Redhawk Caldera Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out?

Snow drifted gently from the night sky outside, though it was warm and toasty inside the den. Two of the three adults were trying to catch a few winks, the remaining grownup awake in case the pups needed anything. (I'll let Remedy decide who's awake and who's asleep.)

It wasn't necessarily quiet, though. Towhee, for one, was wide awake despite the late hour and making a noise like a balloon deflating. Her belly was uncomfortably full and some of the pressure was going to release. It was only a matter of time before one end or the other exploded.

As it turned out, Towhee grunted and spat up half-digested milk all over @Phox, which was only fair play for all the jostling he tended to do.

Phox had been asleep (twitching, as always) when he was awoken by the milk-vomit of his lovely sister. It had, fortunately, only covered his front feet, and so he did what he always did whenever he encountered something new: he tasted it. Surprisingly (or maybe not-so-surprisingly) it didn't taste too bad. In fact, Phox continued to lick his front paws, grooming himself for the very first time and managing to get a mini snack out of the ordeal. Once that was finished, he began to push himself forward, eventually booping his snoot into Towhee.

Following the purge, she felt much better. Towhee made a quiet burbling noise, then unleashed her hundredth or so giggle on the world. She had been on her tummy to feed and subsequently throw up, though now it was time to get comfy and catch a few zees. Stubby little limbs flailing, she rolled onto her side, then her back, and let out a comically happy sigh.

Something touched her ribs in a ticklish fashion. Towhee jerked and squealed, all four feet flexing into the air and tiny toes spreading. Her ratty little tail also wriggled and jerked like a spastic earthworm.

A toe(hee) poked him in the face, which made Fidget sneeze. A lil' boog was hanging out, and a freshly cleaned front paw swiped at it a few times to clean his nose. This, of course, meant that he had something new to put in his mouth, which he promptly did. It was salty, squishy, but not terribly bad. Yum, boogers! Fidget was getting really good at cleaning himself up. Once again, he moved forward, this time attempting to crawl over his sister.

When no further stimulation happened, Towhee gradually fell still and began to drift. She had just barely begun snoozing when a weight pressed against her recently emptied belly. She jerked and squawked, disliking it when her feet were touched. Without conscious thought—Towhee didn't have many of those yet—she kicked her limbs, forcing the warm, soft weight off her.

The force caused her to roll onto her side facing the unseated Phox. Towhee grunted, abandoning her quest to roll onto her back and sleep. Instead, she began scooting across the floor, suddenly wide awake again and eager to explore. Her head almost immediately butted into her brother's, well, butt.

He plopped on the ground, though he remained neither happy or unhappy about it. Phox was, for all intents and purposes, passive. He rolled (sometimes quite literally) with the punches, and Fidget didn't seem particularly phased by anything that went on around him. He was curious, observant, but not quick to let his emotions swing one way or the other.

His sister's snoot booped his butt, and Fidget let out a little squeak of surprise. Almost immediately, he began to investigate the assailant, using his teeny tiny paws to "swim" his way around to her, head wobbling precariously on his stubby neck. When he finally managed to turn himself around, he booped their snoots together, opening his mouth to taste Towhee's little wet nose.

She really didn't know what to make of this newest sensation. It was warm, wet and more than a little tickly. Towhee tolerated it for a moment, then she rapidly shook her head right before a sneeze burst out of her and directly into Phox's mouth. It was so forceful that she blasted an inch or two backward like a cartoon. Afterward, she shook her head again, tiny little ears flapping comically.

Tagging for reference. ^__^

The wet nose was jerked out of his mouth, and Fidget squeaked in response. Seconds later, a sneeze (though definitely not his own) made its way into his mouth, and he began coughing. It was, perhaps, the first time he had found something to be legitimately unpleasant. All the fussing had brought about the attention of @Elwood, the one and only conscious adult in the den. He licked Phox's face (and Towhee's), which was a pleasant feeling, and once again, the little dude was back to feeling neutral and normal about the world. The coughing had subsided, and Fidget was content. Not that it meant he would stop moving.

