Redhawk Caldera behind those eyes

Where a normal pup's eyes would have opened days ago, the pup's eyes were still shut. It did not notice much of it, for its days were filled with the same and more of the same. Some days were slightly better than others, but most days were the same. The pup did not yet think much, merely surviving upon instincts.

It did not realise that perhaps to its caretakers, it was not good that its eyes were still shut when they should have opened. The small pup had started to move a bit more, though, although it still remained apathetic often times when other pups would scream out. It preferred to sniff the fur of others to identify them, for it was the only thing it had for now, and instinct told it to do so.

Today the pup sat in the middle of the den, surrounded by hard, cold ground, and it tilted its head as if it was looking at something, although it saw nothing through its closed eyes.

If this isn't open, just shoo me out of here!

As much as she loved baby Elwood and hoped for the best for him, Wildfire hadn't spent much time with him since her initial few visits. She would never say this out loud but she thought he was sort of... well, boring. He really didn't do much but lay there and sometimes twitch or sneeze. He didn't talk or play or do anything meaningful, so she saw no reason to visit frequently. Eventually, though, Wildfire felt she hadn't gone by her godparents' den in a long time, so she decided it was time to drop by and see how the little family was doing.

Ignoring the drizzling sky, the small but lanky youth trotted to the Betas' den site. She held a single flower in her mouth, a small gift for Aunt Finley (and an apology for not coming around more). Her amber eyes scanned the den's dim mouth, wondering if Elwood Jr had grown or changed in any way. Maybe he would be more fun now. But as soon as her gaze locked on him, she saw that he was the same eyeless gray lump as before.

Frowning thoughtfully, Wildfire slunk closer, then stretched her muzzle down toward the puppy's sightless face. She brushed the flower against his nose. He couldn't see or hear but maybe just maybe he could enjoy the blossom's pretty smell.

it's open -- i just forgot to add the AW tag.

The small pup remained in place when something entered the den. He remained in place and did not move until something was touched to his nose. In surprise, he moved back a little, crawling backwards across the floor, and wriggled its nose.

Once the initial surprise was lessened, the pup carefully moved forward again. It gingerly reached its nose out to what had touched him before and inhaled the scent. Then the pup wriggled his nose again, not sure what to make of this scent. It was strange, but pleasant too. He liked it.

He immediately retreated and Wildfire took half a step backward herself, afraid that she had upset the tiny puppy. A moment later, though, he scooted back toward her and she delicately held the flower out to his sightless face again. He seemed to be enjoying it after all. She smiled around the stem, then ever so gently and slowly lowered it until the flower dropped onto the floor. That way, baby Elwood could reach it more easily.

"Smells good, doesn't it?" she asked him, then remembered he couldn't hear and added, "Oh." Lapsing into silence, she took a seat close by to watch what he would do with the flower. Hopefully he wouldn't destroy it; it was meant for his mommy, after all!

The pup sniffed the flower after it had been presented to him again, its little nose wiggling like a bunny's while he took in this new scent. When it had been set down it no longer needed to crane its neck upward to reach it. Realising that it was no longer floating in the air but was in fact on the ground, like he, the pup started to crawl across the ground towards it.

Once the pup reached the flower, it briefly brushed its head against the petals. They were soft and pleasant to touch. It did not chew on them, as one might have expected, and instead just brushed its face against the petals a couple of times while it inhaled the pleasant scent.

Little Elwood Jr crawled closer to the flower, then began rubbing his face on it. Wildfire watched, a small smile arcing her lips, though after a moment or two, she grew bored. She glanced over her should at the drizzly world just outside the den, then dragged her amber eyes back to the wee pup. She wondered if he had ever experienced water before and suddenly decided she would introduce him to it.

Bending down, she snatched up the flower's stem, slowly dragging it across the floor, toward the den's mouth. In this way, she hoped to lure the little pup just outside it so he could experience the drizzle. Hopefully no one would take issue with this; she thought it harmless herself.

Upon the taking of his flower, the pup let out an indignant squeak. It did not understand what or who had taken his flower, nor did he grasp why it had been taken from him. One moment it was here, and the next it was gone, just like that.

