“Come in, Shijen. That’s quite the storm out there. The usual?” Yao, the tavern keeper, was in an especially jovial mood today as he welcomed in his favorite patron, not that he'd admit to that out loud.

The man nodded a soggy, slightly greying head as he squelched over to his preferred seat under the large, lattice-shuttered, paper window near the fireplace and closest to the currently empty storyteller’s podium. One side of the window had been left ajar to allow the early March storm to blow a chilly cross breeze through the tavern. Shivering a little as he waited for his hot drink to arrive, Shijen glanced through the window at the fabric shop across the way and observed the handful of cracked clay tiles on the roof that would need replacing this coming summer. While Shijen made a mental note to offer his services to the store owner, Yao brought a spiced herbal tea in a large cup that was full to the brim and sloshing everywhere in his haste.

“Watch it, Yao!” Shijen took the drink off the wood tray and took a cautious swig, savoring the tea’s heat in contrast to the damp chill of his clothes while Yao stood twitching out of the corner of his eye. Shijen knew that the only thing that got Yao this excited was some good gossip. “Alright. I’ll bite. You’ve got news, haven’t you?” He took another swig of tea.

Shijen was right; Yao was bursting and all but shouted, “did you hear that the Alpha and Beta had a daughter?”

The old guest nearly choked on his drink. “What?! No, I hadn’t heard.”

“Yeah! It’s the big news of the day.” Yao beamed to have another engrossed ear to bend, and sat down across the table from his friend. If gossip were a sport, Yao was the reigning champion of the Wolf Tribe.

“What do you know?” Shijen asked, still spluttering.

Yao took a deep breath. “Well, she was born this morning when the big storm hit. My sources suggested that the Beta was in labor for days, probably because she is such a large baby. They named her Huo Lohse, Huo Lohse Lang, and she is the most beautiful baby. Ever. Seen.” He rapped his hand on the table to add extra emphasis to the last two words, indicating that he had spilled all the details and was now prepared to discuss them.

The corner of Shijen’s mouth twitched as he watched the excitable bartender deliver the news. Yao's "sources" weren't always the most reliable when it came to the details, but Shijen enjoyed the entertaining conversation fodder regardless. This was why he'd been coming to the tavern every day since his wife passed after all. “Right when the storm hit? The Wolf Tribe leader is going to have his hands full with this one.” He chuckled softly.

Encouraged, Yao responded, “right?! And giving her mother such a hard time too. But she is the first girl born into a tribe leader’s family since the Old Phoenix’s daughter was born over twenty years ago.” Yao sat back to let this fact sink in and bask in his own cleverness for making the connection.

“I hadn’t thought of that, but I guess you are right. I was just thinking that after six boys, Beta Xini finally got her girl…. A rare girl, a beauty and a troublemaker.” Shijen frowned. “Just our luck, she will be the cause of a war between the tribes when she reaches marriage age.”

“Hmph. Don’t jinx the princess.” Yao’s eyes glinted. “Maybe she will be a real brat and no one will take her.”

To Yao’s gratification, Shijen guffawed. “And you said not to jinx her….” Another gulp of his tea later, Shijen continued. “Has the Great Owl blessed the princess yet?”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure she will very soon if she hasn’t already. Why? What have you heard?” Yao frowned. He didn’t like being behind in his gossip.

“I was just curious.” Shijen shrugged and gazed out the window unseeingly. “The Great Owl seems to be looking for something amongst the Wolf Tribe babies. She leaves the city less and less these days.”

“Oh, but the Great Owl has always been… odd.” Yao’s brow furrowed in thought. “And she’s getting older. Maybe she just doesn’t care to travel as much as she used to.”

The guest cocked his head. “Maybe. But I’m remembering that a few months back, the Lion Tribe took particular offense to the Great Owl’s prolonged delay in coming to bless a royal nephew even after news of his birth was officially circulated. And then when she did show up, she spent only a day there before turning right around and returning here.”

“The Lion Tribe has always stood upon ceremony and taken offense to these sorts of things, and the Great Owl is either oblivious to the social graces or intentionally ignores them.” Yao grinned, revealing tea-yellowed, pleasantly crooked teeth.

“I guess so.” Shijen conceded. “It just seems like the Great Owl has been going out of her way to bless wolf babies and ignore the rest.”

That mischievous glint returned to Yao’s eyes. “Well, to be fair, wolf babies are a more regular occurrence.”

This time, Shijen didn’t take the bait, instead looking stern. “You are right about that. The new princess makes seven babies in four years. Three sets of twin boys makes that... less impossible. I just don’t know how the Beta does it, even with all of her mother’s helpers.”

Yao nodded knowingly. “The Beta is a tough lady to be sure. But she knew what she signed up for when she married Ming Lang. It’s tradition for the Alpha to father lots of children. It increases the odds of an Alpha wolf being born into the next generation after all.”

Shijen shook his head as if to disperse a forming storm cloud before clapping his friend on the shoulder. “Get yourself a drink, Yao. Let’s toast to the new potential Alpha and the happy parents.”

Yao disappeared momentarily, returning with a small flask. “To the princess….”

