Sawtooth Spire prism

Whoever!

Technically speaking, Malroks eyes had begun to unseal themselves overnight. Being that it was so dark, though, he had not noticed anything different. He napped through the rising sun and awoke hungry some time after that. Malrok began to whimper as he searched for food, though he quickly ceased his complaints when he latched onto a teat and drank his fill. It seemed as though his siblings were still asleep, for they did not fight him for food like they so often did.

It was only when he drew his head away from his food source that his brain began to recognize the blurry shapes. They were illuminated by ambient light that filtered in through the den's opening. Because his memory was so terribly short at this point, he thought nothing of it. Instead, his eyes simply locked on to whatever was moving and he wavered there, barely holding himself up on four tiny limbs.

*HOARDS*

Tonravik slept well that night, for once nothing at all causing a ruckus... not even her second-born. But the present quiet did alarm her some, despite having felt him latched to her but moments ago. Was his mouth full to the point of preventing his typical noisemaking...? If he could live past it, she would ignore it and let his milk-laden mouth stay full. The silence was sweet, but if he were in danger it would not be so for long. He looked fine, all in one piece and using the newfound strength he had acquired by holding a shaky stand... but it was then she noted something quite different.

Instead of two sandy-brown lids, she stared at two tiny blue eyes. The mother froze, her ears thrusting forward as she cocked her head before she straightened. The mother leaned toward him, to touch her inky nose against her sons own.

His world was enveloped by black again, though Malrok did not protest such changes. Considering he did not know what was going on, and he had little to compare it to, he had no reason to be upset. An instant later, though, he felt the familiar touch of his mother's nose upon his own, and his little tail wriggled behind him. His bright blue eyes blinked, though he could perceive no difference when he did. Tonravik's black fur prevented him from seeing anything at all. He stuck out a tongue to lick her nose, acting on his instinctive curiosity. Not long after, his back legs folded under him, and he held himself up in a sit.

He was tiny. Her coming nearer to his face disabled her from looking at his eyes. His tiny tail waved, and a whoosh of warm air was exhaled from her nostrils as Tonravik withdrew after feeling his tongue press against her nostril. Tonravik did not yet think to rally the other troops, and so they slept soundly for now. Tonravik looked at him again, dark eyes taking in the sight of his presently lighter ones. When his legs folded beneath him, Tonravik only blinked. Soon enough he would be able to hold that weight of his, but now was not yet that time. The most important thing was that now he could see, and would be able to recognize his mother. She was not sure how well he could see, but Tonravik could only assume that his vision was as clear as her own.

Light returned to him when his mother lifted her head. It was nothing incredibly clear. It was more like looking at something while squinting in the dimmest light. Not terribly helpful, but incredibly fascinating to the boy who had not seen anything up until this point. Being the curious child that he was, Malrok pushed himself up on to all fours and took steady steps toward the mouth of the den. Tonravik made a grand archway with her body: her legs were the columns and her torso was the high ceiling that led to the outside world. In the unlikely event that he got more than two steps to his destination, he would come out with his head brushing her tail.

Tonravik watched as her son tried to make his way into the outside world for but a moment before she plucked him up and moved him back to his brothers. She sat and then shifted into a lay, where her belly was available to the cubs, but blocked their way out in the process. Her ears fanned atop her head as she listened and glanced at the other boys who as of yet were still resting... it was now she thought of waking the others to see if their eyes, too, were opened yet. She decided, yes, Tonravik nudged her sleeping babes roughly in the order they presently lay in, @Sitamat first, then @Atuaserk and lastly, @Pingasut. She looked to Malrok, too, sure to keep him in her reach.

A nudge roused him from sleep, and Sitamat withdrew from Tonravik's cold nose, squeaking lightly and folding his head into his paws in an attempt to escape. He had been in a deep sleep, unaware of Malrok's newly opened eyes and the general ruckus that he had caused as their mother became aware of this milestone in their lives. He squirmed, resisting coming fully into consciousness. His stomach, however, had different ideas and grumbled for nourishment.

Hesitantly, the youngest unfurled and began clambering over one of his brothers, using his sense of smell to seek out milk as per usual. Something was different today, however, and the ravenous boy paused suddenly, noticing a blur of shadows and light as his eyes blinked partially open. Unsure what to make of this, Sitamat swung his head first towards the brightest light-source — the den's entrance — before he looked up to Tonravik, his mother nothing but a large shadow to his currently very poor eyesight.

For the first time, Malrok saw Sitamat. The tan and black pup moved his legs to carry him toward his brother. Sitamat was a black shapeless object—much like their mother—but Malrok could see movement well enough. Legs carried him toward Sitamat, determined to investigate. He grew stronger and steadier each passing day, although he still had a long way to go. His nose bumped into Sitamat's rib. It was then that Malrok learned these shapeless objects were physical. He grunted, blinked, and waited.

The last-born was the next to rouse. He looked to her, first, and her tail thumped against the earth as she shifted in place, licking her chops excitedly. Two of her sons could see already with what she presumed was perfect vision. Pride swelled in her heart, and she growled. Tonravik would tell her mate of this when the other two roused. Again she nosed them, hoping to force them into wakefulness regardless of the state. Even her second-born was not vocal at this moment, overwhelmed by sight she presumed.

Malrok recognized Sitamat and the mother was content to watch them interact in whatever way they decided to. Her sons were growing up and now, would interact, seeing one another for the first time as they had seen her. An ear twitched and she looked to the other two, checking to see if they had awoken yet.

The large shadow before him shifted and moved, and Sitamat started towards it curiously, familiar with it's smell but never having seen it before. He only made it a few wobbly steps before something small and cold prodded him in the side, and the pup let out a yip as his attention turned to his sibling. He was a lighter colour than the other shapeless form, and much smaller. His head bobbed as he investigated his brother. Leaning forward, Sitamat went to press his nose against Malrok's own with an excited wiggle of his tail.

Last post from me. :)

Malrok continued to interact with his brother under the watchful eye of Tonravik. In time, he would learn to associate the sights with the smells that he already knew so well. In fact, it would only take mere hours for the second-born to catch on to the fact that these were the beings he had encountered day-in and day-out since the second he was born. Perhaps, also, he would catch a glimpse of his father's red fur from time to time. The creamy pup would also keep on attempting to escape the den, thwarted again and again by his mother.