Dragoncrest Cliffs of anactoria who is not here;

set for the 3rd! no post order, will develop rounds on how many join<3

a month had passed.
perhaps many might wait another turning of the moon for such outings, but erzulie and @Rosalyn had only confidence in their own abilities. they set out at daybreak with the children in toddling tow, enlisting the help of clementine and arcelia to help carry the babes down to sapphique's personal beach.
for now, the children were kept quite far from the lap of the ocean, and instead deposited near one another along a shallow tidepool. there were many ways in which the ocean might be shown to the new babes.
their older daughters walked off along the waterfront, perhaps keeping an eye here or there upon wanderlings. erzulie kept herself between the waves and their brood, prepared to mete out a warning toward any child attempting to travel in that direction.
not now. not yet.
but the ocean must be acquainted. a parley, as her pirate might say.
erzulie pointed out a tiny starfish clinging to the rock of the little pool, surely terrified by the sudden descent of inquisitive giants all about. "look, @Sobo, @Loko," she murmured. "@Coraline, you an' mireille come here as well."
the sun would loom hot in the hours to come, and they must return before then, but for now the cherubs were protected from the true glare by overcast satin ribbons of wisping cloud.

Between short, wobbly jaunts on his chubby legs and periods of being carried, Sobo was shepherded alongside his siblings into the sunshine. Prior to today, no one could claim the silver Dahomey-Rivaini boy was all that curious about the outside world. There was so much to do inside that he hadn't acitvely sought to leave the den, so at first when his mothers ushered him out the door, it was with a great deal of nervous fussing. This wasn't helped at all by the fact he was teething and his jaws ached.

It took no time for him to decide that he kind of liked being outside, though. He was placed beside his more rambunctious brother at the rocky edge of the water, which failed to capture his attention with its liquid glare or its sharp salt tang; it went directly to Loko, whose ear he tried to snatch with gradually erupting teeth. So far, the incisors and canines were present and wicked sharp, albeit partially embedded still in his gumline, yet his biting was gentle and relented quickly; he was proving to be more and more mild-mannered the bigger he got, especially with his sisters.

Sobo's attention was easily drawn back to the tide pool by Erzulie's soft call, where he fixed his gaze downward, cross-eyed from trying to focus on the water and the starfish all at once. His tongue sloppily lapped over his nose. Then the boy leaned shakily over and dipped a wide paw into the cold water, withdrawing it moments later and stumbling back with a startled cry.

There was so much to see. So much to smell. So much to taste!

Loko was aquiver with excitement. His tail whipped behind him as he sniffed and scuttled around the rocks, gnawing and licking and chewing all that passed his nose. This food-driven, toothy and tonguey behavior was becoming a cornerstone of his personality rather than prompted by teething aches. He had just got his mouth around a branch of driftwood and was darkening it with saliva and leaving little dents in its smooth surface when his brother nabbed his ear.

He was not so restrained and gentle as his brother, though it wasn't with meanness that he dropped his head and swung his teeth for Sobo's toes in retaliation. His playful bark and grinning said as much.

Loko was about to engage his brother fully when Erzulie called their attention elsewhere. He was a bit slower to cotton on to the presence of the starfish, and watched dumbly as Sobo touched the tidepool and did not enjoy it. It was Loko's turn to peer, and—

A faceful of water!

Loko went in for the snatch before his brother or sisters could make off with the colorful thing, but claimed only a snout and mouthful of saltwater as he missed the concept of depth and attempted to seize the water itself. He had plenty of faces to make after that. Salt licked from rocks or tasted from kelp was no preparation for the taste of the sea, nor for the sting of it up his nose.

He fixed Sobo a perplexed look, and then gaped in a silent laugh, slapping his paw down.

His tail started whipping again.

the outing brought with it no small amount of apprehension for the seaborne girl, who had been made cautious by nature, a trait that could only be unmade by age and experience. even so, the sights and smells captivated her; none quite so much as the sun-limned line joining ocean and horizon, the distant rhythmic shifting of waves past the dawnhazed silhouette of mother-made-barricade. coraline dared not attempt any sort of escape, but her longing was made obvious by doleful northward glances cast intermittently even as she dipped her toes into the crisp saltwater of the tidepool with far more grace than any of her siblings had thus far displayed. the intrigue of it was an appreciated distraction for the girl, if sporadic, and after several moments she put her pining on pause to reach further in with one paw in an attempt to bat at the starfish; the action was motivated by curiosity and pride in equal measure, spurred partially by hopes of succeeding where loko had failed (though she had, of course, pretended not to notice his attempt).

but what was this place?
mireille knew its scent, for it was around them always, draped upon her mamans, brought in upon breezes from the salt water. but it was something else entirely to be alongside it!
mireille was overcome, and cowered behind rosalyn's leg as her brothers and sister alternately splashed themselves and went for the hunting of the miniscule pink thing, which had far too many arms for her liking!
"kisa li ye?" she mumbled in a childish garble, at last daring to peer out from beside her pirate mother, stepping forward to sniff delicately at the pool's edge.

erzulie was quite pleased with how well her little ones had taken to the water. she looked for any sign in them of valravn's unfortunate displeasure with the sea. 
daring sobo was the first to explore the water; she watched carefully, mirth shaking her shoulders. loko was swiftly next, and the boys took charge of the exploration.
coraline was careful, a kitten reaching out a small limb with ginger touch at the starfish.
and mireille was last, looking quite put out and rather disgusted with the entire affair.
erzulie put her own paws into the water, demonstrating how best to put one's muzzle just beneath the surface, and how to hold one's breath for some seconds.
it remained to be seen if they would heed her. 
she nipped encouragingly toward the hapless little sea-beast.

The kittenish arch of Sobo's spine as he backed away from the tide pool spoke of the shock he felt at how cold it was on his soft paws. He settled quickly enough, mollified as much by Loko's brash forward charge as his mother's easy manner around the water. He felt rather like Mireille in that moment; Sobo cast a sympathetic look at his sister, who peeked out from behind a firm brown limb with all the apprehension of a lamb peering at a coyote.

Part of him wanted to stay and laugh with his brother, but his empathy for his sister's uncertainty won out. Sobo went for her, eager to comfort and share his wet paw with her. In the process, the clumsy boy tripped and bumbled directly into Coraline with enough force to pitch her into the tide pool if she was not caught by one of the more responsible adults.

Loko lacked grace and forethought but he was observant enough that his mother's demonstration was not missed. He was more concerned with the starfish and the tidepool itself than with his sibling's opinions of it, and so he stepped forward once more, and drove his snout back into the salt. This time, with a little less force, but still in his reckless manner.

Under the water he held his nose, bobbing and fumbling toward the starfish, until his breath triggered a series of bubbles that made him splutter into laughter, and forget all about the sea-creature.

So off to the side he lingered, making bubbles, biting bubbles, and giggling like a fool. These new toys created right in front of his face made the splat of color on a rock seem far less intriguing.

fading <3

they played well in the tidepool, and eventually retired home. erzulie cleaned the salt from their little pelts and thought to herself how suffused with sapphique's spirit this brood was.
they had done well.