Redhawk Caldera you've got a lot to live for

EYEBALLS - anyone who would be welcome!

There was a chance that the little soot spot was destined to be something of a late bloomer. She had been the last to be born, and she had attempted to give her mother the most trouble coming out. Following that trend, little Lucy had not yet discovered the miracle of sight. It had been more than fifteen days since their birth, but the dark ball of wriggling limbs and loud squeaks had not happened upon the blinds that were her eyelids. At least not until that morning.
 
Lucy had been doing her rounds, teetering about on unstable legs as she head-butted her little skull into one of her siblings’ when she simply opened her eyes and there… was a whole world right before her. It caused a gasp to fall from the inky child’s mouth as she caught sight of the images that were unfolding. Fear struck deep inside of her chest at the idea that something was happening and she did not know what it was, but there was also something marvelous about it. Excitement began to bubble up inside of her tiny body, and she reared back on her hind legs before tumbling over into the bedding with a soft whump.
 
It wasn’t long before she placed herself back on her feet and began to bounce happily around the den. Little stubby legs carrying her only a few inches at most, but it was something. Her head still was not entirely stable, but she was able to look around at everything that existed inside of their small home, and though she did not have the words for it… it was beautiful.

When Liffey's eyes had opened, she had been surprised, but had quickly enough accepted it without too much fuss. It was a curious thing to be able to see, even though the world remained mere blurred shapes of varying dark and light shades. It was more than she was used to, and thus it was fun for her. In particular, she was pleased with the ability to finally spot the blobs that were the different members of her family - one of which was now moving.

With a happy growl, Liffey pulled herself onto all fours and toddled after her dark sister. She was unaware that Lucy had just gained her own eyesight and was having an epic moment, and so it was without remorse that she sprang at the girl's hindquarters with widened jaws keen on clamping down upon the wriggling black hiney.

The girl’s vision was poor, at best, but it was so astoundingly new to her that she could hardly find it in her to blink for fear she might lose it. Her movements were haphazard at best, as the inky little ball attempted to capture all of the misshapen blobs that she could see. Lucy had made the mistake of taking her attention off of her siblings, however, and the attack from her sister was all too successful. Without any warning, the puppy jowls of Liffey had locked tightly to her rear end, and the dark girl opened her mouth in alarm but no sound came out.
 
Her tiny hear thrummed in her chest and she whirled around, opening her own maw and attempting to clamp it tightly onto her sister’s face. An indignant squeak sounded from her mouth as she tried to twist her rump out of Liffey’s grasp. The soot-spot was all too overwhelmed in that moment, but she was making quick work of recovering.

Edit: @Lucy do you want to continue this without sissy? We can just wrap it up with a few posts, if you want! :)

Elwood woke from a nap to the sound of miniature growls. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking sleep from their corners, and was greeted with the sight of Liffey nomming on Lucy's rear end. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, except for the fact that there were two sets of blue eyes shining from the middle of each little face.

Rather than get up and make a commotion about his daughters' new-found eyesight, Elwood rested his chin on his paws and watched them with a lopsided smile, his heart warm as Lucy spun around and tried to deliver a nibble of her own to her sister's snout.

i'd love me some daddy daughter time!

Life was complicated enough without Liffey attempting to clamp tightly to the dark pup’s rear end. As Lucy wiggled and fought to remove her sister from her behind, the youngest Blackthorn squeaked and squealed out of frustration. The soot-spot was still a pup – of course – but she was still small for her age, and it was not likely that she would shed the size that she had adopted. Even in her full height and weight, the blue-eyed shadow would be a slender creature with a frame built for speed above physical altercation. The disadvantage would probably do her well; if Lucy had been blessed with the body of a warrior, she would have been certain to have taken the world by storm.
 
Triumphant at last, the soot child scooted out from under Liffey and glanced back with a pointed stare that was intended to say ‘just who do you think you are?’ Attempting to push the attack behind her, Lucy turned her baby blue gaze toward the slate colors of her father and took a few confident steps toward him with comically large paws. The girl’s dark tassel was flagging behind her as she lowered her torso toward the earth and made a prancing move toward her papa. Lucy’s eyes were alight with mischief. The girl aimed her large feet for his shoulder, hoping to press her paws against him.

:D

After some wrestling, Lucy freed herself from her sister's grasp. Liffey became distracted by something on the far side of the den and retreated unsteadily to investigate, leaving the darkest Blackthorn to interact one-on-one with her father. Elwood grinned broadly as Lucy toddled towards him, her uncoordinated movements clearly playful.

She reared back and placed her forepaws on his shoulder, and while she was not nearly strong enough to knock him over, Elwood feigned weakness. He rolled away from Lucy with a convincing exclamation -- "Oh!" -- as he sprawled onto his side, inviting her to make another attack.

Playing with her father was far more fun than playing with her sister, who had a bad habit of sticking her mouth where it did not belong. At the very least, the large slate figure of Elwood was a comfort for the girl. She adored him in every sense of the word. As she attempted to use her raw strength to knock him over, he flopped to his side and she released a squeal of joy that would have easily irritated the eardrums. Still, there was a fire in her eyes as she pressed her tiny paws into his thick fur. She could not comprehend how he had gotten so strong, or how he had grown into such a powerful beast, but she envied it as much as a pup of her age could. 

"Daaa!" she cooed to him with a gaping jaw. 

Despite his size, Elwood would succumb to any and all of Lucy's attacks. He was entirely wrapped around her little finger and it would be hard-pressed to convince him that she was anything but perfect. Naturally, he loved his other children just as much -- but he liked to think that his bond with each puppy was special and unique.

Lucy cried out fiercely, making an approximation of "dad," and Elwood's heart melted. He grinned and propped himself up on his elbow, reaching out to touch his nose to hers. "Yes, Da!" he encouraged, his tail thumping the ground behind him.

Lucy loved her father dearly, but it was a safe assumption to make. There was a sharp twinkle in her gaze when she would listen to his rumbling voice. Though she did not understand the words that he spoke, the sound was familiar and comforting to her. Everything about Elwood was a form of comfort for the child. He was a sturdy rock in a world that was constantly changing, and for that she was grateful. 

As he moved forward to press his nose to her own, Lucy's head bobbed upward to meet him and she pressed her wet nostrils to her father's with a delighted squeak. The beating of his tail against the earth was encouragement enough for the soot spot to rear back on her hind legs once more and dive forward at another attempt to press her paws to his figure. 

The gentle tap of Lucy's nose against his own elicited a soft laugh from Elwood. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he reopened them she had reared back once more, tiny paws flailing in the air like the hooves of a wild horse. She lunged forward again and pushed against him, renewing her attack with the endless energy of a puppy.

"It's nice to be able to see what you're doing, huh?" he crooned, using one forepaw to ruffle her dark fur affectionately. Soon enough, the effort and excitement that came along with Lucy's newfound ability caught up to her and Elwood watched her fall asleep. He lowered his chin to his paws and sighed happily.