94. Cubs

                                    

                                          
Something that drove me nuts through the winter also made me laugh.  The wolf cubs got very vocal.  No, maybe they were already that vocal, but now, I had the pleasure of spending most of my waking moments with them. So, I got to hear it much more.
	And wolves don't bark much unless there is danger, but they have quite a range of vocalizations.  And howling...the freaking howling.  The moment the boys learned how to carry on a good howl, was the moment the castle lost all of its peace.  The same could be said for me too. 
	But I tried. I really tried to be supportive and gentle when I reprimanded them for going on and on in the later parts of the day.  But my patience was so much worse and I hadn't found a way to deal with the new lack of it in a healthy way.  So instead, I came to envy Curtis and his hole in the ground.  Maybe he could make a little room?
	Shuu was very attentive of my needs and took the boys as far away from me as he could, but howls travel long distances and so I was never truly spared.  Shuu was not without shame as his sons announced every single thing to anyone who could hear them.
	Did someone catch a rat?  Now the castle knows.  Did one of them have an especially large poop?  Now the castle knows it. Did a snowflake land on one of their faces?  Yeah...the whole castle knows it. 
	Shuu diligently trained and taught them, but they often got overly excited with their ability to 'sing,' as they took to calling it.  To be completely honest, Shuu was very impressed with their vocal capabilities.  It was just the information they shared that made him rush around with great speed to stop them.
	"Mama patted meeeee," howled Tres. 
	"Mama broke the bowlllllll," howled Uno. 
	"I loved boooowl," added Cinco.  "Foooood booowl."
	"Dos can't siiiing," said Cuatro.
	Indignantly, Dos disagreed.  "I caaaan toooo."
	It was a great thing that only a few males in the castle were wolves, so most remained unaware. Unaware, but annoyed.  Not that anyone would dare say anything about their queen's cubs. 
	The older tiger cubs decided on a new game called, 'Noisy Brother Hunting.'  And with it, they succeeded in multiple goals with one action.  'Two birds, one stone,' like their mother said before.  
	They got exercise and could brag about it to their father when he came back.  And catching their brothers would make them be quiet.  Finally, their mom might praise them for it.  Well...maybe on the last one.  They weren't completely sure.  But they were bored and irritated, so that was plenty reason enough. 
	After a hard and successful hunt, the two tiger cubs returned to their mother with their heads held high.  Unfortunately, their mother did not understand their great deeds, so they set off to find someone who could translate for them. 
	Jason failed their appraisal since he couldn't speak and George was nowhere close by.  Before they could find another, their younger brothers ratted them out to Shuu.  
	"You said they attacked you?" Shuu looked at his pitiful children who were acting overly dramatic.  Aside from a few missing chunks of fur, there were no injuries.  
	The wolf cubs nodded furiously and Shuu's gaze slid over the tiger cubs.  They made attempts at conversation that Shuu could not understand.  He noticed a wound on Grey and his eyes darkened.  Grace wouldn't be happy about that. 
	"Go see Harvey," Shuu told the tiger cubs who obeyed. He remained serious in his expression and tone, but he was actually quite pleased.  "Your mother will be upset."
	Grey and Blue did a good job in his eyes.  The young tiger cubs were able to attack without causing a single lasting injury to the wolf pups.  Winston had taught them well. His cubs needed to sharpen their awareness and learn that kind of control.