Sun Mote Copse My love is a planet revolving your heart

The pups could see, hear and even eat a little bit of regurgitated meat. They were growing rapidly, which was a bittersweet thing for their mother. Wildfire was happy that they were thriving, yet sad at how quickly it all passed her by.

Determined to savor these moments, the Sovereign nudged @Weejay and @Elfie toward the den's entrance, then stepped outside. She turned around and softly coaxed them to join her in the April sunshine. She glanced around, wondering if @Eljay was nearby, but kept her attention mostly fixed on the wee babs.

It just so happened Eljay returned to the den with a rabbit dangling between his teeth. He had been lucky to catch it, really, for it had been wounded previously and therefore hadn't been able to get away as quickly and had been unable to outrun even Eljay. He was tired from the life of a new parent, but he'd also never been happier. As Eljay watched Wiffle step out of the den, his heart skipped a beat. It was still hard for Eljay to believe that he actually held this woman's heart, the one he had fallen in love with by the frozen stream.

His eyes travelled to the pups at the den's entrance. As he reached the family, Eljay put the rabbit down by the den's entrance. Hey little tykes, Eljay said to the pups and he moved in to nuzzle them each on the top of their head. Then he turned to look at Wiffle, his smile mirroring the love he felt for her, and he leaned in to gingerly nuzzle the side of her neck. Hey pretty, he said, still a little awkward about this, then turned to look at the pups. Are you sure they're ready..? Eljay had a few spotty memories of his first times outside and he remembered how terrifying the world had been. He wasn't sure if his little babies were ready yet to face the dangers of the world. But maybe if he stayed by their side all the time a tiny trip outside couldn't hurt... probably.

<3 Feel free to skip me!

Ever since Weejay had first opened her eyes, she was always in motion. Fortunately for her parents, Weejay's limbs were too stumpy to carry her far. Most times she just played fluffy bumper-cars with Elfie, or watched the shadows flicker across the wall in fascination.

Today there was a new sensation, as she was ushered out of the den. Following her mother wide-eyed with her tail bobbing, Weejay froze as her eyes fixed on the foreign blaze of a shaft of sunshine crossing their path. She looked first to her mother for confidence, and then back to the golden glow -- lowering her head, the girl gave a fierce little growl and pounced on the beam, her ears flopping as she spun round and round trying to pin the elusive sunshine beneath her feet.

Her assault on the evasive sunshine was paused as Eljay nuzzled her head: looking up inquisitively and forgetting her war against the shiny, Weejay delivered a delighted squeal before romping over to Eljay's tail -- this was another one of the elusive enemies in Weejay's kingdom, and subduing it required her full attention.

Where Weejay was a quicksilver, there Elfie was a bit more slower and more of a dreamer. In a literal sense. He loved to eat and he enjoyed his naps, having the most delightful simple dream-scapes a puppy his age could have. The content and smiling expression of his told that they were happy images he was seeing behind his closed lids. 

However, due to a friendly rivalry with his sister and due to his own thirst for the new, he was up to an adventure, when life (or in this case a substantial Wildfire) offered it. He was amazed to find out that there was more of the world besides the almost dark den for him to discover. One filled with light that dazzled his eyes, which were used for the dim and soft hardly-light of his home, not this brightness. But they adjusted over time and what a great joy was it to move on and begin to explore the new territories.

Nose to the ground, tail wagging, he moved around the perimeter and vaccuumed every bit of information his ears, nose, eyes and even tongue (because on the to-do-list of children, he put an immediate check-mark at "eat dirt" part) offered, then, full and bubbling like a champagne in a bottle, he plopped down, closed his eyes and savoured everything. One thing was clear - life had got just a tad bit more amazing than it had been earlier. Even Eljay's return and greeting did not make him pause in his contemplation. He wagged his tail a little to acknowledge him, but did not open his eyes. 

Soon - without realizing it himself - the boy had fallen asleep, while sitting, and soon he fell over.

Watching the pups discover the simple joys in life, from the feeling of a fresh breeze to the radiance of a sunbeam, was indescribably delightful. Wildfire simply watched them, savoring their reactions to everything. Her attention only briefly tore away when her mate approached. She favored him with a fond smile before redirecting her gaze back to their children.

Weejay had given up on capturing the sunlight, her focus now upon her father's tail. Wildfire chortled at this, then took a step toward Elfie. He had parked and closed his eyes. She couldn't tell if he was savoring his surroundings or perhaps overwhelmed by them. She wanted to check, though the youngster slumped over just as she reached him. The Sovereign blinked down at him, then shook her head and grinned.

"Not allowed," she murmured playfully, prodding the sleepy puppy. "C'mon, Elfie, get up so mommy and daddy can teach you about tag."

The pups each dealt with things their own way. Elfie was quick to wander around but also quick to grow tired and seemed to doze off on the spot at some point. Before Eljay could get to it however to check if Elfie was indeed just tired and not hurt in any way, Weejay had given up on pouncing sunlight as he felt a tug to his tail. Eljay tilted his head and turned around to look at Weejay, then grinned as he watched her try to capture it.

