Over the seasons of fall and summer, Taika had slowly regained her strength in the safety of Taviora. The birth of her daughters had taken an initial toll on her body leaving her weak and prone to tiring easily. Coupled with the attack that had befallen her moments after her pups had first breathed in their life the woman had been rendered a physical and emotional mess. To even further multiply the young mother’s troubles, one of her daughters inherited her bone deep need to move. Constant exhaustion and worry had done much to wear at the woman’s spirit. As worn as she had become, the little lives that grew next to her had done much to bring her back to who she was.

Worry still tickled in the back of her mind even as she escorted her energetic daughter out of the forests. Masque pelted in every direction the trails did not go. She chased every shadow and every ray of light, barking and yapping happily at anything she found. It was not too long before she lost interest in the things she could chase, but would not chase her back. Trotting ahead just so she froze, soft puppy ears flicking back to listen to her mother’s easy steps. Seemingly without warning, the pup jumped into the air and bolted towards Taika. The mother grinned wickedly down at her daughter and braced herself for such an ‘attack’. There had been so many times when she had done the exact same thing to her own mother that she could not have recognized the devious gleam in Masque’s lilac eyes. The two collided in a tumble of fur. Taika had moved just enough to cushion her daughter’s body and send them both rolling in the dirt. Jaws agape so her sharp teeth would do nothing to harm her child, Taika tossed her head side to side while Masque nipped softly at her mother’s nose with every chance she got.

The pup had Taika pinned under her small body. One misjudged flail had her flopping off the chocolate colored lady who immediately took the opportunity to roll on top of the rambunctious child and cover her with her furry body. Masque whined pitifully under her mother’s bulk and paws at anything she could to try to escape. Taika continued to sit on her, feining deafness to the muffled protests issuing from beneath her. Finally Masque was able to wiggle out of her entrapment to begin nipping at the restraining brown paws. Smiling, Taika lifted and bapt her pup on the head while she rolled and played.

In the back of her mind, Taika had thought that she had come to the common lands with the dual purpose of finding any of her friends. But her daughter’s shining face distracted her as did the desire to play and get lost in the innocence she had once embodied.