Broken Antler Fen awaken, my love!

Despite his explorative nature, Mato did his best in sticking to both his mother and sibling’s sides. He wanted nothing more than love and affect from the blurry occupants of his life and it was often that he was showered with such affections. He loved the ones he interacted with dearly and was confident that this was all that the world was cut out to be and, honestly, he was quite content with that. Even if exploring was fun, Mato enjoyed the world that was the family den just the way it was.  Now, these thoughts would shift slightly as he would grow and discover more. But, for now, he was content.

Along with the clarity of his eyes increasing every day, the child had also discovered his mouth. He spent a good amount of his time babbling as he explored the use of both his tongue and vocal cords. But, something about today was different.

His ears were beginning to rise which, naturally, lead to the the eventually pop that broke the seal of his deafness. It was in mid “ba!” that this sensation occurred and he paused, his eyes widened at the peculiar sensation. Pondering on this point for just a millisecond-- much longer than he really spent on most activities, really-- he resumed his rambling. As the first syllable slipped out of his mouth, Mato’s ears caught the strange noise.

He jerked his head back, his ears flopping at the sudden movement, and tilted his head as he internally questioned just what the heck was going on.

Nova was a little behind her brother. Really, behind was the only fair way to a say it, as she had been pawing at his rump. She'd become transfixed by the color of his fur and how aware she was of the different shades to his coat. She was a different shade than him, than Ben, than Ivy - and she was starting to recognize it. 

She recognized the recoil of her brother, a little whine issued even before she realized it. He seemed scared, or upset, and Nova moved on her now more steady feet as if she might be able to comfort him. 

Though he was all too involved in his discovery, the boy’s attention jumped as he heard a whine from behind him. His ears perked at this and he turned quickly to see that Nova was there, wondering what was wrong. He frowned then, confused at just what had happened, and cupped his floppy ears forward.

He whined to her, wishing for her to be beside him, and despite how unnatural his own noise sounded he was not jolted this time. Instead he remained turned towards Nova, his eyes imploring as he wished to be comforted.

Mato seemed concerned and she frowning, moving herself closer to her brother as he moved his mouth and fussed towards her. She wasn't as aware really, it wasn't like sight which had been a sustained and beautiful gift. This was something different. Mato was faster than she was development wise. She made her way on slow feet, finding herself not fumbling quite as much, until she was close enough to nuzzle into him - the same way she'd seen Mama do whenever they were upset. Her tiny tongue brushed his cheek and she hoped he might calm himself soon. 

When his wanting brought action to his sister, Mato felt comforted at once. His ears pinned to his head. Leaning into her embrace, Mato closed his eyes and let out a low whine. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but, regardless, he was unsettled by it all.

Mato pressed into her and she relaxed fully, pleased with the way that they settled into one another. Even if it wasnt Mama or Papa she still was happy because she adored her brother. She felt his whine and made a little soft sound of her own, close to a coo, nuzzling into him again. If only she could know what was going on! It was hard to imagine that the next day the same would happen to her, but for now, she had no idea what caused his upset. 

Though his ears were still floppy, Mato found the gentle strum of Nova’s vocal cords. Turning, Mato flopped his head heavily to the side and looked to his younger sister. Curiously, the Rho pushed his muzzle to that he could prod at her. Unlike the noises he had made, he had very much liked what Nova had said! Her voice had been lulling, in comparison to his deeper tones, and he wished to hear it again. Pulling back with imploring eyes, he looked to her, hoping she would make the sound again.

Mato bumped their muzzles against one another and she struggled a bit, curious and the way that he was responding to his behavior. She whined again, the sound ebbing upwards towards the coo she'd offered a moment before. She pressed close to him again, little tongue flicking across his snout to try and settle him some. 

At first he had been met with a whine, but as it progressed, she’d crescendoed to the coo that had lulled him so. His eyes glowed to this and his tail wagged as he looked to her with a loving expression, as if to say, “yes, that’s it!”. He countered her voice with a coo of his own, as if to show his appreciation.

The response from her brother was charming. She didn't know the words for it, but, his response to her warmed her heart. A little shiver ran down her tiny frame and she nuzzled into him. She could feel the vibrations, even if she couldn't hear them properly, and it made her overjoyed. She peppered her brothers face with gentle kisses, smiling all the while. 

Mato liked Nova. He liked the way that she made him feel and he enjoyed her kisses. He took them in as she offered them, growling happily to her affections as they were offered. Though his hearing hadn’t been with him long, the boy had found that he was quickly adapting to it all. Feeling lulled by his sister, Mato yawned in turn of a sudden wave of fatigue-- offset by the doting actions of his sister, no doubt.

Nova gave a little giggle when her brother yawned so big! It looked like his whole face was nothing but mouth and that amused her. She nestled into him, curling against her brother for warmth as she relaxed. She knew what the whole-mouth-face meant - sleepy. She did it, her sister did it, their brother did it. Even Mama and Daddy did too. Nova tilted her head before she laid down, looking up at Mato to ask if he'd join her - they could cuddle up together and stay cozy. 

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Mato took his sister’s actions as motivation to fuel his own actions. Following suite, the darker child stood and padded to Nova’s side, smiling  and he curled himself around her smaller body. Allowing his tan sister to be the little spoon, he settled at her side and brought his nose to the back of her neck, offering a single kiss before pulling away.