Moonspear safe in the steep cliffs

For @Hydra and @Aesop! @Amekaze and/or @Charon welcome to make a cameo, too :D

Slowly, she was getting used to the newness and change — excited for it, even. They were allowed outside now for brief periods that grew longer and longer with each day. The Above was much more exciting than the stinky old den they had lived in for the first month of their lives, and Lyra found herself growing more and more interested in what it had to offer.

So when their mother ducked out for the morning, the triplet stealthily followed after her, watching as the dark form disappeared into the undergrowth before slowly poking her head out of the den's entrance. She squinted at the sunlight, dipping below for only a moment to check to see if any of her sisters would be joining her.

Finally, Aesop was beginning to grow confident in his place there. He had long since abadoned the fear that he would be chased off at any second, but he still lived his days with some measure of insecurity. No longer. Alastor would be joining him soon, and Aesop would need to be at the top of his game if he was to win the Greek's heart. 

Part of that meant being comfortable with his place in the pack, and that meant no more avoiding Charon. He wanted to meet the kids, too, which sort of knocked two birds out with one stone. And so he climbed, coming upon the den site more by scent than by memory. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of black from the den's entrance. He chuffed a greeting, hoping to find Amekaze or Charon home, or at least catch the attention of one of the kids.

Hydra followed Lyra slowly at first, but when Lyra turned to check if any of her sisters followed the cub charged to burst out and be ahead of her. She was quietly bold, and when one of her sisters tried to mess with her she turned swiftly into a Triceratops and attempted to headbutt, or else bowl them over, into some form of submission. It wasn't something she recognized as hierarchy quite yet, she simply didn't want to be messed around with, even if she was more than willing to mess around with others as it pleased her. Lyra had not taunted Hydra in any way; she was simply a victim of the latter sentiment, for the moment.

But when the sound of another she had not yet seen registered, Hydra turned her head and stared. The unfamiliarity of the stranger sent Hydra into a tizzy, and she began to bark in a manner meant to warn the others... though also, she called to her fellow twin, @Alya, to assemble with her. The Cerebrus required all three of its heads prior to attack. She bolstered Lyra to join her with a look, a, come on! we can't let this dude eat our family!!! sent out in a series of brief ruffs, translatable only to a wee cub.

She spied a shadow moving within the den and narrowed her blue eyes, peering into the abyss and trying to figure out just who she had managed to rouse. Suddenly, the shadow barrelled straight for her! Barely managing to let out a gasp before she was bowled into, the pup was knocked to the ground as her sister charged past her and out into the open.

She was quick to recover, but not without a confused glance at Hydra, letting out an indignant huff. However, her attention was quickly stolen away from her bossy sister, directed now towards the large stranger who had appeared near the den. Both of the pups had seen him and were now poking their head above the den's entrance — Hydra's a little higher than Lyra's. She fell shyly as her sister called for back up against the stranger, and only let loose a soft, uncertain bark as she was encouraged to take on this man.

Unaware of the rally occuring in the den, Aesop merely waited. Once or twice he shifted on his paws, uncomfortable, and started to chicken out. He could always come back later, after all.

Just as he came to peace with the idea of leaving and, indeed, went to execute it, two small heads popped up at the dens entrance. They were, as young pups tended to be, nearly identical. But this went beyond mere familial resemblance and down into the uncanny valley. There they were, both gazing- no, staring- intently at him. Hey, girls, he said uncertainly. The last thing he wanted to do was spook them and get chewed out by their parents. Is your dad home?

When the other spoke, Hydra recognized the word 'hey' vaguely, and 'dad', too. Hydra, typically silent, continued to bark and growl lowly at the other. Lyra offered a bit of support herself, which was a good thing in Hydra's book. She lifted her head and continued to bark and growl at the stranger, until she charged! Hydra rushed forward, moving to latch her milk-teeth into whatever she could grab on the others person, if anything at all!

It'd been a long night of rabble-rousing, and Alya took a bit longer than was usual to decide whether or not an adventure sounded like a good idea. On most days, she was content to do whatever Hyrda wanted, but today she was tired! Petuluntly, she remained in the den until the commanding alarm-bark of her sister perked her ears.

Alya stood at once, though it took her a moment to get her legs properly underneath her. By the time she reached the Outside, it was only to see Hydra already bearing down on their assailant, the ferocious warrior that she was! Alya's heart leapt in wild fear for her beloved kin. Not only her most beloved, but dear Lyra as well!

