Dream a Little Dream had originally decided to stick around for just a little while to help while Forgives Easily was pregnant, she was so tiny, and she grew so large he worried about her being able to get around on her own.

Then he decided he should stay while the kids were still growing, since they outnumbered Forgives, and well it didn't feel right to just leave her to raise their kids alone. He'd grown more than a little fond of the tiny totoma, and their offspring, and he was enjoying watching the four of them grow up, and their own personal quirks.

Which is why he currently had one child looking for a "missing item" (really, he'd hidden it and was pretending it was lost), and another was watching birds intently near by. He wasn't entirely sure where the other two had gotten off to, but he was sure Forgive's had gone after them. Or so he hoped. She... had gone after them, right?

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It had been an adventure, that's what it had been. Being so big she had barely managed to keep on her hooves by the end of it all had been something and she had been glad when the little ones had come to be. Three of them had come exactly as she'd expected and, well, seen before but the fourth one had worried her but her worries had been completely unfounded.

That Dream had remained at her side through it all had eased some of her worries and that he still was there with the growing little ones made her smile. She wouldn't have faulted him had he decided to not stay.

Every day was a new adventure indeed and yes, she had wandered off after the wandering two. Her laughter was clear not that far off as she watched her little stomper do exactly what she was already used to seeing him do. Her other bundle of love was merely sunning herself at that point.

Her laughter was a relief, and he looked in that direction spying her and the other two, gently encouraging the two young kin to head towards their siblings and mother, even though one of them was arguing that he could only search for the lost item where they were. "Why don't you bring it from where you hid it, and I'll hide it for you to find?" "Really?" "Sure." if it got him to come along without complaint? Sure. So he watched as the missing item was located from under a bush and brought to him. "I'll be sure to lose this stick well." he said solemnly before he picked it up and started towards the other three.

Their mohawked son came along quietly, watching the sky as birds flew over head and without much ado found a spot to sit and watch them fly past, a few hopping around on the ground near his sister. Dream hid the stick while he had a chance and then turned to his crystal covered son and said "Oh no, I seem to have lost my prized stick! If only there was a kin who could find it for me!" he knew he was being overly dramatic, but his son went with it. "Don't worry dad! I'll find it!" and off he went with a gleeful laugh as Dream stepped up to Forgive's side.

"Thought I'd come over here with the boys so they could play." easier to watch all four at once, and he could talk with her at the same time he figured.

It wasn't that they had gone far, she'd actually wandered off to find her little stomping one and, in turn, had found Breathing Again just peacefully sunning herself, it had been around a bend in the trees but still. She hadn't thought herself out of sigh since she hadn't wandered that far but, now and again, she did seem to forget that her slight size tended to help her disappear around the vegetation.

Forgives had tried very had to get their one daughter to play with her brothers but the lanky one seemed to truly prefer to merely be. Forgives hadn't pushed, it didn't seem quite right and, well, she still wandered around when she felt like it but she seemed to spend more time daydreaming more than anything else, it was fine. For now.

She brightened a moment when she was joined. A fond smile finding her lips. Each of their behaviour was already quite distinctive and it warmed her. It hadn't taken her very long to earn her name, though she was in no hurry for either one of her boys to 'grow up', as was. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

She did pause and tipped her head a moment, turning her gaze back to her still stomping child. "I've never been able to open these fruits easily, myself." The words soft and thoughtful, even as she watched Breathing Again's tail twitch a little, sending the birds fluttering away. She wouldn't change any of them for the world. "He's at his happiest when finding lost items, mm?"

He looked over at Breathing Again with a fond chuckle, she was a lot less active some days than her brothers, though the one brother fascinated by birds could have been a bit of competition for 'least active' in the end, given how much he liked to just sit and bird watch, and attempt to copy their sounds which he did with varying degrees of success.

"He really is. Wonder if that's something that will carry over as he gets older." he mused as he nuzzled lightly at the totoma's ear and neck. "You didn't go far no, but I didn't see you behind the bush behind us. Or the kids. It hid all three of you quite well."

He'd been about to say something when he heard a sudden "Don't scare them off! They're my friends!" from their normally quiet son, who was at that moment more than a little upset it would seem about his sister scaring away the birds. "Why did you have to go and do that for? You're so mean!" he cried in dismay. Dream looked to Forgives in surprise, he'd never heard him be so loud...or upset!

