Neverwinter Forest nesting dolls

The night was again as Rannoch looked up the the ceiling of the whelping den, more awake than he had been that afternoon. Despite his greatest efforts he had not been able to fall asleep when Eshe had put them to bed. Now that a symphony of snores surrounded him the idea of sleeping fleeted further with every soft exhale that one of his family members made. Finally he simply could not stand it any longer. Slowly, he rolled away from his brother’s side, pushed himself onto his paws, and quietly snuck out of the den. He paused at the mouth of the den and whispered, “I’ll be bawk, Momma,” over his shoulder before slipping into the night.

All was still as he exited, the humidity slapping him in the face as he did so. He knew that he couldn’t go too far, but he did want to make sure that nobody was intruding. Sparkling baby blues peered out into the darkness as the cub settled onto his haunches, ready to keep for at least a little while.

hello, mind if i join you?

Dublin was feeling restless, and when Dublin felt restless, he went outside. Usually, there was at least someone awake near him, and if not, Dublin woke someone up. But, feeling strangely brave that night, if if what had awoken him was a nightmare. Dublin walked outside, his sudden bravery fading as he noticed how dark it was, and how alone he was. Dublin could hardly see! He didn't notice if anyone else was out.

Not at all! Thanks for joining! :) Also, from previous threads I've been in, I know that their dens are a but a part so we'll have to find a way to bring them together.

Not even a cricket added it’s harmony to the rhythm of the night and this set unease throughout his being. He wasn’t used to silence like this outside-- he was all too accustomed to a bird song or far-off commotion to add some sort of background noise. But tonight only the distant snores from the den filled the silent night. Milky blue eyes watched on as he surveyed the area and her wrapped his tail about himself as he settled in for the long haul. He wasn’t sure how long he would keep watch, but he knew it wouldn’t be brief.

Time tickled along as he merely sat, waiting for anything to happen. Despite his boredom he knew not to wander away-- especially at night! He knew it would make his parents worried sick and he wished not to force those feelings upon them.

Quite pawsteps sounded in the distance suddenly and to this Rannoch perked and focused his attention in the general direction of his relative’s whelping den. Though their dens were not close, he was able to hear anything with ease. He let out a soft woof into the night, calling to whoever was out and about with curiosity. Hopefully it was a pack member and not a scary monster! He didn’t consider this until he fell silent again, suddenly feeling vulnerable.

Dublin heard a small woof. It was closer to a sound he might have made, or one of his siblings might have made, then to a sound his mother or father would have made. Dublin got excited. What if another one of his siblings were out here? He bounded off towards the noise and bumped into another puppy. Dublin looked at it. It wasn't one of his siblings. But it was still a puppy. Curiosity made him ask the puppy "Who you?" Dublin had a slight bit of his father's accent.

His feeling of vulnerability only grew as he was met with quietness again. He had expected some sort of reply but instead received the silent treatment. His head tilted heavily to the side as he waited in anticipation for whatever was out there. The sound of pawsteps through the nearby foliage soon came to answer his uneasy feelings. He held his breath as he awaited whatever lurked in the darkness. He knew he could not run away, despite his conscious telling him otherwise. He was a prince of the future and would protect his home at whatever cost it took. Even if it were with his life.

The stranger soon showed himself and as a puppy stepped into sight, Rannoch puffed out his chest and pushed himself to his paws. Though the other was from the forest and even smelled of his cousins he couldn’t be too sure. Instead of answering the other, her looked on with hard eyes and mimicked the other’s question. “Who you?” And just what are you doing on my turf?! Such afterthoughts were ones that Rannoch couldn’t put into words just yet due to his limited vocabulary.

"I am Dublin!" Dublin said proudly, puffing his chest out and attempting to stand taller. He thought that being Dublin was a very good thing to be, especially when others saw you. For some strange reason, other wolves said things about Dublin that he didn't understand, like 'cute'. Dublin wasn't cute, he was a fierce warrior! And, he could defend himself from other puppies.

"Now, who you? Who you?" Dublin thought he could defend himself if need be, from a slightly younger looking puppy. Plus, if the puppy was friendly, he could have a new friend! His siblings got boring sometimes.

