Redhawk Caldera hey child, stay wild

I'm making 40 billion assumptions again, namely that the cave's open and that they've dealt with Oriole's death. Somebody stab me if I've overstepped my bounds, lol.

Birds chirped somewhere off to Raven's left as she sat in the recently reopened cave mouth, the pups playing nearby. There were only four of them now, a thought which made her heart sink every time it hit her, which happened about forty times an hour, give or take. She tried to focus on how happy and healthy @Orca, @Titmouse, @Towhee and @Phox seemed, despite the past week, and how much they appeared to enjoy the fresh air and winter sunlight. They didn't seem much the worse for wear, in spite of Oriole's terrible fate and the lack of proper nourishment, and it was likely they hadn't even realized they'd been trapped at all.

One of the pups had colored the snow yellow and Titmouse was sniffing it with a gleam in his eye. "No," Raven said firmly, striking out a foreleg and hooking it around his small body, tugging him toward herself. "Don't eat yellow snow," she told him, trying to smile down at the wriggly little boy but finding herself unable. With a bitten-back sigh, she released him, watching as he bounded back toward his three remaining siblings.

After coming out of the dark cave, everything was so bright. The world was a winter wonderland, and out of all the babes, Titmouse had already made up his mind about the strange cold-wet stuff; he didn't like it. But then he spied a yellow streak in the snow and was captivated. Before anything fun could happen he was shooed away from the lemon-yellow band of color; he made a dive towards his siblings next, but it was a moment of subterfuge — once Raven's attention drifted from him, Titmouse rebounded for the brightly colored patch. What would it taste like? He reached it within moments and then, dumbly, slammed his face in to the pile of snow thinking that it would crunch like the rest - not realizing that the urine would've frozen in to a thin band of ice, nor that hitting his face against such a thing would hurt like the dickens.

A yawn crept over her as Raven reposed beside the stone wall, leaning against it slightly. She squinted past the pups, surveying the endless white of the snowy wilderness. Then something touched her and she looked down with a slight start. It was Towhee pawing at her.

"Oh hey, Tow," the Gamma said, sliding forward so put their faces at the same level. "What is it?" she queried, head canting. She saw the pup staring at her mouth, so she playfully stuck out her tongue. That earned her a surprised smile and giggle. Some of the pups had begun babbling and she wondered when they might start saying their first words.

"Can you say Ra-a-ave?" the caretaker said, enunciating the word slowly. But before Towhee could react in any way (not that Raven expected a real answer), the Gamma heard a telling thwack! and looked up to see Titmouse face-planted in the yellow snow.

With a cluck and a groan, she pushed herself to her feet and trotted over to stand beside Titmouse. "You okay there, buddy?" she asked, reaching down to nose him. Suddenly Towhee was there, attempting to tackle her brother. "No!" Raven scolded. "Towhee, no!" she repeated more loudly when the little girl didn't react. When that still had no effect, the Gamma struck out a foreleg and pushed her away from Titmouse.

"Stop that," she said to the dark pup, who wilted beneath her direct and withering gaze. "Why don't you listen?" Raven asked, her voice stern, before she refocused her attention on Titmouse and repeated, "You okay?"

When he withdrew from the snow, T-mouse had darkened (at least across his face) to a strong slate gray. A dusting of snow clung to his cheeks and his ears were pinned back against his head. Overall, he was a shivering mess. He gasped for a breath of air and the sensation of it, plus the cold of a passing breeze, made his teeth chatter.

And behind him came Towhee. She ploughed in to his bottom and sent him sprawling back down upon the streak of yellow; Tit struggled to his feet and yowled with his screeching, crackling voice. When he whipped around to face his sister she was being scolded by Raven - and the boy joined in with a jeering, Teeeeheee!

Her answer came in the form of Titmouse jeering his sister. Raven glanced at the girl, who was looking at her with wide eyes brimming with confusion and guilt. Her face just about broke the Gamma's heart. She quickly shot the pup a reassuring smile, then stepped forward to nuzzle her.

"I know you understand when I tell you to stop," she murmured to the child, basing this conclusion off the pups' collective behavior. They might not be able to speak just yet but they could most certainly comprehend simple commands. On that note—

"Did you just say Teehee?" the caretaker asked Titmouse, head whipping around to face him, the portrait of a delayed reaction. "Can you say it again? Can you say Rave?" she pressed, the tip of her tail wiggling as she faced him more fully, her yellow eyes shining with excitement.

Towhee didn't really respond to what he was doing, but Raven did. Her reaction was enough to set him off on a bit of a tangent; having his older sister's attention on him - and only him - boosted his confidence immensely. He wasn't about to pass up this chance to be the center of attention!

