Had I been able to read the boys mind I would have been rather thrilled at the knowledge that I was his chosen idol. Of course, I would have hardly been surprised, such a thing is a given and indeed, aside from perhaps Devil himself, what other wolf has achieved nearly so much as I? I considered myself my own idol. Don’t be surprised, you already knew my ego would eclipse the sun if such a thing were entirely possible. Even so, chosen idol or not, that the boy had some obvious fear or at least…reservation in regards to his other grandsire is both unusual and amusing to my mind. I suppose the towering black male who I knew as my closest friend was perhaps a little….intimidating to a small puppy and yet really beyond that I fail to see anything truly terrifying about him. Then again, I suppose I’ve never seen him truly angry, the only time I’d witnessed his utter aggression had been when we tore Laila apart and since I had been involved I had hardly been given to notice his state. I shrugged it off for now, violet gaze returning to the boy prince, the child reminding me truly of my younger self all those years ago- though I was fairly sure I had not been so large, nor my paws so disproportional to my body. He’ll grow into them of course, which is fear inducing in itself. I’ve worked rather hard over the years to ensure my bloodline maintains a suitable size and indeed I never approved of Kiska and Devil’s union, the female until too….rock like. I can only hope my grandson favours my side more in that regard and will not grow to be some slow, towering giant.

I chuckled softly at his attempt at a wink, rather pleased he could even manage it at such an age, most pups seeming to have a rather limited ability to move one eye independently of the other, in fact I found it rather amusing really to see them try. I nodded at his promise to maintain this secret between ourselves, the boy apparently enjoying our moment of espionage. Well, let us see if he is true to his word, I have no doubt I shall find Isola or Kane within my den if he makes any mention of it. Not that I really see the problem, he’d learn the word eventually anyway- I was merely advancing his education on the matter. The boy seems thoughtful once more as we return to the matter of Devil and for a moment I was half-inclined to wonder what his opinion on my teaching the boy profanities was. Hmm, perhaps I’d ask him later, even so I merely offered Achilles the suggestion of taking his other grandsire something eatable the boy seeming to find some fault with this suggestion, his features forming a scowl of sorts before asking me to help him carry it. Both eyes lifted in mild surprise at the suggestion. Well, I suppose it was logical, a deer leg was rather heavy for a child and hell, maybe if I was present the boy would feel more comfortable. I hardly know, I know only that it would be a near sin for him not to learn from the large, blackened male. We will work on this.

“Yes, I will help your carry it.”

I allowed a smirk of mild amusement to touch my features once more before the boy seemed to find another issue with my suggestion of his sparing with young Guardian, evidently he feared the dirt, another chuckle rumbling with good natured ease within my throat. Truly he was one of my own, this one, I can only hope his future siblings are much the same. Clearly my suggestion of the long grass was suitable to his mind, the boy near beaming as I grinned once more. I am not totally immune to flattery, even from a child and really, it was a rather clever idea if I do say so myself. I lifted my gaze from him a moment, violet eyes turning to linger upon the pack land that surrounded us before I brought up the topic of siblings. He is, after all, an only child in most manners of speaking. I know Isola has taken in a stray girl and the daughter of Yojimbo on good will, yet in the end, he is her one, true born son, her attention towards him has never truly been divided and I have every reason to believe young Achilles may get quite a shock when younger siblings take his place, in a way, Isola and Kane sure to focus their attention entirely on the newborns. Clearly they have failed din their parenting to prepare the boy for this, my lesson having been learned when it became evident that Isola, Ammy and Ally were given to be more than a little jealous of the attention given to the litter that followed. I suppose I can do my daughter this one favour and educate her son for her. I allowed another grin to ease it’s way onto my features at his words, chuckling lightly, tail flicking in amusement at his words. Yes, I liked this one.

“Yes, that seems a very good plan to me, I hardly ever waste my time on he unworthy and nor should you.”

Well….providing he found his siblings worthy I saw no problem encouraging him, what would happen should he find them displeasing I hardly knew, oh well, I tried. The boy grinned again, looking truly like Isola in that moment before offering a final comment about the use of the word pretty over handsome. I sighed, eyes rolling. This was a topic I had discussed many times with Isola herself, the girl of the firm belief that the word ‘pretty’ was far superior, failing to understand that it was better used in regards to females. Evidently her son had the same affliction.

“Your Mother likes the word pretty a lot more then she should and yes, you should tell her, in fact, tell her grandfather says that handsome is a far better word then pretty.”

I smirked teasingly, yes, wouldn’t that get her going. Chuckling once more I lifted back to my paws, reaching down to nudge the pup, nearly a yearling now really. We’d been gone for some hours and indeed I had no intention of having Kane come looking for us. I waited for Achilles to come to my side before stepping forward, gesturing to the rocks and cliffs.

“Now, do you think you can climb down by yourself or do I need to carry you again, hmm?”


h e y e l
The Original Angel