Dublin. He could have sworn that he had heard the name before but couldn’t place how he knew the name. So instead of acknowledging that he had heard such a name before, the child remained silent on the topic. Instead, when prompted, the youngest Neverwinter prince offered the other his name. “'M Rannoch.” He posture did not falter as he allowed a brief silence to fall between the pair. He knew that he had every reason in the world to be where he was. But this other cub? He was a suspicious one for sure.

He decided to break the short-lived silence with a question of his own. “Wassa doin?” His expression not faltering as to took a step towards the other and lifted his tail so that it draped over his back.

Rannoch. So that was the name of this other puppy. Dublin thought he heard his mama or another adult saying that, but then again, adults said a lot of things, and Dublin wasn't sure of a lot of them. But anyway, this other asked him what he was doing. Well, that was what Dublin thought he had said. Did all puppies sound like this? He wondered if he sounded like that too.

"I had..." Dublin paused to think of the right word. "nightmare" It sounded like the proper word. Scary. "What you doin'?" he asked Rannoch, his eyes, as usual, filled with curiosity.

He hung onto the other’s every word as he waited for any sort of answer to arise. There was a pause and Rannoch tilted his head, expecting the other the speak up quickly. Once the other did Rannoch offered a frown knowing all too well how scary such nighttime events were. “Spoowky,” he offered, his tone lowering slightly as he offered the statement. But he did not offer his condolences for long.

“Dis issa my haws.” He said with a firm nod.

"Your howse? Oh. My howse over there." Dublin gestured with his head. To the dark area he thought was his home. Of course, he couldn't see it, but he thought he heard breathing. "You have mama in dere?" Dublin asked. He knew his own mama might get angry that he was out here without permission, but he didn't really care that much.

Dublin's eyes looked over to Rannoch, and he decided that he was a friend, so he lowered his guard a little. Not a lot though, in case a spooky monster like from his nightmare came out and attacked them. He might have looked anxiously around them a few times checking if it was still safe.

He would not let his guard down, even if this puppy seemed really, really nice. As the sandy-colored puppy shared some more information and requested more from Rannoch the prince offered an answer. “Yes, I hawve a Momma, Poppa, n Cypwiss.” He said, his attention turning briefly towards the direction where the other had gestured. He wondered what the other’s den was like. Was it nice and homey like his own? Or spooky because it had caused Dublin nightmares. Rannoch went with the later assumption.

“Do yew have a Poppa n Cypwiss?” he asked soon after his attention had turned, his gaze turning back to the other puppy.

"Wassa Cypwess?" Dublin asked, confused, "I have Dada. Dada is very strong!" Dublin demonstrated with a small rock on the ground, moving it around. "I also have Bala and Mear and Rian!" He had nicknames for his siblings, because he couldn't yet pronounce his sisters' names that well.

Dublin wondered what a Cypwess was. Was it a puppy, like him? Was it a big wolf, like his mama or his dada? Was it a scary monster? His tawny fur ruffled at the thought of another scary monster.

Apparently this cub did not know what a Cypress was. His head craned back in disbelief as he waited for the the inevitable “just kidding!”. Didn’t everybody know who Cypress was? He was not only the best brother in the world, he was the best brother in the entire universe! When the time did not come where Dublin confirmed that he didn't knew what a Cypress was, the child looked to the other skeptically before continuing. “Cypwiss issa bes bruvwa.” He confirmed with a nod. “He smawt, funee, an po’ite!” He thought the world of Cypress and could go on all day about listing  

When the other went on to list their family members Rannoch listened on with interest, wanting to know all who lived with Dublin. Little did the prince realize that he already had met some of these family members. His curiosity grew once Dublin moved the rock and claimed that his Dada is strong. “My Poppa isa stowng!” He was the strongest in the forest. And then, came the next question. “An my Momma isa po’ite!” Very polite.

"Bala and Mear very funny too! They my sistas. Sistas fun, but they girls." Dublin said, he still had that little puppy thing where girls are gross to them. "And Mama is silly, she play good games with me! Mama is nice girl." Dublin still didn't know what a Cypress was, but it sounded like a pretty cool thing. He wanted Rannoch to see he had cool things too. "And Rian is bwotha too. He fun. Not polite sometime."

