Born in Badlands (tagged)

[Tiel]

CursedErin
@spiriaaurina
Rykett

((After Spira posts, we can do a time skip to when the pups are just old enough to start walking and talking))

Deimos:
Summer was fading into Autumn, but the change wasn't exactly noticeable in the scarcely vegetated Barrens, with the exception of the cool breeze occasionally brushing against your fur. You'd have to be closer to the woodlands to experience the real changing of the seasons, the fire-colored leaves and the crisp autumnal smell drifting through the air. But the Outer Reaches were home. Nothing said home like acres and acres of melancholy bleakness. This was where Deimos and Gaia would raise their pups. There were three in the litter, but they would only keep their second and third born. The other was to go to Geist where she could do who-knows-what with him.

Deimos sat in the den with his tail curled around Gaia as they watched their pups nurse. Deimos was focusing on the ones they were to keep, trying to come up with good names for their sons. He wasn't certain they were even going to name the first born son, but he would leave that up to Gaia.

Deimos nudged Gaia against her cheek affectionately, then whispered in her ear "What do you think of Rau? For the blue one?" He smiled down at that pup. Their second born. Second best. Since he couldn't keep the first best, second would have to do.

[Deleted]

The earthy she wolf laid curled around her three pups. Her lime green eyes went to the black pup with the distinct leopard patterns on it's pelt. She flattened her dark brown ears for a moment. The idea of giving her first born son to Geist bothered her. Her gaze moved away to the pups siblings. She only wished she didn't have to give up a pup but instead she looked up to Deimos just catching his words which pulled the mother from her thoughts."Rau works "She replied looking to the blue pup with a small smile before she spoke "I want to name our first born...if that is ok with you"She spoke looking to him for a moment before she pricked her ears a name coming to her almost immediately "I want to name him Zale..."She said looking the black pup before her gaze looked to their last pup yet to be named.

[Tiel]

Deimos:
So Gaia wanted to name their firstborn Zale. That was fine by Deimos. Gaia could call him Smelly for all he cared. That pup did not concern him. Only these two did. The two keepers. "Zale is nice." he said. It would probably make Gaia feel good about the choice, even if it didn't matter what they called that pup. To her credit, Zale was actually a great name, and it was almost a pity they weren't giving it to one of the others. Deimos touched his nose to the pup still unnamed. "We can call this one Eske."

—Time Skip—

(( Rykett CursedErin You guys can post with your pups anytime. Spira, would you like me to start a thread with Deimos bringing Zale to Geist, since Gaia would probably be too busy caring for her pups to do it herself?))

It was morning and the sun was slowly creeping up the horizon. The Outer Reaches were unusually cool, even for the time of year. Soon it would be winter. Everything dead, prey scarce. It was probably a good thing Deimos and Gaia had one less mouth to feed. It was just Eske and Rau. The two pups were becoming ever more independent. They were old enough now to play outside, as long as an adult was watching them. Deimos gazed upon his pups as they romped and explored, learning more about their territory. He hoped they'd grow up to bring honor to him and to their pack.

[Deleted]

(Yeah could you if you don't mind)

Gaia seemed to smile a little bit as he approved of the name she had chosen for the pup they wouldn't be keeping. Her hopes for his survival would be slim but she couldn't help but name the male pup as the name seemed to suit him.

Timeskip

Gaia pulled herself from the den watching Rau and Eske quietly pride shining in the earthy she wolf's bright greenish eyes. She settled down on her launches before she looked to Deimos,her mate ,before back to her romping playful pups."w ont be long before their causing mayhem for the pack instead of causing us trouble"She said smiling a bit.

[Rykett]

Eske listened to his paws pound against the sandmoor. His nose lifted higher as the wind blasted his face. He was finally out of that stuffy den! Eske had been confined to that tiny den for his whole. It had taken him a while to realize that there was something outside the den. His parents had to be going somewhere when they left, right? Once he knew there was more to the world and actually remembered it, Eske had wanted out!

Eske quickly decided that he loved it out here. It was so open. Eske circled the area just outside the den time after time. He attempted to memorize the location of every rock and pattern of sand. Such things quickly slipped from his mind, so he unknowingly ‘discovered’ the same rock several times. Eventually, the memory of the new area stuck long enough for Eske to become bored of the place he’d longed to be. He huffed softly and plopped down onto his haunches.

Then his blue eyes turned to the distant horizon. The world was so much bigger than he’d imagined. New color and scents assaulted his senses. Everything seems so ginormous in comparison to things inside the den. In there, the largest things had been his parents. Eske rotated slowly, eyes following the dips and mountains of the horizon. Then they fix on a splash of color. What were those plants out in the distance? They didn’t seem that big from this far away, but perhaps up close they were giant. Could Eske ever reach them? Did he dare try? Of course, there was no time like the present. If he put it off, he might forget it. Eske suddenly bolted towards the unknown, unaware of the invisible boundaries he was forbidden to cross.