Broken Antler Fen in the wintertime

i'm pretty sure they're old enough to at least be outside the den. so, uh, open for anyone! <3

bleary eyes open to the birdsong and buttery sunbeams caught in the dustmotes of the mouth of the den; tickling roswell's face as the world outside invites him to come outside and play. he stretches and yawns leisurely before attempting to discreetly detangle himself from his sibling(s). wiggling his way free, roswell sneaks, not all that quiet, out of the den to the awaiting sunshine.

he blinks and squints against it for a moment as he stretches again; enjoying the soft feel of the emerald grasses between his toes. a curious sniff is given to the nearest bush — followed by a sneeze as he inhales too much pollen.

Eljay dropped by to provide Ibis with food every now and then. He tried to do this while Maia was still able to provide for herself. When the pups arrived — when the pups arrived! he felt an excited jolt thinking about that — Eljay knew that he would need to direct most of his resources and time towards Maia. Hopefully someone else could pick up his work so that Ibis wouldn't have a rough time. It was soothing that hopefully by the time Maia and his pups were born, Ibis' were a bit more in the hands of the entire pack at the rendezvous site so that he would not need to worry as much about Ibis being all alone.

Today Eljay brought a leftover leg of deer; a remnant from a cache, as he hadn't been able to catch anything fresh that day. The caretaker arrived and ears perked forward when he saw one of the pups out and about near the den. A soft smile was hard to be seen through his expended mouth, but his heart fluttered as he saw the cute little one sneeze. Everything children did was so adorable, he thought to himself, completely forgetting the yelling and crying bits.

As he approached Eljay's tail wagged in a friendly gesture and he put down the leg to the side, then bowed down into a play-bow and lay down to get more onto the pup's level. Hiya, Eljay said and he waited to see if the pup would continue the exploration of the surroundings, or if he'd be intrigued enough by Eljay's appearance to come investigate.