Hushed Willows Trying hard not to fall on the way home

@Kavos and @Eros if you want it!

Life for Prialux was a strange thing. She didn't realize it, but the absence of a mother's undying love was already beginning to affect her. While she had grown profoundly in the few days she'd been alive thanks to Amara's milk, a lack of attention had made her a surly and inactive babe. Even now, her face was scrunched up and she wailed for the affection she desperately sought, and when she went unanswered, she was nearly inconsolable.

Her brothers were capable of calming her, but presently Prialux was stranded and alone. Kavos was mere inches away from her and Eros not much further, but that was a great distance for a newborn. She couldn't feel the minute warmth from her brothers and she was too far from Amara's belly to feel that, so she felt alone. Blind and with nobody she could reach out and touch, she was unable to recognize those around her and find comfort in them, and so she cried ever louder.

The fact that his existence was an unwanted thing had remained as something he neither knew of nor could understand. It was incomprehensible for a boy his age, as might it always be. For a mother to feel nothing towards her children was a strange happening, the only consolation that any of the pups could receive being that they would not be able to feel her hatred for some time yet. Somewhere, deep within their minds, perhaps any of them might recognize that something wasn't quite right, but Eros wasn't capable of delving that far into his own. There was a single thought that he had, and it was to survive. To nurse from his mother's teats, to seek warmth and protection from his family, and to grow so that he might someday be able to provide everything for himself.

It was a desire to obtain his nourishment for the moment that had caused him to wake, head wobbling upwards for a brief second before having fallen back down onto his forelimbs. He could not see or even hear, but he could feel around, and so the search for his mother had begun. Except it wasn't towards Amara that he'd started to crawl, his body having turned at some point while he'd been asleep. It was in his sister's direction that he'd gone instead, pulling himself along until his nose had bumped into her rear. A moment's worth of searching had revealed the absence of milk, and so he, too, had started to wail.

Kavos’ existence was stale. At this point in his young life, the palest of the trio was merely there-- his life as stimulating as the life of a potato growing underground. He did not venture, explore, or receive much stimulation-- at this point here merely just lived.

He had been sleeping at Amara’s side, his consciousness only coming to be as the sad strumming of his sibling’s cires came to be. As their solemn symphony came into play, Kavos lifted his head in their general area and wriggled forwards blindly, eventually coming into contact with Eros. Momentum in his wriggle only increased as he started to climb onto his brother’s rear-- his destination unknown in that moment.

The ineffectual paddling of Prialux's spindly limbs continued for what felt like an eternity before something happened. Something bumped into her butt. There was the pressure of the first contact that triggered her dulled senses and made her lift her head slightly, but before she could turn, there were a variety of other sensations, none of them pleasant. Eros shamelessly searched her behind, probed her newborn bottom in all manner of ways with his cold nose and probably his lips as well, not that she could tell the difference, before he seemingly gave up on his search. Prialux was completely still through all of this, though the cries that erupted from her front end suggested she was not a fan of back end searches.

When it ended, she used it as a reference point and began to flail her limbs again, this time in an effort to turn herself. She was blind, deaf, and nearly senseless, but if something had touched her bum, then surely it was where her bum was. She was only a third of the way through her turn, and quite close to Kavos' own rear end, when disorientation became truly troublesome and she no longer knew where the earlier stimulus had come from. There would be no investigation for poor little Prialux.

Defeated for the second time in as many minutes, Prialux whined loudly and charged forward with what little momentum she could muster, right into Kavos' exposed flank.

No amount of crying had prompted their mother to pay attention to him, which he'd found to be problematic. Eventually, his whining had reached an end and he'd grown silent, hiccuping every now and again. His body was so small that every one forced him to jolt upwards, offering to him a feeling that was entirely new. At times it had hurt, but his mind had been far too preoccupied by this new thing! to really bother with finding a way to cease it. Eros would have continued like that for awhile had his brother not bumped into him, the sudden touch having created quite the fright within the firstborn. Climbing atop him was none other than Kavos, though the identity was something that he didn't yet know about. It was simply another mass, he believed, a soft form that sometimes fought with him over a teat.

The quest for milk had been forgotten, head lifting as he'd tried to find out what was on him. An attempt made at moving forward had failed, and trying to turn had only seemed to make him more uncomfortable. Again, he'd whined, then began to wiggle around with unclear intentions.

Clambering sloppily upon his brother, Kavos grunted with each still advance that he made upon his brother. His arms wrapped around his brother’s pudgy side and he attempted to hoist himself to new heights. It was during this struggle that he was taken by a sudden force. He cried loudly as Piralux rammed into his side, his grasp on his brother loosening and soon the boy rolled off from his brother and onto the floor.

Her landed on his back, panic ensuing as his pale limbs flailed every which way. He had never rolled onto his back before and was terrified by his world being flipped upside down. Not usually being one to cry, Kavos got some good use of his lungs as he wailed helplessly.

As her still soft skull collided with Kavos' side, stars of light erupted behind her closed eyelids. Though she was yet blind, she saw the signs of pain in her perpetual darkness as keenly as she felt them, and she reeled back with a sharp protest. Prialux didn't know the outcome of her actions beyond knowing that it hurt, and so she felt no satisfaction in having dislodged Kavos from Eros. She felt only dissatisfaction with her own suffering.

It was short-lived, though, as almost all things are in the life of a tender newborn. As the crick in her neck began to sooth itself, her cries fell in volume until they were mere whimpers. She once more began to explore her surroundings, and found her way to Eros, whom she snuggled up against in search of warmth.

Poor Kavos was unfortunately forgotten, at least until his back paw smacked her right in the nose and caused her to renew her crying.

A lot of wiggling later, and the weight was thrown from his back. Of course, he had his sister to thank for his renewed freedom, but never would he come to know that. It was a victory for the masked boy, his brother no longer attempting to climb him. He was sure to forget the event in time, his mind having yet to develop to a point at which his memory was cooperative, but that didn’t make his current feeling of joy any less real. Triumphant, he’d ceased all moments and loosed a squeak unknowingly; his excitement quota for the day had definitely been well met.

Kavos’ cries went unheard, deaf ears incapable of picking up on the sharp sounds. His sense of touch worked just fine, though, and so his earlier discomfort was forgotten in favour of the softness that had moved up against him. Eros’ wobbling head found a place to rest against her, comfort discovered and the dream realm entered soon after.

Never had he heard even a hint of his siblings’ wails.

He lingered a short distance from the pair as they cuddled, his wails unheard despite the magnitude of his internal demise. Eventually, once he realized that he would not get any aide, the pale child curled up alone and allowed the comforting grasp of sleep wash over him.

Despite the disruption caused by Kavos' errant paw, Prialux quieted down soon enough. Eros' larger body enveloped hers in an unconscious embrace and she splayed out her legs, unwittingly leaving her paw a mere half inch from Kavos, who had flopped down all alone. Her cries softened to whimpers, and her whimpers lessened in frequency, and finally they died altogether as she fell asleep.