Challenge 1 Fill: "Narnia Needs Puppies"
Rating: K+ (at least the Jaguar somewhat behaves himself in this one).
Warnings: This is very fluffy and very meta, being bits and bobs of worldbuilding from an AU thing I'm working on. It does work if you set it right before VDT. Hope I don't confuse anyone too greatly with the OC Beasts.
***
Narnia Needs Puppies
"Therefore, under us and under the High King, you shall be King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands. You and your heirs while your race lasts."
-Aslan, Ch 15 of Prince Caspian
The birth of Ylva's first litter was cause for great celebration, not least because a pregnant She-Wolf terrorizing the castle was a fearsome thing to live with. They had all been curious to see how and where Caspian's Night Guard would choose to have her pups, as she had chosen such a different life than the rest of her Pack, even making her den at Cair Paravel instead of in the wild like the others of her kind. Ylva had insisted on remaining Caspian's Guard until her whelping was imminent, which was not surprising really; the young King had been her first child and she still considered him under her care, even though he was quite old enough to look after himself now, thank you very much.
And finally the day came for the puppies to be born, and the royal kennels were abuzz with the news of seven fine new Wolf pups and a fiercely proud Ylva and snappish Ansgar all holed up in the furthest den of the kennels. "Is it safe?" inquired Caspian of the Hound that brought him the tidings.
"For you? Yes," replied the Hound with an amused yap.
So Caspian, accompanied by his lazier-than-usual Jaguar Day Guard (who had also been grudgingly working the night shift for the past several days), hurried down to the kennels to Ylva's den. He peered into the darkened enclosure, which was open for its occupants to come and go as they chose, just as all of the dens in the kennel were. He heard a low growl from the fierce-looking silver Wolf in the corner.
"Ansgar," said Ylva wearily. "He's my pup too."
"Did he have to bring that thing?" Ansgar eyed the very bored-looking Khorvad, who blinked his yellow eyes twice and churred under his breath about the primitiveness of pair bonds.
"Why don't you get me some fresh meat?" suggested Ylva to her mate. After a long stare at the black Jaguar by Caspian's side, Ansgar nodded and stalked out of the den.
"Congratulations, Ylva," said Caspian, fondly taking in the sight of the Wolf's maternal satisfaction in her new litter, who were nestled next to their mother's belly in exhausted heaps. "They are very healthy-looking puppies."
"The Silverfurs always did bear strong litters," said Ylva proudly. "And I have waited for one of my own for a very long time."
Caspian looked thoughtful. "I always knew you would make a wonderful mother. You should not have waited on my account."
"Nay, my King. I knew when the time was right for me to bear pups."
"Every time is the right time to bear cubs," said Khorvad off-handedly.
"And just how many poor cubs have you fathered during your nightly prowls?" retorted Ylva, her ears up.
"Only one at a time, that I can assure you," Khorvad drawled with a sidelong glance at the seven floppy bundles of fur. "Two, at the most."
Ylva yowled, "And no father to bring them food. For shame."
Khorvad shuddered. "Expunge half-digested meat for cubs? I shall leave such uncivilized practices to you Wolves."
The She-Wolf bristled and snarled something about thanking Aslan she had not been born a She-Jaguar.
An outsider might have thought the two Beasts were in danger of a fight or at least a very disagreeable argument; however, Caspian was used to his Guards' very differing ways of thinking and the ensuing debates, and he half suspected they quite enjoyed the rows. As a peace offering, he knelt and offered his hand to Ylva, and she laid her ears back and thrust her nose into his palm.
"I will ask to hold them when they are a little older," said Caspian, smiling as one of the puppies mewled and wriggled closer to Ylva's side.
"They shall be loyal to the King's household," the Wolf declared, "and the packs of Cair Paravel shall be returned to their former glory. We Wolves know the importance of an increasing pack and new hunters to instruct in the old ways."
"I know these haven't been easy years," said Caspian with a slight sigh. "Your numbers were sadly dwindled before Old Narnia was restored. Even now they are not what they once were."
"All in good time, my King," said Ylva, bending her head to lick the wriggling pup at her side. Between licks she looked up directly at Caspian. "And Narnia's King still needs a pup of his own, to bring up as leader of the pack and ensure that Narnia will always be in safe paws."
"Hear hear," purred Khorvad placidly behind him. "Kings need heirs. And you should be claiming a female and siring cubs by now."
Caspian flushed. This was something all of the Talking Beasts agreed upon. "All in good time, my friends," he replied in kind. A long, long time from now, he thought privately. But no need to tell them that.
He grinned at Ylva. "After all, puppies need a mother too."
***
A/N: Some fun facts: Jaguars have human-length fertility cycles (every 37 days) and so they mate year-round, in a very profligate fashion with no monogamy whatsoever. (They also roar profoundly during mating, and the roars can be heard from miles away.) Wolves are the polar opposite: they pair-bond for life and mate one month a year in the winter, during which time the male never leaves the female. I like the extremes that the two Guards' unlikely partnership bring to the table as they advise Caspian on the issue of heirs.
I'm a name nerd. Here's where I pilfered my names from:
Ylva: Scandinavian for "she-wolf"
Ansgar: Germanic for "spear god"
Khorvad: variation on Persian/Zoroastrian goddess (whoops!) of health and water
I am SO NERVOUS posting this ficlet. It's all rthstewart's fault (as many things are). Thanks for reading my nonsense!
