At over two centuries old, Kiam was starting to realize he was no longer a young man. His body, altered as it was, had held up fine over the years. Limbs still worked, still had the full range of motion, still had all of the strength and stamina in his ursine body the Mutter des Bodens blessed him with two hundred years ago. He felt so well and healthy no one would guess his age, even if he were not magically augmented.

However, everything in nature was cyclical. All things that live must die and return to the soil. While he was the Mutter des Bodens’ chosen, he was well aware that it was not her way to keep him alive forever. One day, he too would be called to go the way of all things. To that end, more and more, he was thinking of the thing everyone who pondered their legacy thought of. He wanted children.

Just because someone wanted something did not mean it would materialize with no effort. Kiam was normally content with staying in nature, communing with the trees and plants around his most recent cabin. To get what he wanted, he had to venture near civilized towns more often than he liked. More often than he ever had since he was chosen. More often than he should have. He took dozens of girls from the surrounding towns over the span of a year. None of them were suitable for one reason or another, so he had to dispose of them. While the soil appreciated their blood and his belly their flesh, the communities took notice.

So, he had to leave. Once again, he left his cabin behind. Leave not just the cabin, but that entire world, just to ensure he would remain undisturbed by petty, vengeance seeking fools. A few fools tromping around his forest he could handle. When they brought in lots of vehicles and friends and weapons was when it became bothersome. Kill a squad of people, they just sent more next time. It was more trouble than it was worth.

However, they were not so sharp they came for him right away. So, he took his time packing up all of his effects before he left. He did not mind leaving behind bodies, no matter the number. They fed the soil. The time before that, he had to leave so quickly that he left behind a few trinkets and one of his favorite self-portraits. The fairies of that particular forest were disagreeable and did not recognize the Mutter des Bodens. They worshipped an Earth spirit unfamiliar to him. Several of them, in fact. They were not happy with his presence. Kiam knew better than to try to compete with an entire legion of fairies spread out over who knew how many forests. So, he left after only a half year.

It was not so bad. This world had very large, very quiet forests full of wild game. There was a lot of natural energy to the world and few people skilled in magic, from what he had heard. This meant he did not have to worry about errant magical creatures and wizards messing with him. That also meant fewer creatures with means to defend themselves against his magic, so guiding in prey to fill his belly was all the easier.

A full belly, a quiet cabin, a lush garden, and plenty of time to practice ballet were nice, but he could not forget what he was here for. After spending a month getting his living situation just right, he was ready to seek out suitable children. He was past trying to find someone to sire them. He had no real use for a long-term relationship with someone who would never understand him. He was confident he could guide and mold them all on his own.

Getting them had its own set of problems. He could adopt, but would not do that. He disliked interacting with society at large. A society that would not understand him either. One whose rigid mores might take issue for some of his habits. The fools did not understand life or death. Idiots, not realizing that the soil needed blood. Where did they think their food came from? Without appeasing the Mutter des Bodens, the Earth would not give up her fruit. In a way, he was the only thing keeping the planet going. They should be thanking him. But, instead, they only greeted him with scorn and violence. Ingrates. All the more reason he needed children, someone to pass his knowledge onto.

It took him another couple of months to find someone suitable. A couple months lost, but less time than he spent wasting it on finding the right woman. He was lucky Paradise Valley, a largeish town right on the edge of his forest, had so many children to choose from. Luckier still was that it had a playground situated adjacent to his forest. Ordinarily, he disliked having civilization so close to him, but all things had their uses.

Paradise Valley itself was an ideal community with an ideal population. There was only a handful of humans. Kiam did not care for them, even when he was still human himself. What it did have were many, many sentient animals that blurred the line between ferals and anthros. Being just on the edge of feral himself, he appreciated that. It was always fascinating how the Mutter des Bodens raised up intelligent creatures, through her will, natural selection, and natural evolution, throughout all the worlds he inhabited. He wanted children that were highly intelligent animals. Ones capable of freely thinking, but that had all the proper animal instincts to make them true heirs of the Mutter des Bodens. No prey animals. Nothing exotic. Nothing with feathers or scales. He wanted true children of the forest to make his own.

