Onor bent forward to sniff the little bundle of fur which lay beside Pearl's belly. She still had her eyes closed and ears folded, but she already looked perfect.
"I can't believe it. I'm a father," he grinned to his mate, Zrin, who sat beside him in the Nursery Cave. Both regarded their pup with adoration.
"Pups are a nuisance," Pearl commented dryly. "But I was happy to be her surrogate for you."
Zrin and Onor ignored her comment completely and just kept staring at their newborn daughter as she nursed.
"She's perfect," Zrin commented simply.
Onor nodded in agreement. "I wonder what she'll look like once she sheds her puppy coat..."
"No doubt she'll be the most beautiful wolf in all of Dark Stones," Zrin replied with a smile. "Hello, little girl." He bent forward and nuzzled the tiny pup. She let out a soft whine and continued to nurse.
"She needs a name," Onor said softly, his heart overflowing with affection for his new pup.
Zrin looked at his pale gray mate. "You know...I've always wanted a Maggie, if my pup were a she-wolf."
Onor looked at Zrin and blinked lovingly. "Maggie is perfect," he said. Now it was his turn to nuzzle his newborn. "Welcome to the Pack of Dark Stones, little Maggie."
***
Time flew, and little Maggie grew, eventually shedding her puppy coat to reveal a brown one with a slight purple tinge to it, similar to her biological father, Zrin. She also had his purple eyes, though hers were more almond-shaped. She proved to be a spirited little pup.
"Okay, now, little Maggie. Pay attention," Onor said calmly as he guided his daughter through the forest.
"We're outside!" Maggie yipped, her voice still shrill from her young age.
"Yes, outside of the rendezvous. Normally we don't take you away from it yet, but I think you're old enough to go with guidance now."
Maggie clearly wasn't listening. She was staring with round eyes at a spider in the middle of her web. "Ooooh!" she said in awe. "Spider! She's so large!"
"Yes," Onor said with a gentle smile. "Now, if you would please look here..." He gestured to a growth of burdock.
Maggie kept staring at the spider, before suddenly whacking her out of her web with a clumsy paw. It destroyed the web, and the arachnid was knocked onto the ground. She tried to scuttle away, but Maggie pounced on her, crushing the creature with her over-sized puppy paws.
"I did it!" she bayed. "I killeded it!"
Onor nodded. "You'll make a good hunter some day, like your father."
"I'm gonna be even better than Daddy Zrin is!" Maggie said proudly. "I'll be the bestest hunter in the entire Pack of Dark Stones. No, the entire world!"
Onor chuckled. He admired his daughter's confidence, something he utterly lacked. "I'm sure the entire territory's prey population will be running off in fear once you're a trainee."
Maggie nodded excitedly. "Yes! And I'll chase them and catch them all! The Pack will eat for years!"
"Right," Onor said. "Now, please come here." Finally having her attention, Maggie moved closer to her father.
"Whatcha looking at?"
Onor gestured to the burdock plant in front of him. "You know what this is?"
"A plant," Maggie said and she sat down with a large yawn.
"Well, yes. But do you know what plant?" Onor asked eagerly.
Maggie blinked and looked at it, then shook her head. "No."
"Well, this is burdock," her father explained. "It's one of the many plants that can help us wolves. Do you know what burdock does?"
"It grows in the forest?" Maggie looked up at Onor.
He gently shook his head. "Yes, that's true. But I mean its use. Burdock can help cure a sore throat or colds."
Maggie tilted her head. "Okay," was her only response.
Onor's ears drooped a little. He'd hoped for more enthusiasm. He cleared his throat and tried again. "The whole forest is full of plants and herbs and roots," he said, "which can help us wolves. As a Healer, it's my job to know them all and know how to use them."
Maggie snorted. "I'd rather fight. You're a Sentry, why don't you tell me more about that?"
Onor swallowed. "I am...but I prefer to focus on my Healing duties."
"But why?" Maggie asked. She didn't bother to wait for a response, because she saw a large millipede crawling over the ground near her. "Ooh another bug! I'm gonna squash ya!"
"Maggie!" Onor scolded her. "Please pay attention!"
She looked up, already having her paw above the bug to squash it, and looked up. "Oh." She approached her father. "Sorry."
Onor went on explaining about his duties, but throughout the entire thing he knew Maggie wasn't really listening.
***
More time had passed and it was the evening before Maggie would officially be promoted to be a trainee, now being fourteen quarter moons old. Onor had decided to take his daughter for a little twilight walk in the forest so she could blow off steam and excitement before her big day.
"Can you believe it, Dad?" she said, wagging her tail. "I'm gonna be a trainee and I'm gonna be the very best Hunter ever!"
