Oakstar x Sandpool [Hybred][Fin~ <3]

[Firefly]

"Yes, five lives." Oakstar said, shaking his head. "It's all because of the elders that I'm still around, even though I've used half of my lives, and I pray I don't lose them anytime soon. Not now that I've found you." He said, shaking his head as he looked over at Sandpool and gently licked her ears. "We'll certainly have a lot of pups to be guarding, I should think."

[3.2][31]

[Firefly]

Sandpool nodded. "Let's see... there's our pups, my brother's pups, Clawfoot's pups, Mudtail's pups, Brakenheart and Leafheart's pups, Nightfeather and Starheart's pups..." she said, thinking carefully. "And then we have to watch out--I'm most certain that I saw Ashclaw on her way to meet with Darkheart out here too." She added, furrowing her brow and wagging her tails slowly--for once.

[3.2][32]

[Firefly]

"They are?!"

Oakstar said this with a tone of authority that he probably hadn't used since he was a leader in his own pack. "Well, then, I guess we ought to up our guard a considerable amount. Any pups from them will doubtless mean bad news for us. Even though we have more Volpes on our side, you never know what might happen..."

[3.4][33]

[Firefly]

Sandpool gave a tiny whimper as she said, "Oakstar... I'm afraid of them. Like... a lot. I know I shouldn't be scared of them, but I still am anyway. I know that Rainstar and Bravestar are two of the best leaders a pack could have, and Leopardstorm is more than capable of taking over for both of them, and that the rest won't let Rainstar and Bravestar down without a fight, but... I'm still afraid for them."

[3.4][34]

[Firefly]

"You needn't fear them, my sweet. I shall protect you, just as I protected my pack from Darkheart before, and just as Bravestar has protected Rainstar and the rest of EarthSong from Ashclaw." Oakstar said, wrapping a paw instinctively around Sandpool. "And if they so much as think of laying a claw on our children...!"

[3.6][35]

[Firefly]

"If that thought even enters their heads, I will make sure that they know exactly what happens to people that cross the Sweet-Water Twins, as we were called before our disappearance. We can be just as bitter as... well, as bitter as poisoned waters." Sandpool said, her ears flattened as she growled lowly. "And if they know what's good for them, they'll also avoid Winterstorm and Sandfeather. I am honored that Rainstar blended her old name with mine when naming her son..."

[3.6][36]

[Firefly]

Oakstar chuckled in his throat as he said, "Rainstar obviously favors you and your brother. She said she wanted to name her next son after Bramblepool in some way. Honor and favor holds a special place within her heart." He laughed a little louder as he said, "And it is also a benefit for you... Rainstar once had an incident that pushed her to only trust Leopardstorm for a while there."

[3.8][37]

[Firefly]

"She did?" Sandpool asked curiously. "That sounds like it would... be hard for her. After all, she's the leader... if she were not to trust anyone but her deputy, that would make life hard for the rest of the pack." Here, she shook her head as she yawned. "I can't believe this--I'm actually tired. For once in my life."

And for once in her life, the K9 curled up--next to Oakstar--and yawned again.

[3.8][38]

[Firefly]

Oakstar smiled. He liked it better when Sandpool finally calmed down, but he knew that she liked it equally well when he was excited about something. "Do you remember that first day when Rainstar inducted me into the pack? Do you remember how excited I was to see my two old deputies and to be accepted into her pack?" he asked her. He knew that she would remember, but whether or not she would jump up in excitement was another manner entirely.

[4.0][39]

[Firefly]

Sandpool gave a tired nod as she said, "I do remember. I also remember walking up to you and saying that I'd never seen a Royal act that... well, hyper!" she laughed, but she remained curled up against Oakstar. "I also remember how you were playing with Winterstorm and Sandfeather... it was as if they knew who you were, somehow. I couldn't even tell how they knew you."

[4.0][40]

[Firefly]

"They could smell the same scents that they smelled on their mother and father on me. That's how they knew I was a friend. However, when Darkheart came around, they smelled evil on him, so they stayed away from him, whimpering whenever he came around." Oakstar explained, shaking his head. "The less they know of Darkheart, the better. So long as he doesn't go after them."

[4.2][41]

[Firefly]

"They must have a keen sense of scents, if they could tell that you came from the same land as their parents." Sandpool remarked dreamily. "Not even I could recognize a fellow pack member of mine, now that I've been away from them for so long. The only one I think I'd recognize would be Gingerstar, but that's because she's my family. I can always recognize Gingerstar."

[4.2][42]

[Firefly]

Oakstar nodded as he said, "Returning to the previous topic, after Darkheart ran Rainstar out of the pack, a sister of Rainstar's came into the pack to try and find her. Darkheart decided that she looked enough like Rainstar to be Rainstar. So he killed her, and Rainstar had been just on the edge of our territory. She knew that if she came any closer to where we were, she would have suffered the same fate as her sister. Leopardstorm, she had raised as her own pup. So... Rainstar only took comfort in her deputy for a while."

[4.4][43]

[Firefly]

Sandpool's head shot up. "He did what?!" she asked in a shocked voice, her eyes widening. "That...! No wonder Rainstar is always so guarded, and why she usually only talks to Bravestar and Leopardstorm and you." She said, blinking. "If I had gone through something like that, I doubt I would ever speak again."

[4.4][44]

[Firefly]

Oakstar nodded slowly as he said, "She almost never spoke again, Leopardstorm told me. She talked her out of taking a vow of silence, and--for her sake--I'm glad that she agreed not to take that vow. If she had... I fear that her pack would have disbanded long before now. Now, she has all the support she could ever want to help her..."

[4.6][45]