swift the steps that would interrupt the child's route, father's kind mouth coming to take the kit by the scruff, "popy, what are you doing?", the kingpin would hum, aiming to carry the child away from the edges of the forest, the NPC patrol members chuckling at the sight of the parent attempting to herd their offspring away from the dangerous forest. humming, they would move to continue to block his path, "you know that you're not supposed to go to the forest", they spoke softly, scolding.

clicking their tongue slightly, they concluded the patrol with a wave of their tail, eyes glancing over their child. chuckling, they shook their head, "escaped your nanny again i see", they murmured in soft amusement, "let us go to talk to her.", they would breathe out.

an amused laugh would leave the parent, their brows creasing slightly, "did you tell your nanny that you were going out for a bit, poppy?", they laughed, carrying him back towards the inn, "the snow drifts are heavy and thick, your little legs are going to be hard-pressed to get through this snow.", they snorted as they made the trek back, their own legs thick with ice, in their jaguar body, shivering at the chill.

setting poppy down in a relatively thin space, they paused to shake themself out before going to pick him back up, carrying him with a low hum, "the forest might seem fun to you right now, but i promise you it's not as fun as you believe it to be. there are a lot of dangers out there that can hurt even me, and i'm the biggest dragon here.", they murmured, memory flying back to selthies and glamier, two members that had been missing for a long time. sighing, they rubbed their shoulders against the moss sided tree trunks, trying to knock off the crusting snow from their pelt. bringing him to the inn, they would push the door open with their shoulder, sighing in relief at the warm air coursing over their fur.

rumbling softly as they brought him inside, they huffed softly, gaze warm as they put him down, "go sit by the fire for now, poppy. you weren't wearing any furs on top of your skin.", they would cluck their tongue with a soft exhale, walking closer to the hearth themself to warm up and groom the icy snow from their fur. sitting down, they lifted a foreleg to groom the chill away, patting the floor after a moment, where a fur was laying on the ground for proper curling up near the warmth, "come here", they would instruct, turning their head to groom him should he come closer.

eyes closing to half lid, they stared into the embers, mind drifting away to eons worth of memories, gaze becoming foreign and distant, removed and quiet before shaking their head. they could remember the feeling of their long lost mate curled up into their side on the coldest nights, watching the fire together and speaking of what would have been their future together so long ago. exhaling, they shuddered, knowing that such a nicety was no longer theirs, nor should it ever be again. shaking their head, they yawned, "she will be around the inn somewhere, likely to come and look after you, dear/", they murmured, knowing that the nanny would be beside herself with worry as the storms began to sweep in outside.

chuckling as their child laid against them, they rolled to encompass him in their forelegs, gently dragging tongue over tender skin, purr rumbling in their throat, soothed by his scent. burying their nose into his shoulder, they chuckled, "i'll hide you, poppy, don't worry. i might just fall asleep here.", they would murmur, tongue salving over gentle skin, warming it with each pass. exhaling, they pulled him closer to their fur, wrapped up in a fur they had recently treated, rumbling in content as they closed their eyes, "if you want to hide, keep your tail close to me.", they chuckled softly.

hearing the bark of the howl of the wind, they closed their eyes, purring despite themself as they curled up about their kit, ears flicking against the sound of the storm setting in outside, knowing that their groupmates were smart enough to come indoors before the storm.

they would give a low laugh, grooming his short nearly non existent threads of fur, a deep purr rumbling from their chest. what they wouldn't give to have another adult there with them, someone they knew and cherished. lately, the feelings of loneliness echoed in their chest in wicked ways. shaking their head slightly, the kingpin would yawn, laying their head upon their paws and grooming at their own scars that ached from the cold. "mm. it's warmer in here ...", they would breathe quietly, shuddering with a great yawn again. they enjoyed the warmth in the same way that they enjoyed their kit being pressed against their side.