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The all too familiar sound of summoning a familiar filled the quiet din of the Rosegrass family’s home, the sound alerting everyone but the three youngest to the patriarch, Argorn. The two older children all but abandoned what they were playing with, scampering over to their father with matching excitement glittering in their eyes. If what was going to occur was what they hoped it was, then the day was about to be a very special one for their whole family.

“ Ata , is it time to have the babies meet Elbir?!” Mindra asked eagerly, her hands curling up in front of her chest as if to contain her excitement. Her father chuckled lovingly, brushing a stray blonde curl out of her face before turning his face to look at his wife, a silent question hanging in the air. A silent question that he already knew the answer to, as did the children- if Brengolin’s eager grin was anything to go by.

Nithriel approached with a content smile, resting her hands on Brengolin and Mindra’s shoulders as she shared a quick kiss with her husband, the two smiling against the other as the kids make grossed out sounds. With a fond chuckle, Nithriel pulled away from her husband, ignoring the puppy eyes he was giving her, and looked down at the two.

“Indeed, little saplings, it is time for Elbir to meet the triplets.” She agreed. Under normal circumstances, they would have had Argorn’s familiar meet them much younger, but they had been recovering after a nasty attack on their village at the time and life took more precedence over their little family tradition. Argorn called for Elbir to come to his side, running a hand across the bear’s gray back, looking at his family with a soft look that gave away his excitement.

“Alright, I’ll stay here with Elbir and you three can go find wherever those three little beasties wandered off to.” Argorn joked, his eyes glittering brightly with excitement while Elbir let out excited chuffs. 

Finding wherever the three youngest had gone off took longer than Nithriel would have wanted,the three of them getting themselves into far too much trouble as they grew older by the day.  Getting them all rounded up was a struggle, but once she made sure that Mindra and Bren had a hold on Thoron and Sillas, she scooped up a wiggling Wylarin. All three fussed at their capture but their complaints quieted when they were brought to their father and the softly glowing bear by his side. 

Carefully, the three were placed down as Argorn knelt with open arms, smiling even wider than before as his youngest all raced to him on their little legs. Despite their age, they were still so small, even by Bosmer standards, and it made withstanding the combined weight of three little terrors slamming into one much easier. 

“Hello my seedlings! I’ve got someone special for you to meet.” He gently removed their little hands from where they were already tugging at his hair and clothes excitedly, instead motioning to Elbir, “This is Elbir, my familiar. He’s one of my most trusted friends on Nirn.” He explained, running a hand over the bear’s soft gray head, “He’ll be one of your closest companions as well.” 

Slowly, as if to make sure they were not going to get in trouble for touching the incredible beast in front of them, the triplets moved closer to the bear, little hands reaching out to touch and pet the bear. Each of their blue eyes widened at how soft he felt and it wasn’t long until all three were trying to hug the equally happy bear, letting out squeals of delight when Elbir managed to lick them, indicating the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

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The unmistakable sound of breaking ceramic filled the home, the only three inhabitants in the room jumping in alarm before racing to where their ball had gone sailing into the kitchen space, identical looks of horror on their little faces. 

“Rini! Why’d you throw it so hard?!” Thoron huffed, scowling at the youngest. Said youngest stomped a foot on the ground, red curls bouncing at the movement, all the while her face and ears flushed in agitation.

“I didn’t! You just didn’t catch it!” Wylarin pouted, crossing her arms with a noticeable sniffle. Sillas frowned, looking between his older brother and younger sister before kneeling to the ground, deft hands grabbing the pieces he could safely grab, assessing the damage about as well as a five year old could.

“Guys, it’s not too bad. Maybe we can fix it.” He attempted to soothe any frayed nerves, blond hair falling out of the little ponytail it was tucked back into. He didn’t flinch when both shot frowns at him, knowing how his twins truly felt; i.e guilty. 

“How? We’re not allowed to touch the glue after last time.” Thoron asked, calming down at the prospect of fixing it before they got caught. However, he did have a point, the three were banned from touching the glue after they had pranked Brengolin with it earlier in the year. The scolding they had received had scared all three of them from hatching another glue related prank for the time being. 