"Baaaaaaad! Stop! Quiet!" she called, using some of the sharp words that were often used to rebuke Alya herself. She did not know if they would work the same way on this Older Wolf, so Alya charged him all the same, attempting to sink her teeth into him as Hydra had done.

The stranger spoke, causing Lyra to duck her head down again as if she had been struck. She too recognised a few words, though couldn't yet piece them together. Blue eyes stared at the pale man, fear slowly giving away to curiousity. Perhaps he was like the other one — the one that occasionally watched them when their mother disappeared from the den. She was about to bark again at him before suddenly Hydra charged!

"NO!" she called in surprise, watching as her sister threw herself at the stranger. Quickly following her was another streak of black and, suddenly, Alya had joined the fray! She let out her own volley of demands, some of which Lyra understood but it was mostly just noise — loud noise. "No!" she tried again, pulling herself out of the den and rushing over to her sisters, though she did not engage in the attack, instead staying behind the other two and growling as fiercely as she could, stubby tail held high in the air.

The first of the girls was on him in a very adorable, very pointy instant. Ow! he hissed as the first girl's milk teeth caught his leg. A second charged forth, and now he had seen three of the four girls. Thing Three came forth with a battle cry of what was probably the sharpest rebukes she knew, then bit him as well. The pain was superficial and nothing he could bear, so as Thing Two came at them yelling, he let himself fall to the ground with an exagerrated cry. Oh man, he grunted, the colossus now toppled. You got me. He fully expected to feel little teeth on him, and prepared to play dead after they landed a few good hits.

He had fallen! She let out a triumphant little cry, a HEY! of excitement and encouragement. Killing something was an instinct she did not yet have, but Hydra was not finished with this one yet, and she led the charge upon Aesop. The babe attempted to climb him, but her success was truly dependent on Aesop as her own muscles were truly not much to work with young as she was. Whatever part of him she ended up on, she let out yet another rallying cry that seemed to insist that they chomp!!! as her milk teeth again sought to pinch. She only knew that typically when she used her teeth she got the reactions she wanted, and so this was why she did it. But her short attention span enabled her to forget that she even wanted him to leave--now, the bully was simply having some good fun.

Were he able, Charon would've leaned against a wall and slow clapped Aesop's valiant efforts as his girls assaulted Aesop and he was slain by the trio of doom. Of course, whenever he'd be the victim of a hyperactive attack from one of his girls (he could usually not really tell which of the three it was, to be honest, if they were in one of their moods) it wasn't really all that funny, but to see Aesop suffer the same fate was gratifying. He approached them and sat down not far away, grinning as though he himself had sent the three girls after Aesop.

"Ah, I see the guard dogs've caught a trespasser!" he said, grinning broadly. "Good job, girls, get 'im! Offa our lawn, you nasty trespasser!" He approached and started to fake-bite at Aesop's tail; probably the least painful of the four of the assailants, considering he was the only one really faking.

Alya attacked without regard for personal safety. The Crown Princess had told her to attack, and so she attacked. Besides, his fur felt funny on her tongue and he tasted like adventures. The little pup could get used to this.

But, as was often the case, her attention was drawn to her father as soon as he entered her vicinity. Alya spat out whatever chunk of fur and flesh she'd gotten her teeth into and dashed quickly to the Great White's side, waiting for love and affection to be lavished upon her. She was distracted, however, when Charon joined Hydra's game instead. A brief flare of jealousy kindled in her heart before she remembered the fun of chewing on the intruder. It would be a million times as fun if the Great White played with them!

Alya followed after the pale wolf and copied his every move, even softening her gnawing as she noticed her father was doing.

The beast fell with a cry, his form crashing to the ground that sent the smallest of the three fleeing. She did not run far, loathe to be too far away from her sisters, but still was cautious of the giant — how big he was compared to their father and mother! She approached again with wary steps, eyes ever alert as her siblings fearlessly engaged with snapping jaws and fearsome growls.

When Charon appeared on the scene, Lyra quickly turned to him as Alya did, letting out a bark. Look who we caught! He was just as disapproving of the intruder, it seemed, and she followed the more familiar adult as he fell upon the giant as well. Seeing her father engage in the fight filled her with confidence and, with a decided inhale, the girl joined the fray, aiming to deliver a nasty bite upon his hind leg.

They were upon him in moments, little needle-sharp teeth biting at anything they could reach. Little paws scrabbled at his side, and Aesop helped push the girl up with his leg, the action cleverly disguised as a paroxysm of pain. All the while he moaned and groaned, his fake death exagerrated for the sake of the game, though each wince of pain was real. They did not seem to know moderation yet.