So, without further ado, Titmouse took a deep breath and proclaimed: Teeheeee! Teeeteee! Teee!

Clearly this made him the Most Important Thing, more important than the more subdued Towhee; but little Titty was so caught up in the moment that he didn't really listen to Raven, and instantly forgot what she'd asked of him. The boy went on chattering with his gnarly voice, Tee, tee tee! Tee! Teehee!

While her attention strayed to Titmouse, Towhee slipped away. Raven glanced after the girl, hoping she'd just gotten bored of them and gone off to find another playful pursuit. But the Gamma had the feeling she had really hurt Towhee's feelings and the strangely subdued way she slunk off did not bode well. Making a mental note to go after her in a moment, she refocused her attention on the hollering Titmouse. Although it wasn't surprising that he'd be such a loudmouth, it was super exciting to hear him speaking his first real words.

"Yes, Teehee. Now can you say Rave? Or maybe Titmouse?" she prompted him.

Eventually the sounds he made were less than appealing. He was bored with them. So when he finally noticed what Raven was saying, Titmouse chose to immitate them instead. It took a moment of good listening; of course, the boy was rather hyperactive and didn't know which sounds she wanted him to make specifically, so at first Tit just sat there looking like a total moron.

He tilted his head one way, then the other, then back, his big ears flopping like fleshy triangles atop his head. Waaaaah, he murmured, opening his mouth as if to invite a look-see at his rows of nice big teeth. A hot wave of dog-breath steamed from his tongue before he clamped his mouth shut again.

Waif? That wasn't right. A little frown popped up on his little face after this fresh attempt, and he seemed rather dejected.

Raven felt like her heart might explode when he said a babyish rendition of her name. "That's it!" she crowed. "You've got it!" She was so delighted and pleased that she didn't notice his dejected expression right away. When she did, the caretaker frowned at herself. She needed to work on paying attention to the pups' expressions and moods.

"What's wrong, Tit?" she asked, nudging him. "You're doing so good. You should say it again." Mostly because she wanted to hear it but also because it would be good practice.

How did she make those sounds so easily? Maybe it wasn't a hard thing at all. In which case - why couldn't he do it right the first time? Despite her cajoling, Titmouse was reluctant to speak up. He was uncharacteristically morose for a minute or two, listening to her rather than communicating (or trying to communicate).

But finally, given that she was so enthusiastic, he tried again. Except that his attention was pulling away from Raven and towards the direction that Towhee had waddled off to. Tee? Waaah, tee? Was he asking where she'd gone? Maybe. But the boy didn't understand language yet; he murmured the sounds they'd been practicing to see if another reaction could come of it — but he was staring off in to space after Towhee, missing his sister.

But Titmouse did not indulge her, instead reverting to calling his sister's nickname and even beginning to plod after her. Raven stuck close behind him, hoping he would say more words, though she also tried to keep an eye on the other pups. Orca had curled up in a patch of sunlight and appeared to be licking the snow (Raven snorted in amusement) and Phox—wait, where was Phox? The Gamma felt a pang of horror before she realized he and Towhee were together in the shadowy mouth of the cave. Of course they were; those two seemed particularly inseparable.

"I can hardly see you, you blend in," she said rather pointlessly to Phox as they approached. Raven wondered how Titmouse would act upon being reunited with "Teehee" even as she settled back against the piled stones to keep an eye on Orca. She wouldn't want the little girl's tongue to get stuck.

Teetee! The boy sang as best he could, shouting almost directly in to Towhee's ear when he was close enough; then he grabbed at it playfully, tugging for a second before his efforts were countered (by Towhee escaping or Raven grabbing him, or just his poor motor skills). When he moved to grab at her again, the boy's open mouth didn't want to obey and instead, out came a biiiig yawn.

Later, when Raven realized that Towhee was deaf, she would look back on instances like this and wonder how on earth she hadn't noticed earlier. She frowned when Titmouse screamed directly into his sister's ear, yet at least the girl didn't seem particularly bothered by it. Still, Raven reached out a paw to gently swat at him. Simultaneously, he seemed to go boneless with exhaustion, a great big yawn creeping over him.

A smile tugging the corners of her lips, the Gamma scooped him toward her and settled down with Titmouse gently pinned between her forelegs. She licked between his ears, then groomed him until he was fast asleep. It wasn't long before the other puppies dropped like flies around them. Raven was tempted to join them, though she stayed awake and vigilant to keep an eye on the sleepy brood.