Larksong Grotto The first signs

Tapat was an active little guy especially as he got more stability in his walking and running. It helped too that he could see better. Light was shinning more into the den and he was getting more and more curious to where that light came from. He tried to climb up to the entrance, often trying to peek outside and then run back to any of his parents. Though today he felt like really going outside. He yipped for his parents @Hiram and @Jhala before taking his first steps outside.

His eyes needed to adjust for a moment but then a whole new world revealed. The pup looked around in amazement, forgetting about his parents and the den. He started to walk forward with a child like curiosity. What where those green things? What was the blue up there? Where did all those smells come from. The pup's white tail wagged excitedly wanting to explore everything all at once. He started running around from one thing to the next, trying to take their scents, everything forgotten. Especially the location of the den.

That morning, Tapat had seemed antsy around the den and had been more mobile than usual. Hiram let the boy be as long as he stayed within sight and within the safety of the cave. He believed it was the nearing the the time that the boys should start venturing outside and socializing with the rest of the pack, yet Hiram still worried. His sons were the only children he had not ruined yet. So, Hiram felt he needed to be extra careful lest they grow to hate him like the others.

Tapat steadily made his way toward the mouth of the the cave. And before Hiram could rise to grab him by the scruff of his neck to bring him back in, the boy was already outside. Hiram rose to his feet to follow his son, but he figured now was the time to show his boys the world. Taking the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Hiram looked to Astik and said, "Come on @Astik, let's go for a walk."

With that, Hiram left the den and joined his bewildered son in the grass beyond. "Cool, huh?" spoke Hiram to his excited son. Hopefully, the boy would slow down soon so Hiram could show him some really cool stuff.

Tapat ears turned to the sound he recognized. The boy whirled around and saw the figure he knew. Instantly all the other things from the outside world were forgotten and he ran back to his father. After all every time that he heard that voice he was getting rewarded for coming to the voice. The voice of his father. "WAAAAAGRAW!," he let out which was half somewhat of a word and a playful growl. The pale tail was wagging excitedly.

The pup plopped his butt down and looked at his father, he only had his attention for a brief moment. A bird chirped in the sky and soon his attention was to the sky and looking for the sound. He tipped his head back to see, so much so he tipped over and fell on his back. Giggles came from the boy as he kept laying on his back. Not feeling very worried because his dad was with him and he did not know any dangers.

She'd been watching and listening as she did more often. The pups were slowly turning from little potatoes into, well, pups. But this time something was different, because there wasn't just the cooing noises coming from the den. It was Reek, and he was with the boy. She didn't just get to hear how much more her father loved the puppies more than he loved her... She got to see it. There was a frustration brewing within her as she watched, and it was only briefly until she got into motion and approached.

Laurel came barging towards them as they want for their walk and she placed herself between Reek and Tapat, coming close to the boy with hackles rised and tail swung high to show him to back off. "Papa, play with me!" she demanded loudly, and she looked at Reek with a dirisive yet fragile look on her face; almost as if she expected the answer to be 'no'.

Astik followed his father silently out of the space. He was neither afraid nor hesitant, and though Astik was far from stoic, he simply remained silent. His little eyes narrowed at the outside, the brightness taking a moment to settle in. His white counterpart flug himself from the space and into the outside world, tumbling around and making loud noises. Astik breathed in the outside, his fluffy puppy tail holding still as the rest of the sun gosling began to comprehend. 

Astik was not old enough to speak properly just yet. Like Tapat, he could make noises and imitate words, and he had begun to understand the meaning of some. "Tapat" was the white pup, his "brother". "Reek" and "Hiram" confused him, and he often was unsure which one was his "father"... or if both were. They smelled the same, but "Jhala" called them many different things. He was Astik, and he rather liked his name. He was about to attempt to take his father's attention away from Tapat, when a noisey brown wolf came and did just that. She seemed anything but pleasent, though Astik wasn't sure what was so wrong with her-- other than that annoying voice. 

