The Halfling and the Exile

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Isaac whimpered softly again, but after a long pause he crept over to her and laid gently down, wriggling into a good spot to snuggle up against her. . . I don't like it. . . He murmured faintly, nudging his head under hers so she could use him as a pillow and he could see the pups. I'm going to close the doors now, okay? He didn't like the idea of it anymore, the novelty gone. But it would be useful, wouldn't it? The different arguments in his head were starting to make him cranky and he was tired already and a nap sounded like the best thing then. If he was lucky his dreams wouldn't be haunted by images of a catatonic girl he had never met before.

Sighing softly, Isaac went to his mental vision of himself and left her house, closing her door quietly behind him. Part of him lingered on the thought a moment, then quietly shut his own door behind him as well. The quiet felt strange after that, and he was grateful for the sound of the pups breathing nearby.
 
Niari let out a very quiet whine. She did not like the tone of his 'voice'. He sounded so.. sad. Upset. She hated herself for telling him about something that she should have known would only drag him down. Now he was closing her out. She gave a faint nod and looked away from him as he closed her out. After a moment, she gingerly laid her head down against his neck. His head was just a bit too high for her since he was larger. She closed her eyes, trying not to let the overwhelming guilt cloud her mind too much as she drifted off to sleep against him.

Perhaps everything would be miraculously better when she woke up... or maybe not. The pups remained asleep during the entire mental exchange, not stirring in the least as Niari fell asleep. They were all still piled on each other with random paws sticking out here and there as they snoozed. It seemed that everybody in the cabin needed a break for a bit of rest at that moment.
 
Isaac did, very gratefully, sleep without dreaming for the time that he napped. The nearness of beating hearts kept him soothed, the peace of the little pups sleepy snuffles and steady breaths a relaxing rhythm. He woke a couple of hours later with Marie - he had dubbed her that in his head already, with no going back - pawing at his muzzle and crying softly to him. She tried to lick at his face like he would have food to give her, the sounds she made mournful and pleading. He was her protector and provider now, as Niari was. When she needed something it was his job to get it.

Huffing a soft sigh, Isaac moved carefully out from under Niari, using his muzzle under her head to keep her from thumping to the ground, and moved away to shift back. "All right, pup, I'm coming," He soothed gently, grabbing his pants and pulling them on as he went into the kitchen. "I'll have your lunch ready soon, don't you worry." The formula was easy enough to make and put into bottles, the pups that were awake puttering around behind him in the kitchen as if they knew the smell of it already.

Unfortunately, in the time it took to mix everything and ready the bottles, three of the five pups had already gone and peed on the floor.

Isaac groaned, picking up a couple of them and taking them quickly to the front door to help them outside. "Out here, little ones, out here. You go here, not in there." He couldn't bring himself to be angry with them or berate them. They weren't house pets and had only been in the house a limited time. It was a wonder they hadn't done it sooner.

"Niari!" He called back into the house as he waved the other pups out to him. "Wake up and be careful! There were . . . multiple accidents."
 
Niari curled up into a ball around the pups when Isaac moved away, her sleeping mind determined to hold something warm. However, that ended up being a downfall to her rest, because the pups soon started moving as they heard Isaac making food. They started climbing over her in their eagerness to get to him, and she woke up. One eye open, she peered at the one pup left in her hold. Socks. He was standing there staring at her, tail wagging like a thrilled puppy and mouth hanging open. What an adorable, silly creature. She licked his face, watching with amusement as the gesture caused him to fall over.

Isaac was saying something about going outside. Oh dear. Had they been making messes? She yawned and shifted, standing up and looking around. Ah, yes. There was potty training to be done.. at some point. That would likely take a while since they had never been introduced to the concept, but they were young and wolves were highly intelligent, so perhaps it would not be too bad. At least all of the floors in the cabin were hardwood and not carpet. She carefully navigated her way to the kitchen and got the supplies necessary to clean up the messes, making quick work of them.

"It's fine, I got them," she called out to Isaac since he was still outside with the pups. She washed her hands and finished shaking up the bottles that he had made, then she went and got dressed while she waited for them. Feeling better, she sat on the floor with the bottles, earning herself a mini-stampede as they started rushing in from their adventures in the grass.

"Oh goodness! Calm down, calm down, there's enough for everybody!"
 
Having the pups come to him and setting them outside was the easy part, the little ones eager to come running at his call and their sibling Socks eventually following too. Trying to convince them to go was harder. They explored the grass a little, and finally when the remaining two realized their little bladders were full they did their business wherever they'd been standing and he commended them with encouraging tones and little pets when all of them were done. They seemed to like it, so he hoped if he kept giving positive feedback they would learn all on their own that outside was where they should go. It would just take some patience until they could control themselves long enough for a door to be opened for them.