It was so surprising, even their little hunter had stopped searching for the stick, and was staring at his brother in surprise. "Whoa, he found his voice!"

All in all, when it came time to settle down, two were much easier to corral back to their sleeping area than the others and for that, she couldn't complain. She also tended to perhaps leave said corralling to Dream; his much longer legs gave him some speed she didn't when it came to potentially chasing little ones around. The thought made her smile. It had happened just the night before and she'd been rather content to watch him do most of the hard work. Once all four had been settled, she'd been happy to tell them a quiet story, however. Those, she was quite good at.

"It's possible. I think certain things define us in our actions, at least as Totoma; though, just the same, it could be a temporary delight he's found and something else will catch his attention as he grows." It was an option, she knew. She wasn't going to rule out any potential changes in any of their behaviours.

"I do rather disappear easily, mm?" A soft, slight laugh. With Breathing Again having been settled down and her little stomper just a little further away, it was no wonder that none of them had been visible. That was fine; they'd been found, after all!

That sudden outburst made her startle somewhat and she blinked with a small frown. She did wait a moment, letting the kids handle themselves first, and if it seemed as though things would escalate into something bigger, she'd step in.

Breathing Again's eyes were wide, confused for several heartbeat long. She then shook her head softly, her own voice soft, still somewhat confused. "It wasn't on purpose... and if you keep on being so loud, they're not going to come back." There was no bite to her words, still just a hint of confusion. The doe tucked her long tail closer to herself, going so far as to tuck part of it under her limbs so it wouldn't rustle even in the cool breeze. She gave her parents a wide-eyed 'it's not like I meant to!' look.

Dream had no problem with chasing down the two boys, though it was more one over the other that seemed to fight them when it was time to go to sleep. So he'd chase him down and help wear him out a little more, before finally herding him back to the others to sleep. Once he finally curled up to listen to one of his mothers stories, he was usually one of the first ones out.

Dream gave Breathing a gentle smile. "It's alright. We know it wasn't on purpose." and here he gave the yeller a stern look, before crossing over to him, and getting down on his level. "Your sister is right, you know. If you keep yelling like that, your feathered friends won't come back for you to see and talk to." "I know...and...I didn't mean to yell. I just almost had one call down right and I was trying to get it closer and...." and here the young totoma burst into upset tears, which made Dream settle closer, and he gently laid his head across his neck, tail flipping over him. "It's okay. You keep practicing that bird call, and maybe you'll be able to call it back to you huh?" "Duh....do you think so?" he wept at his father. "I really do. Just keep talking to the birds, and practicing. You do owe your sister an apology, but calm down a moment first."

It took a few minutes and many sniffles later for him to finally wriggle away from his father, and move over towards his sister hoof scuffing the ground. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have yelled at you." his words were soft, and he felt so tired then and shuffled over to his mom where he curled up with a tired sigh, even as their brother brought his found 'lost' stick over to their dad. "I found the lost stick!" "Good job, I'm proud of you!"

He looked over to Forgives then. "Maybe its time to head back, and let everyone rest a little hm?" maybe a short nap would help tempers and put everyone in a better mood. Couldn't really hurt, right?

(1,010 words)

Forgives remained quiet, an observing parent at this point. It wasn't as though she was needed. Her attention was partially on Dreams and the clearly tired little ones and partially on her little stomping one who had finally managed to break the rather hard shell of the fruit and was bringing it back over his own treasure, his already lengthy tail trailing behind him. She gave him a smile as he plopped down next to her, barely paying attention to his siblings as he devoured his well-deserved treat.

Breathing managed an uncertain smile, merely watching her father with the quietest of her brothers. She really wasn't mad, she also hadn't meant to twitch her tail, it was just one of those things and there had been a bit of an itch; that was all.

Still, at the apology, she nodded and tipped her head a little, "S'okay, I really didn't mind to startle them off. Think you'll wanna teach me how to call them? I probably won't be half as good as you but I'll try!" And she'd just be oh so quiet otherwise. The birds were pretty. They tickled when they landed on her tail but it was just one of those things and she didn't mind.

Forgives nuzzled her tired little one with a soft hum and a slight smile offered to Dream, "that might not be such a bad idea. I think a rest for all of us is in order, after that, we'll see about eating something for those of us who haven't just had a snack." This time, a quick nuzzle to her little stomping darling who laughed softly, "and after... well time will tell what we'll do after." It was that simple, in the long run. One day, then the next.