In a brave attempt-- mostly out of confusion-- to figure out who this girl was, Astik wobbled over to his father, putting himself closer than the girl ith the liver nose, and let out a heavy breathe. "Oooo?" he asked his father, staring at the girl with still puppy-green eyes.

It had been over a month since her Replacements had been born; and up until now, she had done everything in her power to avoid them. She couldn't face Jhala without growing angry, and the puppies were no different. They were the living, breathing embodiment of Reek's new family and life. They were the sharp reminder in her side, a thorn that pressed deep in her gut and told her she was being left behind while Reek moved on with his life. 

Indra had been looking for Laurel, but her ears fell as she saw her sister was not alone. Suspicious and somewhat disdainfully, the red child settled on the face of a rock bordering the den and watched, half expecting Laurel to receive admonishment from Reek. She did not pull close, finding certain satisfaction in the clear message her deliberate distance conveyed.

With Astik pulling up the rear, Hiram waited for Tapat to work out all that pent up energy and come to a stop. Shortly, he did. The boy flopped to the ground, exposing his belly in a clumsy roll. The Cardinal couldn't help but smile as he watched both of his sons experiance the world around them. To be so young was a special thing. Though he had unfortunately missed out on this period with his daughters, Hiram didn't want to squander any moment.

When Hiram saw Laurel approach, he shifted his warm gaze to his daughter. From the corner of his eye, he could see Indra lingering in the background. Laurel spoke in a shrill manner, but Hiram was unshaken. "I'd love to play with you Laurel," he replied. He then looked to Indra who seemed more detached. "And you too Indy."

Hirams attention was then drawn to little Astik as he approached his sister. "In fact, I think your brothers want to play too," he thought aloud. They were young and fragile, but he wanted them socialized with the rest of the family as soon as they could -- and of course, he wanted his girls to bond with their brothers so they could all be one family.

Tapat hadn't learned about the body language his sister was showing. Tapat didn't even recognize her as his sister, mostly because his memory was not that up to date. However her smell was familiar to him. He connected her face with something he knew but did not know the label off. He pushed himself to his feet. "PAAAA," He cried out and tried to jump the girl that was between his father and him.

His excitable fluffy body tried to make excitable jumps back and forth, often stumbling a bit as he did. He was sturdy on his feet but his excessive excitement kind of made his paws stumble over each other. He hoped that his brother would join too in the play, even though the other was far bigger and Tapat would lose most wrestling matches he did like his brother, and maybe they could even play with this bigger female together. He opened his teething mouth and playfully tried to bite Laurel, perhaps not the smartest decision but how could he know that?

Laurel noticed her sister's presence as she lingered in the background, and it only fueled her desire to be seen and heard even more. She needed to be not just for herself, now, but for Indra, too. Reek offered to play alongside her brothers, but she didn't want that. She wanted him all to herself, and would share Reek with nobody but In.

At first he accepted, but then he said the boys would join in too. Laurel's hackles rose as one of them drew nearer, and she bared her teeth in warning before turning back to her father. "No, I don't wanna play with them!" she objected with the sharp derision of a teen in pain. "You never look at us anymore since they're born." Exaggerated, perhaps, but it was how the girl felt. "We ditched mom for you, Reek.

"We —" That was when the other boy flung himself at her and started biting her, albeit playfully. Laurel turned around and yelled, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" at the kid. She tried to grab him wherever she was able to reach with her teeth and if she would succeed would try to fling him somewhere else, as far as she could; away from her, away from daddy.

Astik retreated as soon as Laurel began to yell. He had seen his mother yell like that once, and he didn't like it-- it just wasn't okay. Letting out a loud yelp he dipped behind his fathers forepaws, staring meekly at the liver girl and the red one off in the distance. It had taken a few moments for shock to settle, but the boys throat dried and he let out a loud wail-- had he been capable of crying tears would've welled from his eyes and spilled over his cheeks. He didn't understand, it didn't make sense-- her voice was mean and loud and sickening. Astik felt just that, sick, and scared.