He set them back up the one step two at a time, laughing a little as they waddle-ran as fast as they could to where Niari was sitting and yipped and pawed at her. When they were all inside he followed finally, closing the door and coming over to sit next to her. He scooched a couple of pups out of the way and took some of the bottles from her.

"Thank you for cleaning that." He said with a little sigh, shifting the bottles to face down so the pups could start drinking. "I'd almost forgotten about potty training. . ." The two of them could use the bathroom, or hold it until they could go running outside to the trees. These little ones didn't know any better and were more likely to just squat whenever they felt the need.

((I'm off to work early again -_- I hate early shifts))
 
"Oh, it's fine. We'll get it down eventually," she assured him with a smile, cradling three pups in her lap as she fed them. The little piggies were suckling as hard and fast as they were able, making her question again just how much wolves ate. A grown wolf could eat an entire deer, but she knew nothing of the pups' appetites. She watched them closely, eyeing the bottles as they got lower and lower. However, before they got to the last quarter of the formula, they started to slow. Eyes were fluttering with that adorable milk-drunk expression and they seemed to suckle more out of habit than hunger now. So, one bottle each was still enough. Today she would be careful to pay attention to how frequently they ate. That would help them figure out how much formula they would need each week.

"I'm going to start writing things down. How often they need to go outside, how much they eat, when they want to eat.. If we can figure it out and get it down to a loose schedule, we'd have a better idea of what they need. That way we won't run out of formula and we can cut down on accidents," she suggested, looking over at Isaac and the two pups he had in his own lap. One was the girl who never left his side. What had he said her name was? Maria? Pretty little lady.

[Good luck o__o]
 
Isaac was smiling a little to himself as the pups drank, their little tails wagging and making quiet, eager sounds. He cooed softly to them and gave them a few little strokes over their soft fur as they ate their fill. It was oddly comforting, watching them get lazy and sated, still sucking at the bottles even though it was clear their little bellies were full. One pup stopped finally to curl up in his lap, and Marie kept going until the bottle was empty and he had to take it from her or she would only be sucking air.

"That's mostly what I bought the notebook for." He murmured softly as he pet at his girl, rubbing her ears gently as she cuddled up to his stomach. "I think we should just start taking them outside once an hour, and after naps. Just in case. Then we can keep track of how much they actually need." If all they did was run around in the grass, that was fine too.
 
Niari nodded. It was a good idea to take them out frequently anyway. They were outdoor creatures. The problem was that they were so small, there wasn't much for them to do at the moment other than waddle through the grass. Thankfully, they seemed to find doing just that entertaining, and she knew that she would never tire of watching them do so. She smiled at the thought and set aside the bottles as they emptied, ending up with three pups snoozing on her legs, bellies round with formula and ears twitching as they dreamed.

"Perhaps we should bring them over to see the other children later on. They can't shift yet, but I'm sure they would like being around creatures as small as they are," she suggested to Isaac. They also had to continue the naming process. Two down, three to go. She examined the pups in her lap. There was Socks/Myren, and next to him was a girl who was clearly the runt of the litter. A tiny thing with dark grey fur and a white streak between her ears that looked like a star. Hmm..
 
Isaac considered the idea as he shifted the pups into comfortable positions, curled up together in his lap with him leaning back against the couch. "I don't know. . . Maybe after they've spent a bit more time here? I don't want them to get scared or overwhelmed." He sighed softly. "Marie seems scared by a lot. . ." She was more confident with her siblings right next to her, but she shrank back to him every time something happened. He worried she would be afraid.

"And, we should probably name them first." He petted gently at the little boy pup I'm his lap. "I think I'll call this one Stark. . . No real reason. I just like it." It was a strong name, he thought. Stark would be a good brother to his siblings. As soon as they learned to share their toys like good little wolves.

((Back to work I go. Only a few hours left -_-))
 
"Stark.. I like that name," Niari agreed, nodding once. She wasn't going to argue about bringing the pups to see the children, because he was likely right. It could be too much, too soon. She did not want to overwhelm them, simply keep them entertained and ensure that they had enough opportunities to be sociable. That would come in time. She relaxed and gently rubbed the belly of the little runt girl in her lap.

"I will call this one Arcady, after the star," she decided, her fingers tracing the white star carefully. The Star of Arcady was, of course, simply another name for the North Star. Perhaps with such a grand name, the little one would not be so bothered by her tiny stature. Myren, Maria, Stark, Arcady, and.. She turned her gaze toward the last pup in her lap. A boy. He was very fluffy, with light grey fur mixed with white. She could tell just by looking at him that he was going to be large. Big paws and a long tail all curled up in a ball against her thigh, little nose twitching.

