Moonspear and i'll fall down on my knees and beg,

maybe @Charon or @Amekaze or both?

arcturus hadn't managed a successful foray outside of the den yet - god knows he and his siblings had tried. each time they got tantalizingly close to the cusp of the world in wait outside their den, they were quickly ushered inside. arcturus was frustrated by this, and willfully challenged his limits every day. in every instance, he was consistently beat back -- and each time, he bullheadedly attempted his jailbreak again.

after his third or fourth rejection by the older siblings that stood like sentinel gargoyles outside the den, arcturus turned his sights inward. with a quiet growl he stalked towards whichever parent was closest, and flung himself at their hip with a series of playful nips.

The pups were a lively bunch, but the experienced father was no stranger to their whims, their pleading, their tries to escape the den and their gnawing on whatever part of whatever parent they could get. Charon stayed mostly outside of the den -- or at the den's entrance so they could not get out easily -- as guardian. Soon the pups would take their first steps outside and again soon they would be moved to the rendezvous site (but that moment was still a while off). But today was, unfortunately for the wilful pups, not yet 'soon' and they had some more growing to do.

Charon watched as the darkest child enthusiastically attacked Amekaze and he chuckled. It looked like she was trying to sleep so Charon reached out and dragged the pup away from his mother and placed him in front of himself, hoping to distract him so Ame could catch some z's.

After nearly a month spent attending to their newborns, then cooped up with their growing arrays of abilities, she was feeling pretty spent. Patience was thin these days and granted, this could be much worse (she had her family waiting on her every need and whim practically, so no concerns there), she could do nothing besides woefully mourn her lack of real lasting rest and her sore, chewed-up underbelly, irritated by their strengthening grips and a month's worth of abuse.

Add onto this merry list of things to complain about their eagerness to test the boundaries and go towards the light of the day and night, which proved to be a matter worsening by the day. For now, fighting them off was doable but she was swiftly getting tired of that one too--especially with a slowly festering need for more space of her own again soon that subdued her urge to keep them all sequestered away, when she wouldn't complain to pawn them off on the rest of the pack more.

But she was patient, most times, and warded them off by curling tight into herself now to doze. It had worked for a while, only until a new onslaught of teeth carried its way to her. Quick, she shot the dark boy a bleary-eyed look to see Charon intervene and take the offender into his own paws. She shifted a bit with a grumble that didn't become real words, and kept herself guarded for more while she set her head back down, watching half-lidded to see what the boy would think of that one.. and how the rest of the litter was sure to retaliate.

he liked to imagine he sounded vicious as he attacked his mother's flank, nibbling along her stifle in a series of puppy bites. for all his efforts, he only got tufts of hair -- he nyack nyacked with his muzzle wrinkled in distaste as fur stuck to his tongue. he sneezed, scooting back from the force with a shake of his head.

all of the sudden, his dominion was contested as his father came over him and dragged him effortlessly back. no! he had been doing something! he squealed loudly, flinging round towards his father with tiny growls in rebuke. when his gnawings were of no avail, and his mother still too far from him for his liking, arcturus narrowed his little eyes, opened his mouth, and let out a mighty: "aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhHAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIEEE!" that escalated both in volume and pitch until it was a high shriek bounding down the corridor of the den.

At least he managed to distract the pup off Amekaze, but unfortunately it was not for long. At first it seemed it had worked; the pup attacked him instead, growling and gnawing and Charon growled lowly and as quietly as he could, a playful sound that invited the pup's instinct to attack his father some more.

The peace and quiet given to Amekaze was not for long, however. An ear-shattering voluminous scream erupted from Arcturus' mouth; one that made it hard to imagine such a small pup could make such loud noises. Ears folded back to his skull as he wrinkled his nose at the noise, then cast Ame an apologetic sorry, i tried look. "I think he wants out," said Charon with a grin. "Guess they're almost ready." Comparing to previous years roundabout now seemed a good time for a first trip outside the den. He would have said just another week, but waited to hear Ame's opinion on the matter while their pup continued to scream. Charon merely let him, for now.

