Vision and hearing was both a blessing and a curse for little Chusi. It made her feel safe and terrified at the same time. She often hid her face in the fur of her mother, though her head was now larger, and her paws had grown too. She, of course, didn't notice the changes that were happening to her body. She was only terrified of the dark, fearing this was her only chance of truly experiencing life before everything went black again. And in a way, she was right.

Though today would be different. no more hiding, no more cowering. She awoke with a determination to walk. Her baby blue eyes blinked open, her vision still a little foggy. She also noticed some sharp things in her mouth, though what they would be used for, she had no idea. She crawled away from the thingymedingy, her large paws removing her from the little nest she had been in for so long. She placed her left paw further, than the next, and before she noticed; she fell. Oh dear, she couldn't deal with this! She wanted to cry, if she knew what it was, but only a light amount of gibberish left her mouth. 

She tried again, this time placing her butt in the air first. Next she placed her left paw back, then the other, and... Oooh.my.God, what was happening?! She was so much bigger now, she could feel it, though she still wobbled on her feet. She barked happily, and tried to set her first step. Okay, succes for now. She didn't know where she was going, but she quickly got the hang of walking. She slowly paced around, enjoying her new ability, though she soon remembered the dark. What if the thingymedingy would leave her now that she could move? Would she be allowed to leave? Oh dear, she couldn't deal with all of this. 

The newly discovered abilities of the child meant less time to relax for Sen. Chusi needed watched like a hawk, both to keep her from wandering and others from getting too close. Still, though, the woman did not wish to coddle her. She wanted to ensure that her daughters knew how harsh the world was, that they understood that they couldn't rely on outside sources. One's own assistance was always the best, it was a fact. So, while the girl had wobbled out on her own, the Gorgon had hung back inside the den. She watched, but nothing more, witnessing when she stumbled or fell, as well as when she was successful. Things were going well, too, until she'd caught wind of another.

Zephyr had approached, but the new mother had been ready for him. His scent had alerted him, as had his footfalls then when he'd grown close enough. Only when he was within her line of sight had she removed herself from the den. Amber eyes drifted between the two forms before finally settling on the man's face, expression as hard as usual. For the time being, she said nothing, offering warnings of the silent variety only.

Wobbling around was not as hard as it has first seemed to the little Gorgon girl, even though she was still terrified of whatever momma had to say about her heading for the light. Little did she know everything she had even known was all trapped inside a small den, and that there was a whole world out there for her to explore. A world of danger, for sure, but she couldn't help but be interested. What else was out there? Wonder, color, joy? Or murderous beings all trapped in their own little fantasy of life?

All thoughts running through her little head were simplified, but gone as soon as she caught sight of a blob coming her way. It was not mum, she would've known, would've smelled. No, this stranger had a smell and sight all his own. She couldn't make out his markings, her vision was too blurry, but she was intrigued. And so, with a stumble here and there, she waddled her way up to the new blob. She plopped her little behind down, hiding behind her own body. 

Mum showed her dark self again, she could almost sense her mother's presence, and her comically large head swiveled around to meet her. She let out an achieved, overjoyed bark and a bunch of gibberish sounds, proud of her braveness.

Out into the open, her daughter had succeeded in going. Sen was proud, to a certain degree, but never did she show it. Rather, she'd worn a disinterested expression, her features budging naught even when the young wolf had looked in her direction. She would not coddle her children, for to do so would only teach them that acting fearful was a wonderful thing to do. It would make them believe that the world was fair, that there existed not a single dangerous being in the world. Above all else, however, it taught them to rely on others to accomplish things for them, rather than tackling the task by themselves. Being members of the Gorgon family line, the mother would not allow for her daughters to get off so easily, and so it was with strongly limited emotions that she raised them.

When Zephyr had laid down, her amber gaze followed his every movement. Though tough was she on her children, never would she allow for another soul to harm them—that was her job, after all. Even though he'd been a member of the pack for a long while, and had proven his worth time and time again, she was still unable to feel comfortable with him being close to Chusi. Yet, he was not chased away. Even when he'd offered to hunt for them, she'd shaken her head, deciding to let him hang around for a bit longer instead of sending him off right away. Never did a word leave her mouth just yet, focus being on the two dark forms, muscles tensed and body ready to lunge forward should it be necessary.

The black thing lowered, and Chusi scampered back a little. She had not expected that, but now that he was so close, she could tell he looked like mum. Her nose wiggled as she slowly but surely crept closer, one bigger paw hovering in the air to slap him and to see if it would move again. But, alas, she couldn't keep her balance and fell flat on her face. She lifted herself up again, big blue eyes blinking in confusion. There was the sound again, but this one was rougher than that of mum and her own sounds. Her little butt lifted itself up and she bravely walked toward the head of the male, sniffling his snout.

She placed her paws on his snout, checking him out further, finally settling on his eye that she wanted to taste. Little puppy kisses were given, and for now, she wasn't growing bored just yet.

the squeaks the man made amused her and reminded her of her own. She was sure though to lick his whole face, which took a little longer thanks to her small puppy tongue. She quickly lost interest in his eye, leaving the weird thing alone for now, and wanted to move on to his nose when mum called out. Chusi couldn't understand the words she was speaking, but her tone said enough. She froze, a frown settling on her little girly face. 

With a whimper, she let herself slip off the face of her new friend and fall right on her bum. It didn't hurt, not really, but she made a crying noise nonetheless. She didn't want to go back in the dark, she wanted to stay with her friend. So instead of turning around to go to her mum, she scampered up and around the lying body of Zephyr to hide behind him.

She could almost feel the vibrations in the air and ground as mum came for her, and she let out a yelp in fear. Her friend was so big and confusing to look at that she had not noticed her mother lunging straight for her, and for a moment she was scared she'd be ripped in pieces. But only a stinging pain on the back of her neck came, and Chusi let out a deafening screech in protest and pain. She wanted to be let go, for the rough pain in her scruff to stop, but only when she was carried all the way back to the den and thrown into the darkness did the pain stop. Her scruff stopped and she let out multiple displeased cries. 

She scampered back on her little feet and barked for her mother to either come in or go out of the way so she could go back to playing with her newest friend.