"Hm.. What about this one?"
 
Isaac smiled a little at the way the runt of the litter whined happily at the belly rubs, even in her sleep. Arcady. It was a big name for a little dog, but he liked it. It made it sound as if she would go on to do great things. That meant there was only one left to name, and he thought they should agree on the name for the last pup together. It was only fair, wasn't it?

"Hmm. . . Maybe not something with an M." He said. "Too many of those already. . ." This was more difficult than he'd expected. "A dog named Bear? Is that silly?" He wasn't sure. He wanted to give them names that fit them, but also thought that it wouldn't really matter just yet. Their personalities would develop later on, and he and Niari would learn to associate each name with what the pup was like. "We should list a few and pick one together."

((Sorry it's pretty short, I'm a little fried from work))
 
Niari nodded in agreement as Isaac pointed out that it probably shouldn't be a name that started with an 'm'. Two out of five was enough. She looked down at the last pup, wondering what he would go for. When he mentioned Bear, she couldn't help but giggle. A wolf named Bear. That was rather silly. She looked over at Isaac, who seemed lost, but she gave him a reassuring smile and a nod.

"I agree.. about the listing a few part. I think that naming a wolf Bear might get kind of confusing down the road," she said, patting him on the shoulder with a smile. "Let's see.. What are a few good names to choose from? We'll put Bear on the list.. and.. hm.. Ridge? No, that sounds kind of hostile.. I don't know! I think he's going to be rather big when he grows up, but I don't see how that helps as far as choosing a name. We could just call him Mister Fluffykins and call it a day," she suggested, laughing.

[It's okay!]
 
Isaac sighed when she touched his shoulder like he needed consoling, then just smiled a little and shook his head. "Bear, Ridge, or Mister Fluffykins." Those were options, but not really good ones. He didn't want to give the poor thing a name he would want to laugh at every time he said it. "What about Trip?" He suggested. "He'll be clumsy with those big paws. Or maybe Tip, instead."

Giving all the pups names just had him thinking about the future. It was for sure now - he was staying here, with a halfling to take care of and a litter of natural wolf pups between them. Giving them names meant they were staying for the forseeable future, possibly the rest of their lives if things didn't go as Niari wanted and they couldn't be found a new pack. Isaac briefly giving this last pup a name of one of the people he had left behind, but doing that would only make the memories come back even more frequently, and he was trying to move on with his life. He would just have to struggle to think of new names instead.
 
"Oh, I like Trip! It's cute!" Niari exclaimed with a smile, tickling the pup's big paws and making them twitch as the pup slept on. Trip. It suit him perfectly. He was always wobbling around and tripping over his siblings as they raced from one thing to another. Clumsy little thing. Now they all had names. Three boys and two girls. They were certainly going to be a handful. She smiled and snuggled them close, then looked over at Isaac, who seemed to be thinking about something else.

"Do you want me to take them for you, so you can go get your things while they nap?" she suggested, gently nudging him and nodding toward the pups he was holding. It would be good to take advantage of their slumber to get his belongings. That way he would have time to set his room up as he wished without pups running all around.
 
Even with Niari's voice next to him, for a moment Isaac felt very far away. He jumped a little when she nudged him, surprised, and blinked a few times to return to reality. Trip. Good, now they all had names, and they could start learning them as soon as possible. It would make things easier, hopefully, when they were old enough to respond to their names and would come when called. Still, Isaac tried not to think of it as training them like dogs. They were better than that, if only by a little. They were wild wolves.

"Hm?" Isaac paused distractedly to realize what she'd said, then nodded a little. "All right. I should do that eventually." He shifted the pups carefully off his lap and over to her so they wouldn't wake up, not wanting Marie to miss him. He got up after that and walked into the kitchen to retrieve his bag, and then back out to get his shirt, as well as his socks and shoes. "I won't be long. It isn't much." One trip and he would be back with the other clothes and the very few mementos he'd taken with him.
 
Niari carefully took the pups, cradling them along with the others to keep them from waking up. The soft warmth from the others kept each pup asleep, and she relaxed against the wall as she held them. She watched Isaac rise and collect his things, then she gave him a nod and a smile as he assured her that it wouldn't be long. Honestly, she hadn't expected it to take him long. He had already mentioned that he didn't have a lot, and she didn't think too much would fit in that shed he had been living in.

