The large silver alicorn sighed, pacing awkwardly between the other Pack fluffies, trying to keep them all in view of her one good eye without unsettling her tummy baby swollen belly. This was not a good day by Hortensia’s standards. The Lab mister hadn’t said when they were coming back They never went out on hunts when one of the pack they’d established back in the old breeding center was a soon mummah. They never went on hunts without instructions and a human with a camera thingy around. And the Lab misters never left them anywhere without saying when they’d be back. She grumbled to herself again, and went back to recounting her Pack to make sure everyone was there.
Felix, just as awkwardly tucked next to her, nuzzling her hock’s comfortingly. Her littermate was tiny enough to be mistaken for a half grown foal, doubly so next to her, but he was hers. The same silver fluff as hers, the same black and gold mane- but his was gold where hers was black and black where hers was gold. Best brother ever, always- even when she wanted to kick him into a wall.
Irina, the pale ivory of bone with a tumble of black, gold, red hair curled around her long spiraled horn. She’d been part of this little pack even before they’d been a proper pack, back when they’d just been one room of a breeding Kennel. Of course, back then, Irina had been a half grown filly not old enough for her own litter, but that was long past. The lab had taken their entire kennel back, settling them into their own run and letting them hunt properly.
Her, Irina, Felix- who was a runt but damn it he was her runt brother- and Mummah Thea. Who was currently sitting on a taller rock, wings mantled, glow flicking in her horn as she studied the area from her vantage point, almost hawklike in her focus. “Mummah Thea? Wat Pack du?”
“Gib Mummah wittw bit mow, nee’ t’inkies and wookies.” Despite her words, her tone was soft, and her tail flicked back to brush over Hortensia’s face. “Bu’…’ou am Pack second, Howtensia. Check on udda Pack fwuffies, pwease.”
“Pack am otay, Mummah Thea, Howtensia.” The young walnut brown stallion, the only earthy in the Pack, piped up, nuzzling the young mares leaning into his sides. “Jack am wittw hungy,” He indicated the golden brown unicorn, only a few shades darker than his shimmering mane, to his left, her peacock blue mane tumbled over her face. “An’ Wynnifwed-”
“Wynnie am otay. Nu wike the bwite, dough.” The small white alicorn had her face mostly buried in his fluff, wings fluffed up enough that the barely there, more textural than color,variations of bars and peacock eyes at the end of her feathers vanished into the rest. Only the way the stallions tail was tangled into hers stopped hers from being tucked under her, but she lifted her head to check on the others, eyes somewhere between colorless and pink trying to focus in the light. The walnut stallion nuzzled her again, and she made a sound somewhere between a purr and a hum. “Jason am best bwudda.”
“Wywa am otay tu,” the sky blue unicorn standing behind them muttered, drawing herself up as she shot what might have been an attempt at a sneer at the trio, before warily checking whether Thea and Hortensia had been watching. “Stupi’ wowstest bwudda an’ sissy.”
“Mummah Thea hab towd ‘ou nu say dat.” A very calm voice remarked from behind her, as Irina stepped forward to give Wynnie and Jason quick ear-licks, dropping into a dog like sit in front of Hortensia and Thea. “Iwina wooked, nu see hooman anywewe. Bu’ am wittw wata ting and big twee on gwound jus’ oba dewe.”
There was a flicker of color, and Felix crept back into the clearing and sat between Hortensia’s front hooves. “Am nummy smeww, tu. Muches nummy fwuffy smeww.”
“Awwite.” Thea studied the view for a little bit longer, then turned to her pack. “If Pack nee’ stay hewe tiww hooman’ come back, nee’ safe pwace. Iwina, ‘ou say wata oba dewe? Wittw wike puddw?”
The ivory unicorn shook her head. “Wike wiba…wiva” she attempted to correct herself, “Wike wiva on teebee, bu’ wittw. Tink can jump oba.” She glanced at Hortensia and tossed her mane. “Mayb’. Soon mummah nee’ udda way?”
The mare in question snorted. “Howtensia am soon mummah, nu babbeh ow sickies ow wowse huwties. Wiww see, wiww fin’ way.” She stretched carefully, wings flapping hard enough to raise a cloud of dust around her sides and hooves. From under her chest fluff, her brother scrambled forward, fluttering his own smaller wings as he coughed his way out of the cloud, ending up sitting on a clearly amused Thea’s back.
Thea flicked her own wings, but didn’t make him move. “Pack gu lookies, den. See if find safe nestie. Nestie neaw wata fow dwinkies bestest, wit’ nu wata’bow outsidies.” There was a soft chorus of “Otay, mummah Thea” and she rose, stretching before she followed Irina back down the little hills. There was indeed a small stream running down there. Gravel and sand rose steadily in a small beach off the far side, creating a wide, flat space where a copse of brushy trees and undergrowth tangled before the earth sharply climbed back to the hills beyond. A few of the larger trees from the hill above had fallen, leaving both a steep ramp up to the height and a couple small hollows beneath.