His little tail wriggled, and once again he set off, swimming more than crawling, toward the pile of puppies. He booped into one of the other ones, who screeched, then crawled on top of the pile as if he were playing king of the mountain.

Towhee squeaked happily when a warm, sloppy tongue pressed to her face. It was a familiar and comforting sensation by now. Without realizing she was doing it, she stuck out her own, much tinier tongue, happily making out with her godfather for half a second before he apparently withdrew.

Now she couldn't feel anything around her except empty air. It was cool. After a few beats, Towhee decided she didn't like it much. She gulped and then gave a little cry. A second mouth (Raven's) swooped in this time, airlifting her and plopping her down almost on top of Phox and the other puppies. Towhee rolled until she came to rest against the crook of her wet nurse's leg.

She sniffed. It was the right shape but not the right size or texture. Nonetheless, Towhee opened her mouth to begin suckling Raven's elbow.

Fidget's reign as king of the mountain was short-lived. With all his wiggle-worming, he was soon tumbling down the hill of puppies, landing on the dirt with a small squeak. Without realizing it, he had managed to fall right beside (but surprisingly not on) Teehee. He grunted, wiggling his oversized head around, smelling the air as much as his pugged nose could, and generally trying to regain some semblance of his whereabouts. That tumble had certainly rattled him, though not necessarily in a negative way. If there was one thing that had already been determined about Fidget, it was that he was surprisingly calm.

Looking a bit like a bobblehead, Fidget's snoot bumped into Towhee's ribs (though not hard), and he snorted in response. Those little hairs tickled!

The tickling went both ways. Towhee squeaked in surprise when something cold touched her ribs, a warm puff of air causing her to squirm away from Raven's foreleg. Her tiny pea brain couldn't decide whether the sensation was good or bad. But she couldn't seem to help the wriggling. It put her out of Phox's reach and she eventually slowed, then fell still. An indignant-sounding huff escaped her as Towhee hugged the earthen floor.

After a beat, she decided she wanted to experience the tickling again. She squiggled back toward the source of the sensation, though all her wriggling had disoriented her somewhat. Towhee ended up bumping into Raven's elbow again, the damp furs pressing into her forehead. She snorted and would have squinted if her eyes had been open.

The warm, soft, short fur of his sister inched away, but that didn't deter Fidget. Curious, he squirmed forward again. Instead of running into his sister, though, he sniffed at the much larger, longer-haired Raven. These hairs tickled less (for whatever reason), and he continued to sniff and puff at her for a few more breaths. She smelled of comfort, food, and family. Phox would never know his biological mother, of course, but he would always associate his godparents and older sister with being his parents. Perhaps even Eljay, if he was around enough. The smell of food tugged him toward a teat, and before long, Fidget was suckling away, dribbles of milk coming out either side of his tiny pugged muzzle.

There was a sense of movement around her and then Towhee felt a gentle pressure around her midriff. A second later, she was airborne. She grunted and squirmed but didn't otherwise fuss much. Soon, she was placed back on the floor, next to the suckling Phox, and something cool and moist pressed against her tiny cheek. Towhee twitched and squeaked as Raven's nose rubbed against her, gently guiding her face toward one of the warm nubs on her older sister's underside. Towhee quickly latched and whimpered in pleasure as rich, fatty milk flowed into her mouth.

Forgotten was her brother and the rest of her litter mates. Awareness in general faded as Towhee filled her belly with the liquid nourishment, then dozed off with her mouth still pulling the teat in a pacifying motion.

Phox's tiny baby paws kneaded at Raven's side, encouraging the milk to flow while he had his fill. When his belly was round and full, he sighed happily, detaching from Raven and scooting himself close to Towhee's side for warmth and comfort. He stilled for a split second, squirmed for another five minutes or so, then twitched as he dreamt of crawling around on the den floor.