Morningside Cuesta I've never veered starboard 'cause I've never sailed at all

The pups have technically been born already, so I'm going to throw up a quick family thread. Grayday is present, feel free to PP him grooming/nuzzling/staring at the pups. @Dauntless @Lavender - feel free to join in! Same with @Khoe. Anyone else who'd be allowed near the den (mostly Dawn, at this point, but maybe also Krypton) can hop in as well.

After the whole ordeal of being born, all three of the little potatoes had been cleaned, fluffed, and fed. They were now resting happily by the side of a Much Larger Fluff, and really, there was not much to complain about. Easy was toasty warm and surrounded by things that smelled very comforting and safe.

But still, somehow, she was not happy. The tiny girl was wiggling with all her might in no particular direction, and with no clear aim in mind. Was she trying to get more comfortable? Perhaps. Was she hungry? Likely. Did she have some dark, ulterior motive in mind? The world might never know...

Truthfully, the girl was wiggling just to wiggle. And, likewise, tiny peeps of dispeasure were coming from her tiny little mouth for no reason at all. She couldn't even claim that she liked the sound of her own voice - for the girl, at the time, could hear nothing at all.

It seemed the whole birthing experience had tired the little boy out to a state of total exhaustion. The amount of wriggling he'd done... man, that had been a workout in itself. And so it was most likely a huge relief for his family to find that the brownest of the bunch was on his back, tiny paws twitching now and then. For now, at least, he was content to lean against his rather fidgety sister, totally relaxed by her warmth.

yay!

Lavender had hated birth, it was stupid and annoying. She had been so cozy in the womb, floating around with her siblings. Now, she was out here, and it was much colder and dry, and she constantly felt like she was falling. She couldn't see, or hear, she didn't really have any senses except touch. It wasn't like she had any senses in the womb either, but at least in there she didn't need any. Out here, wherever they were, she felt like she should be doing something, but she couldn't. All she could do was snuggle.

The small golden brown and white pup wriggled as close as she could to the closest object, which happened to be her brother Dauntless, and with teensy arms she latched herself onto him, holding him tight. Not knowing quite what or who he was, she snuffled her itty bitty nose around the top of his head in search of a nipple. She found something that stuck out a little, his ear, and immediately started sucking on it. Unfortunately it did not satisfy her hunger. So she jerked her head away quickly and began to yip at the air.

Finding that the children were becoming antsy, Khoe stood up onto all fours and shook out her fur to reposition herself in hopes of providing enough stimulation to keep them hushed, if not silent for only a moment. She took the liberty of stretching out her limbs and grooming herself only where particularly needed, as she knew that Grayday was more than enough to keep the them warm. It's been a long few days, she sighed over the popping of her joints, though nothing but happiness laced her words. 

There was a spot near the entrance of the den where she forced herself down against her rather strong need to take a fresh breath of air. It was better for all of them, she figured; being this close to the outside, she could protect them and still get a nice breeze every now and then. Looking to Grayday first, so as to be sure that she wasn't interrupting, Khoe snatched up each pup one by one and placed them each at a teat of their own.

The tiny babe was oblivious to her parents as she squirmed her way closer to her two siblings. She could not hear, but rather felt her sister's distress, and climbed over her brother in an effort to attach herself to the other girl and gum comfortingly at her paw. The suckling motion soon soothed Easy as well, and after a moment, the dark girl quieted and simply held the tiny, patterned paw in her mouth.

She dreamed happy dreams of dragons and burning villages while her father spoke words of comfort to her mother.

"Any time you need a break, you just let me know. I know how to clean 'em and keep 'em warm, and they can stand a few hours without a meal. You haven't run in weeks - have at it, Cutie."

Dauntless was beginning to feel odd. He couldn't explain what it was, nor could he express his growing discomfort with anything other than a quiet babble, and Lavender's movements did little to quell it. Feeling her mouth pull on his folded ear, he wriggled and squirmed, tiny paws flailing and accidentally bumping her nose in the process. He could sense her distress almost as Easy could, albeit he was too caught up in his own troubles to do anything more than squirm against her.

It felt as though there was something inside of him wanting to get out. And yet, as much as he twisted and pushed, it just wouldn't. His mumbling turned to a shrill bleating as Easy's churning paws clambered over his stomach because it hurt.Wriggling under her weight, the teeny guy managed to pull himself up so he was on top of his two sisters, just in time. As he plonked himself down on top of Lavender's torso, his stomach deflated and finally released a sticky flood of urine. By sheer luck, the red-patterned pup avoided a shower, however Easy and Dauntless both emerged soaked. But the boy was comfortable now, and began to squeak happily as his wrinkled face nuzzled into Lavender's fur.