Soon -- after a second or ten of sitting on the floor -- the pup's little nose wriggled as it tried to figure out where the flower had gone. It started to get into motion to find it, although it wasn't going very fast at all in its puppy turtle speed.

The squeak surprised her and immediately made Wildfire feel bad. "Sorry!" she murmured, moving to press the blossom back against the pup's face. But then his nose wriggled and he began scooting as originally desired, so Wildfire maintained her position. Although Elwood Jr didn't do much more than wriggle like a fish out of water, the way he moved was absolutely adorable and her black tail waved as she waited patiently for him to reach her (or, more accurately, the flower in her mouth).

Little sausage-like paws squirmed as the pup tried to inch forward at the top of its speed. It did not go very fast, but it had determination on its side. For a moment the flower had returned, but once it was taken again, the pup continued its journey and moved forward slowly. The pup followed wherever the flower would be taken, until it bumped into something (or until it would get outside into the drizzle, in which case it would simply fall silent and sit there with its head in the drizzle, doing nothing).

She waited patiently, holding very still, until the tiny wolf's nose once more touched one of the flower petals. Then Wildfire backed up a few more inches, moving painstakingly slowly, and set the flower on the ground again. They were both fully exposed to the drizzle now, which meant that Elwood Jr's belly would get wet. Would his parents mind? Would he mind? He didn't seem the fussy type at all. In fact, had she ever even heard him make a sound...?

While she waited for him to catch up again, Wildfire slung her own faded belly to the ground. "We'll both get a little wet," she said softly, stretching a foreleg on either side of the flower so that when he arrived, little Elwood would be safely corralled between her arms.

Ever so slowly, pup and flower moved towards the exit, where the wet drizzle awaited them. The pup did not understand nor think about why the flower was going away all the time, and why it never fully managed to reach it. It just quietly wiggled on across the floor, until eventually it reached its flower.

The pup pressed its face against the flower, but then it froze when it realised the wetness (although, considering how docile he already was, it was likely it wouldn't get notice that he froze more than the usual standing-still). Not sure what to make of this, the pup silently sat on the ground, frozen in place, waiting for adults to take him somewhere not-wet.

She waited to see if he would fuss but he didn't. In fact, he grew still and didn't move or make any sound at all. For a split second, Wildfire worried that exposing him to the outdoors had suddenly struck him dead. Heart jumping into her throat, she reached out and touched his soft, fuzzy side. She could feel his shallow breaths. Wildfire sighed in relief, then decided she had better put him back inside.

She wasn't large (never would be) but she was able to clasp him around the middle, lift him slightly and trundle back into the den. In the process, Wildfire accidentally trampled the flower. When she set the baby down inside and glanced backward, she frowned. She then faced forward again and sat beside the pup, giving him a little poke to make sure he was okay after their very short field trip.

The pup remained still, not moving as he started to get wet. It just waited until this, too, would pass; or perhaps if it lasted long enough it would decide to make a move back to being dry himself. He did not like the rain, but allowed it to happen, hoping it'd go away soon.

When he was grabbed, the pup limply allowed himself to be carried, not struggling. Once put down, the pup sniffed the air. It received a poke, and turned its head towards the source, although it did not make a sound. The scent told the pup that he was still safely with his parents, so it fell silent again, content to be back to safety.

Elwood Jr turned his head toward her, so at least he seemed none the worse for wear after their pint-sized adventure. Wildfire found herself sighing in the next moment. She couldn't think of anything else to do with him and her gift for Finley had been destroyed. Well, she supposed she had better go fetch a fresh new flower for her godmother. She hated to think it but she was kind of glad for the excuse to get away from the dull little pup.

But she did give him a kiss on his forehead and an, "I love you, baby Elwood," before she slipped back out into the drizzle. He might not be a party animal (yet) and she didn't have much fun with him (yet) and he might have caused her to ruin the flower... nonetheless, Wildfire very much adored her little cousin.

Everything was back to normal now, and the pup was content for it. He looked around, and then rested his body on the ground. For a while, it sat there, while the temporary intrusion had departed from the den.

After a while of sitting on the floor in silence, the pup started to drift off to sleep. It remained in place, laying near-motionlessly on the ground until a worried parent would set it closer to their side or check if it was still alive.