"I know," Onor said with a loving chuckle. Maggie's confidence never abandoned her. He cleared his throat, thinking of something he'd been willing to bring up with his daughter for a while now. "Maggie, could we have a word?"
"Hm?" Maggie ran in a large circle around him before sitting down in front of him. "What is it?
Onor didn't really know where to start. Here goes nothing. "Maggie," he began, "I've been...thinking. I know how much you're dying to follow in your father's pawsteps and become a great Hunter..."
"The greatest!" Maggie corrected him.
Onor nodded. "Right. The greatest. But my point is...I've been thinking...maybe you could follow in mine as well. Our Pack is lacking a Healing trainee, and I was thinking maybe I could teach you the basics, before you eventually make your journey to the Carnassials to be a fully skilled Healer. Wouldn't it be great if we could both help the Pack this way?" He couldn't help but raise his voice in enthusiasm as he thought of the idea. He liked being a Healer, but it was lonesome work at times, especially with Zrin often being off hunting. The idea of sharing this unique skill with his daughter excited him.
Maggie's face drooped, however. "Oh," was her only response.
Onor cocked his head. "You...don't like the idea?" He knew Maggie wasn't particularly interested in healing so far, but he thought he might be able to convince her now that she was older, especially once he taught her the basics.
Maggie looked him in the eye. "Dad, I don't want to be a Healer. It sounds, well, really boring, to be honest! I want to be of use to the Pack by being out here, fighting, hunting, patrolling. Doing real wolf things."
Onor's jaw dropped open a bit. Did Maggie not think of him as a real wolf?
Maggie blinked. "Look, it's just...not really what I think I should be doing. I want to be a Hunter, not a Healer."
"But the Healer Rank is a secondary one," Onor pressed, "you can both be a Hunter and a Healer, similar to how I am a Sentry and a Healer."
"Yeah, but, I don't want to be!" Maggie sounded like she was losing her patience with him. "You just sit around all day in your cave organizing your herbs or sometimes gathering them in the forest. I barely ever see you hunt and you never partake in any patrols at all! You're a Sentry, but you act like you're a Healer first and foremost."
Onor tried to ignore how hurtful her words were. He knew she was too young to understand. "I don't do those things because of my anxiety," he tried to argue. "You know I struggle with that. Your father–he has all the confidence and skill he needs, but I feel I'm more of use as a Healer and I'm more comfortable on the rendezvous. That's why I rarely leave it."
"But that's not what wolves are supposed to do! I don't want to be like that!" Maggie said with a frown before taking a step back. She knew she'd gone too far. She looked aside, frustrated, and then mumbled a soft "I'm sorry."
Onor sighed deeply. "You're right," he admitted. "I don't act very much like a normal wolf. The idea of facing strange wolves in battle, the possibility no matter how small of having to injure or possibly even kill one of them–it scares the Void out of me. Even hunting makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not like you or your father. I don't feel pride or joy when taking another critter's life. I just feel...sad."
Maggie stared at the ground, and Onor could imagine how disappointed she would be feeling right now. I know, he thought, I'm a coward who is afraid of everything.
"I think we'd better go back," Maggie said softly.
Onor nodded. "Yes, I guess." The duo left the forest behind, and by the time they entered the clearing night had already fallen. Maggie instantly ran up to Katie and Umium, two trainees a bit older than Maggie, and began talking with them excitedly, seemingly already having forgotten the conversation that just happened.
"You look like you've eaten something bad." Zrin sounded worried as he approached his mate. He gave Onor a quick lick over his muzzle.
Onor tried to smile. "Oh, you're diagnosing me now, huh?"
Zrin tilted his head. "What's wrong, dear?"
The huge gray wolf sighed. "I told Maggie about how I want to train her to become a Healer. She...didn't take it well."
Zrin nodded. "I'm sorry. I already didn't think she'd take to the idea but the actual rejection must hurt."
Onor looked away, not daring to meet his mate's eyes. "I think...I think she likes you better than me."
"What? That's nonsense!" Zrin instantly bayed.
"No, listen to me," Onor pressed. "She's always going on and on about being a great Hunter like you. She doesn't care for the Healer role at all and she thinks I'm a bad Sentry. She didn't directly say that, but implied as much. I just hate that I can't be the great father she wants me to be!"
"You are a great father and a great wolf," Zrin assured him. "If Maggie cannot see that she is blind. The Pack should be proud to have you."
"But I feel like such a failure," Onor whimpered. "Healing is the one thing I'm actually good at. The one thing I feel confident in. And Maggie thinks it's worthless."
"She's wrong," Zrin said. "Don't worry, Onor. One day she will be proud of you. I know she will."
Onor looked at his daughter, who was now demonstrating a stalking technique in front of Katie and Umium. I hope you're right...