For two months, he hid in the forest around the playground. Even though he was a large bear, it was not difficult for him. With his magic, he could make himself practically invisible when shrouded in the shadows of the trees. His dark green cloak helped him blend in, as did his rough-spun brown trousers. Not one for exotic perfumes, he smelled of the woods. One would really have to know what they were looking for or have an extremely keen sense for detecting magic to find him. The children and their parents watching them possessed neither. A good thing, as who would trust someone without children who came to a playground daily, just to watch the kids at play?

Three children caught his eye within the first month. They drew his eye because of the way they played. The three of them eschewed the man-made playground equipment. No swings or jungle gyms or pointless child’s games. They ran around the open fields, dug in the dirt, and behaved as rambunctious as any children should. Siblings, two sisters and a brother, all of them the same age. They had to be triplets and their father referred to them as such. They were ten years old; old enough that he would not have to deal with the irritation of raising babies or toddlers, but young enough he could still mold them easily. He would take them all, of course. He wanted more than one and it would be cruel to separate them. They were not entirely perfect, being wolves rather than bears. However, Kiam was willing to overlook that. As powerful, dominant species went, wolves were just behind bears in terms of desirability and the ability to dominate lesser creatures.

The boy was called Xavier. He had eyes as blue as the sky and fur a brilliant white all over, save for gray fur along his underbelly. A curious pattern, as one usually saw the reverse in wolves. Highly energetic, he ran circles around his sisters. He was a very robust physical specimen. Whenever he tripped or fell over or collided with something, he bounced back as though he was made of rubber. The girls seemed to appreciate his strength, already developing nicely despite his youth.

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The quiet, brown-eyed girl was Janet. Her fur was entirely gray, save for the white fur on the bottom of her muzzle and front of her neck. Though she was not as vocal as her brother or sister, she did not seem soft or weak. When they played rough, as wolf pups tended to do, she had no trouble keeping up with her siblings. Even though she was reserved and demure when speaking, there were moments where she made her voice known. Sometimes, the three would break into song. It was there that she really found her voice; singing bright and clear over her siblings.

The louder girl was Claudia. Her eyes were blue, her fur also a mix of white and grays. Hers was almost uniformly white, with gray on her paws and end half of her tail. She seemed to think of herself as the leader of the trio. Kiam could not tell if that meant she was slightly older or slightly younger than her siblings. She seemed to guide their play and they followed her readily. Highly organized, she seemed to be a natural team captain whenever they played games with other children. A big personality, but nonetheless endearing, it was easy to see why they listened to her.

The children were brought here often. Usually, randomly throughout the week. Those days changed, but they were here every Saturday. They arrived at roughly the same time every evening. Sometimes a male wolf brought them, sometimes a female. He assumed these were their father and mother. The father was uniform gray and mother uniform white. That explained the mix of grays and whites found in their offspring. They were interesting, but irrelevant. He had no desire to share his children with their birth parents. He would have them all to himself, to raise as he saw fit. He could not abide by anyone who turned them away from his teaching. Once he selected the triplets, they were already his. It was just a matter of drawing them away.

For a natural mage like him, that would be relatively simple. The easiest route would have been to dominate the will of their lupine parents. To force himself into their brains, will them to hand over their children, and overwrite any memory they ever had of them. Unfortunately, this was impossible. Kiam read their parents with his magical sight and found he would be unable to control their thoughts, as he would have any other feralish forest creature. When he saw why, it made him angry to the point of feeling ill. They were followers of the disgraced carpenter executed over two thousand years ago. This explained why he never saw them on Sundays. Christians, they called themselves. Bull-headed and recalcitrant, one could not possess them or control their minds. He never understood why. The Mutter des Bodens was silent on the matter when he tried to ask her. They had to be gullible, so it should have been easy. But, his power was unable to reach them. He could not dominate the will of children either, not that he wanted to. A mindless thrall would be unable to serve as a suitable being to pass his knowledge on to.

There was another plan he had to fall back on. He only needed to wait for the right time. He got his chance one overcast, unseasonably chilly spring day. The triplets were the only children at the playground. Their mother was watching them; he never bothered trying to learn her name. The white wolf laid in the grass near the benches along the periphery of the playground. Close enough to watch her kids, but far enough away to avoid getting in the way of their play. No other parents. No other children. No other onlookers. It was the perfect time for him to claim what was rightfully his.

