Firefly Ravine A walking ball of anxiety

@Sen though anyone welcome to see her outside accomplishing things. This is not backdated, so her ears aren't floppy anymore, her hearing is better, and she can now walk!

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. 

Zephyr was pacing the lands today, sullen and lacking his usual prace and zest for life. It wasn't long before a little shape came into view, and it was clear by the location that this was one of Sen's puppies. Chusi was finding an ability to walk, it seemed, and with a smile the brute approached. He chuffed happily towards her, but the sight of a pup made his heart ache for his own little ones. Memories of his high mountain cave, Rinda, flooded his mind and made his eyes gloss over. 
He forced his attention on the bumbling puppy and happy things, hoping she would not shy from him. Maybe they could play?

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.

Zephyr was in the process of laying down when Sen slipped from the den. The new mother gave him a look that was no more cold than ever but not even close to inviting, and his ears wilted down to the sides of his face. His grassy eyes were drawn to the approaching Chusi, and he was torn between running and staying. In the end, he stayed, lowering his head flat to the earth with his paws on either side, but didn't move a muscle as the youngest Gorgon plopped herself infront of him. His eyes flicked to the alpha in question, and then back to the little girl she protected. Why hadn't he brought food, coming this way? That might've appeased Sen a little bit. 
                 "Would you like me to go hunt for you two, Sen?"
It was no secret that he was weird about taking care of the sole alpha and her pups, being the highest ranked male in the pack ever since Depp vanished. The ebony brute found himself unable to talk to her about it, and though he couldn't help the thoughtful curve of his brow, he knew now probably wasn't the time to bring up a possible partnership. It'd been tampered by his perpetual dark mood lately, but with the coming of Summer and new growth, he felt the tiniest bit better.

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.

It wasn't that Zephyr feared the dark woman, he just had a healthy caution of her. She was a good leader, he knew, and clearly a good mother by the way she protected her offspring. She refused his offer, but he knew the next time he was around he would bring something.
Before his thoughts could go any further, Chusi seemed to come even closer. His eyes were drawn to her at the smack to his nose, and he wiggled it with a grin spreading across his face. Before he could blow the air in her face, she fell. His ears flattened and he whined, both of worry to her and for the mother hovering. The wee girl, however, bounced back and before he knew it she was walking up his face. With a relieved sigh, he didn't see the kiss to it eyeball coming. It snapped shut at once, but he stifled the whine of disccomfort. 
As a puppy with sharp little teeth and little control, a tongue in the eye if probably the best that could happen.The rest of the kisses made it all better, and for now he assumed himself safe because of, well, the child on his face.

All the while, Sen had been watching the exchange. On some level, she knew that socialization was important, but that didn't necessarily mean that she felt like allowing Chusi to partake in such an activity. She had much to learn, still, and plenty of growing to do before the mother would feel comfortable with letting her go anywhere or do anything. Yet, there under her supervision, it wasn't so bad—that is, until the child had stumbled. Immediately, the serpent had jolted upright, ready to take a step forward, only to find that the girl had quickly righted herself. Still, she felt uneasy, wishing to drag the kid back into the den and force her to stay there. The desire to do so only increased when she'd observed the manner in which she was acting around Zephyr, growing irritated by her antics, as well as by what she assumed to be his enjoyment of the affectionate gesture.

"Chusi, enough," the woman commanded, staring her daughter down. Behind her, the Gorgon's tail could be seen lashing around, mimicking that of an annoyed feline. No daughter of her's would behave in such a way, that was for damn sure.

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.

The little puppy kisses were nice, and just the scent of newness and milk was enough to tear up his eyes. Sen's sharp words caused the Gamma's ears to fall down, and he'd started to get up when Chusi bolted behind him. A nervous, faint whine left his throat as he pressed closer to the earth, and he was unwilling to move with the puppies whereabouts fuzzy and her mother staring them down. What was he supposed to do now?! His grassy orbs sought the alpha, first, for surely she would tell him what she expected him to do. It was lost on Zephyr why she was so touchy, he couldn't for the life of him remember Rinda being this bad, but he didn't dare question the dark woman lest she tear his other ear.

Some PP of Chusi. Let me know if you'd like anything changed.

Again the girl had fallen, and again the woman had gone rigid at the sound of her cry. Yet, she'd recovered quickly, beelining for the space behind the male. Her actions, of course, weren't the least bit pleasing in the mind of her mother. When the male's gaze was met, not a single order was issued, for already had she started moving forward. Atop stiff legs, she'd approached the pair, but hardly a glance had been spared in the man's favour. Rather, she'd rounded him slowly, only to dart forward at the last second with jaws wide, enclosing them around her daughter's scruff once close enough. In one fluid motion, she'd pulled the child up off of the ground—she'd been unintentionally rough in doing so, surely causing some degree of pain in the process—and then moved away from the male. It was back towards the den that she'd gone, only to toss the little wolf inside once there. Sen herself did not enter, however, lingering outside instead and simply glaring in as the entrance was blocked with her body. "When you don't listen, you spend more time in the dark," she'd stated, her tone awfully dry. For a moment, it had seemed almost as if she'd forgotten about Zephyr's presence there entirely.

Turning her head, she'd set her gaze upon him, a concoction of anger, frustration, and irritation swimming around within her eyes. "You should go now, unless if you have something say?" Her words were a challenge, the very same tone having been used against Depp many times prior to the sanctuary's founding. She was almost daring him to approach, albeit in silence, daring him to say something about what he'd just witnessed. Even better yet, she was daring him to do something about it. To call her out on her behavior, or perhaps even take far more drastic measure.

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.

Zephyr didn't dare to say a word or move, even through Chusi's cry. Sen came forward and snatched up the girl, retreating back to the den. While he didn't understand, the ebony man wouldn't comment. It was her child, after all, and not his. He felt bad for the girl, but not enough to speak against Sen and the challenge she ensued. That was her way or raising children, then, even if it hadnt been his and Rinda's. 
Did he have anything more to say? Sen was irritated, and his welcome was worn down this day. He wouldn't talk to her this time, no. With a shake of his head, Zephyr drew himself up to his massive snowy paws and sighed as he turned and padded away.

Last post from me!

Short post to end this.

The man had been wise to turn away and leave, the challenge issued surely being one that could have ended badly. She'd lingered outside, watching as the male took his leave, and then stared after his departing body until he could no longer be seen. Even then, she'd waited, watching for any signs of movements. When nothing was seen, however, Sen made her way into the den. She'd pushed Chusi to the back of it, laying down around the child so as to trap her against that farthest wall. There would be no repeats of what had just happened, she'd make sure of it.