Sun Mote Copse de-light-ed

Crow's life had been rather hum-drum, as far as he could tell. He had been born, which might have been "exciting," but he'd already forgotten about it. He had a few siblings, two parents, and a few other wolves who came in and out at random intervals to mix things up a bit. All-in-all, it hadn't been a bad life. He didn't really know pain, agony, loss, or any of those bad things.

Having just woken up from a nap, there was something different about the world now. There was light, and he was de-light-ed to blink and watch the vague moving objects disappear and reappear seemingly at random.

Sometime while she slept, Sugar's ear canals opened fully so that, for the first time in her brief life, she was awoken by birdsong. This noise which tended to delight most others only earned a distressed wail from the pup even as she jerked her forelimbs toward her own face as if instinctively attempting to block the sharp sound. Her own yowl startled her into silence. She squirmed and whimpered, more cranky than anything by having her sleep disturbed.

A few soothing passes of @Finley's tongue quieted the restless pup and, much more content for it, Sugar sat up and tilted her head as she acclimated to the sudden cacophony. Now that her ears had adjusted somewhat to its surprising volume, the birds' calls were not so bad. In fact, the sound was sort of pleasant. In her limited experience so far, sounds had origins, and though Sugar did not actually make the connection in any coherent fashion, she began to wander toward the source as if to seek it.

She was stopped by @Elwood's paw. She looked up at her father, who smiled and made some intriguing noises of his own. He somehow managed to redirect her attention to Crow, who was sitting up and staring around the den as if dazed. When Elwood gently nudged her in her brother's direction, the puppy went compliantly enough, walking right up to Crow and bumping noses.

Log.
Day 15.
Still no eyeballs.
Penn growing reaaaaaal restless about it.

Penn grumbled as he attempted to smush himself as deep into Fin's armpit as he was capable of going, which was not nearly as far as he would've liked. She had dug him out three times now, yet there he went again. His mother looked over at her mate and made some comment about how he appeared to have short-circuited and they should probably take him back to the store for an exchange. He at least could hear some stuff now, which was cool and all. He really wanted them eyeballs, though. I mean, he didn't know that's what was irritating him, but dang was the little buddy perturbed.

Fin, being the ever helpful, empathetic mother, lifted her arm once more to pull her son back out of it. This time instead of nudging him away, she lifted him fully and dropped him over in front of Elwood where he could be someone else's problem while she focused on giving @Avery some snuggles. Penn chirped a little oof! as he was plopped, then proceeded to sit right where he was with the biggest pouty face he could manage stuck on his face.

Crow sneezed when Sugar's nose touched his own. Then Pox was dropped off along with them, and Crow did a big blink at him, making him disappear for a split second. He didn't really understand any of it, but hey, sight was the coolest new thing. Standing up, wobbly as he was, Crow lifted his right front paw and swatted at the two siblings who were seriously crowding him right now.

Side note: in the year since their last litter was born, Elwood had forgotten just how busy puppies could be once they started cruising. He had only just managed to send Sugar Glider toddling towards Crow when Finley unceremoniously plopped Penn right in front of him, and he was happy to tend to the little boy, but wow it seemed like this whole parenting thing was nonstop.

But since Avery is supposed to be the point of this post, here's what she was doing while Elwood cajoled the sightless Penn. She had been minding her own business -- and ignoring every last one of her siblings and their noises and squirmings -- when she was suddenly enveloped in her mother's arms. She gave a gasp of surprise which quickly subsided into a catlike purr and snuggled closer to Finley, feeling quite smug as her brothers and sister booped about.

(Meanwhile, Elwood was now trying to tickle Penn and coax a smile out of him, since he didn't really think there was much he could do to force the boy's eyelids to open.)

Crow sneezed, causing Sugar to freeze and blink owlishly at the sudden gust of air and moisture on her face, not to mention the strange burst of sound. She remained still as Penn arrived nearby, though she didn't begin moving again until Crow swatted at her. His paw caught her upside the jaw, causing her to backpedal to avoid another blow even while opening and closing her mouth. It hadn't really hurt, just taken her totally by surprise, just like the sternutation.