"Your family sound nice." Dublin said. Dublin wondered why Rannoch's family was smaller than his own. He thought everyone had two sisters and a brother, or two brothers and a sister. Although a Cypress seemed a nice thing to have, he wanted to show Rannoch his sisters, so he could see what they were. Were sisters different than girls? Dublin pondered it.

As he learned more about Dublin’s family he felt more inclined to meet them-- they seemed like a fun bunch! This made his curiosity of them only grow stronger. “Issa dey seepin?” Is that why he was here before him?

Dublin nodded "Probably. Not even Mama awake when I left." Dublin wondered if his mama or dada or any of his siblings had noticed that he was gone. "Iss you family sleepin?" he asked Rannoch. Rannoch's family seemed nice too, even if he didn't have any sisters.

To dublin’s counter Rannoch took a moment to look over his shoulder and into the den. All three of his family members were curled up within the den. “Yeh,” he replied after a pause, his eyes returning to the other. “Dey sleepin… I dunno why ‘M not.” He felt weird saying this. He never had sleeping problems and this is the first time that he had not been able to sleep. A frown settled upon his lips and he sighed. Maybe it was almost time for him to try and sleep again.

"Maybe you don't sleep so you can meet me." Dublin said happily, "so you can cheer me up after nightmare!" He yawned a little bit. He was starting to get a little tired, even if he wanted to stay up and talk to Rannoch, "Sometime, it hard to sleep."

Dublin liked the night. It was cool, and usually, there were no grown-ups to tell him what to do. The only thing he didn't like was that he couldn't see very well.

When Dublin offered that there might have been a reason why he didn’t sleep his expression brightened. Perhaps that was why he was awake. He nodded to this, his tail thumping against the ground as he offered a wag. “Mabee,” he said thoughtfully, offering a smile for the first time in their conversation. With the talk of nightmares in the conversation, Rannoch offered an afterthought. “Yew okae? No more spook?” He hoped not.

Dublin liked Rannoch's smile. He didn't seem very happy at the beginning of their conversation, but he looked it now. Dublin nodded when Rannoch asked if there was no more spook. "Yeah. Spook gone now." Dublin was feeling much better, thanks to his conversation with the other puppy. Another thought occured to him, "You ever had nightmare?" Dublin asked.

He felt relief for the other child. He knew all too well the feeling one feels after a nightmare and he would not wish this on anybody-- even his worst enemy! He nodded as Dublin spoke, his smile growing slightly. But it stopped its growth process at the next question. “Yeh,” he said lowly, a sigh escaping him as he looked to his paws. “Too much spook for me.” He wondered then why nightmares were even a thing. They seemed like they shouldn’t exist. This also seemed like it could be a question that the other pup could answer. “Dubwin,” he asked, looking up to the other hopefully. “Dew yew know why we hassa nitemares?”

"Hmmm...." Dublin thought, "Ah! Maybe we has nightmare so we can be strong in real life?" It made sense to Dublin. Their minds made them stronger at night. This is why Dublin has never seen a grown-up have a nightmare. But then Dublin started wondering why the mind didn't explain this. He thought about it. What if grown-ups got nightmares, but they could defend themselves against them. It was a bit much for a small puppy to understand, even if it was his idea.

Rannoch was pleased by Dublin’s explanation. “Ywes,” he agreed breathlessly. “Nitemares make Noch ‘n Duwb reewly stwong!” He puffed his chest in a demonstration to prove the other’s point. “An our Pawpas don have ‘em cause dey stwong! An Mawmees!” He couldn’t forget about their mothers-- they were just as strong.

Dublin nodded "When we like Mama and Dada, we be so stwong! No more nightmare for me or you!" This thought made Dublin bounce up and down excitedly. He liked the way Rannoch pronounced Dublin's name. It sounded bouncy, like him.

Yes, they would be as strong as their respective parents. He he opened his mouth to reply a yawn escaped him. He had not realized how tired he had goteen since he had left the den but he could really start to take a toll on him. “Duwb,” he whined, his ears lowering as he looked to the other. “I tiwed...  I nedda go ta bed…” He didn’t want to leave his friend but he knew it was time for him to sleep. “I see yew gain?”