The pack made their way forward, pausing to sniff carefully at the near edge of the stream. It was narrow, barely two feet across, and would probably only come up to the hocks of the sheltie sized mares. Wynnie was the first one to move, trotting back up the low slope behind them and sprinting forward to leap across, long wings flapping as if to get her small frame more lift. Too much lift, her sharp, deerlike hooftips digging into gravel with her momentum about to carry the rest of her further forward. A frantic, hard backwing later, she caught herself, thumping back onto her haunches instead of her face.
Not looking back at the others, she shook herself, leaning down to lick a hoof before nibbling at a slightly out of place feather. Irina landed somewhat more gracefully next to her, licking gently at Wynnie’s ear before stepping further onto the flat, tail flicking. Thea followed, Felix bounding between her feet to explore the underbrush. As Jack and Lyra made moderately ungainly leaps that still cleared the water’s edge, Jason edged forward, testing the water before doing a quick bounce over a couple stones barely covered in the center…
“Wata am nu deep. Gu dis way, Howtensa, jus’ hoofies wet.” He offered encouragingly, plopping down on the far side to start licking and preening the sodden fluff on his ankles until it poofed out a little, more damp than wet. Wynnie promptly set a hoof on part of his swishing tail, making the earthie pause until he saw her patiently grooming the wet part of his tail fringe as well. “Oh. Tank’ou, Wynniefwed. Ou’ nee pweenies tu?”
She checked herself over, shaking herself to see if she could feel the pull from any incipent matts or damp spots. .”Nu, am otay wite nao.” She glanced up as a splash heralded Hortensia slipping off the rocks and lumbering up on the beach. “Howtensa nee’ pweenie dwy?”
The much larger mare huffed, soaked nearly to her hocks, but her head still up proudly. “Am fin’ she started to retort- Only for Felix to drop down off her back, already arching his neck up to start preening the worst of the wet tangles out of her silver fluff. “Sissy am soon-mummah! Nee’ stay dwy and nu-fwuff tangwies.”
“Fewix am wite. Howtensa nee’ wook afta Howtensa an’ tummeh babbehs. Shuwd nyo dis by nao.” Thea bounded over the creek, stumbling just a little on the landing before she caught herself, trotting over to lick fondly at the larger mare’s ear. “Pack wiww fin’ nestie. Amawthea wiww wook afta ‘ou and Amawthea’s gwanbabbehs.”
Howtensa grumbled slightly. “Mummah Thea wowwy tu muches. Am fin’. Am nu sickies.” She glanced over where Wynnie was helping Jason. “Gu wowwy bowt wittw brudda.”
“Jas’n nu am Howtensa brudda! Am Wywa bad bwudda. Wynnie am Wywa mummah bad babbeh tu!” Lyra had huffed, seeming genuinely offended by the thought. “Am wows - Owwies!” Jack had thumped her hard, pushing past her to go sit with Wynnifred and Jason.
“Wynnifwed and Jason nu Thea’s tummeh babbehs, bu’ stiww am Thea’s babbehs. Thea gib miwkies, gib wub, watch gwow fwom wittw nu-tawk babbeh wit’ Thea babbeh Jack tu big pack fwuffies. Am stiww Thea babbehs. Howtensia an’ Fewix stiww Thea babbehs. Iwina an’ Wywa am wike Thea babbeh tu.” The way the fond look Thea gave Irina faltered as she turned it on Lyra suggested that was not an unconditional statement. “Now. Time am act wike big pack fwuffies and nu siwwy babbehs and fin’ nestie befow hunt for nummies.”
“Yes, Mummah Thea.” came a ragged chorus, and most of the smaller mares…and Jason… charged into the underbrush, poking noses into bushes and under the fallen logs.
“Finded bestest nestie spot!” Jack yelled, after most of the thorny bushes were dismissed and many of the gaps under logs were found to be too small for the Pack. She wriggled down and poked her head out from under. “Big ‘nuff fow aww pack fwuffies. Awmos’” The call summoned the others, and they all sniffed around the largest log.
“Way in tu wittw, Howtensa nu fit gud. Nu fit at aww when neaw babbehtime.” Felix chimed in with a laugh, dodging the half hearted swat in his direction from his sister. “Nee’ udda nestie?”
“Nu. Nu, dis am gud.” Thea corrected, sniffing around. “Jus’… nee’ diggies.” she pawed at the dirt with her own solid hoof for a moment, then glanced over. “Iwina, Wynnie….Wywa, hab pointy hoofies. Nee’ dig down fow bigga nestie. Jason, Jack, hewp paw out diwtstuff. When big nuff fow Howtensa, aww gu stompies and makes fwat an’ hawd wike fwoow.”
Intro- After the Pack- A demonfluff sequel. [Shadowfox]
Next- A New Pack- Seven sister's pack, part 2 (Shadowfox)