Dragoncrest Cliffs Fish are dumb dumb dumb - they chase anything that glitters

@Dalia , @Dio and @Portia - forthdated to whenever their eyes open ♥

[table width=80%][tr][td]The first days of his existence had been warm... moist and cuddly. Safe near mother's belly did he stay, drinking her milk and slumbering if he were not crying. He had already found the most relaxing way to lie down; head plopped against mother, body titled slighted and limbs laying limp in a position that looked like jumping. From wondrous cloud to cloud did he jump in his dreams and it often resulted in a slight squeal in the real world.

Today, he woke up to find him in the same spot as always. How did he know? Well, the white mother-pillow was still there and... - wait, huh? Blinking his blue eyes confusedly he began crying out.[/td][/tr][/table]

Seeing was something Dalia did not understand. The bundle of joy didn't understand why she was seeing stuff for once, why stuff looked the way it did to her icy blue eyes. When they first opened, she had let out a squeal of surprise, nearly spilling milk from her mouth as she slumped against her mother's belly. She had hit something from her small tumble, something around the same size as her and soft too.

she cast her blue eyes over to the lump, wondering who the lump was. With another high pitch noise, she reached her tiny leg forward as if she was trying to hold onto him. She was still against her mother but for some reason she wanted to be snuggled up with the lump that was alike her. She felt connected to it, unaware that the "it" was actually her brother. All she knew was that she felt safe with him and wanted to keep him close.

portia watched her babies with mild amusement. dalia was much more tame than her son, and was often his punching bag. not on purpose, she didn't think, but as he dreamed sometimes sprier would end up kicking his sister. it was pretty cute, regardless, and the fisa always wondered what he was dreaming about. silently, she always hoped it was about herself, but she could never be sure. today, sirio awoke with a louder squeak than usual, and then a few more of clear confusion and distress. dalia's sweet voice followed, and portia whipped her head to gently nose them back to a comfortable state.

it was then that she realized both of her babies had gorgeous blue eyes-- though she knew they'd possibly change as the two aged-- and her heart filled with joy. her first reaction was to call for her mate, tail thumping on the ground, before she stared at them with a tilted head and wide green eyes. "hey babies..." she cooed softly at them, "welcome, welcome."

After morning patrol and a short hunt, he'd b-lined it back to the densite as soon as he had been able. Dio now napped with his back to the entrance, draped just close enough to Portia and the puppies to keep himself invested should he need to be. It was right there that he'd dozed off, fondly watching them do their practically-nothing before his eyes had grown just too heavy. He'd not been bothered to move by anyone else in here, so there he had been, an effective barrier and roadblock—nothing was getting in nor out without him knowing about it.

But, puppy squeaks disrupted the quiet rhythm of his snooze and he lifted up his head before true awareness caught up to him. The cogs were turning, albeit drowsily, and he peered deeper into the den's depths before creeping closer himself. His ears flicked and switched at the sound of Portia's soft coo, and he was gradually catching up—a notion that gained momentum when he saw new little eyes among their lot when he finally got his sights set on the pups, both of them. He perked, although still sleepily, and curiously looked back.

[table width=80%][tr][td]His little head tipped as he tried to balance it on his unstable neck and small body. All he saw were blobs, vague shapes that resembled puffy, soft clouds and the darkness that surrounded it. He blinked again and again, but his vision got no clearer. His left eye twitched in fear, maw opening to squeal but then the paws of his sister sort of wrapped around him. His breath got stuck in his throat and he coughed a baby cough before wriggling closer to what one day would be his sister.[/tr][/td][/table]

Although the ability to see was quite a shock for the duo puppies, at least they had each other to ride it out with. Dalia couldn't be more thankful to have her brother next obher, perhaps because he was just as warm as mom and smaller so she could hold onto him much tighter. She snuggled into the embrace, though let out a quiet little moan as to respond to mom's coos. However, she piped down right after and instead felt content once again, her blue eyes beginning to close just a bit.

her head turned, though only slightly. "dio," she said, her voice still holding it's coo, "look..." her gaze held quietly on the babies, wondering how much they could truly see. she knew it wasn't much, they were too young for that, but she hoped and prayed that they could maybe make out her smile-- or at least sense that she was happy. she was so happy, these children were her heart and soul. and so was dio, who was just as sweet and precious as always.

"your mama is here..." she murmured softly, lowering her nose to gently touch each of their heads. sirio gave a loud cough, but wriggled up to his sister, who snuggled right on back. her tail tapped softly, contently. "daddy's here..."

He was looking forward to them growing and expanding their horizons, but he didn't adhere the puppies to a strict timeline. Mainly because he did not know what was the most proper for hitting their milestones, although better sense told him it varied for all. That had been the case in the Rise, despite him never being this involved in these earliest of weeks. Of course, if Portia seemed worried about them ever, he would take his cues from that. Since she never did, and he certainly didn't know to expect it so soon, he was a little surprised to find the puppies looking back at him with blue eyes. "Oh hey." he said, his expression softening with a small grin and felt his tail wagging along with the sight of them. "Happy first time seeing anything ever, you two.." he chuffed although he knew they couldn't hear it. The sentiment remained and he glanced at Portia. "Must take a lot to get used to something like that," he pondered. He couldn't quite tell if they were impressed with their new sense yet.

Dio moved even closer slowly, and carefully just in case any sudden movements would bother them more somehow. He had no idea what was proper protocol for brand new eyes like these.

[table width=80%][tr][td]He peeped softly, breaths quick and short as he started to calm down. His inhales got deeper and soon his face was free from stressy-puppy-wrinkles. He could not hear his mother or father's calls and instead just assumed the world was quiet. He found it pretty peaceful like that. He opened and closed his maw around some fur or limbs of his sister now they were so close together and continued life as if nothing had truly happened.[/td][/tr][/table]

the feeling of teeth on her fur and what felt to be her front left arm made the little gir squirm a bit, though she soon settled down after she mamanged to get her paw out of her brother's mouth. eww, brother's germs were all over her now. instead of being a little prissy sissy and squaling, dalia just rolled with it in a huff, squishing against her brother as if the two were two peas in a pod. she enjoyed his heat and company, it made her feel less alone.

portia leaned against her mate, watching both the puppies. "it must," she agreed thoughtfully, smiling at the two pushed up against one another and eyed the world around them. she wondered how much they could truly see, if it was anything compared to what she and dio could see themselves. either way, it must be magical-- or terrifying. dalia showed the more magical part, while sirio was clearly more shook up over this turn of events. they both calmed down as they smushed together, which portia loved, her tail tapping against the ground.

He was quite content to just watch them, and worry was nowhere to be had as they appeared to calm down and get cozy in the moments that followed. For this, and for them, he was glad. He relaxed too. They wouldn't be this small or this easy to appease for too much longer, so he would do what he could to cherish it while it was here.