[Echo]

e c h o //

It took him a while to rest up from his fight with the slavers, and that alone drove him absolutely mad.  He couldn't do his job, he couldn't go for short stroll, he couldn't even pee by himself without being babysat, and it was INFURIATING.  It's just to be sure you won't fall.  They said.  It's just to be sure you don't re-open our wound They said.  And he understood that, he got that they were just doing their jobs but, man oh MAN, he was so glad to get the clear to return to his duties and to return to the real world.  

Now, he could feel the tightening of the large scar as he walked, still feeling the fangs of that monster ripping into him, but it hurt less now, it had healed as best as it could, even though the stubborn male had once or twice walked out of the healers tree, and MAY HAVE reopened it.  But who really knew the real story anyhow. It was an ugly wound, the fur would most likely not grow back over it, as deep as it was, and it was a nice big, black bald spot on his side.  Which, al in all still blended in with his camouflaged fur pattern.  The other scars were still visible, but less painful, the scars on his muzzle and his face made him look more refined, or so HE thought.  

He didn't really care much for vanity though, he could be ugly as that son of a bitch he and Serrate saw when they rescued Absin-  when they rescued those Saborans, and he wouldn't give a second thought to his looks. (Though if he were that ugly, he might have to rearrange his own face)  What he had been wondering after all that time in the tree was just how everyone else had fared, had they lost anyone?  Had they gotten the children all out, safely, and in one piece?  He recalled one of the slavers taking a pup, and Sybella and Iron giving chase.  The thought of the quick witted gal brought a smile to his face, perhaps after all that time healing up, she'd gotten a job as a nanny after all, surely that would bring her some joy, looking after all those pups!  The thought widened his smile, and he made way to where he remembered her den being, deciding to bring her a gift as well, knowing he couldn't well hunt right now, he decided to gather some nearby flowers that smelled nice. He knew nothing about them other than that, but he figured she'd like them all the same.  

Taking his time, and silently cursing himself for not paying attention to the instructions given to him after discharge-  Echo was surprised and happy to hear the sounds of puppies nearby, and was almost beside himself to know that Sybella had gotten the nanny job after all.  She had to be absolutely thrilled!  He was incredibly happy for his friend, and the smile on his face widened and he clenched the flowers between his teeth a little tighter as he rounded the final tree that gave him a clear view of her den. "Shebewa!"  He said looking around to find her, and saw one, two, three- fourfivesix little pups running around.  

Echo smiled, and thought she must be so happy they're so cute, and small, and man they're very small- and they are quite young to be away from their mother and-  some kinda look like her and- that one looked like that one guy and-

...   o -  oh.  

[Sybella]

s y b e l l a

The days that followed the birth of her miracle children felt long; there was a lot of teaching, watchful eyes, and over-protecting. This was a lot like being a nanny but on some sort of caffeinated stimulant and running on absolutely no sleep. Oh, yes, because the nights felt long, too... Someone was always hungry in the middle of the night, or wanting to share a story, or waking from a nightmare. She did her best to let Iron sleep during these moments, but even more so she didn't want to miss a single thing. Even if they weren't doing everything to keep her awake, Sybella wouldn't bat an eye to avoid missing out on the lives of her pups. There was appreciation for each moment, refusing to have any feeling of lament over the challenges that came with being a mother. Rather, she embraced it. There was a new sense of pride and confidence that she carried, and so she tried her best to let that radiate with her children.

The lot of them had tired eyes themselves, though Moscow was adamant about not sleeping.
"NO SLEEP! PLAY. We sleep ALL NIGHT."
"Shhh, some of your siblings are not in agreement..." The mother would coo.
"AGREEMENT?" Why did she have to shout? Nevermind, it's fine. She can shout. It's fine.
"It means to have ideas that are different than yours. They want to sleep, even if you don't." Sybella kept a tone that remained fair and level, she always smiled.
Moscow huffed, stuffing her light-face into her mom's dark tummy to feed. Quiet for now.

That's when Sybella heard him, shouting between a mouthful of flowers. And wow were they pretty, and they smelled so nice! Were they for her? But before she could say anything, Moscow perked up and turned to look at the new stranger. The pups had very little exposure to anyone aside from their mother and father, so what a treat it was to see Echo with a mouthful of flowers!

"Hey, HEY! HEY!! HI! WHAT'RE THOSE?" The small ivory-and-blue body teetered with uneasy steps towards Echo, squeaky voice trying its best to reach all the way up to Echo's ears.

Sybella, swallowing hard to rid of the embarrassment that would have normally taken place, forced a grin. "Echo, I'm s'happy ta see ya! How'd'ya fair after th'rescue? I would have visited but I... I was a tad preoccupied." To say the last.

[Echo]

e c h o //

Echo was so surprised to see Sybella surrounded by children-  her own children, that he had almost forgotten why he had come in the first place.  The flowers were threatening to drop from his maw in astonishment, but they were quickly tightened again when one of the small forms of Sybella rushed at him and asked a question.  Shaking his head slightly, he smiled at the little midget that had screamed at him, dropping his head low, and dropping the flowers on the floor, so Moscow could get a good look at them, and a good smell.  "They're flowers, they make dens smell nice."  His eyes flickered momentarily to Sybella, before returning to Moscow.  "I brought them for your . .  mom.  Why don't you go bring them to her, I'm sure she'll love that."  He hated that he stumbled over the word, 'mom', but it was so alien for him to be saying that about Sybella.  He had specifically remembered her saying she- couldn't.  

And yet-  here they were.  Miracles did happen, apparently.  

"Echo, I'm s'happy ta see ya! How'd'ya fair after th'rescue? I would have visited but I... I was a tad preoccupied."

He nodded as he looked around at all the different new faces.  "Yea.. I can imagine you have been.." A lighthearted note in his voice, he was genuinely happy to see her so happy (though a bit tired, who wouldn't be), even if it did come as a surprise to him.  Echo had skipped over the fairing after the rescue part, he didn't want to burden her with his injuries, and make her feel bad about not visiting, any more than she already was.  He'd already hid his limping well, as well as masking his tremors in his side where Rannoch had taken a chance out of him.  All the scars was still there, his side, his face, his shoulder, visible, painful, as the memories were, but he didn't bring it up. He also avoided asking her what had happened to her and Iron when they chased the rouge into the woods.  Hell, Echo hadn't even asked Akira how things had went afterwards, or Avery.  He had no idea the extent of her injuries either.

There were just so many affected by the tragedy, it was hard to keep up.

Time for his mind to change the subject, these kids did not need to be robbed of their innocence with the burdens of adults.

"What are all their names, I can't be a good Uncle if I don't know their names."  He said with a smile.