Charon joined in, though he was mercifully gentle, though Aesop was not very pleased with having his tail in another guy's mouth. With a final, drawn out groan, he slumped, relaxing every limb as he played dead. As a final detail, his tongue lolled out onto the dirt. Mmm dirt.

Daddy!

Her onslaught paused for but a moment as the little devil child peered upward at him, her head cocking to the side. When he joined them, though, Hydra known she had done right. She glanced to Alya, to Lyra, babbling something that roughly translated to: my intuition was right about this guy near home!!!--though really, her reaction had just been to protect Lyra. It all added up to that, though!

Aesop was right--she chomped away at full force, and though such a force was nothing in comparison to what a grown wolf could do, her needle-teeth could be quite a nuisance. There was a moment that he stilled, and this confused Hydra... she bit again, and when he did nothing, she peered toward her father. Huh???? Why's he not moving? She found that, without his reacting, biting into him a billion times wasn't quite as fun.

Aesop was quick to give up now that reinforcements had arrived, and Charon laughed happily, glad to have time for such idle play with his daughters, as he watched his old mentor slump down to the ground and fall silent as though defeated for good. "Well done, girls," he cheered at his daughters when he had removed his mouth from Aesop's tail (he, too, liked his life better without it there).

Hydra's questioning look after finding out that Aesop was dead now and wasn't responding any longer was hilarious, and as such, Charon couldn't help but burst into laughter again. Laughing at your kids probably wasn't very good parenting, but they just shouldn't have been so darn funny then. "He's dead now," Charon explained in between chuckles, "Which means he'll never get up again. Yup, he'll just have to stay here for the rest of forever until he's decayed 'cause if he gets up again, you girls will finish him right off." He wasn't sure how much of these words the girls even understood since they spoke only simple words so far; truthfully, they were intended more for Aesop than for his girls anyway. The charade would soon be over and they'd realise that 'uncle Aesop' was a good chew toy but also not-an-intruder, but Charon was going to enjoy it a little while longer before they'd get there.

"Dead," Alya murmured, testing the word on her tongue. She listened attentively to the Great White's lesson, absorbing as much as she was able of both the words and the meaning behind them. Dead sounded like naptime to the young girl - decidedly boring. "No dead! Play," she demanded, taking hold of Aesop's tail once more. She gave a few insistant tugs before losing interest and turning back to Charon. For a moment, the girl simply gazed in awe, admiring the strength and coolness of her father. She'd had a suggestion for the next activity of the day, but it'd already slipped her mind.

Waiting, expectant, Alya simply stared at her father.

The man released a final moan before suddenly he went completely still, as if he had fallen asleep right then and there. Lyra looked to Hydra who was also as confused, and then watched as her sister bit him a few times more, but there was no reaction from the giant. The girl peered back at him, brows furrowing before she leapt up and pushed her front legs into his creamy fur. "Up," she commanded, though her quiet voice lacked any sort of dominance to it.

At Charon's explanation, she turned to him with a puzzled expression, only truly understanding a few words. One there caught her attention, though, and she murmured it softly, curious. "De-cay-ded," she tried. Not entirely correct, but she felt a little proud at her mimicry. Eyes focused back on the felled adult, who she still had her paws resting upon. Alya seemed insistent that he get back up and play, but the finality that their father implied made her bark a quick, "no, he dead." He wouldn't be getting up again to play, Charon had said so!

Aesop was having just as hard a time as Charon not laughing. He bit his tongue to quell his laughter, though even that wasn't really enough. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter before he managed to cool it enough to roll his eyes at Charon. Yeah, yeah, he'd stay dead for exactly as long as he wanted to. But from the sound of it, the girls were already getting bored with Aesop's mortality, and they couldn't have that happen.

Opening his eyes a crack, he tried to figure out where each pup was. Once he had ascertained their whereabouts (and that he would accidentally squish one) he opened his eyes and lifted his head, finally rolling onto his stomach. Hey, Charon, he said, grinning toothily. Sorry to show up unannounced. Gonna introduce me to the ankle-biters?

Aesop was going to crack eventually, of course, and this charade had to end sooner or later. Charon couldn't help but laugh at his girls' desire to further dead Aesop by play, because he wasn't allowed to be dead, only to play more. He was glad that all three triplets from hell were in the room when he was asked for an introduction, because he couldn't quite keep them apart — "These are Hydra, Lyra and Alya," Charon introduced with a grin, not explaining which was which, of course. He said, "There's a white one called Julia too." But she wasn't anywhere to be seen, as more often the case when there were fun things afoot.

want to wrap this soon? :)