Wylarin knelt down next to Sillas and furrowed her brows, carefully arranging the pieces in a way that would be easy to deal with, “Hmm… Maybe we could use mud? Mama said that’s how Argonians build homes in some parts of Blackmarch.” She suggested, though puffed her chest out in pride about remembering such a fact. 

“It’s Blackmar sh , Wy.” Thoron corrected, kneeling down as well. Silence filled the room as all three began trying to think about how they’d get mud to fix the vase as well if they could make it look convincing. The vase they broke wasn’t exactly brown , it was an imported piece their mother got from a friend in a different province. 

Finally, with a surge of confidence, Thoron got back up and helped his younger siblings up as well, an air of juvenile confidence to him that seemed to spread to his twins as well. 

“Let's go get some mud!”

As the three ran out of their home, they nearly ran straight into a familiar creature- Elbir. The bear seemed happy to find them, though after a quick sniff it seemed to know they were up to something as he let out a low clack of his jaws. 

“Shhh! Shush Elbir! Don’t let anyone into the house until we can get mud.” Wylarin pleaded, holding her little hands on either side of the bear’s face, swiping her thumbs across the soft fur. It seemed that just like the rest of the village, Elbir was weak to the big blue eyes of the triplets, as the bear chuffed and gave the little girl a lick to her face, making her giggle and squeal in glee. 

Seeing that they now had an accomplice in the familiar, the three were quick to run down the path to the riverbank, knowing that Elbir would follow them and protect them from thunderbugs. Protect them he did, and soon the three little Bosmers were soaked and dripping mud all over the dirt path as they attempted to get back to their home. 

“Where are you three going so fast, hm?” Sadly, because Elbir was following them, Argorn was alerted to something going on, and he was waiting for them at the top of the path with an amused look. However, the look on his face was replaced with confusion at the sight of them. 

“Why are you wet?! Is that mud? What are you three doing?” He asked, hazel eyes wide with confusion. Elbir seemed to abandon his position as accomplice as he grumbled and chuffed, ratting the three out on the spot, the children gasping and whining while desperately begging Elbir to shut up . Shut up he didn’t, and soon their father was giving them a stern look.

Argorn had opened his mouth to say something when all five of them heard a distant yell from their home, the unmistakable sound of Nithriel stumbling upon a crime scene in the home clear as day. All five of them were on high alert to the fact that no matter what happened, they’d all get stuck with the blame if they tried to explain anything while she was still burning hot from anger. 

“Go back to the river!” Argorn declared, running along with his three youngest and familiar back down to the safety of the water, the sounds of squealing children filling the air, accompanied by the tell-tale splashes of children at play.

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Getting to go out on one’s own for a hunting mission for the first time was a great moment in a young Bosmer’s life, each child eagerly awaiting the moment they were trusted to provide for the village in their tenth year. It was a long standing tradition that many villages and tribes held sacred, even after so long. 

For the Rosegrass triplets, they were still allowed to go hunt despite their birthday falling in the winter, each sent in different directions to avoid them helping each other out- or more realistically: fighting amongst themselves. Which, while they were aware they’d likely fight, they weren’t keen on being split up, but inevitably did as told.

Despite being sent alone, Argorn had sent Elbir to keep an eye on each of them, knowing that while Wylarin would do just fine, it was Thoron and Sillas who might need help, seeing as they were more content to study magic with him than practice fighting with their mother and sisters, just like Brengolin.

However, it became clear to Elbir that Wylarin was the one who was struggling the most with the isolation hunting brought. The redhead was a ray of sunshine to her family, loving to dance and sing and talk about anything under the sun- that meant that being alone wasn’t something she liked. It seemed the forest and its inhabitants knew that as well as the silence rendered the girl into a nervous shell of herself.

As the bear followed the youngest of his companion’s cubs, the distant sound of successful kills echoed through the forest alerting Elbir to the fact that both older triplets had finished their hunts and were heading home- leaving Wylarin alone in the cold forest. Due to her enhanced hearing, the child also heard it and seemed to curl further into herself as she hunted. 

