Blackfeather Woods At least we'll both be numb

An errant wind through the woods sends a sudden chill into the veined earth, one that scarcely reaches the whelping area but still is noted. The newborn boy stirs from his spot as faint new scents briefly reach him, then fade away. He has no name for any of them, but though he is new to this world, he stores them away for future use. He may one day recognize them.

Thus roused from his nap, the sightless pup turns his wobbly head to the left, then the right. His nose wriggles attentively, but now the den smells only of his mother and his sister once more. The interest has passed. He huffs, snorts, and squeaks, strains his weak front legs to reach further into the air above, and falls short. He tries again and again he fails and flops onto his narrow chest with a yelp.

His attention wanes now and he turns his head once more, this time bumping his squat snout against some part of his sister. He whines, a burbling series of sharp short noises. He doesn't know she can't hear his sounds, though he can't even hear himself yet and hasn't a clue that anyone can hear him.

I tried to resist, but couldn’t. (･ω･;)
Parents have permission to get rid of Xan if wanted~

 
Day by day, Alexander found himself exploring and learning about more of Blackfeather. He’d managed to trek through a great deal of the pack’s territory, discovering all sorts of things about the land itself. Often his interests lied in the swamps, trying to figure out which parts of it smelled the worst, and which parts he could tolerate enough to walk by with ease. Another thing that always managed to catch his interest were the wisps, whose bright glow often left him feeling breathless. The colour was like that of what he could imagine in his dreams, having once made him ask himself if there was a chance of his inner visions escaping his mind. That personal theory had been discarded immediately, however, because he knew it right away to be impossible. His thoughts were his own, unable to ever leave his mind unless through the usage of words—words that could not be spoken unless he wished to share them. While he knew their origin to be far from magical, that did not keep him away. In fact, it only seemed to draw him closer, leading him to spend a reasonable amount of time within the grotto.
 
The young Inuit had been leaving the grotto for the day, aiming to spend some time with his dad, but something prevented that from happening. He’d opted for taking a trail closer to the swamps, and eventually found himself in an area unfamiliar to him. Never had he drawn near the space before, usually taking a different path during his trips home. Curious, Xan chose to stick around a bit longer and look around, though the scent that reached his nose had him thinking that might not be wise. It was the scent of the woman he’d met at the borders, the Dark Queen known as Meldresi. There was another scent—or scents, rather—in the air, too, but it was one he didn’t recognize. Not wanting to intrude on something and risk upsetting the elder woman, he’d tried to leave, but a noise made him stop dead in his tracks. Xan’s brow furrowed and his ears perked up, trying to figure out what the sound had been. Unable to figure out its origin from memory alone, his legs started in the direction from which it had sounded, carrying him forward in spite of his better judgement.
 
Soon after, Xan found himself approaching what appeared to be a den. It scented heavily of the dark woman, as well as several others who he could not put a face to. Something drew him closer to the private space, like an invisible rope dragging him along. Once close enough, he attempted to peek inside, but kept his distance at the same time. With the lack of light, he could only make out some shaded forms, but had no clue who—or what—any of them were. He suspected the larger shape to be Meldresi, but the smaller creatures were nameless, completely unknown. The albino child did not know of the woman having given birth, not yet really knowing what birth even was. Keeping his paws planted firmly to the ground, he stretched out his neck and took in several deep breaths again, before pulling back and letting out a noise that could only be described as a mixture of a quiet bark and a high-pitched whine. Though he did not wish to disturb the woman inside, he did want to know what the wriggling furry-things were that laid beside her.