The birdsong entirely forgotten now, Sugar rubbed at her chin, then stood for a moment and tipped her head first this way, then that way, tuning in to to the various noises inside the den. There was a strange rumbling coming from the direction of Finley and Avery. It intrigued her, though not enough to compel her to investigate. Instead, she turned to watch Elwood tickling Penn, who was presumably making some sort of noise in response. Although it would be weeks before her ears stood upright, they began to twitch madly in reaction to the general racket of the den.

Penn did his best to remain petulant, but papa's tickles were quick to break him. He giggled and attempted to grab Elwood's muzzle in his arms and give his snout a few good nibbles. He missed and tumbled forward, but totally made it look like he'd meant to be rolling over onto his back to expose his belly. It would likely mean more papa tickles were on the way once his mother stopped making jokes about what a pain in the ass he and his siblings were while cuddling her perfect little princess Avery. But he liked papa tickles, and he was quick to grow impatient waiting for them.

The others seemed to have backed off as far as Crow could tell, and he plopped down on his butt once again to observe the shapes and their movements in the low light of the den. His stomach rumbled, and he began to mewl endlessly for food. That sweet, delicious, nutritious sustenance. Where was @Finley when you needed her most?

There was a lot going on around her, but Avery was perfectly content in her mother's embrace. She continued to purr, causing Elwood to pause in his tickling of Penn -- which had transformed into blowing raspberries on the boy's soft belly -- and comment on whether or not Avery was actually a cat.

When Crow began to whimper, Avery turned in his direction and stopped purring. She canted her head first to one side, then to the other, as her ears worked to single out her brother's voice among the other noises. Then she emitted a series of yips, effectively saying, "Mom's over here, come on, dude!"

All at once, Penn was giggling, Crow was wailing and Avery was yipping. Sugar felt overcome by an unfamiliar emotion. She felt hot behind the ears and down her striped back. Her tail puffed up like a bottle brush and she scowled, uncertain what to make of this sudden and strange sentiment. All she knew was she wished everyone would quiet down; all the noise was too much for her.

Unaware of the connection between ears and hearing, it didn't occur to her to drop down and cover them to dull the cacophony. But instinct compelled her to scamper toward the nearer parent (Elwood) and shove her head into his furry flank. She grunted her inexplicable discomfort, then tried to push herself behind the bend of his hind leg as if to hide from the racket.

Pox could barely contain his laughter, and soon it was becoming far too much for him. He began kicking his legs harder as his intention turned into knocking his father away so he could roll over and begin to squiggle away. The pup was exhausted now from too much laughing, so he made it only about three inches before he flopped over and curled up to snooze.

Fin, seeing him, smirked and plucked him up to settle him against her side. She also nabbed Crow and put him beside his brother, recognizing that look on his face. Penn squirmed to make himself comfortable beside them both and gave a sleepy yawn before he began to doze off as Finley began to groom her little kitten.

Last one from me. <3

Momma picked him up and dropped him right where he needed to be. In two seconds flat, Crow had found the source of food and began suckling with reckless abandon. After about three minutes of feeding, he was out like a light, soon snoring softly nestled up against momma's belly.

As though she had understood Avery's yaps, Finley helped her two brothers join her by picking them up and placing them nearby. Avery gave one last pleased yip and then closed her own eyes, soothed to sleep by the rhythmic motion of her mother's tongue bathing her back.

The last pup standing, Sugar, had pressed her head against Elwood's hind leg when the noisiness reached its highest pitch. He reached around to pull her towards him with a forepaw, recognizing that the pup appeared to be overstimulated by all of the sounds in the den. This wasn't cause for too much concern yet, but it was something he would mark in his memory. He licked her between her seemingly sensitive ears in an attempt to calm her.

She managed to wedge herself in there and it worked: all the sounds went away and left her alone. Alas, the same could not be said of her father. Elwood's leg shifted to expose her again. Before Sugar could react, a great gray paw came scooping her along the cool shale. She went without protest, snuggling against her father's chest when pulled close, a sighing coo escaping her as his tongue swiped over the stripe crowning her head, mimicking Finley's gesture of comfort moments earlier.

If Avery took after a cat, then so too did Sugar, as she found herself kneading the pale fur of her sire's chest much like she would her mother's teats. She did not seek food; the movement simply comforted her. Even after her eyes slipped shut and her head drooped forward against her own tiny chest, she continued her catlike malaxation.