Hide and Seek and Ghostly Peeks (Open)

[etheral]

Serity jumped, landing and sinking deep into the snow. Etheral chuckled as she watched her daughter. The little cub poked her head up, tail twitching, and she sneezed. Serity jumped out and proceeded to jump through her mother’s previous paw prints. ”Mommy! Lily and I want to play hide-and-seek with you!” She called out, after holding a short conversation with herself. Etheral chuckled. ”Okay sweetie.” She was tired, yes, but there was the joy that, for once, Serity wasn’t getting herself into trouble for a bit.

”Mommy! You hide first!” Etheral nodded, then gently batted the cub behind the ears. ”Hey! No cheating, close your eyes, silly!” The cub/pup did as she was told and clenched her eyes closed as Etheral bounded her way up a tree so she could watch the cub while she hid. There was no telling when the little cub would become distracted and wander off to do something else.

After counting, she opened her eyes and began peeking around and running about. Etheral chuckled quietly, crossing her front paws and resting her chin on them to watch the little cub run about. Eventually Serity paused...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Serity paused, tilting her head to the side. Her tail flicked side-to-side, as she’d seen her mother do from time to time. A bluish-white tail flicked behind a tree, and Serity cautiously trotted up to it and gently batted it on the tip. It was similar to her mother’s... though her mother’s had more black and blue on it. The owner of said tail pushed itself up and turned. For a moment, Serity stood there, frozen with a fear. It was a large... feline cat. It had similar markings as patches of her mother’s fur, though. The same, vivid blue of her mother’s fur coloured a few of the dots closer to the feline’s head, and ran down the teeth. The first emotion to hit her was a vivid fear, and she was about to run away before it... laughed.

The sound was light and musical. “I’m glad I got to meet you, little one.” It said. The voice was soft, comforting... like warm milk and honey.
”Who are you?” She asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.
The great feline chuckled, ”Luka. I’m your grandma.”
”Why didn’t mommy tell me about you then?”
”She doesn’t know I’m here, little one. Do you promise to keep it a secret?”
The little cub nodded, eyes wide. An excitement fluttered through her stomach at the prospect of keeping a secret from her mother. It was so daring she was eager to do it.
”Okay, little one, I’ll hold you to that promise. Go play with Lily and your mom.”
”Do you know where my mommy is?” She whispered, in case her mom was near-by and could hear her.
The feline’s tail subtly flickered upwards before she gave a wink and strolled into the bushes, disappearing.

Serity giggled, already half-forgetting the feline’s presence as she snuck up under the tree and looked up. ”Mommy! I found you! She giggled, and life returned to normal as her mother bounded down, chuckling, and playfully batted at her.

[black]

Fang watched the game from afar, gathering herbs. When Serity paused, she didn't miss the fact that she seemed to be talking to someone. Her eyes widened in surprise and she tilted her head. No, there was no one. And yet... She placed the herbs she had gathered by a tree and came up to greet Etheral. "Hello Etheral, Good morning Serity. How are you two today?" She smiled warmly at the two. "Isn't it lovely this morning?"

[etheral]

Mother and daughter fell to the ground, Etheral taking extra precaution so as not to squish little Serity. The two were laughing and giggling. When Etheral caught the scent of a familiar wolf, she gently nudged the cub/pup, telling her it was about time to settle down. ”Awe mom!” Was the little protest that came from the youngster, but soon she was distracted by her mother’s flicking tail, and busied herself with that for a while.

”Good morning Fang. And yes, it is lovely this morning.” She gently pushed Serity over with a paw, allowing the cub/pup to try and escape from under the hold with some amusement. She chewed on the pads of her paws, little sharp teeth causing some discomfort. And this was why Etheral had decided to wean the little things. ”What brings you out this early?” She asked the other wolf idly, taking her attention off of her fighting daughter. As long as she kept a paw on her, she wouldn’t have to worry about the little thing running off. A light smile twitched at the corner of her mouth.