Eljay's tail wagged, a reaction that was born out of excitement but was quite convenient for the game, giving Weejay a more difficult time to catch his tail. Wiffle meanwhile seemed to be busy trying to get Elfie into motion to play a game. They're so cute! Eljay said, his voice filled with glee. Being a father gave him more emotions than he felt he could possibly ever process all at once!

Weejay had landed on Eljay's tail with what she assumed was a mighty thud that ought to subdue just about anything; with a victorious puppy-grumble, she was on the ground besides the tail, her mouth clumsily open in an attempt to bite down on her new toy.

Except her new toy was proving to put up quite a fight -- it wriggled out of her grasp with a powerful snake, and she abruptly rose from the ground with dirt still clinging to her fur as she pounced on her quarry again. This time she clung tight as Eljay wagged his tail, the movement eliciting a tiny war-cry from the girl as she was flung around by his tail's strength. "Raaaarr!!" Weejay kept to her game with life-or-death purpose, oblivious to her sleeping brother and her mother for the time being. Had she known Elfie's defenses were temporarily weakened, she probably would have laid seige to him, too.

Elfie did half-open one eye to give a lazy look at his mom, but did not make much more effort than that. The sleep had wrapped him like a soft and warm blanket and he was not ready yet to leave the dreamland, no matter, what wonders the real world outside promised him. He did some sratching movements aimed at his belly (which due to his odd proportions came with no success at all), but did not show any inclination to progress. He closed his alert eye again, yawned, stretched his tiny limbs and returned to focus on his nap. 

Another day, mom.

Her brow furrowed a bit when Elfie cracked open one eye, then shut it a moment later. His lack of interest concerned her until she suddenly remembered that Bat had been this very same way once. Wildfire didn't understand why some of her children were so lethargic, though perhaps she should simply be grateful as it made them easier to handle. And Bat had turned out okay...

Looking up at her mate, Wildfire pointed a toe down at their son and then shrugged. She then sat beside the lackadaisical pup, eyes merry as she watched Weejay interact with her father.

Weejay continued to pounce at Eljay's tail and he was just gushing over how adorable she was. Wiffle caught Eljay's attention with the pointing and his ears perked up towards their sleeping son. He wasn't too sure if he should be worried or if she was simply pointing out how adorably he was sleeping. I guess everyone has their own pace, Eljay said hesitantly, clearly not sure if Wiffle was worried or not. He felt Weejay tugging at - and being swept away occassionally by - his tail but for him the game had stopped for a moment as he looked at Elfie. Maybe he's just... Maybe he needs some more time? He frowned thoughtfully. Eljay himself hadn't been too excited about the outside world at first either.

Weejay’s make-believe war against her daddy’s tail continued onwards, with or without her daddy’s involvement. She kicked, scrabbled, nommed, and growled — any time the tail was whisked away she was hot on it, oblivious still to her lazy brother who would rather sleep than play. Boring! Weejay loved play too much to sleep, and it wasn’t until Wildfire’s point drew Eljay’s attention away that Weejay stopped, sitting upright and wildly panting as she caught her breath.

I'm thinking @Elfie is skippable but please smack me if I'm wrong! This may work as a last post for me, although you two are welcome to continue, of course!

Of course, Eljay hadn't gone through this before, so when he seemed a little uncertain what to make of it, Wildfire happily took it upon herself to reassure him. "Oh, he's fine. Bat was like this too. You're absolutely right: they all have their own pace." She smiled at him, then down at the snoozing puppy. She shook her head lightly, albeit with a fond smile on her lips, right before settling down beside him to continue watching her mate and daughter play.

Eljay was glad to hear that Bat had been the same. She'd turned out fine, right? Eljay smiled at Wiffle as he looked at the sleeping pup alongside her. Then as Wiffle turned her attention back to him and Weejay, Eljay too turned back to the pup. He turned around and leaned down into a careful play bow, then started batting his paws at Weejay while his tail was all the way up in the air, inaccessible and waving wildly.

last post for me too <3 feel free to add another or archive it as is Lauren!

Weejay frowled as her parents paid attention to Elfie -- BORING! He wasn't even doing anything! He was just sleeping there like a big old lump! She was about to show Daddy whatsfor and pounce on him (maybe his head too, for good measure!) when he turned back around, rising smoothly in a play bow.

Now this was a game Weejay was very invested in. With a growl, the girl playbowed in return, meeting her Daddy's gaze with a determined grin .. then she scampered off and around the party of three, whirling wildly in puppy-scoots round and round until she was dizzy. She played this way for some time, sometimes chasing, sometimes running, before she was finally tired out enough to fall asleep besides her snoring brother.

All it took was a yawn and the close of her little eyes, and Weejay was out like a light.