Happily is the world of the blind for they do not see how dark the world truly is behind their closed eyes. Not much did matter or was known to the newborn. She mostly only find peace when being next to her twin, not even the near presence of her parent had the same effect than the wordless feeling of being a whole with Pietro. She did not sense the same scents nor woke up from them as her brother did, but his uncoordinated actions lead to her jumping awake, which in return caused a hiccup.  Something had bumped into her so hard, she had almost fell over while lying or so she felt. This world was heavy and not easy to maneuver, not like before. She felt her weight. Kendra turned a shake head towards the other ball of fur and opened her teethless mouth to then close it on his snout. Payback, of course not, she did not even know what that meant. She just went for the first thing instinctively , squeaking and growling in what could be associated to displeasure. Unable to notice Xan, she simply starting to move to plumb on her brother.

Burke had been accepted back into the den, and even though he wasn't too fond of their squeaks he was getting used to them. He had been watching over Meldresi, eventually closing his eyes for a moment while the babies were quiet too. Burke slowly opened his eyes when other softer sounds where waking him. He went from sleep to instant rage. He had told Kove to keep his scoundrel away. Burke snarled at the pup and instantly snapped up. No one was getting close to his family not even a pup. Definitely not this pup. Burke shot out from the dark instantly going for the white pelt intending to maim when he realized he make a promise. Burke slammed the side of his muzzle against his side, which would be hard teeth colliding with some part of the pups body. It wouldn't be a wound but it would bruise.

"You are not welcome here," he snapped. "You better run off right now and learn some respect. This is the alpha den," he stated, making his voice sound only harsher. Kove had said the boy wasn't stupid, so if he was smart then he would leave right now. Burke had promised not to kill, but if this brat wasn't going to listen to a ferocious papa bear wolf then he was out of him mind. Burke would make sure that he would feel pain everywhere as a reminder. He was barely allowed in the den by Meldresi, so he was not letting the son of his most distrusted bother even have a peek.

The world is at peace for only a moment before things start to happen. Things that a newborn prince doesn't fully understand. He withdraws his snout from the obstacle, Kendra, but barely manages an inch between them when his sister responds by clamping onto his nose. Her toothless mouth does no damage, but his whines intensify as discomfort becomes his most prevalent emotion. In all this chaos, he doesn't notice the unseen visitor beyond the threshold of the den. He knows only Kendra.

But then his father moves, and in the process, lightly buffets Pietro with a hastily moving paw as he snaps to the den's entrance with a protective snarl that his pups cannot hear nor appreciate. It's a gentle tap with almost no potential to harm, but the shock of it is enough to make the sensitive newborn wail into his sibling's jowls and throw his paws forward, a bit of a squalling tantrum. One of them connects with Kendra's cheek, and the other bops her lightly on the nose.

Xan out. Self preservation is strong with him, lmao.

It’d happened quickly. One moment, the child had been trying to gain the attention of the mother, then the next he was being pushed backwards. It sent him into a daze, temporarily, as the pain of the hit slivered its way throughout his body. The starting point, his side, hurt the most, and he had to check himself to ensure no blood had been drawn. Satisfied by the lack of the crimson substance, his head snapped back around and he found himself facing a rather large wolf. He didn’t know who he was, nor did he really care. The only thing running through the boy’s minds was thoughts of how he’d get payback for that cheap shot. Of course, he felt he’d done absolutely nothing wrong. It was his first time encountering such a situation, leaving him completely unprepared for it. Sure, he’d been around wolves who’d recently had children before, but those wolves were his parents. He’d had no choice but to be around them, and certainly wouldn’t have ever been chased away for getting too close to his home.
 
The angry voice of the man reached Xan’s ears soon after, causing for them to fold back neatly against his crown. The fur along his back bristled on instinct, the feel of a threat encouraging his body to make itself appear larger. No matter how thick his fur was, though, he was still way too young to even come close to the tank’s hefty size. “I heard noises,” he voiced, unconsciously defending himself. Never did his eyes leave Burke’s form, not wanting to take the risk of him bulldozing into him again. The child attempted to peek around the major roadblock, but was left seeing nothing but the grey coat. Seriously, what did the wolves in Blackfeather eat that made them so big? Pulling his gaze back to the face of the unknown guard, he continued to watch him for a second or so longer, before taking a few steps backwards. He wanted to ask what those wiggling things inside the den were, but also didn’t want to spend anymore time near the tank of a wolf. He’d made a terrible impression on Xan, that was for sure.
 