[aidenandaevon]

Aevon lept suddenly from the bushes, pouncing squarely on topof Etheral's paw, which was on top of his sister. "Rawr! Gotcha! That's my sister!" Though his basic shape was more like a wolf, he had the claws of a cat, and the basic movement and flexibility of one as well. He attacked the paw, using his hind paws, no claws, to attack, while he used the front paws and his teeth to hang on. but he fell off not long after and tumbled, laughing and started rolling over and over in the dirt. "Hi Mommy!" His tail wagged. Then he rolled over in attack position again and, his rump swinging from side to side, he pounced at his sister.

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Aiden chuckled at the sudden pounce from the bushes. He came up from behind Fang. "He's getting better, no?" He indicated Aevon. "He'll be as good as you one day, Etheral. So Fang. What was it you wanted to talk about? Or did you want to say something privately?" He smiled. "I know sometimes you like to speak personally with people."

[etheral]

Etheral’s attention was suddenly drawn from Fang as her son pounced out of the bushes, attacking the paw that was holding down his sister. She chuckled, ”Woah, there, tiger.” She teased the young cub/pup as he pranced and squirmed around. ”Hi Mommy!” He called to her, before jumping for his sister after she raised her larger paw off the cub/pup. The two scrapped about, and Etheral was able to turn her attention on the other two adults.

For a moment her eyes lingered on her mate, but then they returned to Fang. ”Yes, was there something you wished to discuss with me? Or Aiden and I?” Her eyes glanced down at the two playing youngsters. Aevon had Serity by the ear and was tugging lightly while Serity pawed at his hind legs. She tried to hold back a small grin as she returned all of her attention to the two adults.

[black]

Fang giggled at the cuteness of the two little pup/cubs. "Actually, i wanted to know if i could talk to your pups for a little bit. Do you two mind?" Fang realized her request was unusual, so she added, "I want to be sure they're in good health." It was just an excuse, and she was sure Aiden would see that, but she hoped he would let it pass and trust her with this. She didn't want them to know exactly what this was about, in case they'd ask too many questions.

[aidenandaevon]

Aevon pinned her and nipped her ear. "Ha! Got you!" Then he blinked at hearing that he was being talked about. He jumped off Serity, then leapt toward Fang, tagging her. "Tag! You're it! Now you have to count and find us before you can catch us long enough to do a checkup!" He laughed, running a safe distance away, then turning around and placing his paws before him, his rump sticking in the air like a wolf normally does when they want to play.

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Aiden was about to respond when his son came out of nowhere and tagged Fang. Aiden listened to him, then laughed at the challenge. "I don't mind. However, it seems as if, if you would like to do that, you will have to play a little first. What do you think Etheral?" Aiden myscheviously watched her. "Think we should let the big, powerful Aevon beat our sweet, innocent Healer?" He winked at her to play along.

[etheral]

Etheral laughed, watching as Aevon came running over and tagged Fang. "What do you think Etheral? Think we should let the big, powerful Aevon beat our sweet, innocent healer?" "Oh, I'm sure Fang can hold her own." She chuckled, watching as Aevon ran off. Serity followed after them, and Etheral chuckled, leaning over and nuzzling Aiden before licking his cheek.

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Serity poked her head up, frowning as Aevon ran off. Well that wasn't any fun! Pushing herself up, Serity ran after her brother. "Tag! You're it! Now you have to count and find us before you can catch us long enough to do a check up!" Then he ran off again. With a high giggle, Serity followed after him, tripping over her paws and tumbling into him. "Run, Aevon! She's gonna catch us!" She squealed, struggling to her paws and running off again.

[aidenandaevon]

Aevon tripped after his sister ran into him, but he quickly bounced up again and kept going. "AHHH! Sis! Wait for me!" he cried. He didn't want to look back in case Fang was behind him. He saw a tree and ran around it, stopping on the other side to climb up with his claws. But he could only get to the first branch, and was too afraid to go higher. He flinched as he looked down, realizing climbing was probably not the best thing for a pup that didn't know how to get down. But he pretended to look brave, trying to hide in the leaves of the first branch.

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Aiden smiled as he watched the three of them run off. He then was surprised by Etheral, who leaned toward him to nuzzle and lick his cheek. He blinked and looked at her, his eyes softening up at the sight of her beautiful face. "Etheral..." Aiden, so completely satisfied with his mate and pups, couldn't help but nuzzle her back, then laying his head over her shoulders, breathing her sweet nectar-like scent in. "My one and only...."