Barely an adult himself, Halcyon didn’t know what he was in for by trying to calm the two newborns down during the rain storm. He was in for an embarrassing surprise. The small boy seemed oblivious to most thing, almost the polar opposite of his hyper and rambunctious sister. He scooted closer to the russet boy in order to get warm and needed to let everyone know that Halcyon was no capable of producing milk. At the mention of his “pee-pee” Halcyon’s eyes widened and if he could blush, his fur would be an even darker red. He sputtered incoherently for a moment before shaking his head a bit too violently. “N-no I don’t have any milk. I’m.. a… well you see. I…um…” He didn’t know what to say. Luckily, he didn’t have to say much. The attention span of the young will always remain short. There were too many questions to ask and not enough time to ask them in.

Lazarus and Aster. Those were the names given to the future heirs of the swamp land pack. It seemed to suit them somehow. Suddenly, the girl, Aster, coughs and sputters and screams that the water has hurt her again. Cocking his head to the side, Halcyon leaned down and saw her nose wet with the rain water from his fur. He couldn’t help but chuckle again. Was he this inquisitive when he was their age? Probably. “If you sniff the water down your nose, it’s going to hurt. Water isn’t for sniffing, it’s for drinking. But, you probably won’t drink it until you’re a bit older.” He hoped he was explaining things right. The last thing he needed was for the heirs to the throne to go around sticking their faces in water and blaming him.

The pups rested next to him, the runt pressing into his underbelly for warmth, and Halcyon felt better knowing they were safer now. Hopefully, Aithne would not come home in a bad mood and discover her children cuddling next to someone who wasn’t her. Weren’t mothers super protective of their young? Aster speaks up again, asking what “majesties” are and it takes the older boy a moment to figure out what she meant. Then, his eyes went alight with understanding and he smiled. “‘Majesties’ is a title, or a name, given to royal wolves. Because your mom and dad are the king and queen of the pack, that makes you a princess, Aster, and you are a price, Lazerus. When a lower subject, such as myself, speaks to you, we call you ‘your majesty’.” It had been the same thing Iblis had taught him when he was young. Course, it didn’t matter now. He was nothing more than a lost prince.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light sparks up the dull sky and moments later, the earth rumbles loudly as the thunder calls out. Halcyon flinched slightly, taken by surprise, but otherwise remained calm as the sound echoed into nothing. He didn’t think that something like that could terrify the small pups who cuddled next to him. It would be another lesson to learn on this stormy, spring day.