The girl reeked of fear and sadness, any trace of her earlier excitement gone as the sun dipped below the treeline, leaving her at the mercy of the cool wind and any creatures with better night vision. The thought of the child getting hurt made Elbir clack his jaws in worry, moving even faster to catch up with her.

Wylarin crept through the underbrush with silent steps, arms shivering at her side as she adjusted her grip on her bow, detecting the sound of a creature up ahead. She was faintly aware of the fact that she was near the edge of a steep drop, though her attention was laser focused on whatever was nearby. 

With a fluid motion, the redhead knocked an arrow and pulled back, blood rushing in her ears as she let go, watching the arrow sail through the air and hit its mark. A loud cry startled nearby birds, the brush moving violently until a senche burst through, its eyes wild and full of pain and anger as it saw the little Bosmer with the bow.

A choked gasp tore its way out of the girl’s throat, blue eyes wide in fear as she reached back into her belt to grab her blade, the metal glinting in the fading light. The predator growled, running at the girl with its jaws snapping, ready to fight. Seeing she had no choice, Wylarin fluidly put her bow away and raised her blade defensively, eyes narrowing. She sliced across the beast’s head, narrowly avoiding it’s eyes. 

The added pain was all the senche needed to barrel into the girl, sending both of them falling down the small ravine they were above. The fall itself killed the big cat, its body rolling until it rested on the riverbank, all while Wylarin rolled and tumbled, her arms and legs getting battered and bruised through her leather armor. When she thought she was nearly at the bottom, a sharp pain blossomed at the back of her skull, leaving her to sink into the inky warmth of unconsciousness. 

Elbir, having raced through the brush to the edge of the ravine, watched as the girl’s body landed next to the senche’s, her head wound bleeding sluggish due to the cold air, blood and dirt already caking her vibrant red locks. Without a second thought, the familiar teleported back to his companion, teeth blowing and clacking in distress.

The whole village was gathered around a big bubbling pot, ready for the kills of the triplets when he appeared, any songs being played quieted down as the treethane caught sight of his fear. Argorn took notice as well, stepping away from his conversation with the speaker and treethane to kneel down and stroke his face comfortingly, worry radiating off the man in waves.

“Elbir my friend, what’s wrong?” He asked, using their bond to listen to what he was saying. The bear watched the Bosmer’s face grow pale, eyes wide as he quickly shot up and turned to address the crowd that had formed. 

“The boys succeeded as did Wylarin, though something went wrong.” He said, voice hollow as he pulled his staff out of its holster. Mindra and Brengolin raced to their father, matching looks of worry on their faces. Both had done their hunts nearly a decade earlier and were well aware that something could go wrong. 

Without a word, the three followed Elbir as the bear raced out and in the direction the youngest was bleeding out, teeth continuing to clack as he ran, knowing her life relied on them getting there in time. The last rays of sunlight faded from the forest, leaving them in nearly complete darkness, relying on the lights of Agrorn and Brengolin’s staves as well as the glow of Elbir himself to lead the way. 

The run was silent, save for the familiar’s upset and scared noises, and by the time they reached where Wylarin fell, their breaths could be seen in the air in front of them. Mindra, ever the clever huntress, kneeled at the edge of the ravine and searched around at the bottom before pointing. A light spell was cast and the fallen child was illuminated, as was her mighty kill. 

They worked carefully to get her wound stabilized before Argorn opened a portal straight back to the village, carrying his youngest while Elbir circled around him, ears tucked.  

In the early hours of the next morning, Wylarin awoke, her mind lacking context for where she was as well as the pain blooming at the back of her skull- but that didn’t bother her. At her side, curled around her like a living blanket and pillow, was Elbir, his nose gently buried into the crook of her neck and an arm around her. While she had no idea what happened, she did know that Elbir was the reason she was back home to begin with. 

“ Naseranah , Elbir.” She whispered before cuddling back into the warmth of his fur and drifted off to sleep once more. 

