Redtail Rise the hunger games

at 15 days of age, meaning eyes have opened! open to anyone who is able to enter the den! forward dated for tomorrow the 30 th in morning time <3 

for saturday, life so far has been nothing but a void. there was not much she could take in from the outside world other than through her skin and her mouth. she knew when mother was around and could feel her heartbeat and warm kisses placed upon her head and back. and oftentimes she wondered who the other presence was that she felt whenever someone joined mother in the den.

this morning started off like any other, saturday woke up and immediately decided to send off a little cry to mom, asking in a very needy way "when's breakfast ma?"

but what started off as a very normal puppy cry became something of a very panicked child, as when saturday's eyes fluttered open, she was practically blinded by light.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

that was probably all she was able to get out for the moment while trying to understand what it was that she was experiencing.

The neonatal stage seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Masque’s siblings were quite rambunctious at a little over five weeks of age, growing rapidly into miniature wolves. New Snow’s daughters were now two weeks old and looking less like root vegetables every day. They headed to see the latter now, empty-handed this time but eager to pay a visit anyway.

They stopped short when a startlingly loud shriek wafted out of the den. Masquerade quickly recovered and closed the distance, thrusting their ruddy snout into the dim interior with a look of alarm. Everything appeared normal as their golden eyes bounced from one face to the other, although Masque did notice a new development.

You can see, they acknowledged with a few slow passes of their tail, focusing on Saturday’s Sunrise as they eased forward into a sphinx pose.

well, maybe 'seeing' wasn't as accurate as a statement as everything was just really bright and blurry. it would take a few weeks of adjusting until Saturday would make any sense of what her eyes were taking in for her. 

a high-pitched scream would come to an end after a little bit of realizing that the light didn't exactly hurt her. this would be many of the life lessons Saturday would learn coming into her young life: not everything that was perceived as scary was meant to hurt her, though it didn't stop it from being perceived as annoying whatever shadow came to snuff out the light she saw caused an immediate relief in the girl.

recently, she had been trying to give the whole 'walking' thing a chance, often ending up rolling onto her side due to her being a bit greedy during breakfast, lunch, second lunch, first dinner, etc...

with very shaky legs, a slow pace, and a few stumbles, Saturday would come as close to shadow as she could manage under the watchful gaze of mother and sister (if she could see too, that is). She heard words, or more just jumbled notes that held little meaning to her right now. but Saturday was grateful for the fact that whoever this was in front of her stopped that annoying light. and so, the tiny girl sprawls out in front of Masquerade, a measly paw coming to try and touch whatever she could, as it was originally the only sense that connected her to the world.

The small puppy bumbled closer to them and Masque’s lips pulled into a pleased grin. They didn’t make any moves, just watched her and waited to see what she would do. Eventually, she sprawled onto her belly and reached out the tiniest of pale paws toward Masque’s much larger, grayer mitt.

They curled their toes, all but the equivalent of their index knuckling against their paw pad. Masque used this single digit to poke lightly at Saturday’s Sunrise’s shoulder before very gingerly drifting it upward to boop her right on the snoot.

Cameo!

The shrieking woke her, but she was neither offended nor disturbed. New Snow only opened her eyes to observe, and then when the screaming quieted the girl was rewarded with several swipes of the tongue to her face in grooming. A warm breath would pass over her daughter, and she doted on the other in the same way for a moment.

A presence caused New Snow to peer out from the den to observe Blood Spot there. New Snow crooned a greeting and rest her head on a foreleg for a moment. Only when Blood Spot moved to touch her daughter did New Snow rumble a soft warning; careful. They were still fragile, and New Snow would not tolerate any roughness toward her cubs—not that she suspected Blood Spot would, else she would have chased her from the mouth of the den.

The truth of it was, New Snow was glad to see Blood Spot. And so she settled on her side, stretched out and content to merely watch.

she could hear Mother's grumbles in the background, but it did little to stop Saturday on her great adventure. when she felt the touch on her shoulder and then upon her tiny nose, she lets out a high-pitched giggle while her tail helicopters behind her in an excited manner. a few babbles in an attempt to copy whatever it was that she heard (but in the end it just sounded like chicken scratch).

the blonde girl comes to slump onto her side, paws outstretched to reach the mighty paw that had come to touch her ever so lightly!

Masquerade looked up at the soft rumbling sound, smiling reassuringly as they said simply, I know.

Returning their attention to the giggling Saturday’s Sunrise, Masquerade’s own tail thumped at the sight of the puppy’s wiggling posterior. Babyish words fell from little lips. Masque didn’t know them, though they thought they understood the gist.

Suddenly, the youngster flopped onto her side, little forelegs stretched toward the Caru’s paw. Masque slipped it away and promptly bent their head to snuffle at those tiny toe beans, their tongue poking out to tickle at the delicate pads.

y'all can skip me <3

Her eyes were bright upon the duo. She was charmed by her daughters excitement and enthusiasm in her pack sister. New Snow crooned happily, and then took to grooming her other daughter. Of the two, Sunrise showed much promise... but the days were so early, and New Snow would not count her other daughters quietness against her.

