Swiftcurrent Creek There's always been a rainbow hanging over your head

Dated close to midnight on July 23rd
Anyone who'd be welcome near the den is free to jump in! <3

It had been about a week now since the light coming in from the mouth of their den woke her for the first time, and she peeled her bleary eyes open to see it. The world was fuzzy and indistinct, her eyes unused to the business of seeing, but there was a world there to look at for the first time.

It was bright.

Since then, she hadn't been able to resist crawling, then stumbling, to the entrance almost every day since that first. Curiosity burned, and nothing had yet made it clear in her young mind that the outside might be more dangerous than beautiful. Her ears hadn't opened yet, but she didn't even realize she was lacking it whenever she caught sight of the outside, bright and colorful even as fuzzy as it was to her still-developing eyes. Her escape attempts were numerous and frequent, though more likely to come at night, when the light wasn't so blinding.

Tonight was no different, though there was the added factor of dull pain in her mouth which made it hard to sleep anyway. Blue eyes were wide from the moment they opened, and for the first time, she made it close enough to the entrance to see a sliver of sky far, far above. Her eyes weren't sharp enough to make out more than a see of black, pinpricked with light, but it was shocking enough to set Morena down on her bottom, and she sat and stared, jaw hanging.

Pretty.

She didn't know why she wandered toward Maman's den so late that night, especially when the closer she got the more the images of that horrible night flashed through her mind. She knew the pups were her siblings and she should meet them but she feared it, she feared what they would think if they ever found out she had sat by idly while Zephyr did a bad thing, she feared that Maman may chase her away from the den if she came close, yet despite all those fears she went anyway and hid away behind a bush. 


She watched as one of the pups came toward the opening and stared out like she had seen something amazing. The look was so cute and she remembered how the world had stunned her at first too and she stepped out before thinking  tail wagging "hi!" she greeted brightly and then paused, frozen and panicking. She wanted to greet her new sister properly but this den, the sight of her, it only reminded her of the thing she had witnessed.

It wasn't the voice, but the movement that caught her attention, drawing her eyes toward a dark shape near the bushes. Morena jumped a little at the sight and backed up, but the stranger was wagging her tail—and, when her nose caught up with her eyes, didn't smell so strange after all.

Morena sniffed curiously and started stumbling her way forward instead, bright eyes curious and her backside waving with her own attempts to wag. She tumbled toward the larger pup, not quite able to form words without her hearing, but a chorus of grunty whines escaped her throat as she approached, eager and curious to meet her big sister.

 "oh" she gasped eyes rounding as her little sister toddled closer "you're a baby" she murmured and slid onto her belly so she was at level with the girl. She stretched her neck out, sniffing at and gently nuzzling the girl in greeting her tail up and wagging the whole time. She snuck another glance around for Maman, afraid of being caught and then stuck her butt in the air inviting her to play.

Mori wiggled eagerly as her sister responded, doing her best to imitate the play bow with her far less coordinated limbs. It didn't help that she couldn't quite contain her excited wiggling, and the end result was a sort of flop-and-roll to the side as she splayed her front paws out, ending up on her back. With Soter, she usually wound up on her back during roughhousing anyway, so she felt no distress as she kicked her legs in the air in her own invitation to play.

Her paranoia was forgotten as she watched her little sister do her best play bow and then...well not do so good at it winding up on her back. She held her breath hoping she wouldn't cry and then was immediately enraptured by the smallness that was a baby sibling. She was aware that she wasn't too much older than Morena but she also could move around and run and talk, placing her closer to being an adult in her own mind. She pounced on the girl, front paws gently brushing Morena's side and falling to the dirt as she gave no mercy and for just a moment shoved her head down into the soft puppy fur and gently nommed at her stomach and shoulders as she would often do to Polaris, surprisingly mindful of her teeth which so far did not nip enough to cause pain. "Grrr I'm a fierce big sister" she cooed, smiling wide enough that she looked goofy and not at all fierce before she became quite still and nuzzled Morena affectionately "i won't let anyone hurt you" she whispered and then lifted a forepaw aiming to boop her on the nose.

The difference between roughhousing with Soter and Lainie didn't quite sink in until the bigger girl pounced, and Morena got a better sense of the size difference. She let out a high pitched yip, flinging her paws wide, and only realized her mistake when the gentle attack commenced. Morena squirmed joyfully, attempting to curl around and nom at her sister's face in return. The transition from biting to nuzzling was less familiar; Morena thought for a moment that Lainie had fallen asleep on her, and squirmed even more. She still wanted to play! Fortunately, she had a paw in her face a moment later and fairly squealed her delight, trying to catch it with her paws or teeth.

It was impossible not to realise how utterly helpless and tiny Morena was compared to her. It was the reason why she was careful with each movement, even when she felt the tiny baby fangs close around her paw. She jerked back and yipped, shaking her paw and placing it back down wincing before giving a small laugh and nipping at her sister "You're gonna be scary when you're bigger" she said in a playful growl.

Mori's ears flattened as her big sister flinched away, her eyes wide. She was still learning to control herself while she played, but that was the same motion Soter made when she bit too hard. A tiny pink tongue came out to lick an apology, and she squirmed closer with a huff. Fortunately, it didn't seem like playtime was over because of her mistake, and Morena happily nuzzled back against the nips, wiggling excitedly. She was quickly running out of energy, however, still young enough that a nap was never far from her mind; her attempts to nip and wrestle quickly turned into drawn-out yawns, and soon enough she was left blinking sleepily up at her dark sibling, contemplating the best way to incite a puppy pile when she couldn't flop on top of the older girl.