Once he was gone, she refocused on the pups. All accounted for, and all cozy. Good. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, relaxing. Things were going to be just fine. She had pups to focus on, and Isaac to help her with her hunger. They had a comfortable cabin of their own, filled with almost everything they needed. Tomas wasn't talking to her, but he wasn't blabbing her secret to the pack anymore either, so she couldn't really complain. Perhaps things were finally going to be better.
 
Isaac closed the door quietly behind him when he left, not wanting to disturb the pups on his way out. The walk to the shed he had slept in for the past month was peaceful enough, the pack making some noise near their own homes, children running around and playing outside, but no one very close to him. Maybe when the pups were older and needed less supervision he could even start befriending some of the others around them. He would have to stay somewhat reclusive at times, for obvious reasons, but he hadn't been social when he arrived so he thought that no one would think anything of it. He could just be labeled as an introverted type of person, who needed their space to recharge sometimes. It was unusual for a werewolf, but not completely unheard of.

Back at his shed, Isaac sat in the doorway and quietly packed up his clothes and the other things he had left on the floor, like a shark's tooth on a black cord that a traveling wolf had once given him, and a small wooden carving of a bird he had made for his uncle before the man had been killed. When it was all packed neatly into his bag, he shouldered it once more and looked at the mattress lying inside still, wondering if someone would need it moved back to where it had come from. But no one had asked and he decided just to wait and see if they would, giving a small shrug before shutting the door. He wanted to get back before the pups started to stir.
 
After a little while, Niari sat up a bit and opened her eyes. Well, might as well get something done while she waited. She moved to gently lay the pups aside, but then she paused. Wait a moment.. one, two, three, four.. Where was Arcady? She frowned and counted again, then again. A cold ball of panic was starting to set in to her stomach. The pup wasn't in her lap. She took a few deeps breaths, telling herself to relax as she looked all around the room. Under her legs, behind her, anywhere else in her line of vision.

Nothing.

She carefully set the other pups down, counting again as she did. Still not there. She quickly got up and began to search everywhere. Both bedrooms, under the beds, under the dressers, behind the doors. She hunted in the kitchen, even opening cupboards and peering under the sink. No pup. She searched the blankets, the couch, even the fireplace. Arcady wasn't anywhere. She whimpered and ran her hands through her hair fearfully, darting to the front door. It was still firmly closed. She opened it and looked all around on the porch. No pup. Nearly in tears, she looked up as she saw Isaac approaching.

"Arcady is gone! I don't know where!" she babbled hysterically. "I'm going to shift and track her down, make sure none of the other ones disappear!" And with that, she shifted, paying no mind to the clothing that she destroyed in the process with her hurry.
 
Isaac had taken his time coming back, admittedly, as much as he had walking to the shed in the first place. When he saw Niari burst out the door of the cabin, though, he shifted into a job to get to her faster, worried about what could have happened. Were the pups hurt? Was there some sort of half-vampire crisis going on again? It couldn't be so soon - she'd just fed, so it wasn't possible and he wasn't sure he liked the idea of whatever else could have happened. The only thing he could think of that would make her panic that way was something being wrong with the pups.

"Missing?" He asked, shocked, and tossed his bag into the house as she shifted. "You - You look outside, I'll check the cabin!"

Niari had probably already looked, but what could he do? He had to look again, just in case. Arcady was small, maybe she had found somewhere hard to hide in and had gotten herself stuck. Maybe she'd smelled food somewhere it shouldn't be and he wiggled into somewhere she didn't know how to back out of.

"Call to me if you find her, and I'll do the same." She'd said it would work over distances, right? He didn't need her to have permission for this - their pup was in danger!
 
Niari sniffed around every inch of the porch, then moved down to the grass. Nothing. The only scent of Arcady was the faint one she had left the last time the pups had been outside. She whined with worry and continued searching, going all the way to the woods. Not even the faintest of traces. She circled the cabin twice, finding nothing except for a dead chipmunk. No pups wandering, no Arcady stuck somewhere and whimpering for help. It was as though the pup had vanished entirely.

That was when she felt it. The push on her mind as though somebody was barging in uninvited. She growled at the intrusion, her entire body tensing as she heard the familiar voice calling out to her. With no hesitation, she slammed the mental door shut and bolted back into the cabin, quickly skirting the pups and running into Isaac on purpose to be certain she had his full attention.

I'm going into the woods. Arcady is there. You have to stay HERE with the pups. Do. Not. Let. Them. Out. Of. Your. Sight.

She punctuated the command with a growl, then turned and quickly ran back out of the cabin without another word, running into the forest. The only thing that mattered now was getting that pup back where she belonged. Everything else could be dealt with later.
 
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