Saturday liked her, evident by the high-pitched squeals of joy and tail wagging nearly a mile a minute. she'd wiggle about joyfully at such a light touch from Masquerade, confused as to why her sister was never in on such fun with her.

Mother grew to be a quiet distant form in the back of her mind. In the foreground, Saturday comes to shuffle closer, her own tongue coming to place a very well-meant (and perhaps messy) kiss on the nose of beloved Blood Spot. and if she was still enough, Saturday would let her own icy eyes attempt to stare into the Caru's own for a moment or so, desperate to fixate on something.

Masque was rewarded with peals of babyish laughter as Saturday’s Sunrise squirmed. Their lips pulled into an easy smile as the baby eventually calmed and scooted closer again. She kissed the Caru’s nose, then lingered there at the end of Masquerade’s ruddy muzzle.

They went a little cross-eyed as they tried to meet the muzzy set of puppy blues. But they managed to stare into one another’s eyes for a beat before Masque lowered their head a little and pushed their nose gently against the puppy’s chest. They snuffled a bit, aiming to tickle again, this time their tongue flicking at a tiny armpit.

oh how she wanted to see the Caru before her! it wasn't fair that eyesight was something that required practice before it would be something so natural and easy. but despite the fact that she couldn't make sense of much, she knew that she liked Masq, and that was perhaps all Saturday would need to know as she continued to grow within the rise.

This place, while carved for family, would be a home that would require a lot of work and commitment to her higher-ups. These expectations would grow heavy on her shoulders under the shadow of her mountain boulder father and snowy owl mother. but for now, when there were no expectations for her except to just focus on growing, Saturday would drink up her lazy days.

so another fit of giggles leaves her as she's put around by the Caru, attempting to push her away with tiny paws and little movements that a worm may find envious! eventually, Saturday would come to find herself free from Masq's ticklish ways, a victorious puppy yap comes from her as she comes to stomp around a few steps (eventually snagging on her own legs) and then falls in a very ungrateful manner to the ground a foot or so in front of her new friend. with an ungrateful splat! Saturday finds herself flat like a pancake a bit farther away from Masq. 

now, at this age, some parents would pretend to not see to make sure their kid couldn't get a rise out of them. Saturday was no different, as now she looks in the general direction of the Caru to see if she should be upset about the tumble or not!

The puppy squirmed out of reach, then proceeded to bumble about the den. Masquerade sat back and spectated, their lips curved into a grin at the endearing sight. They supposed it was only a matter of time before Saturday’s Sunrise tripped over her own feet and went tumbling. They had spent many hours observing their own younger siblings and knew pups this age had not yet mastered their motor skills.

You’re alright, they murmured when her little eyes gazed up at them. Get up and keep going, they added, leaning forward to give the tyke an encouraging nudge.

what a shameful thing for Saturday to admit! she always felt as if she was leagues above her sister when it came to doing anything, and now she was having to face the music that walking and anything having to do with movement was a bit of a struggle. gathering one's bearings was proving to be more difficult than she could have ever predicted.

at first, just being looked at causes a wavery and high-pitched grunt to come from Saturday. here, she was starting to think that her fall was waaaaaaay worse than it actually was, and before she could fully commit to crying, she could hear some jumbled sounds (ones meant to encourage her). a little sniffle to suck in the snot that risked coming out if she intended on fully crying, the bearn comes to take the gentle nudge from the caru lightly.

so, she unfurls her legs that were caught up on each other, coming to stand fully and–! a boisterous howl comes from her, victorious that she has overcome falling for the first time. the excitement was certainly overwhelming for Saturday, as she comes to stomp around once more, narrowly escaping falling down once again.

it would take her time to learn to be more careful, but this moment would cement something in Saturday. and perhaps there was no one better to be here for it than the watchful caru. in a way to show her appreciation, the pudgy girl makes her way to Masq once again and now comes to smoosh herself against the other's muzzle, rubbing her cheek along the space between Masq's eyes, if she were allowed.

Masque didn’t only allow it, they welcomed it. They tipped their muzzle to give Saturday’s Sunrise easier access, their breath tickling that impossibly soft fur fringing her face. Why did puppies smell so wonderful? It wasn’t just the sweet scent of milk but something else, something indefinable. The Caru pressed their nose to her temple and drew in great, billowing breaths of it.

After indulging in a few more moments of cuddling, Masquerade knew the puppy should be guided back to her mother before she became overstimulated or, worse, overtired. They nudged her toward New Snow and the other pup still bundled at her breast. In their experience, milk and naps always soothed a cranky or fussy pup. Saturday’s Sunrise was neither one of those things yet, though Masque wanted to preempt such a thing so everyone could avoid that unpleasantness altogether.

I will see you again soon, they promised quietly, and you will see me.

Masque pressed their smile into the pup’s crown, snuffling against her forehead before withdrawing. Leaving her to bond with her mother and sister, the Caru rumbled a farewell to New Snow, as well as a promise to bring meat during their next visit.