Though he had wished to stay longer, the better half of his mind urged him to go elsewhere. There was no way in hell he’d be able to take on the guard, not while he was still so young and small. While he hated to admit to that, he couldn’t help but do so just to rationalize with himself. With a huff, Xan went on his way, but made it clear he was leaving because he wanted to, and not because some elder had told him to. Seriously, it was as if he had an everlasting bad streak with silver and grey wolves. Perhaps later he would come back to ask Meldresi what the little creatures were, but only when he was sure Burke was nowhere in sight. Nothing would make him willing to have the beast's hard head ram into his side again.

Shock was the main feeling for the younger twin as well. She did not expect her surrounding to become that chaotic and lost balance completely. Unable to control her bladder, she ended up peeing due to what it felt to feel fear.  She could not grasp such abstract concepts yet, and her body was reacting on impulse. She was not bothered by it and responded to her brother's squeaks with some of her own. She was clearly distressed, although it has more to do than the only thing her size was also distressed. She uncoordinated pushed his paw away, cause she did not like it. And if her mouth could run, she would probably have made a remark on over reacting.

Burke snarled at the pup when he talked back to him. Burke didn't really give a shit what he heard, the alpha den was off limits always. Burke caught the cries and once he saw the white ball leaving he instantly returned and laid down, ceiling off the entrance with his tank like body. The father grabbed his boy and placed him between his paws. He soothed him with his tongue, to then realize that his daughter peed herself.  The ground already absorbed most of it but since Burke was their caretaker she would need a bath too. He gently picked her up and placed her next to her brother. 

His fuzzy potatoes seemed the most content once they were close to each other. He throughly started licking the dark girl clean, gently nudging her over on her back so he could clean her tummy and paws extra well. After her bath she would be able to crawl against his warm fur. For a moment he lost his boy because their coat matched surprisingly well already. Burke licked him again, breathing warm air out over him. He was not going to let anyone close on his watch.

The world seems to shift now, but it is only Kendra moving, and his head moving with her jaws. Pietro doesn't understand this, though. To him, the world is moving, and he is all the more disoriented and upset for it. He cries out a series of loud yips, thrusts his paws against the ground and backpedals as best he can. The boy somehow manages to pull his snout away from his sister's harmless gums in the process. The smell of urine replaces the smell of her milky saliva and he lifts his head to sniff with interest as he quiets his own cries.

He has no more time left to analyze this change in his environment, for Burke grabs him and pulls him close just as he pulls himself nearer to the wet spot on the den floor. He protests with flailing limbs and widely gaping mouth, but settles in his father's protective arms when the comfort of a tongue washes over him. By the time Burke notices that Kendra has soiled herself and shifts his ministrations to her, Pietro is half-asleep tucked into the crook of his elbow.

Being taken and dropped was a feeling Kendra did not like.  She went limp when being lifted cause that was what she always did, but protested with tiny whines and growls. all good when her father cleaned her though. She relaxed again completely, unwillingly she even imitated her father by sticking her tongue out and reaching his gum or tongue or lip, some part of that wet area.  Once cleaned, she simply crawled to where she felt her brother's presence and insisted on being between him and the elbow, so she could cuddle into his side and let her head plop onto his. Cause she was that kind of annoying little sister that just needed to feel close.

Last post! 

Burke liked the fight both pups seemed to have. The father was a proud one. He chuckled when the dark girl managed to get her way to lay by his elbow and next to her bother. He nudged Pietro closer and then placed his head down on the ground so his neck was like a blanket over them. He had his head tilted a bit so he was certain they could still breathe. Burke then shifted more on his side, his hind legs laying to the side while his front paws were still straight since Kendra was snuggled against one. Meldresi would have to face a very adorable sight with Burke and his kids all snuggled up.

- End thread -