Hushed Willows i heard the old songs radiating from you

at a month old, while his siblings grew in leaps and bounds, atwood remains -- not stunted, but small, small enough to give ariel cause to fret, though given his genetics and the circumstances of his birth, it is a smallness earned fairly. beyond his smallness he is healthy, still prefers his mother's belly to meat-paste, perhaps because he realizes the option is dwindling (if he is capable of that much thought, yet). his eyes have been open and he speaks in small sounds, oddly thoughtful sounding for a child.

but at a month old all that atwood really cares for is what seems to lie beyond the sanctity of their haven. it is impossible to know the beauty of the roses when they are what you have first laid eyes upon--without comparison, he has no reason to feel moved. instead his small blue eyes are on the exit and that great beyond and he moves as close to it as he is allowed under ariel's watchful eye and croons. olive has let them explore and he wishes to go further, beyond the gardens into the full world.

Sundance had sampled the world beyond their burrow and while he yearned for more of it, he did not yearn to experience it alone. So while he might be able to relate to his littlest brother's desire to be free from the confines of their den, he did not gaze longingly toward its entrance or test the bounderies set by their parents. Instead, the silver cherub waited without complaint for the next opportunity to explore.

He contented himself with an antler, working at its tines to soothe his growing milk teeth. Only one of the adults rested nearby, watchful over the litter, though Sundance took little notice of him as his jaws grew tired of chewing and he abandoned his plaything to seek entertainment elsewhere. Atwood's crooning was what drew him in and, with a curious twitch of his tiny nose, the ashen cub invited himself closer to deliver a playful bump of his snout to his sibling's tawny crown.

his mournful solitude is abruptly interrupted--such is the way of siblings, he would suppose, were he old enough to properly suppose yet. as it is, he reacts to sundance's presence with a small, moody huff, but does not pull away. instead he regards his brother, taking in the blurry details his still-developing eyesight affords, and nudges him, turning back toward the entrance to the den. hesitantly he begins to creep forward, glancing between sundance and the outside world, wondering if his brother will join him on this little escape mission.

The other babe reacts moodily, but Sundance is to inexperienced in communication to take offense. Instead he continued to linger uselessly nearby, blinking down at the sulking figure of his littlest brother, until his scruffy white-tipped tail gave a cheerful shake when at last Atwood shifted to look upon him in return. A nudge was delivered, likely in acknowledgement, but Sundance mistook it as an invitation to play.

He stepped closer in eager anticipation, but his tawny litter-mate turned away again to stare miserably toward the hollow's entrance. Sundance halted, taking a moment to study the situation, before he decided it bored him and reached out with jaws parted to make attempt at tugging his sibling's nearest ear instead.

there is rustling from behind them as ariel prepares to intervene, but he needn't worry -- atwoods own treacherous brother prevents his grand escape. traitor! he yips sharp as baby teeth sink into ear, thoroughly distracting him from his previous obsession. growling his meanest puppy-growl, atwood falls into his brother and begins to kick, the spike of babyish anger replaced nearly instantly by instinctive desire to play.

Atwood fought back, though there was no aggression between the siblings as they mouthed and shoved anyone another. The ashen youngster emitted a soft rumble in response to his brothers growl, the urge to play heightened considerably with such an eager companion.

They wrestled beneath their guardian's watchful eye, until Sundance's energy wanted and he retreated to Ariel's side to curl up alongside him.