A couple of weeks ago, he sewed seeds throughout the playground. Flower seeds, special ones of his own design. They grew, looking like standard flowers with the blooms closed. A single stalk, a few leaves at the stem, and a large bud at the top. All they needed was a little magical prompting to open up.

He watched the three pups gambol and play in the open field. Then, he looked at their mother. She needed to be acted against first. If she saw something happening to her children, she was sure to act and ruin his plans. Admirable, in its way, but not something he could tolerate. Too much of a chance of her seeing him, or running off with the pups before he could claim them.

A soft, green glow surrounded Kiam’s right paw. The flowers around the wolf mother straightened up in response. His magic flowed into them and they swelled, then opened. Floral buds spread into a collection of brilliant red petals. They were embellished with golden-yellow swirls stretching inward to the stamens.

The wolf mother looked down at the flowers blooming all around her. Curious, but not afraid, she leaned her muzzle down to get a closer look. They certainly drew the eye and that was exactly what they were designed to do. Brilliantly colored flowers did not look at all out of place in nature. Even from the most trained botanist, they would draw more admiration than suspicion. It was why working with them was so desirable. Even if he left a few behind, who could be suspicious of a flower? The wolf looked from flower to flower. For a moment, she even smiled a little, enjoying their beauty.

What she did not notice was the pollen exuding continuously from the stigma of each bloom. They enveloped her in a sweet-smelling cloud. When something smelled nice, one naturally wanted to smell more of it. She drew in great breaths. Soon, her eyelids grew heavy. Half-lidded eyes, her head drooping, her smile vanished. She yawned widely, shaking her head and trying to fight the sleep from it. In the back of her mind, she had to know something suspicious was going on, but it was too late to do anything about it. The sleep powder from the magically enhanced flowers was in her system and working very well. She tried to stand, failed, and flopped back on her belly. Her head tilted down and nestled between her forelegs. Eyes closed, a deep sleep came over her. She did not stir, save for the gentle, rhythmic rising and falling of her chest.

Kiam looked at the pups still at play. They were so involved in it they failed to realize their mother was fast asleep and no longer watching them. It was cute to watch. So much energy. He almost felt bad about putting them to sleep. However, they would most certainly misunderstand his intentions. They might make enough noise to draw in other people, or run away. He needed them isolated so he could show them just how special they were.

The green glow around his paw returned. All around the pups, more flowers bloomed. When the colors exploded all around them, they stopped. It was enough to make even the most rambunctious pup stop galivanting around.

“Whoa….sudden flowers!” Xavier yipped. He tilted his head and poked his nose against one. “Never seen any bloom so fast before.”

Claudia tilted her head. “I haven’t either. Aren’t they supposed to do that in the morning? When there’s more sun?”

Janet sniffed at one and poked it with a paw. “They smell nice. But it IS weird….”

“Think mom’ll want some? They’re cool looking.” Xavier put his paws around one to pluck it out of the dirt.

“They’re pretty. I think she’d want some.” Janet smiled, though her eyes were half closed. “What do you think…Claudia?” She yawned.

Claudia opened her muzzle to say something, but her knees buckled and she tumbled to the ground. She was asleep before her underbelly met the dirt.

Janet’s ears flicked. She took an unsteady step toward her sister. “Claudia?” She mumbled before it was her turn to flop over.

Xavier shook his head and exhaled. “This isn’t right…..so tired….” He blinked and let out another sharp breath to try and stay awake. He looked in the direction of his mother with eyes nearly closed. “Mom….?” Weakly queried before he crashed into the ground, sleeping soundly.

Satisfied with the results, Kiam emerged from his hiding place. That worked just as well as he had hoped. The smaller the body, the more susceptible they were to the charms of his sleep flowers. This was especially true of those naïve enough to magic that they had no resistance. A good thing too. He was almost worried the boy was going to resist the spell with his sudden realization that something was amiss. At this point in his life, the bear should know better than to underestimate himself. He untucked the burlap sack from his satchel. Time to collect his children and return home. After a good night’s sleep, they would be more than ready for their first lessons.