Ocean's Breath Plateau otter wing

aw! @Chagak @Sea Hunter @Puffyn @Sirmiq @Kilalurak <3

this morning had dawned warmer than the others. after chakliux had completed his early patrol and hunted for his wives, after the children had fed and were round-bellied, he took them one by one to the entrance of the lodge, and laid them upon a soft fur there.
sliding his forearms beneath them, around them, the seal hunter laid happily upon his belly, facing out toward the waves and telling them of their first lineage, including the names of those whom they might never see in life but must know to recite one day.

They would each know the sea, grow familiar with the tang of salt and the shift of sand beneath their feet. Sea Hunter would learn of his heritage and commit it to memory. His determination to succeed in the ways of a seal hunter man would be strong, in time.

But not on that day.

Milk-drunk and too young to understand the words spoken to him, the young Moontide whelp lay sleepily alongside his siblings between their father's arms. He parted his jaws in a wide yawn, appearing uninterested.

Always with the interruptions! One day, Puffyn would be a blur of energy: a busy little girl, eager to explore the world around her. Right now, she only desired sleep, and it seemed the adults loved moving her around.

Well, at least where she rested was soft... so very, very soft... She couldn't resist herself as she found her favorite sleeping position: on her back, with her soft white belly exposed to the sky. Diminutive, dainty alabaster paws reached out in all directions as she gave a big streeeeeetch before neatly tucking them against her colorless chest fluff. Puffyn's large, amber eyes blinked heavily as she wrestled with competing urges: stay awake and investigate or succumb to slumber once more. 

Father returned after depositing the rest of her wiggly siblings, enveloping them in his warmth. It was so soothing, especially as she both heard and felt his words. They meant little to her at present, but the soothing intonations describing names and stories that would one day become part of her very bones were like a lullaby, and the girl was unable to disobey her increasingly heavy eyelids.

in the days since his birth, young sirmiq had grown plump and buoyant. toss him to the sea and there'd be a good chance he'd float right back to you like a buoy on a warm summer day. he often took to suckling on the foot or ear of one of his siblings when not the teat of any mother. gluttonous and gummy, he left a residual drool on anything that happened to be caught within his mouth. 

today it was the tail of a sibling, which one he did not know. 

what he did know is that once his chew-toy of a sibling was plucked away, he was left with nothing to suckle on, which resulted in a displeased squeak. another little bellow when taken away himself, and then a satisfied murmur when he latched on to yet another appendage amongst the pile of wriggling bodies. 

there he suckled, content and happy once more as the names of family swept over him.

The boy fussed amidst the warmth of his family. Though he was always more at ease when they were close by, Chagak had run hot since the day of his birth, always running a temperature that felt worryingly close to a fever. But if he suffered for it, it showed only in infrequent bouts of discomfort. He grew fast and he slept hard and his appetite was endless.

And when he woke, he was as vigorous every day as he was today. He strained to lift his head and the rest of his body from the warm crush of his siblings and finally felt the chill ocean breeze on his face.

The boy sneezed, spraying a puff of vaporous mucous at his nearest sibling.

sea hunter yawned. puffin lay still and quiet, listening. sirmiq mouthed kilalurak's tail; chakliux separated them. and chagak sneezed! he had been sick, that one; the seal hunter adjusted him closer, wiping all the mess away from downy fur.
"now listen! i will tell you the story of how your grandfather took his first seal and got his name," chakliux exulted, full of love for the five little beings he cradled beneath the beat of his heart.

As a spray of mucus was directed at his face, Sea Hunter scrunched his nose; it was not the first time a sibling had sneezed on him, but the suddenness of it still startled him.

He was prepared to emit a small whimper, but Chakliux had already noticed his misfortune and moved to his aid. Cheeks and brow swept clean, he licked his button nose and went right back to trying to avoid dozing off.

Bird-girl's eyes opened suddenly at an unexpected cacophony, followed by sudden... wetness. Bleh! She, too, was about to issue a series of protests, but Father rectified the situation promptly. A petulant pout forming on her tiny alabaster maw, she wriggled on her back in an effort to recapture her earlier comfort and ease.

After finding a suitable position, her tiny paws began to droop toward her sides, marigold eyes sliding ever so gradually shut. Ah, peace...

Now listen!

Gah! Awake once more. She smacked her lips and flopped onto her side, giving a tiny huff of frustration.

the appendage he'd latched upon was stripped from him, and so sirmiq let loose the wails of a child without their pacifier. how dare! who took what was his?! a cry to the nearest sibling, a whimper to another. if he were capable of hearing, he might have caused himself to go deaf. 

but he could not hear. not the names of his linage, not the story of his father, not sneeze of his brother or the shriek of his own voice. he knew only that what he wanted was not there anymore, and incapable of doing much more than whining about it, sirmiq would bawl until he found the next of his siblings to gnaw on.

The fold parted a small fraction. Wariness was weighed against relief as cool air reached him once more. The vibrations of his father's voice reassured him that all was well — but Chagak still reached out a paw in search of a sibling. Said paw rammed straight into Sirmiq's face. But the squishy surface was exactly what the boy had been searching for, and Chagak relaxed with a gusty sigh, drifting slowly back toward sleep.

last for me!

he told them that story, then another. puffin was gathered close. chagak struck out a paw, and sirmiq presumably chewed it. kilalurak squirmed here and there. he cleaned sea hunter and hummed over them, a low, hunting song that he hoped they would recognize when they were older.
he was proud of them, the doting, happy father. moontide felt fuller each day when he returned to the lodge.