Chapter 1622: Chapter 1621: More Than A Handful
It was actually very odd to see that my five pups were aging at the same rate I had, but the feelings that those two experiences brought me were completely and utterly different; where they had been young children two weeks ago they had now sprouted up quite a bit, and that...
Well honestly, it made me rather conflicted since on the one hand they were able to speak, function mostly on their own, and were in need of less and less of my direct supervision at all times, but that wasn’t... it really wasn’t what I wanted, which surprised me a small bit.
Seeing them running around the large open yard waving their wooden practice swords around, I couldn’t help but feel that things were going too quick... and yet the days were just slipping through my fingers thanks to them having needed all that attention.
Before I realized it they were already looking like they were nine or ten, and like children those age they were slowly beginning to become more and more of ’themself’ while also putting some more space between us as they began to crave that individuality.
I don’t think for a minute that they will ever actually want to depart from me and remain away for good, but just seeing Nicoletta rushing around right past me a few times without even glancing at me hurt just a little bit...
Standing there in the middle of the field, I was watching them play like they always did while Anput lounged in a nearby tree, taking this time to rest as Gabrielle was swaddled to her chest, dozing off with her.
Where our pups were growing rather fast, Gabrielle was still a toddler that needed a lot of immediate attention, though even then she was a rather independent child that enjoyed the quiet, peaceful state of things quite a bit.
"Mama! Look!"
My youngest bounced over to me and showed me a small rock she had found, tapping her nail against its curved surface and saying "Another heart! That’s..! A lot!" with the same bright and lively grin that made her so beloved by her siblings.
She had a knack for finding these little ’hearts’ all over the place, something that was beginning to worry me a little since they were far too numerous and in spots only she ended up looking at, so I felt a slight headache rolling in as I prepared myself for the barrage of questions that I needed to ask Cali, who would obviously answer all and none of them at the same time.
"It is indeed, my little star. You’ve found quite a lot of them; are you just collecting them, or are you going to make something with them?"
Seeing her pinkish eyes flutter a few times as she looked between me and her new rock was quite adorable, and for a moment she seemed to realize that there was supposed to be something more than just... picking them up, yet her childish brain couldn’t figure that out quite yet.
"I just... want them? Mama, those pretty stones that Mommy Jahi gets you, Mother and Mother Leone... can I get one?"
The innocence in her eyes as she asked for gemstones was amusing, and if we had been in a ’normal’ and boring family I would just gently tell her no and explain that those things were expensive, but for us...
"What color would you like, my little star?"
Astra grinned at me and bounced forwards, hugging me close and saying "Red! No wait, pink! Or..! Or purple! Yeah, purple!" while she rubbed her face against my chest; hearing her indecisiveness, I smiled and hugged her closer as I decided to get her all three, so long as she stopped setting up her sisters for trouble...
"Purple what? Mama, what is Astra getting?"
Nicoletta rushed over next, and behind her was - of course - Camilla, though where she had been about to tackle her fiery sister she instead skidded to a halt and asked "Mama, you’re giving Astra something? No fair!"
My eldest puffed out her cheeks before she growled at Samara, who had sauntered over and smirked at Camilla as she said "Well, Astra does~ tend to behave more, unlike a certain someone~!", though when I just raised a brow at her she quieted down.
"Mama..?"
Zariah crept up behind me, her ears twitching from both her ever present shyness and also her rather incredible hearing, which we only learned about since she used it to hide from everyone whenever she wanted to be alone.
"Astra wanted a pretty stone like the ones that your Mommy gives me. If she behaves-"
With that I looked down at the ’innocent’ Astra and poked her nose, making her smile wryly as she tried to give me the most adorable puppy eyes she could muster - which only made me poke her again since it made me wonder how much of a trouble making minx she was going to be when she grew up - to try and convince me that she was going to behave.
"- and the rest of you do as well, we can see if your Mommy will get you all some pretty stones. You’ll just need to ask Mommy and see if she things you’re all behaving nicely."
At that my pups all shared glances, their ’fear’ of the large, firm and somewhat stern Demoness overriding their greed for something they didn’t understand the value of, but after a few moments they all just nodded in agreement.
Ruffling Astra’s hair and letting her go, I waved them all off and watched as that agreement vanished when Samara snuck up behind Nicoletta and tripped her, sending the oldest girl face first into the grass and causing Anput’s almost perfect copy to sprint off before Nicoletta could retaliate.
Camilla just sensed that there was fighting and rushed off after Samara first, while Zariah wandered off and plopped down in some taller grass, enjoying the cover it provided and watching from a distance, only to reluctantly shift over as Astra plopped down beside her.