Warnings: This is very fluffy and very meta, being bits and bobs of worldbuilding from an AU thing I'm working on. It does work if you set it right before VDT. Hope I don't confuse anyone too greatly with the OC Beasts.
***
Narnia Needs Puppies
"Therefore, under us and under the High King, you shall be King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands. You and your heirs while your race lasts."
-Aslan, Ch 15 of Prince Caspian
The birth of Ylva's first litter was cause for great celebration, not least because a pregnant She-Wolf terrorizing the castle was a fearsome thing to live with. They had all been curious to see how and where Caspian's Night Guard would choose to have her pups, as she had chosen such a different life than the rest of her Pack, even making her den at Cair Paravel instead of in the wild like the others of her kind. Ylva had insisted on remaining Caspian's Guard until her whelping was imminent, which was not surprising really; the young King had been her first child and she still considered him under her care, even though he was quite old enough to look after himself now, thank you very much.
And finally the day came for the puppies to be born, and the royal kennels were abuzz with the news of seven fine new Wolf pups and a fiercely proud Ylva and snappish Ansgar all holed up in the furthest den of the kennels. "Is it safe?" inquired Caspian of the Hound that brought him the tidings.
"For you? Yes," replied the Hound with an amused yap.
So Caspian, accompanied by his lazier-than-usual Jaguar Day Guard (who had also been grudgingly working the night shift for the past several days), hurried down to the kennels to Ylva's den. He peered into the darkened enclosure, which was open for its occupants to come and go as they chose, just as all of the dens in the kennel were. He heard a low growl from the fierce-looking silver Wolf in the corner.
"Ansgar," said Ylva wearily. "He's my pup too."
"Did he have to bring that thing?" Ansgar eyed the very bored-looking Khorvad, who blinked his yellow eyes twice and churred under his breath about the primitiveness of pair bonds.
"Why don't you get me some fresh meat?" suggested Ylva to her mate. After a long stare at the black Jaguar by Caspian's side, Ansgar nodded and stalked out of the den.
"Congratulations, Ylva," said Caspian, fondly taking in the sight of the Wolf's maternal satisfaction in her new litter, who were nestled next to their mother's belly in exhausted heaps. "They are very healthy-looking puppies."
"The Silverfurs always did bear strong litters," said Ylva proudly. "And I have waited for one of my own for a very long time."
Caspian looked thoughtful. "I always knew you would make a wonderful mother. You should not have waited on my account."
"Nay, my King. I knew when the time was right for me to bear pups."
"Every time is the right time to bear cubs," said Khorvad off-handedly.
"And just how many poor cubs have you fathered during your nightly prowls?" retorted Ylva, her ears up.
"Only one at a time, that I can assure you," Khorvad drawled with a sidelong glance at the seven floppy bundles of fur. "Two, at the most."
Ylva yowled, "And no father to bring them food. For shame."
Khorvad shuddered. "Expunge half-digested meat for cubs? I shall leave such uncivilized practices to you Wolves."
The She-Wolf bristled and snarled something about thanking Aslan she had not been born a She-Jaguar.
An outsider might have thought the two Beasts were in danger of a fight or at least a very disagreeable argument; however, Caspian was used to his Guards' very differing ways of thinking and the ensuing debates, and he half suspected they quite enjoyed the rows. As a peace offering, he knelt and offered his hand to Ylva, and she laid her ears back and thrust her nose into his palm.
"I will ask to hold them when they are a little older," said Caspian, smiling as one of the puppies mewled and wriggled closer to Ylva's side.
"They shall be loyal to the King's household," the Wolf declared, "and the packs of Cair Paravel shall be returned to their former glory. We Wolves know the importance of an increasing pack and new hunters to instruct in the old ways."
"I know these haven't been easy years," said Caspian with a slight sigh. "Your numbers were sadly dwindled before Old Narnia was restored. Even now they are not what they once were."
"All in good time, my King," said Ylva, bending her head to lick the wriggling pup at her side. Between licks she looked up directly at Caspian. "And Narnia's King still needs a pup of his own, to bring up as leader of the pack and ensure that Narnia will always be in safe paws."
"Hear hear," purred Khorvad placidly behind him. "Kings need heirs. And you should be claiming a female and siring cubs by now."
Caspian flushed. This was something all of the Talking Beasts agreed upon. "All in good time, my friends," he replied in kind. A long, long time from now, he thought privately. But no need to tell them that.
He grinned at Ylva. "After all, puppies need a mother too."
***
A/N: Some fun facts: Jaguars have human-length fertility cycles (every 37 days) and so they mate year-round, in a very profligate fashion with no monogamy whatsoever. (They also roar profoundly during mating, and the roars can be heard from miles away.) Wolves are the polar opposite: they pair-bond for life and mate one month a year in the winter, during which time the male never leaves the female. I like the extremes that the two Guards' unlikely partnership bring to the table as they advise Caspian on the issue of heirs.
I'm a name nerd. Here's where I pilfered my names from:
Ylva: Scandinavian for "she-wolf"
Ansgar: Germanic for "spear god"
Khorvad: variation on Persian/Zoroastrian goddess (whoops!) of health and water
I am SO NERVOUS posting this ficlet. It's all rthstewart's fault (as many things are). Thanks for reading my nonsense!