Redhawk Caldera Elastic heart

Stevie, your tag is just for reference since I know you're on absence! :) C'mere babies! @Tywyll @Cinder

The newest Blackthorns were a week old, and while there wasn't much they could to just yet, Elwood was fascinated. It would never get old -- watching Tywyll and Cinder brought him just as much joy as observing Eljay had, and each litter in between had been unique and interesting in their own ways.

Currently, the father was curled up with both boys between his forelegs, watching their potato-shaped bodies wriggle around while @Finley took a bathroom break. He had given her permission to go for a walk to get some air and stretch her legs, but knew that she likely wouldn't be gone too long. Even so, he was happy to have a few minutes alone with the pair of monochrome babies, and he snuffled each grey-and-black blob lovingly to see how they would react.

:D

Life was a simple thing for the newborn.

He did little else aside from eat, sleep and poop. Occasionally he'd scoot around, shuffle his tiny butt, or emit high-piched squeaks, but other than that he was a potato with no real awareness of anything that happened around him. That was, unless he could taste it. Unfortunately, his dark sibling's ear happened to be one of the things he could shove in his little muzzle and so it was often subject to his attacks, fur dampening from Cinder's gums latched tightly around the folded thing.

The grey babe fell still for a moment at the comfort of his father's warmth, tiny head resting upon one foreleg as he halted his wriggling for a few heartbeats and relished in the familiarity of the figure.

He'd gotten used to the familiarity of routine. Eat,nap,poop, wiggle repeat. He wasn't old enough to know just what exactly was going on around him, but he knew the difference between his mother and his father. Mother would often be on her side exposing the little nubs containing the food he could suckle on till his belly was full. Father was a figure that came around every now and then when mom would vanish.

like now, he lay between his father's paws. He gave a soft squeak and began to wiggle and squirm with all the energy his small black body could muster until he was ontop of a paw. The unevenness of this surface caused him to roll off balance and tumble the small distance to the ground. When he landed he ended up on his back, small paws in the air and squirming. Tywyll was not happy with this position at all. He sucked in a breath and gave an almighty shriek of aggravation and then whimpered pitifully, realising he needed some help.

He watched as the boys reacted differently to the stimuli of his warm breath: Tywyll continued his wiggling until he rolled himself onto his back and began to express his displeasure with the situation, while Cinder stilled and seemed to be taking it all in for a moment. Naturally, Tywyll's squalling drew the majority of Elwood's attention for a few seconds so that he could stop the boy's screaming.

Gently, Elwood used his nose to push his son back over onto his stomach. He anchored his snout beneath the pup's spine and rolled him over carefully, all while keeping steady the foreleg that had become Cinder's chin-rest. "You're okay," he soothed, watching to see if Tywyll would be appeased by his new positioning or if he would continue to fuss.

Their father focused his attention primarily on the dark hued sibling of Cinder, but it mattered little - he was not bothered by a lack of focus on himself. Maybe in time it might have irked him, but for now it was as meaningless as the rushing wind outside the den's entrance. 

All that mattered to him in the present was the foreleg that lay beneath his chin, used as a cusion in which to rest his head, undetered by the shrieks of his brother.

Almost instantly he was righted and he closed his mouth, a puzzle piece clicking together. If he shrieked and complained he'd be helped out. It made sense. He gave a small sigh and then wriggled toward the closest warmth he could find, his father's chest. Once there he pressed into it and lay still, yawning wide to reveal pink gums and tongue. Slowly his body relaxed and he fell asleep, the warmth seeping from his dad's chest making him sleepy.

Tywyll's squealing was quickly resolved, and the boy became so comfortable in his new position that he fell asleep. Cinder was just as still, and even if he was awake, he seemed to be perfectly content to just let the world pass him by for the time being.

At that moment, Finley returned from her brief excursion outside of the den, and Elwood shifted carefully to let her snuggle up with them, careful not to disturb the peace and quiet.