Ravensblood Forest Socialization

Vale, Violante II, and @Asara are in the socialization stage, as they are 25 days old. Violante is assumed to be overseeing her pups but she won't be posting!

Pups will begin to appear outside the den and can be found near the den entrance. This is the time when the pack will begin interacting with the pups. Their ears will perk up around day 27 and by day 30 they should have relatively good hearing and straight ears. The tips may still be floppy. Pups will develop their canine teeth and premolars during this time. By the 4 week mark, their heads and paws are comically large and play fighting for dominance begins. By the 5 week mark, pups may accompany adults on short trips away from the den. Weaning occurs during this stage and pups will speak their first full words in week 6.

Finally, he was allowed outside. Vale sat in the pale sunlight, trying his best to howl. He was getting better, but it still needed work. His mother, nearby, gave a soft chuckle and nodded encouragingly. He tried again, but failed. It didn't bother him. Instead, he just busied himself with exploring just outside the dens.

Hearing her brother's attempted howl, Asara tried one of her own. It was pitiful to say the least. She gave up quickly. She woofed playfully at her brother, trying to get his attention, and then again at her sister. She wanted to play!

She was smaller than her siblings, but she had a lot of spirit. She let out her own attempt at howling, then gave a bark and a low growl as her sister woofed at her. She didn't feel like playing, not when there was a whole new world to explore! No, Violante turned, and instead padded after Vale, tail wagging in excitement. They'd not yet met other adults - their mother was very protective of them - but that could change, now.

Just beyond the den, Vale found a large pool of water. "Vi! Asara!" He called for his siblings, then moved to drink from the water's edge. Their mother, meanwhile, had pulled close to the edge herself - the better to watch her children. Vale looked down into the water - he didn't know how deep it was. Carefully, he dipped a paw in - it was nice and cool.

Asara ran towards her brother to see what he had found. When she saw how careful Vale was being, she followed his lead. She took a long drink herself before she got a wicked idea. With her paw Asara swung water as hard as she could at Vale's face. Laughing, she said, "Gotcha, bro!"

Violante was not interested in getting wet, but when Asara splashed Vale, the smaller girl was caught in the crossfire. "Hey! You got me wet!" she barked, bristling. She then lunged at her sister, and though she didn't have much in the way of real teeth yet, her milk teeth would be quite sharp.

Vale was splashed, but so too was Violante — this caused the smallest of the siblings to launch herself at Asara, and Vale stood there, dumbfounded, watching the ensuing tussle. After a moment, he gave a whoop and cried, "Go Vi! I mean Asara! Yeah, get her!!"

Asara giggled as her much smaller sister charged her. She rolled to the ground, her legs flailing in the air. She completed her roll and went straight into a play bow before darting towards her sister shouting. "My turn!"

Asara rolled while Vale cheered them on, and Violante bristled angrily. "It's not a game! I'm mad at you!" she insisted hotly, rushing her sister again in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. Her milk teeth would nip and gnaw at whatever part of her sister she could reach.

Asara was enjoying the fun she made. Her sister had rushed her then, tackling her to the ground and gnawing at her legs as she kicked back, trying to free herself from her sister's assault. She finally rolled back right side up, baring her small teeth at her smaller sister. She gave her best snarl as she ran as fast as she could at Violante, preparing to knock her off her feet and pin her to the ground. I'm gonna win!

Asara bowled into her, knocking little Violante off her feet with a sharp wail of surprise. She got back up swiftly, shaking the dust from her pelt. Her eyes narrowed and she snarled back, baring sharp yet small teeth. She ran into Asara at the side, trying to nip at her shoulder, or ribs.

Asara was finally starting to get tired, her tongue lolling sideways. She was completely unprepared for her sister's next attack. Violante crashed into her and they both went tumbling into the water. Her instincts immediately kicked in as her paws began to move, she was up and out of the water. She shook the water from her fur and turned back to look at her sister. "That was just rude."

Their fight ended abruptly as both girls went tumbling into the spring. It was only this that quenched Violante's fire, and she gave a small huff as her mother helped her out of the spring. "Be more careful next time," she grumbled as she left, tail high in the air at her obvious victory. She would go back to their den and groom until she was dry.