With enough interest to keep her eyes open, she watched father and son without a word. The screaming, though, was off-putting enough to lift her lip in a small grimace as her ears tucked down tight, trying in vain to protect themselves from a ruckus like that--and indoors, too. Shrieks of complaint or not, none of it particularly motivated her to go tend to the boy yet though. Maybe veering towards the opposite as their neediness had worn her down, leaving her stubbornly sure that he would not be wasting away to dust without a few ounces of his mother's attentions.

Through a frown, she did agree with her speckled mate.. and when looking upon the dark son, she shared the sentiment of wanting out too, if that was even all that ailed him. "Well screaming like that makes me want out, too," she huffed quietly, shifting her front legs and trying to get more comfortable despite the lovely song reverberating through the den. "Yeah, almost. Getting pretty tired of keeping them in. They are tough, and getting sharp.." she complained. They rallied her often, pressing for the boundaries for varying degrees depending on the day and the pup in question, but as a whole entity, she wasn't doubting that they could handle it soon. Quite soon, for the sake for their sanity too. "They should not be as unlucky as our last lot, either." she murmured, half to put that to words out in the universe and half because she had been keenly determined to believe it too. So far, so good--screaming included very reluctantly.

whatever tender moment his parents intended to share, arcturus wanted no part in it. he sniffed coarsely between loud shrieks and scrutinized his mother for her reaction to her son's imminent demise.

perfunctly, he believed amekaze's lack of distress over his obvious state of despair was at best, an egregious and personally insulting oversight.

with a loud huff he turned back to his father, the extractor -- and childishly redirected all of his attention on the only parent that seemed truly invested in his personal welfare. he lurched forward on stubby legs and issued a stunning vollley of small growls aimed at charon's outstretched (and to arcturus, perfectly vulnerable) paws.

It was a good thing Ame was such a calm mother and remained unfazed by her children's screams. Charon did not envy the role that she had in their pairing, for he was not quite sure he would have the patience to deal with them like she did. Guarding from the outside was perfectly fine for him, especially now that his children were there to help, too.

He nodded when she mentioned the last batch of pups. He preferred not to think too much on the end that Galaxy had found or what Ran had been, and he especially disliked talking about it. So a nod was his only answer. Soon the dark pup distracted him from any such thoughts and he gladly diverted his attentions to the pup. "Loud little fellow, aren't you," said Charon as he watched the pup try and intimidate his paws. Charon lifted one of his paws and batted (gently) at Arcturus' face.

The darkest, most neglected boy redirected his frustrations went for his father, and with that, she was plenty content to have that be her entertainment for the time being. He might make for a fine warrior one day, or a poised guardian of the mountain. Maybe even a hunter like his older sister--time would tell. She would always encourage them to be beautifully fierce, even when it bordered on troublesome still. It was a fine line, one that intertwined very keenly with how patient she was feeling.

She set her head back down and watched Charon and his son interact, contentment heavy in her heart with a mighty exhale. All too fond of them each, she lapsed into silence to just observe--and enjoy these simple moments.

arcturus' mighty growls were rebuked by a gentle yet powerful nudge; bowled back by the influence of charon's paw, the small boy shook his dark head and reconsidered his next course of action. with his tantrum thoroughly fended off, and his dam unalarmed by his shrieks, arcturus forgot all about his malcontent from moments before.

a tiredness suddenly lulled his senses. sleepily, his eyelids drooped -- combating the sleepiness best he could, arcturus issued a tiny yawp of a yawn before he slumped against his father's leg and cuddled into his fur.

He chuckled as the boy bowled over and fell at the bat of the paw. He plopped down and suddenly looked as if he was contemplating something, or maybe he'd just forgotten what he was doing. The boy then let out a tiny yawn and seemed to plop over on the spot, flopping down against Charon's aw. He smiled softly, exchanging a brief glance with Amekaze before he lay his head down, deciding he could do with a tiny nap himself while Arcturus slept on his leg.

She said nothing, at least not until the pup fussing began to tone it down. She rumbled her approval in the settling peace. Sleeping puppies, especially tucked up against their father instead of all over her, were well among her favorite sorts of things. Though, she passed a quick glance over the others too just to make sure everything checked out.

Since she was awake enough now, she would keep watch while they all napped.