A New Adventure

[DragonSong]

Hana elbowed him lightly for the oath, but no one seemed to much mind--it seemed that the pups that were still awake were clustered in the other room with their grandparents.

"Self-preservation," one of River's brothers--Hana thought this one was Ash--replied to the gnoll with a smirk. "You have this many pups around, you need to be energetic."

"So says one of the last holdouts," Sky huffed at her brother, taking the glasses that Nora poured and passing them to Hana and Thrax.

Ash rolled his eyes dramatically. "We all know even if I took a mate tomorrow, I would not be having pups. Ever."

Sky shrugged. "Adoption is a thing, baby brother."

"Three minutes!"

[MadEmperor]

Thrax took a big swig and gave a refreshed sigh. "I needed that. Getting here was a lot of work."

"Not that this one so much as breathed hard." He pointed at Hana with teasing accusation. "Meanwhile, I just wanted to give up and take a nap."

[DragonSong]

"I offered you a ride like twelve times," Hana laughed, rolling her eyes at him theatrically.

Storm quirked an eyebrow at that, looking the relatively petite woman up and down before his eyes moved to twice-her-size Thrax. "Ah--not to be rude, but...how the hells would you even...?"

"Oh." Hana blinked; evidently River hadn't told her family about everything a kitsune could do. "I mean, I'm...also a shapeshifter, of sorts."

[MadEmperor]

Thrax laughed loudly. "She turns into a giant fox. Handy for travel and in a fight. It's pretty epic, really."

He grinned merrily. "I'm just more stubborn than I am stamina-deficient. This, as you might imagine, is a pain in the..." He caught himself. "... butt."

[DragonSong]

"A giant fox?" One of the pups, a boy of about five, had wandered over to the table and was staring at Thrax and Hana with wide eyes. "How giant? Like the big half-wolves who helped the pack?"

Hana blinked, a little taken aback. "Ah...half-wolves?"

"Another clan of shifters in the mountains," Nora explained. "It's...complicated, but they're more like what humans would call lycanthropes. Helped us out of a bad spot a few months back."

"Oh." Hana smiled and shook her head at the child. "Not quite. I'm not sure how big your half-wolves are, but I can be..." She tipped her head toward Thrax. "What, about the size of a horse? Little smaller, maybe?"

[MadEmperor]

"Something like that. She's just big enough for me to ride without falling off," Thrax answered. It took some effort not to smirk at the double entendre.

"So how big are these wolf men? Like, my size? I'd love to see that!" He grinned enthusiastically.

[DragonSong]

As though reading his thoughts, Hana shot him a very dry Look before rolling her eyes and looking back at the curious Longfang pup, who had climbed into a recently vacated chair.

"Probably a little bigger," Ash chuckled in answer to Thrax's question. "And they're sorta...well. Severe, I guess is the right word. You might run into them if you hang around the mountains long enough, but you'd have a better shot if you just hired them for a job." He shrugged. "They are technically mercenaries."

Hana whistled lowly. "Da--aaang. Who knew there was so much intrigue up here in all this snow?"

The wolves laughed lightly and Sky said something about "pack drama" serving as good fodder for any bard's tales.

[MadEmperor]

"It must be something in the air that blows in from Connloath, intrigue capitol of the world," he smirked.

"Storm, I'd love to swap stories with these mercs. I've never done it professionally, but I've done my share of being an axe for hire when barding doesn't pay enough. That's basically how I met Kah and River, though that was more for a share of a bounty."

[DragonSong]

"Wait wait wait." One of River's brothers held up a hand. "Did you just use the word storm as a curse?"

Ash snorted and shoved his shoulder into the other man's. "Sounds about right to me."

The woman seated on his other side—presumably Storm's mate—badly tried to hide a laugh.

[MadEmperor]

"Did I make fun of someone without knowing?" Thrax laughed with yet another grin. "Damn, it's only fun when you know you're doing it."

"It's a common expression in my clan. Well, was. I've never heard it from anyone else."

[DragonSong]

"I'm taking it as a badge of honor," Storm said with mock severity.

"Oh stars." River emerged from her room with a roll of her eyes. "I don't know what just happened, but that from him never bodes well."

"You wound me, dear sister," the wolf protested, widening his eyes innocently.

[MadEmperor]

"He heard me say Storm as a curse, as I do." Thrax smirked, amused by the whole affair.

The gnoll looked over at Storm. "My clan holds storms sacred, so don't think it a bad thing.  Though maybe I ought to refrain, lest the pups pick up the habit and cause general confusion." His eyes glittered at the idea, but one didn't stir up chaos among friends.

[DragonSong]

"Oh, trust me," River laughed quietly, "you're not gonna cause anymore confusion than we already get in spades around this place."

Evidently growing bored with the adults' conversation, the pup who had wandered over turned his attention to his Uncle Ash and tugged the shifter over to join a game the children had set up around the hearth.

"The babies go down okay?" River's mother asked, suddenly appearing with a jug of....something in hand.

"Surprisingly," River replied. "Kah should be out any second."

[MadEmperor]

Thrax sniffed in the direction of the jug, curious about its contents.

Speaking of the dragon, Kah walked in almost as soon as he was mentioned. "If only it could be that easy all the time."

The bard grinned. "That's because Uncle Thrax is a good luck charm!"

[DragonSong]

"Oh, good." River beamed at him. "Then you won't mind being in charge of bedtimes during your visit."

Hana snorted into the drink that Elise had just poured for her—some kind of mountain berry cordial that was equal parts tangy and sweet.

"Hey, you keep saying how great you are with kids," she pointed out with a smirk at Thrax. "Should be easy, right?"

[MadEmperor]

Thrax's eyes widened in shock. "Oh no, no no no!" he protested, waving his arms in a warding motion. "I meant kids love me, not Storming babies! And easy my foot. I see the bags under your eyes. I don't have that kind of stamina!"

The very idea of taking care of something that small and delicate actually terrified the brave, bold bard. It was a look the proud parents hadn't seen before. It was quite amusing to see in the current context.

[DragonSong]

River laughed. "I was teasing, but good to know the idea terrifies you," she chortled with a grin in Thrax's direction. An eyebrow quirked at Hana and the kitsune raised her hands quickly.

"Oh no no, I am well aware of my capabilities, and they do not include child-rearing," she laughed lightly.

River's smile softened a bit as she looked to her mate. "Never say never..." Giving herself a little hake, she added with another quick grin for her friends, "But obviously it's not for everyone, I really was teasing. I'm sure the twins would like some bedtime stories while you're here though." She shrugged. "It's not like the can understand everything yet, but they like the sounds of the packs' voices, and they can pick up on tone."

[MadEmperor]

Thrax exhaled, glad that they moved past the subject before anyone guessed he and Hana were more than friends. Though he didn't expect it to remain a secret for long.  "That I can do. I think I know a few kid-safe fairy tales."

"Gotta secure my status as the fun uncle early, you know," he added with a grin.

[DragonSong]

"Well, you have no shortage of competition there," River laughed, gesturing widely at her five brothers—four by blood and one by virtue of being Sky's mate. "And another one, if Ash ever gets his act together."

"Stars!" The wolf in question three his hands up from where he was crouched with the pups. "I can hear you, you know."

[MadEmperor]

"I may not be blood or even an in-law, but I have something they don't." Thrax grew a playfully wicked smirk. "Besides fresh stories every time I stop by, I have panache." He struck the most dramatic pose he could without standing up. Such a mature adult, this one.