Swiftcurrent Creek Polish mountain

Talos cocked her head and released a soft whuff of her own in response to the whimpered greeting Chusi gave her. She sniffed after the milk's hiding place again, a little more circumspectly than before, and then furrowed her brow in thought at the adult's words.

Ya-rrrow fass ey! she half-parroted back, and bobbled her head in happy agreement. Though she then turned a dubious bluish-hued eye on the others; these puppies didn't look to be growing very fast to her, actually, though she wasn't quite so rude as to voice that thought aloud (yet). In fact they looked downright shrimpy! They were far smaller and clumsier than Talos herself (who was, of course, the biggest and best, yo—and naturally all puppies everywhere should aspire to be just like her) and the older pup felt a smug wash of lofty superiority, looking down at them. Arragooo? she inquired of Chusi in turn, which could have meant anything or nothing, but fortunately(?) she didn't wait for an answer before she stuck her nose out to inspect the little ones again. They smelt of earth and puppyness and milk.

Experimentally she moved to give baby @Eilonwy a nudge just as her mother had, more-or-less just as gently; though she'd managed to modify her usual overenthusiastic exuberance in the motion Talos wanted to see what the little furball was going to do when so poked. Would that make the little girl open her eyes and pay attention to Talos? Or at least share a bit of her milk-gathering secrets?—because if the round black bellies of the tinier puppies was any indication, they were getting quite a bit of good food hereabouts, and it sure didn't look like their mother was shoving them away at all in the process. Talos felt a stab of jealousy, and flicked her pink tongue consideringly across her still-small but quite sharp array of teeth, all the while trying to figure out why these puppies got such preferential treatment compared to herself and her brothers. ...Weaning was the pits.