Neverwinter Forest Thought that I'd feel better, but now I got a bellyache

Sleeping was probably her favorite activity. She hated being woken for any reason, even if that reason was for her own hunger. Anytime she was pulled from slumber, she cried and squealed until either she fell back asleep or she began to eat; no amount of comforting could quiet her complaining. 

So when hunger pulled her from her sleep late into the night, she responded with her normal cries. She threw her head back and squeaked loud and angry. But the sound suddenly stopped as she realized she could see the dark shadows around the cave. She stared for a few moments before she became disturbed by that too. She didn't like change of any kind, and she was never quiet about anything she didn't like, so she threw her head back again and cried out, her voice echoing in the den and probably outside too. She didn't like this change; the world was dark and weird and she was hungry and all she wanted to was go back to sleep. She was so inconvenienced by all of this. Where were her parents to make this right; that was their job. 

@Aibreann @Mal 
@Ciaránn @Finínn @Sullivan are welcome too

Vague about who's where and stuff

He couldn't sleep, so he'd wandered back to Aibreann's den to see how things were going. Maybe that little bit of quiet time would be enough to make him forget how rough things had been -- at least enough to sleep. He'd just come into the den and settled down when the little bomb went off. Had he made too much noise? He didn't think so, but then again, maybe it was bad timing. Aibreann hadn't stirred before, but she certainly would now.

Just the same he crawled over, Shhh... he tried to hush her, giving her a couple of comforting licks. He was here to fix whatever was the issue, but one thing he couldn't provide was milk, so first thing was to nudge her a little closer to Aibreann's stomach to see if that would help. He'd learned a little maybe, go figure. Or maybe just the obvious fact that screaming was a lot harder with a full mouth. He looked to Aibreann then to give her a smile -- nah, she totally didn't need to bother, Mal had this. Maybe. Assuming Nuala didn't set off all the others too.

Dad's soothing licks quieted her some—they at least lowered the volume a little. That was until he rudely shifted her away from him. She was instantly more upset than she had been to begin with, and her crying filled the den all over again. She was too busy crying to realize that she was now closer to mom, at least not at first. Her thrashing made her topple over on her side and it wasn't until she smacked her face into her mom's stomach that she realized where she was. And now, she could actually see what she was doing, even if it was pretty blurry still. 

She latched on, her cries instantly dying out to be replaced by grunts and suckling sounds. When her belly was full, she turned her head to stare up at her father, blinking her puppy blue eyes a few times as if it would clear the blurriness. She scooted her self around and made her way back over to him in a rare moment of quiet; she was too distracted to grace them with her usual squealing. She stopped once she bumped up against his paw, and then stared up at him as if trying to figure him out. So this is what he looked like. Until now, she had only known feelings and scents.

Oh geez, was his immediate response. For a brief moment he thought he was going to have to try something else but wait, no -- success! Okay, that was probably deserving a sigh of relief. Peace, relative quiet, and a little bit of conversation between himself and Aibreann about boring adult things.

Movement caught his eye again, and his daughter was scooting his way. Mal's ears tipped forward, and he watched and waited to see what she would do. Not scream, for now, apparently. Okay, yeah sure he couldn't play with them very well at this stage, but they were pretty cute just the same. Credit where credit was due. He leaned down, nuzzling her gently before resting his head on the floor of the den, watching her with one odd-colored eye and a smile.

She continued to stare at him curiously as he rested his head on the ground, seemingly frozen in place for a few moments as she watched him right back. After a few more minutes of the staring game, she suddenly started scooting forward. His face was on her level now, and she planned to take full advantage of the situation. 

She bumped her face into his nose, and then proceeded to open her tiny puppy mouth and gum the side of his muzzle. She repeated this a few times before placing both her paws on the same spot to peer at the eye closest to her. Then she tried to lift herself onto dad's muzzle so that she could inspect his face more closely, but she just ended up slipping and falling to the ground with a thud. She was frozen for a few moments on her back, and then her loud cries filled the den again as she tried to catch her breath and right herself.

Has it been mentioned that Mal thought these pups were all super cute? Seriously, this dude was an absolute sucker, content to just let her crawl along and explore, even if not all voyages were totally successful. Oops, he said. A little too much climbing, apparently. It was said in good humor, and he expected her to right herself and try again. 

Oh wait, let's remember what kid he was dealing with. She definitely didn't take it well, so Mal again tried to quiet her, Oh no, shhh. It's okay. He tried to help roll her over with his paw, then snuggle her between said paw and his muzzle. It was ok, he promised. Though he did have his closest ear pinned back like it would somehow prevent the screeches from entering.

For all the screeching and complaining she could do, she could, on occasion, be quieted with food or affection. The gentle rumbling of dad's voice made her crying slowly quiet as she made a hiccuping noise. She rolled over easily with his paw guiding her movement, and when he lowered his muzzle, she smashed herself against his face. Her soft, puppy nose nuzzled into him a few times before she paused to look up at him again. Then, she rolled over a bit against his paw so that she could look at him more easily, this time not offended by being on her back because she chose to be there. She peered up at him with glossy, infant eyes and slowly lifted a speckled paw and touched it to his face. She batted at him with her other paw even as a huge yawn parted her lips. She only had limited energy, and it was dwindling, but in the meantime, she continued to look up at dad and bat at his nose with her tiny paw.

Mal was such a sucker for all these kids. Would they ever realize it? Who knew. He'd find out eventually, but as it were he didn't mind if things just kept going the way they were. This little moment was great -- give him more of them.

His words were still hushed, I'd say we could play a game but I think it might have to wait a bit. And we can't go waking everyone either. She rolled, pawing at him. Seriously, totally adorable. He moved slightly to lick her -- it would have been under her chin, but tongue versus puppy meant it was more her entire chest too. Mal didn't want to have to tuck his daughter back to Aibreann's side quiet yet, but that yawn suggested it might be getting to that point.

She had no idea what his quiet words meant, but she liked the soothing tone of them. His lick was met with an attempt of her own to lick his muzzle in return. 

She released another yawn, blinking slowly a few times as she stretched sleepily. As far as she was concerned, right here with dad was the the perfect place for a nap. After the stretch, she rolled over on her side a little and rested her arms on his much larger one so that she was basically hugging his leg. She nuzzled her face into the spot, contentment settling over her and making her feel warm and safe. 

One more yawn left her mouth before her eyes officially closed and she was lost in sleep.

Moments like this were why he'd have no regrets about having children. He loved them, they were precious. And as Nuala settled down to sleep, Mal had zero desire to move whatsoever. Guess he was stuck here. Yup.

He watched her doze for a minute or two before Mal shifted a little to get more comfortable and zonked out as well. A good day.