Lavender's attempt to nurse on Dauntless's ear had riled the boy, and he was now wriggling about just like she. She was still close to him so she felt the comfort of his warmth, but what she really wanted was food! She felt something else coming closer to her, and before she knew it, her own paws became chew toys for her sister Easy. Lavender didn't mind, it was comforting to know she had both siblings there. She stretched out her front feet further so that she could touch all over Easy's face.

For a moment, just snuggling with her siblings was enough to stop her yipping. But suddenly, something was on top of her. It was big and warm and squirmy, and all of its limbs were jabbing her soft flesh. She wailed now, as loud as could be. She didn't know about the pee storm that was happening next to her, but she was already upset enough. The more Dauntless nuzzled her, the hungrier and more frustrated she became. Finally something miraculous happened. 

She was lifted up and placed gently somewhere else, and it only took her a little bit of searching to find what she had wanted this whole time. Her wailing ceased as she latched onto her mother, and her hunger was soon quelled by the taste of warm sweet milk in her mouth.

A small frown formed on Khoe's face as she watched her son relieve himself on the two little girls. However, it was within that same moment made the offer to watch them, mentioning how he knew the way to clean them. I appreciate that, she told him, feeling the youngest latch on, I won't be gone long. 

Her grip was strong, but Khoe managed to get the girl off of her within a matter of seconds by gently nipping at and licking her bottom. It was a trick that her own mother had used on her younger children when she began to wean them and one that Khoe knew would come in handy when the time came. 

She dipped her head and gave a sweet lick to each tiny head (while being careful to avoid the urine, as that was a gift for Daddy Gray) and a firm one to her mate before stepping back out into the sunlight and making her way to the caches.

She did not hear her father's laughter or weary sigh, but she felt the both - the former as a pleasant rumble in her chest, and the latter as a whoosh of air against her deaf little ears as he leaned across her to pluck Lavender out of the mess. The sister was tucked against their father's chest while Easy, messy as she was, was laid down atop her father's forelegs and given a quick wash with his tongue. She was purring happily by the time she was laid down by Lavender's side, and fast asleep by the time a freshly-cleaned Dauntless was set down beside her.

The girl murmured to herself, waking as the warmth of her brother soaked into her side. She wiggled until her head was burrowed under his.

The sensation of a tongue being swiped across his soiled bum was neither comforting nor unpleasant for Dauntless. His mind wasn't able to fully comprehend the idea of sanitation, and so it merely felt strange. Nevertheless, he squirmed and wriggled his tubby body this way and that, head tilted forward and back paws knocking Graydad lightly on the nose until he was airlifted back towards his two sisters, clean...for the most part.

Immediately he relaxed back into the warmth of the nearest object and, feeling a small nuzzling lump beneath his chin, opened his mouth in a jovial squeak and began to suckle on her ear. The action, and the milky scent that lingered on another nearby lump, reminded the tiny boy of one small problem; he was hungry. His empty stomach gave an indignant rumble and, with his sister's ear still in his mouth, let out a loud wail. It was probably quite lucky Easy was deaf at this point.

Lavenders brief moment of happiness was interrupted as her mom nipped and licked softly at her bum. The small pup whipped her head around, her mouth open wide in an attempt to capture whatever body part Khoe was using to do this, but she failed. Soon she was placed back at her father's side. She felt her siblings wriggling about near her, but she didn't want that. She wanted to be warm and cozy and asleep. So she skirted away from them at top puppy speed and nuzzled into her father's stomach.

She lay right next to his front legs, cuddled up in a fluffy warm crook, and she yawned long and loudly. After that she laid her tiny patterned head on her paws and smacked her lips a couple times. She fell asleep soon, dreaming of the days when she didn't have to eat physically, when food just came to her like magic.

Easy might've been a bit annoyed if she knew that their wailing didn't bother their father. The male was grinning as they bit and whinged and generally made a nuisance of themselves, as though there was no higher privilege than bearing witness to the three siblings gumming at each other's ears.

Luckily, the tiny babe had no idea. She squawked indignantly as Dauntless tried to consume her ear, and gave a shiver of displeasure when his warm, puppy breath wafted over her face. Daddy! she wailed, calling for rescue. But Daddy only brushed his muzzle soothingly over her back before attacking Dauntless with his tongue, trying to make the boy forget his hunger with another bath.

Easy continued to squawk as she belly-crawled away from the scene, burrowing herself into her father's fuzzy chest a few inches below where Lavender had taken refuge.

Please, just let us live 'til mama gets back!