Broken Antler Fen I got a pocketful of sunshine

The little dude woke up, blinking his blue eyes open with a loud yawn. He was feeling ambitious today, and could not help notice little sharp teeth in his mouth when he ran his tongue over them several times. Today was cold, but in the den it was surprisingly pleasant, and Ben poked a few of his siblings with his cold, wet nose before giving up. He crawled away from the bunch, eventually stumbling on his feet as he lifted his potato-shaped body off the ground.

He let out a squeal of joy as he stumbled through the den, his legs going faster than he could ever crawl. He did not go for the opening of the den though, and did not want to wake up his whole family. He was just there - in his own little word as he experienced his first few steps.

Pearl was watching the sunshine stream in from the outside, the chill thankfully not reaching her pup's little bodies. For the past few weeks, they were more or less easy to take care of, as all they did was sleep and eat. But it was just getting started. First they opened their eyes, beautiful milky gems that sparkled with innocence everytime they opened. Now, she watched as a proud momma when her youngest (but far from smallest) pup woke up and tried to arouse his siblings to no avail. 

Then he started stumbling about, getting to his little fluffy paws and taking his first steps. She grinned and felt a rush of affection for her squealing baby boy, not being able to contain her excitement. Who would have thought that such joy could come from something this small and helpless? 

For now she could just watch, with an occasional yip of excitement, tail thumping on the dirt floor, as her son payed no attention to his surroundings and just to the most adorable momenteous occasion she'd ever witnessed.

Okay, so, if he moved these two and then these two he could... Oh my lord what is happening?! His brain felt scattered as he fell flat on his nose again, his big head perhaps still a bit too heavy for his body to carry with much stability. His sniff tool hurt, but giving up was not the bulky sweetheart's style. He wiggled his bit up and stretched his limbs again, taking a few careful steps again.

Only then did he notice mother... Mother! Mother, had she seen him? Was she proud? Something was thumping, and his own little tail wagged in the air as he tried to find his way toward her. 

Pearl watched her youngest with 100% interest, following his every new and amazingly clumsy movement. She felt so proud of him learning to use his legs, a skill that she now realized took no short amount of work. It was simple task, but it was just so much bigger when her kid, her son, was accomplishing it, no matter how little progress was made.

Her little boy took notice of her voice, only upping her enthusiasm towards him. "Yeah! That's right, can you walk to mommy?" she said with motherly softness and encouragement. A thought reached her mind; she'd never thought she would ever say those words, but here she was, a leader of a pack with her loving husband, and four beautiful pups. How lucky she was.

Mother, mother, mother! He needed to get to her, to receive a bath, perhaps, or simple cuddles. Well, her cuddles were anything from simple. He stumbled toward her, finally getting the hang of walking when he reached her. He placed a tiny kiss on her cheek and then he ran off again with some babbling noises. He made a full round in their den, going from corner to corner, and he eventually ended up near his mother again.

He placed himself at her front, wanting to be taken in between her paws more than anything. Plus, this way he could not disturb the slumber of his smaller siblings. 

Pearl focused intently as her youngest started to learn to walk properly, stumbling forward to her but recovering once he got closer. He kissed her cheek, a heartwarming little gesture that would put her in a great mood for the better part of the day. The not-so-little one proceeded to run a lopey lap around the den, making his finish line at her front paws. Was he getting bigger? She swore he'd grown. 

She gently scooped him closer to her chest with her paw, nuzzling him against her. What a precious baby.

He squealed as he got taking closer to his beloved mother, feeling very flattered that he was the child getting grabbed. He wished for his siblings to feel this too, but for now he would just enjoy it himself. They were sleeping, he thought, after all, and he did not want them to wake. Now, he had mother all to himself, and he was glad for that.

He started grooming his mother's chest with his little puppy tongue, energy low due to all the things he had achieved today.

Pearl giggled at the attention she was getting from her youngest, wondering how one so small (yet so big for his age) was already giving back in little ways. She smiled and started grooming his own little frame, smoothing out the mousy brown fur on his neck and back. 

The boy appeared to be getting tired, evedently worn out from his little adventure around the den. She pressed him closer, tenderly licking his head to lull him to sleep.

Wiggling his wet, black nose he sneezed softly, yawning soon after. He licked his sniff cushion clean and then pressed himself against his mother, focusing on the bath he was given more than anything. He yawned once more when he got pulled even closer, making a soft sound that resembled a giggle as his mother smothered him to sleep. Black his world became once more, yet he felt good.

She watched her little man drift off lick by lick, and once he had succumed to sleep, she placed a kiss on his tiny head. After cuddling him with the side of her muzzle, she checked on his other sleeping siblings and kissed them all in turn. How lucky she was. 

Yawning herself, Pearl laid her head on her paws and drifted off once more.