The two glasses clinked.

***

A rather soggy Great Owl arrived at the great metal gates of Pack Hall a few hours later. Having heard the gossip in town, she wasted no time. Her greying brown hair fell messy, some of it plastered to her round face from the rain water. Her footsteps left small muddy puddles behind her as she walked through the great stone courtyards, past the assorted external buildings, and into the towering halls fashioned from the artificially expanded natural caves of the west mountain cliffs. The guards offered her a towel but weren’t particularly surprised when she waved them off and pushed right past them, entering the council room dripping wet and interrupting the Alpha’s meeting with his advisors.

“I hear you finally sired a daughter, Ming Lang.” The Great Owl never cared for titles, but it was evident by the awkward silence that she should have used one.

The Alpha grinned and fixed his disheveled visitor with a pointed gaze. “News travels fast, Olemus Yarkeva.”

The Great Owl scrunched up her nose at her real name… ok, never cared for titles except her own. She got the message and back-tracked. “Wolf Leader, I come to bless the child.”

“You are most welcome to do so, but both mother and child are resting now.” The old owl was visibly disappointed as the Wolf Tribe leader continued. “You just walked into a meeting called to plan a small court feast in honor of the princess this evening. She will be presented to the court at that time. Perhaps you would care to get cleaned up and join us? I’m sure we could find a moment for you to bless her then.”

Perturbed at having to wait the whole afternoon, the Great Owl responded with a curt nod before turning on her heel in an exaggerated flourish. The Alpha gave a servant to his right a half smile and nod, and the servant quickly followed the owl out.

***

Beta Xini’s rest was interrupted by six little boys. The oldest boys, Qingchi and Rensui were four, and they had clearly orchestrated the escape from the mother’s helpers assigned to them. Zizai and Lingdao were three and all too eager to climb up onto their mother’s bed looking for “the beebee Lolo”. Zhongyan and Haowan were one and a half and looked tickled just to be included in their brothers' antics. Lolo, as her brothers called her, thankfully, was asleep in a bassinet in the corner that her brothers had, so far, not noticed. It gave the mother’s helpers enough time to catch up to the boys before the baby got, ahem, a little too loved.

“Sorry, Beta!” The girls, averaging about eleven years old, came panting into the room. “We were playing hide and seek...”

“And the boys said it was their turn to seek…”

“And then they didn’t actually come look for us…”

“And then they disappeared…”

“And-”

Beta Xini cut them off with a warm laugh and a wave of the hand. “It’s alright girls. But since you are all here anyway, how about helping me manage the chaos so I can show the boys their new sister?”

Hardly less eager themselves to meet the baby, the girls jumped into action rounding up their charges and pulling them into a semi circle on the floor by the bed. Xini Lang pulled herself up into a sitting position as her newest little mother’s helper carefully brought her the waking princess. She held Huo Lohse out to the group for inspection, and while the girls immediately broke into delighted squeals, the boys were too preoccupied with jostling each other for a better view to really pay much attention to the baby. She was a cute little thing in an ordinary way-- black hair, pudgy cheeks and hands, the slightest hint of green in her otherwise murky-brownish newborn eyes.

Once he’d settled, and not entirely sure what he was expecting, Qingchi blurted, “so… that’s a girl?”

Rensui added, “what makes her different from the other babies?” He was referring to the twin brothers they had met in a similar fashion a year and a half prior, but he didn’t get his answer before...

“I’m hungry,” Zizai complained.

“Me too,” Lingdao agreed, losing interest and trying to push his way back out of the circle.

Zhongyan finally caught up with what was happening. “Beebee!” he pointed.

And that’s when Haowan sneezed right into his little sister’s face.

***

The feast was a merry event as the hunters had cornered a large herd of deer in a small enclave seeking refuge from the downpour, and everyone was buzzing about the princess. However, despite the festive atmosphere, the Great Owl sat sulking in the corner. She disliked gatherings, large or otherwise, and she wasn’t too thrilled about having to stick around while waiting for a chance to bless the baby.

As bellies became full and conversation slowed, Wolf Leader Lang stood up. Almost instantly, the room hushed. “Thank you all for being here. I guess there is little left to do but present the princess!” The room erupted into cheers and applause. When the room settled again, the Alpha signaled to a servant by a back door. The door swung wide and a little mother’s helper walked in holding a bundle of blankets as though it was the most precious thing in the world. She gingerly passed the baby to her father and stepped to the side.

Chuckling a little to himself as he unwrapped the copious amount of blankets, the Alpha raised the baby to his chest and turned her around to face the court. The obligatory oo’s and ah’s sounded around the room, and the court members each took turns approaching the Alpha’s table and offering small bows to the rather groggy infant. Finally, the Great Owl was signalled to approach. Unlike the members of the court, the owl walked around the table, arms outstretched. Wolf Leader Lang rolled his eyes a little but acquiesced.

Putting two fingers on the little princess’s chest, the Great Owl closed her eyes. Moments later, her eyes popped open and she withdrew her hand. Smiling for the first time that evening, she gave a quick, standard blessing and then lifted the princess up to get a closer look at her squishy face.

“Hello again, old friend.”