Broken Antler Fen father stretch my hands pt. 1

Eyes opening! @Nova, @Ivy, @Benjamin, @Pearl, @Sebastian, & @Odette!

The sun was just setting as Mato stirred from his nap, finding the darkness that he had become all too accustomed to as he woke. But, it was as he stirred that he felt something different-- a sensation that he had never felt previously. He felt as though something was pulling near the general area of his eyes and because of this he felt unsettled. He let out a displeased growl as he laid at the side of his siblings, reaching up with his two stubby fore-paws to rub at the affected area.

He rubbed for quite some time, never realizing that his attempts were only making the discomfort worse.

Soon enough, Mato had messed with his eyes enough for their protective lids to part for the first time. Freezing as this happened the darkest of the litter, who was brightening by the day, froze as light touched his very sensitive eyes. It felt funny, but not in the way his eyes had felt before they opened. He was all too preoccupied with the blurred scenery around him and as he looked about, the child felt suddenly distracted from his previous annoyances as he began to discover this new world with his large, milky eyes.

Sebastian was just returning to the den after a long day. He carried a meal for Pearl in his mouth as he entered. He had caught a raccoon for her to eat. He placed it by her and then went to greet his children. The excitable dad was clearly pleased to see his little mooselings. Sebastian let out a soft woof in greeting and then gave each of them a lick over their head.

Sebastian then laid down, watching how the others interacted with each other. It was fun to watch them. To his surprise he saw that Mato opened his eyes! How amazing. "Pearl look!" he spoke in excitement. The grey male's tail wagged excitedly.

Darkness he would not remember as he grew up, but for now it was the only thing he knew. Darkness, wetness, warmness and the undying thirst of a young puppy. This was his life, and he did not bother bothering it the way it did to him. His big forepaws were placed next to him as he lied on his side, one of them inside his mouth as he suckled upon it in his sleep. But his peaceful existence was not for long - yet being mad for being awakened? Never. What did life want from him now? His liver? A kidney? The lick on his head had not prepared him for something far more interesting though.

As he wiggled his way toward... Well, he didn't know where he was going - he was very much blind - but it felt like he was going somewhere. He stumbled, sending his large head to the ground - nose almost squished as he lied there motionless. When he had comprehended what had just happened, he lifted his head up, and to his surprise the darkness was gone - there was light! Blurry, a bit painful for his young eyes, but it was a good sign nonetheless! He let out an excited squeal as he "looked" around.

The world as dark as it was suited Nova user fine. She wasn't sure what was going on but there was an inkling of sensation. It was new. At sometime during the night she had wiggled and fussed over her eyes to a point where they were partially opened - the world swam in brilliance she hadn't known, the faint trickling of color delighting her. When Ben shrieked she shook her head in surprise, only vaguely hearing it but it was still unexpected. It was enough motion to force her eyes open the rest of the way before she had realized it. 

The world was beautiful. Nova was quiet, awestruck by ability to see - even as poor as it was. She let her head rest on her paws and just drank it all in. 

Pearl awoke with a small start to Seb's outburst. "Hmm?" she hummed, blinking around to her surroundings. Her first instinct was to check on the pups, and with it came the plesant surprise of seeing their eyes opening for the first time. The youngest let out a squeal of delight, which in turn startled one of the girls to wake and gaze upon the light streaming through the opening of the den. There was only one girl left that had yet to open her eyes, so she divided her attention between her and the wandering eyes of the other pups. 

A thought reached her suddenly, like a slap in the face. "Hey Seb," she paused, drawing her focus from her kids to her husband, "I don't think we've named them yet. Do you want to wait a bit or name them now?" she asked, a wide eyed smile ensuing. The days after birth consisted of her napping most of the time, so the thought never occured until now. It was kind of important, but they could always wait and name them when their personalities developed and widened.

Fishing had been unsuccessful this morning, but no matter.  She could always try again.  By now she had been constantly reasurring herself that they would not fall to the same fate as Solemn.  Not on her watch.  So as she now made her way towards the birthing den and her family a few thoughts flickered through her mind.  Hunting, possible pup names (although she did rather suck at names so she'd leave that up to Sebastian and Pearl), etc.

Once she arrived her green gaze softened at the sight of her family and she paused in her steps.

They looked so perfect together.  They looked so right.  For a moment she wondered if she should just leave them be.  Yet she wanted to go up to them see how things were going.  So she began to pad forward towards them eyeing them curiously and then before she had the chance to say anything as she reached them her eyes widened in surprise and her jaw almost dropped at the sight.  Their eyes had open and it was spectacular.  "They're eyes opened."  She said in awe.  They were growing up so fast already.

He looked around slowly, not entirely sure what to focus on with his new gift. Every slight turn of his head gave way to a new discovery and it was as he looked that he was learning quite a lot. Of course, these sights would not commit to memory just yet, but, he was finding a great amount in joy in seeing everything around him.

As the older wolves spoke, Mato continued to look around, his gaze never falling to the wolf that was speaking. That was, he only did this until he felt the familiar hum of his mother’s voice. Turing around with wide eyes, the darkest in the litter laid his eyes on Pearl and never dared to take them off of her. Instead, he found himself enticed by her beauty and looked to her lovingly as a warm feeling overcame him. Though he would one day know this emotion as “love”, he currently was unaware of just what it was. Instead of questioning it, he succumbed to it happily, his tail tipping as he stared at Pearl.

Sebastian realized that they hadn't. Sure he had thought about it but pups were vulnerable and naming them would make it official. Seeing that all four had opened their eyes and were healthy enough to survive the first two weeks, Sebastian was pretty convinced that naming them was a perfect thing to do right now. "I agree. Anything you had in mind for them?," he asked. Pearl was the mother so perhaps she had some ideas for names for their babies. Maybe something from her culture.

Odette joined and Sebastian smiled at her. "Do you know any good names, Odie?," he asked curiously. They father was open for suggestions. He had a few names himself but Sebastian would wait for a moment until the ladies could make their suggestions. The pups were so cute, though he definitely agreed that they should have names that fit them.

The bigger fluffball shook his already thicker coat, stumbling and crawling toward his father with a bright smile. This was amazing! This was so new! Only days before he had thought that all life had for him was nice belly rubs, sleep, milk and baths and now he was seeing things! SEEING things! What would later be known as his family - the image of them all so close to them (yet it was blurry for him) was stored in his brain. He wished never to forget, but he would - eventually.

Oh the world, brilliant and bright, was beautiful. It was so different to see everything that she'd only vaguely smelled. She watched her brothers, shifting a bit to take in the fuzzy forms of her parents too - her tiny tail wagged quickly, enthusiastic over the change in her world. It was amazing, to say the least, and she let out a couple of happy little chirps as she saw her parents mouths moving and emulated what they were doing. 

Pearl watched Odette wonder at her siblings, smiling as wide as a mother could. She looked down at the roaming milky eyes of the pups, resting on her firstborn, who seemed to be transfixed on only her. "Hau cikala mato," (Hello little bear) Pearl whispered lovingly to her son, nuzzling his forehead. "I think Mato is good for this one, Seb," she suggested, before turning her attention to the others. 

She glanced at Odie and allowed her to think about what names she would like for siblings, if she wanted to throw out any pre-prapared ideas. One of the girls was content chirping at her surroundings for the time being, making her even happier.

Names.  Of course her Father had to ask that.  At first she felt guilty, because she just sucked at giving others names.  Sure she could try to come up with some, but all she could think of were plain simple names that didn't even fit the pup whatsoever like Helga, Olga, Schartzmugel, Boomquifa, Anous, Surtiyem... it just got worse and worse.  So politely she gave a small shake of her head.  "I'm not the best when it comes to names..." she told him sheepishly with a brief nervous flicker of her gaze.

She liked the name that her Mother had come up with though.  Mato.  Sounded pretty cool, although she had no idea what "hua cikala mato" meant as Pearl had pronounced it, it sounded pretty foriegn to her yet she had never heard her Mom talk about speaking another language... so she decided to ask about it.  "What does haua kickacka mato mean?"  She asked her Mother, after epically failing on pronouncing the other language.

Skipping Mato with permission! <3

Sebastian looked at the black colored pup and nodded. "Mato I like it. What does it mean?," he asked, instantly after Odette asked it too. He chuckled. It seemed he wasn't the only one that didn't understand Pearl's other language. He did like the name though. It sounded tough. [b]"Well we can call the other boy Benjamin, it means youngest," he offered.

He smiled at Odette. "It is alright. You will be a good sister i know so," he spoke to Odette. The grey father wagged his tail. "And well, I also like the name Ivy," he explained then to Pearl. "Perhaps that one is fitting for the grey colored girl." Sebastian also wasn't the best with names, but the fact that they were able to name all four pups was the biggest compliment first time parents could have.

Pearl glanced at them after they asked about her other language, realizing she had let it slip away quite a lot and had not spoken much of it as of late. "It means 'little bear' in my native language. Mato can be this one's name," she said, nudging the oldest boy gently. "Benjamin is good for the big one. I like the name Ivy for the littlest girl." After agreeing to three of the names, two being Sebastian's and one being her own, she wanted to get another native name for her other little pup. She gazed at her while she chirped and mimicked them in her child-like wonder, bringing a smile of joy to her face. Pearl had always liked the name Nova, and it seemed a good fit. 

"How about Nova for the oldest girl? I think it suits her," she suggested. Oddly, she felt accomplished having official names for all of her adorable little puppies. It took away much of the informal 'hey you.'

I think it's my turn?

Names, names, names.  She did her best trying to commit all these names to memory, so she went over it in her mind.  Ivy for the littliest one, Benjamin for the biggest one, Mato for the gray and black colored one, and Nova for the brown one.  She went over that a few times in her thoughts, just hoping that that would be enough to remember.

"I love those names... each one really suits them."  She remarked, her eyes trailing over the puppies.  They were all darling and she wondered if her Mother and Father had put as much thought into her and her siblings names when they were so little.  Probably, but she couldn't remember.

My fault I looked over this!! I will wrap it up!!

Sebastian nodded in agreement. "Pearl you should rest," he urged and then smiled over the little wiggly balls. Sebastian was so proud of them, he was proud of Odette too, for being such a good sister. He laid down and watched over them all. Their names were a mix of their culture, just like their heritage was. Sebastian was certain they would never miss any love in this world, same goes for Odette. He loved them all unconditionally.

- end-