you.” It was a secret he never intended to share, something he wasn't proud of, but if it spared him losing his child, then he would come clean about his warrior past.

He had failed to notice that Clover was near, close enough to hear…


@Soraya + @Clover

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

A

toad. She had never seen a toad before, but now that she thought about it, it did resemble Prince quite a lot. The way it moved, and the smell was very similar. But the numerous bumps on the skin, and the dirty look it had. It was much bigger than Prince too. So it made sense there was another "toad" thing hopping around as well. "What is it?" she asked as she straightened herself up and looked to her father, allowing the toad to bounce off into the unknown. As soon as she heard Summit's name, she knew what this was about, "Oh", was all she said to his claims. Tattle tale she thought to herself. She made a mental note not to tell Summit anything else that would not be approved by her parents. When he started talking, she was very confused. That was not something she had been told her whole life. It was new information. But if it were true, why was it kept a secret all this time?

"What? How? I don't understand..." She looked to him with her poppy-colored eyes, looking into the same colored eyes for answers. He seemed rather upset to be telling her this information, and whatever Summit told him, made it sound like she had said she wanted to join the army. Rafael already told her the army was bad, so that idea had already gone out of her mind. "When were you in the army? Who made you go into the army?" She had more questions now, not about nature or other animals she had found. Now it was about hidden truths. Firefly swooped down and rested on her shoulder, sensing the unease of his companion.

@Cian & @Clover

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Clover trained her ears forward, listening to them identify a toad bumbling about and she smiled softly to herself. She was perfectly content to allow them to have their bonding moment while she enjoyed it from her viewpoint. The conversation between father and daughter, however, seemed to take a rather unexpected turn. She could read it in Cian's body language before he even spoke up about a topic that had clearly added weight to his shoulders.

Furrowing her brows, she listened more intently, the serious matter turning to talks of a life path that Soraya had showed interest in with Summit. When Cian instantly began to reveal his previous life as a soldier, Clover's brows shot upward with shock, quick to understand why he was revealing this. She remained rooted to the spot, not intending on intervening, but certainly more invested in how in the world this interaction would continue. The very thing Cian did his best to protect his family from was now seeping its way into their lives...

@Cian

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

"When were you in the army? Who made you go into the army?" The questions hung in the air, a topic now made unavoidable — information that none of his pups had been privy to, at least not fully. Summit had some inkling, but it felt most important now to tell Soraya the truth — all of it, as horrifying as it was to remember, much less share with his daughter. Cian was silent for a lingering moment as Soraya’s faithful owl Firefly came to rest on her shoulder.


He began in solemn tones, ”My father.” The wolf paused; the traumas were now many years passed, but he had worked so hard to forget. Still, he knew transparency mattered. Clearing his throat, he pressed onward: ”Your grandfather was a cruel, angry man. He cared only about fortune and fame, and he was loyal to whoever could give him those things. He was determined that his sons would bolster his position in the kingdom. If he produced three vicious warriors, then…” Words tapered off into silence. Cian shook his head, deep orange-red gaze fixed upon his look-alike daughter. ”There were no choices. What he said, we had to do. We trained for hours, every day. If we didn’t live up to his expectations, the consequences were… severe.” An unconscious shudder crawled down the brute’s spine at the horrible memories he had pushed away for so long.


”He was preparing us for the military. For inevitable war. When I was a year old, I was sent off to the barracks to begin serving in the king’s army. I thank the gods every day that I left, for in doing so, I met your mother. I never had to fight in the terrible war. And I hope none of my children ever have to see a battlefield. If I had stayed, I never would have found your mother. None of you would be here. And I might not be here anymore, either. War and bloodshed are a terrible thing, Raya.” Deep vocals cracked with emotion. ”Please — please don’t join any man’s army. Your life should be — should be free, to go where you please, make choices beyond the confines of duty and — and not having to kill — or be killed — ever...” Ember-hued sights welled with tears at the thought of losing any more of his babies.


@Clover @Soraya

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck