Moonspear blinking in the starlight

@Lyra first, please!

Thus far, Vela, for the most part, had lived her life in content. Only stirring when life got tough, the pale child was remarkably quiet. Today was one of those days that she stirred, as there was a disturbance on her face that she couldn't shake with an irritated kick of her meaty hind legs. Unsure of what to do, she did as she usually did in these kinds of situations: kick and scream until it all went away. 

Those surrounding her saw her in a different light, as she was usually one of the calmer children in the litter, but as the problem at hand was not going anywhere, Vela only felt that escalading her movements would allow the feeling to vanish. Letting out a gurgled growl, Vela flailed her limbs in unison, hitting a sibling or two in the process, as she attempted to return her life to normal.

POST 100 FOR YOU! <3

She walked towards the den with a bounce in her step, excited to see to her newest siblings again. She and her sisters hadn't been allowed too close in the puppies' earlier days but, as they grew out of their vulnerable newborn state, Amekaze let them in further and further. They were almost allowed to touch them now, yet Lyra withheld from doing that, frightened she would break them. They were still so small.

She held a rabbit she, Alya and Hydra had taken down earlier that morning — a small gift for her mother. She didn't doubt Charon was providing more than enough for her but Lyra wanted to do at least something. And the pups were still too young to be taken care of by anyone other than Amekaze. When that time came, however, she would be more than willing to take the reigns.

Slowing her pace, Lyra crept quietly into the mouth of the den, giving a small chuff to alert @Amekaze to her presence. She dropped the rabbit and nudged it to the side, smiling to her mother, with a wordless nod. For you. Her attention turned then to the palest of the pups. It looked...uncomfortable. Her brows creased in concern as it kicked and squirmed, disturbing the others in the process. Knowing better than to try and touch it, however, Lyra simply lay her head flat on the ground and wiggled slightly closer, letting out a breath of warm air to see if that did anything.

A distraction came to Vela by way of a humid gust, and she paused suddenly, feeling both curious and uncertainty in regards to what had disrupted her wriggling. Whatever it was that had hit her face, she realized after a contemplative pause, was something that she did not like and as a result, the freckled child scrunched up her face as a reflection of how she felt, her body preparing itself for the meltdown that it was about to endure.

It was relatively quiet, and she enjoyed the passage of the hours best she could... puppies considered. 

They were growing quickly, at least, meeting their milestones and getting bigger. They still had a long way to go, sure, but they were becoming more distinct to her by the day, especially since she spent almost every waking moment with them in some manner. She always was far more interested in puppies once they got up and moving around more, personalities included, it seemed would continue to hold true.

When one began the fuss, her ears pricked and she drug herself back to full attentiveness; was she ever ready to see them grow more! Her minty stare narrowed over the puddle of young wolves, looking to fish out who was troubled. A pale one, it seemed. Next, she noticed one of her older ones coming to visit. She chuffed her welcome, then nudged the upset puppy with her snout...

hi drunk post brought to you all from the anime con hot tub, bless. next one will be better, pls pp her if you need

Lyra stared unblinking at her younger sibling, her attention solely focused on it. She did not even notice Amekaze stir. Her frown deepened as the pup's tiny face scrunched up at the gentle breeze of her breath, concern quickly being replaced with worry. Oh no, was she not meant to do that? Are puppies that fragile? Would her mother be mad?

Her panicked eyes flicked up to Amekaze who nudged the pale girl, seemingly non-plussed about the situation. She relaxed a little but remained frozen to the spot, holding her breath so as not to disturb anything again, as if the whole den was made of paper thin glass. "I'm sorry, I wasn't meant...I...i-is it hungry?" Lyra stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Even with the reassurance she had been given, which had come by way of a soft nudge from Amekaze, Vela was still restless about her situation. Even with the wind gone, the eldest cub felt terrible. Pinpointing the source of her hardship, Vela fussed as she rose both of her chubby forelimbs to her hurting eyes and rubbed, in an attempt alleviate some of her discomfort.

Her ears fanned back and she softly shook her head. She spoke quietly, but not nearly as hushed as her older daughter. "It is fine," she dismissed after Lyra's apology, for she didn't find the two to be linked in any immediate way (although she certainly appreciated the mindfulness, no doubt). Puppies found a lot to complain about in their tiny little worlds. "Maybe.. but they all ate not too long ago," she reasoned as she looked down at the puppy, trying to discern whatever she could from the little cub, and really hoping the solution wasn't an offered teat--not when the mother was already looking forward to weaning them..

With gentle finesse, she moved the troubled whelp further away from the others before she could disturb the rest of them. She seemed to be bothering her head, or face, but that still didn't pinpoint the issue. "Vela.. she does not usually say much," she murmured, only stopping her thought to sweep her tongue over the girl's face. Even she felt like she was still only getting to know them and really match their distinctions to them each individually, but of them all, Vela was usually a mild one who was not usually quick to upset. "But puppies can be easily bothered by so much. It seems a bit uncomfortable to adjust, at first," she lamented thoughtfully while repeating the motion again should her results not be absolutely catastrophic. Puppies were bizarre, and her patience for them was thankfully just thick enough to get her through this.

She tried to steady her hammering heart as her mother reassured her, all the while tending to the fussing Vela. Lyra kept her gaze upon the puppy, also trying to decipher what the matter could be. She still felt guilty for causing at least some disturbance and almost went to excuse herself from the scene — perhaps her younger sibling didn't like her by presence alone? The thought made her throat constrict, not wanting her sisters (and brother) to hate her! No, she would endeavour to be the best big sister she could be!

"Oh," she whispered gently, watching studiously as Vela's tiny paws swiped at her face. Was it her eyes? She glanced up at Amekaze who seemed to be as equally as perplexed as she moved the cub away from its siblings. Lyra smiled softly at her words, looking back to her sister and slowly lowering her head to rest on her forepaws. I know how you feel. Of her litter, she was also the quiet one. Always watching, always observing, always afraid. She frowned. She hoped little Vela didn't share that trait.

She offered a nod of understanding to her mother, unable to fathom how much work it took to look after such young pups. She couldn't remember her own days of puppyhood but she was sure it would have been just as overwhelming. There was just so much to learn about and experience! "When do their eyes open?" she whispered, ear twitching as she stared at Vela.

Unable to focus on anything else in her tiny world, Vela worked away on her young face. In hindsight, these actions would only intensify the irritation around her eyes. But, at her young age, this is something that the pale Pi would come to understand. As far as she was concerned, she was doing everything in her power to alleviate the oddity that currently plagued her normally sunny existence. 

The tender drive of her mother's lick came unexpectedly, and though she usually would have appreciated the gesture, there was something off-putting about the saliva that was left in the tongue's wake. She squirmed suddenly, her round forelimbs reaching for nothing in particular as she let out a dissatisfied mewl in an attempt to let Amekaze know just how unhappy she was.

"Any day now, really.." she answered, peering down at the pale puppy knowing something related could be cause for this discomfort, but this was not yet something she would worry too deeply about. "For you and your sisters, you all had your eyes staying open by.. about half a moon turn," she detailed thoughtfully, hmm-ing softly as she did. She had always measured them all by the moon and not only because a full moon birthdate made it easy enough to keep track of. It was her best sense of time's progression--even where her own self (cycles of life included) was concerned. Her descendants would always be further proof of that.

Of course, with Lyra's litter being her first, they had set the standard for what she knew. It had not been that long ago that she had been raising them, so at least the memories were all very fresh still, and all of it was going to work here upon Vela's lot--although she still knew to expect outliers, as reminded by Ran and the smallish boy as well. And naturally, Vela still seemed irritated and not soothed by these methods yet. Ame felt her own face scrunch, frustrated. "It could be part of her issue. Eyes can be a delicate matter, and not one you want to force anything with.." she murmured to the older daughter as she tried to rearrange the young one again with a few soft prods of her snout, hoping to distract her from pestering her face any more right this instant.

lol sorry i am bad and slow!

ditto SORRY ;_;

She watched on silently, wishing she could do something to help. Vela continued to fuss with her face, mewling as she did so. Lyra half-wanted to pin her tiny forepaws and tell her to stop that. She could imagine she was only making it worse, irritating her eyes like that. However there was no reasoning with a puppy as young as her, so Lyra left it to Amekaze to deal with.

She tried to remember what it was like, seeing for the first time. Of course, she barely recalled any of those moments, remembering only fleeting glimpses of what she assumed it was like. "So she's almost half a moon old," Lyra said quietly with a small smile. But she was still so tiny.

She nodded in agreement with her mother's words, knowing they shouldn't rush the process. Vela would grow up and reach milestones in time. She hoped. In the meanwhile, however, it still pained Lyra to see her in such pain and frustration. "Are there any herbs that could help?" she wondered, as much of a question to Amekaze as it was to herself.

With the gentle hum of Lyra and Amekaze's discussion in the background, Vela attempted to shake this feeling. Despite her mother's best efforts, the gentle wash to her face had done little to alleviate the irritation that she felt. She grew more frustrated by the moment as she was poked and prodded, as such movements did nothing to comfort her, and by the time that her reorganization ceased, Vela let out a dissatisfied grunt; her half-hearted attempt to tell the others that she was done. It was as her breath pushed past her lips that the unthinkable happened: the irritation was suddenly gone. But what occurred in reaction to the alleviation seemed to come out of left field as she had not been expecting it. 

The world suddenly took shape before her eyes. She could see. 

Letting out a surprised yelp, Vela stared at her mother's flank, unsettled by the gift that had just been given to her. Her tiny heart drummed as she attempted to acclimate herself to this sensation and, despite her new range of sight, she kept her eyes on the blurred wall that was Amekaze's side.

She now knew she would be needing to keep a close eye on her. If she kept pestering her eyes, she was bound to make for trouble, and with Pyx no longer here as her resident go-to for matters like these, it was left to her. "Yes," she nodded. "Soon, after they get their eyes, ears, and legs steady beneath them, their next growth spurts tend to come quickly.." she mentioned, and perhaps let slip a little of her anticipation for the matter. The older the puppies were, generally, the happier she was with tending them. "Well.. chamomile might help soothe it a bit, as it tends to be good for many purposes like that--but that may not address any underlying issue, if there is one. Cannot say I have tried it for this, though," she gestured her snout towards the frustrated little girl with a frown. Again, that ventured into Pyx's territory of knowledge. Amekaze's barely dipped past the surface.. but at least in all her years, she'd picked up this and that through others and a healthy dose of practical application.

"Ah, see.." she breathed, in part to both daughters--although surely, Vela's first sights were fuzzy at best, and probably indistinguishable. Gently she nudged the side of her white-furred face. "It has to be a lot to take in at first. Probably very overwhelming to go from darkness to all things we see, but I think she should be fine with a little time." Amekaze explained, and offered another small yet encouraging lick to the top of Vela's head. Then, in the moments to follow, she managed to get things settled back to peacefulness in the den, and concluded with any further questions Lyra may have before settling her head back down to try to doze again--at least until the next puppy stirred with a new issue.

Chamomile. Lyra locked the word away in her mind, having no idea what this plant looked like but glad she at least had a name. She didn't want to pester her mother any further for the day and so would endeavour to seek out Charon later to ask if he knew of the plant. She was saddened that it wouldn't seem to help poor Vela, but just as she tried to think of other ways to alleviate her pain, the pup's demeanour changed completely.

"Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise, noticing the tiny slivers of blue that were Vela's freshly opened eyes. She shifted ever so slightly as the girl let out her own cry, fascinated with watching how the pup adjusted to her newfound ability. As Amekaze spoke, her ear twitched and she nodded in understanding. "It's okay, Vela," she said to her sister as softly as she could. "The world is a really pretty place, you're going to love it."

With that, Amekaze managed to calm the noticeably distressed puppy and lull her back to sleep. She answered a few of Lyra's lingering queries and the girl took her leave quickly after, stealing one last glance at her little siblings. She then trotted away from the den with the intent on seeking out her father to ask about this chamomile plant, eager to help out with the new litter in any way she could.