mysa (n.) || the feeling of comfort and protection

it!" She cried out, rushing to grab a hold of the pup, "What on earth do you think your doing, little guy?" She pulled him away from the mess he had made and held him at arms length, "Bad boy, you should know better."

The pup blinked at her with innocent blue eyes but the corners of his lips twitched as if he was about to give her a wolfish grin. She sighed in exasperation and let her eyes fall on the bathroom floor, where the bottom of the shower curtain had been mercilessly chewed and the little pieces of blue laid scattered across the floor.

She glared at the pup, "You better not have swallowed any of that."

He wiggled in her hands, tiny noises of protest leaving him, and she sighed once again before leaving the bathroom and heading downstairs. She made sure to close the door behind her and any other door in the house. She stepped over two of the pups wrestling at the bottom of the stairs and set down the pup in her hands who desperately wanted to continue his exploring.

"I don't even know how you managed to get upstairs," She gave him a pat on the bum as he scurried off to join his siblings and then she whispered under her breath, "But every one of you will be the death of me."

Over a span of fourteen hours, the pups had become quite lively and she could no longer contain them in the box as they would work together to tip it over and escape behind her back. So, she decided it wouldn't hurt to let them roam the house, but she almost regretted her decision completely. The responsibility of keeping track of six wolf pups that ran off as fast as their little legs would carry them was something she wasn't expecting to be so challenging, especially when they chewed on anything they could get their jaws on.

She continually did research on the internet about the pups, hoping to gain as much knowledge as she could so that she could be a proper substitute mother. One thing that puzzled her was how quickly the pups progressed on their legs, as she expected them to be less mobile, and the intelligence reflecting in their eyes was almost astonishing for an animal.

Of course, she knew wolves were quite intelligent, but there almost seemed to be something else to these pups she adopted. However, she shrugged it off as a simple coincidence that she had stumbled across very special pups, and she was eager to teach them things.

She had been watching the burliest pup brawl over his brother with ease when she noticed that only five pups played within the space of the living room and hallway. She stood from the seat she had taken on the steps and wandered down the hallway, knowing the pup wasn't upstairs or in the kitchen.

She paused when she heard the rustle of papers from her father's office, and she took a deep breath before she pushed open the door. The room was dimly lit from the grey skies outside but she could clearly see the shreds of white strewn through the entire corner of the office. An active pup romped through the paper shreddings, unaware she was there, and the waste basket that once contained the mess had a dent in it against the wall.

"Excuse me," She put her hands on her hips, purposefully using a scolding tone, and the pup froze as his head whipped in her direction.

She was almost amused at how the pup remained frozen, as if he thought she wouldn't see him if he didn't move, and then he slowly unfroze into a sulk. Those blue eyes cast her a sideways glance and she knew that he knew he was in trouble.

"Better start talking, mister," She said.

He ducked his head, tucking his little tail, and slowly trailed closer to her. It reminded her of a child asking for forgiveness, but before she could say another word, the pup came within two feet of her and then he bolted. She cursed under her breath as he disappeared out the door, clearly having outsmarted her, and then she shook her head.

"I can't believe this," She muttered as she bent down and collected handfuls of shredded paper in her hands, depositing them back into the waste basket. She briefly wondered if he headbutted the basket in order to get it to tip over and a ghost smile crossed her lips.

She made quick work, fearing leaving the pups alone too long, and then briskly walked towards the noise of their rough housing. She found them in the kitchen, sniffing under cupboard doors and checking out the door to the pantry. She thought quickly and gathered the left over boxes from the last supply run and blocked the kitchen doorway with herself inside.

When she turned, the pups were all watching her, "What? I'm hungry, and so are you guys. Its time to make lunch and I can't be chasing you guys all over." She patted her hands on her jeans and moved towards a cupboard above the stove. She didn't miss how a couple of the pups turned their heads from her to the blockage and then to her again, as if they couldn't believe her attempt to contain them.

They were similar in color, a dark grey with lighter grey highlights, and she had to wonder if she had ever seen wolves with their unique coloring. Commonly, the wolves in Yellowstone were grey or brown, very simple colors, but these pups displayed a coat of wonder from a young age. Almost as if they were different, but then again, she had never seen wolf pups before until now.

She had just pulled a loaf of bread from the cabinet when a crash startled her. She whirled around to find her blockage completely knocked over and a very particular burly pup standing a couple inches away with legs braced apart and tail stuck in the air with excitement.

As if one cue, the larger pup swung his head towards her and she swore he grinned. He gave a little wag of his tail, completely proud of himself, and then he took off. She didn't have time to act before the rest of the pups made a run for it and then she was left with chasing six wolf pups through her house again. It was almost as if they thought it was a game and when she laid chase, they gave cute little yips of excitement and scurried even faster.

Some time later, she flopped on her bed completely exhausted. Her lower back hurt from bending over some much to catch runaway pups and her fingers slightly itched from when she had picked up the pup that she assumed was the oldest. He was quite moody and nipped at her almost every time she tried to pick him up or pet him, she thought of him to be rather cross.

She sighed, rolling onto her side and snuggling into her thick comforter. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep. She heard the quiet sound of the pups exploring her room but she smiled smugly when she knew they had no escape and she had made sure they had nothing to chew on. After their prolonged lunch, which was medium rare meat and warm whole milk for the pups and a BLT sandwich with a glass of orange juice for her, she had locked them in the bathroom for a few minutes while she ran outside and split some wood.

Luckily, nothing had been ruined besides the soap container was splattered across the floor, and she didn't even care as she scooped them up and brought them to her room. It was late afternoon but it might as well have been ten at night. She still had to find a replacement shower curtain before her father got home, or she had to come up with some pretty convincing lies.

She had let her eyes drift shut when a nearly inaudible whine stirred her conscience. She ignored it and the whine slowly, cautiously, grew louder. A few other quiet whines joined in, and she finally opened her eyes with a sigh. She rolled onto her stomach and peeked over the side of her bed, prepared to scold them for interrupting her sleep, but stopped herself short.

All six of the pups were gathered at the very edge of her bed frame and they gazed up with curious blue eyes that conveyed a need. One of the pups reared onto his hind legs and rested his front paws on the bottom of the comforter, a complete mirror image of a child that wished to be picked up by their parent.

"Oh, alright," She groaned when they whined once more, "Just this once."

She reached down and pulled the first pup onto her bed. In a few seconds, five pups rested on her bed and she watched them warily before she reached down for the last pup. He sat on his haunches, almost scowling, and she paused.

"You aren't going to bite me, right?" She rose an eyebrow. He blinked. She sighed but risked it and was surprised when he didn't nip at her.

Finally, the six pups rested on her bed. She fully expected them to be overly curious and wander the entire space of her bed, possibly finding a way to fall off the side and injure themselves, but she was amused to find them just as a ready to sleep as she.

Their eyes drooped, they gave tiny yawns, and then they shuffled for a comfortable spot to snuggle down. She laid back and sent a silent thank you to the heavens. She had no clue what she would do if they hadn't settled down. She yawned with them after a couple of seconds and they snuggled their little bodies against her sides.

She instantly felt warm and safe, an indescribable feeling when she was dreadful of sleeping alone because of her nightmare. But, as she fell asleep with the wolf pups surrounding her, the nightmare never bothered her once.

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