𖥸

The village was just recovering from yet another attack from the drublog, the village still reeking of smoke and blood, leaving the people of Tanglehaven with little to no food supplies. Thankfully, almost all of their hunters survived the attack and were off hunting- Wylarin included. She had long since overcome her fear of being alone, instead using the silence of the forest to think and become one with the world. 

However, ever since the raid, her family had been a bit more protective than usual- perhaps because she had gotten yet another head injury during the fray. However, she was in perfect condition to hunt, or at least she thought so. Obviously her father disagreed because she was keenly aware of Elbir following her. Everytime that her family babied her and she managed to leave, Elbir was sent as a makeshift babysitter- despite her being a grown adult .

Finally, when she had had enough listening to the bear’s attempts of being silent, she stopped to fix the bear with a look , “Elbir, I know Ata sent you. I am fine .” She groaned, crossing her arm. Elbir chuffed in response before perking up, head whipping away in search of something. Wylarin fell silent, well aware that Elbir heard something, straining her ears to hear it as well. 

Distantly, to the east of where they were, was a small cry of an animal in distress. Due to the distance, she couldn’t decipher exactly what it was but she knew it needed help. Elbir was on her wavelength it seemed, because both started running in the same direction, silence hanging over them as they followed the cries. 

They soon found themselves next to an impressively tall graht-oak with a hawks’ nest near the top. Barely noticeable to the naked eye, but still visible, was a mewling kitten in the nest. The poor thing was obviously meant to be the birds’ dinner but something inside Wylarin broke when she heard just how croaky its cries had turned. It had clearly been screaming for help for a while.

“Elbir, spot me. I’m going up.” She said, patting her hands on the dirt nearby to give her better grip. Without a second thought the Bosmer began scaling the tree, murmuring words of prayers and songs as she climbed to keep her focus. The hawks, aware of her approach, started circling her, occasionally diving to try and get her to fall. All they accomplished was getting hit with Elbir’s spells. 

At the location of the nest, Wylarin straddled a sturdy branch and let out a sigh she hadn’t meant to hold. Two big blue eyes peered at the elf, the tiny kitten poking it’s head out from where it had curled, not daring to move. 

“Shhh little one, you’re safe now.” She crooned, staying still to give it the chance to come to her when it was ready. She got a small hiss in response, ears pinned back. Expecting such a reaction, Wylarin hunkered down and caught her breath, ready to wait as long as needed. 

She only had to wait for a few moments before the little kitten registered that she had saved it, clambering out of the nest and approaching her on wobbly legs. Once it was in reach, it was carefully scooped up into Wylarin’s protective arms, a finger gently rubbing it’s cheek. 

“Hello little one! Now we just need to figure out how to get down…” She said, peering down to the ground. Before she could even begin to strategize, she felt the familiar feeling of being portaled and groaned at the realization that her father had slipped a recall stone into her pack. Damn her caring family and their worry for her well being!

Blinking her eyes, she was back home, in front of a very unimpressed looking father. 

“ Ata! I was fine! ” She groaned, though didn’t stomp as she would have due to the precious cargo she carried. Said cargo mewled unhappily at the sudden teleportation, complaining to the redhead who held it.

“Wha- Oh! Who is this little one?” Argorn asked, forgetting all about his initial lecture in order to fawn over the kitten. Carefully, he lifted it from his daughter’s arms in order to check it over, healing whatever minor injuries it may have as well as checking its age and gender. 

“Well, how are they?” Wylarin asked curiously, knowing what her father was doing. Elbir, who had probably alerted Argorn to her acquisition- the traitor - laid down by their legs, content to listen to them talk. With a fond look, Argorn finished his assessment and gave the kitten some well earned scratches to its chin. 

“She’s perfectly fine now, thanks to you.” He said, handing the confused but generally pleased kitten back to his daughter. Once they were both settled, he couldn’t help but laugh, noticing the striking resemblance of the two. Their ginger hair, bright blue eyes, and perked ears too similar for him not to laugh. 

“What are you going to name her?” He asked once he quelled his laughter. His youngest child rolled her eyes before gently scratching under the kitten's chin as her father had done earlier. A soft and loving look already present in her eyes as she gazed down at the purring kitten.

“Nessa.”