Swiftcurrent Creek i think it burns my sense of truth to hear me shouting at my youth

Forward-dated to March 31st
@Helios; open to @Polaris, @Kavik, @Rosalie

The sprite does little but sleep in these early weeks. His rest is fitful, interrupted periodically by wheezing fits that wrack his slight frame with such violence that the consciousness is often bled from him again by the end. The boy's waking moments are hazy, though there is little to be done at this stage but eat and sleep. Still, milestones have passed forgotten, and Zephyr's early apathy has not gone unnoticed.
These last days, he has become accustomed to waking to gentle nudges and an early bath; he doesn't much like either, but protesting has gotten him nowhere, and so he remains quietly sullen on the matter. But today — today when the bath begins, he feels a strange sensation in his face. His eyelids twitch, parting just barely, then squeeze together at the tiny sting of air between them, muzzle wrinkling at the feeling. The grooming reaches his face just then, and he flinches with more vehemence than usual, flinging one limb out as if to wave the tongue away in disgust. The last thing he needs is a slobbery face while facing this latest crisis. Yet the tongue returns, insistent, and this time his eyes fly open as he shrieks his displeasure. This time his assailant retreats, but the damage has already been done. Zephyr goes silent, shell-shocked and breathing hard, though his eyes remain wide open as he studies the blurry shapes and colors around him. So the world isn't all darkness and funny noises and weird squishy things. Everything makes so much more sense to the sprite now — and he hates it already.

x
Dear brother, you’re not alone in hating the world around you.

Days before, the raven parted his eyes for the first time. Sensitive to the light, colors and unfamiliar noises, he withdrew—desiring nothing more than to hide from what he was named to rule. Head beams, aching each time the boy puts his blurry eyesight to use. Most of the time, he spends sleeping, much like his other siblings, while the others he preferred sulking alongside the smallest of the litter.

His ears twitch, brought alert by the shriek escaped from aforementioned sibling—his mother had so dastardly stolen from him. Baby blue eyes flicker to life, staring quietly with unsteady focus at the blurry silver shape that was once within their parent’s embrace. Upon weak limbs, Helios puts the effort into wiggling his way towards Zephyr, squeaking softly as if in attempt to sooth. He knows from experience their parents won’t be kind enough to turn the lights off. Damn them.

The idea of supporting the children at her side was mind boggling to the young woman. She hadn’t anticipated such a responsibility when she began her search for Alessia, not so soon anyway. It was about midday when Lie decided it was time to rouse the children, a bath was in their future. The smallest among them was the first to find her wrath.

Each of them had been beyond weak, weaker than Rosalie had thought was normal. It worried the woman to her very core, her maternal instincts had hit their full swing, and she loved each of them more than she could have imagined.

Starting along her back, Rosalie gently nosed Zephyr so she was easier to reach. As soothing as she could, she cleansed her fur with her tongue cleaning away the dirt and waste that stuck to the little girl’s soft pelt. She was usually easy to handle, the poor thing simply to young and weak to protest. However today was different, as Lie reached her face her lids fluttered slightly. Opening for just a split second, before she screwed them shut once again and flung a paw at her face. Lie continued her ministrations, her sloppy motherly tongue ignoring the protests, until Zephyr’s sharp cry pulled at her heartstrings.

Looking down at the poor girl, she gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry child, I know it’s hard.” Lie’s voice rose barely above a whisper, as Helios tried to worm his way in. Rosalie curled tighter around them, pulling all four pups closer to her. The light continuing to pour in from outside. “Your mother has already decided not to raise you in a cave, and so…as she says, you’ll just have to get used to it.” Giving Helios a little help, Lie nudged him toward the other pup. Sometimes siblings were the best remedy.