Blackfoot Forest we love a lot, so we only lose a little

follow-up to this thread, rounds are 4 days!
@Polaris @Helios @Lainie

She speaks to her mate while the pups socialize, sharing her wish to take the quartet just a bit further than they'd intended — and, to her surprise, @Kavik agrees. When the meeting concludes and the unfamiliar pups are on their way, the family continues south. The pair leads their brood to a forest, and Alessia draws up alongside her mate to deliver a brief, playful nip to his shoulder before she falls back to walk with her children. What do you see? She asks them, offering an encouraging smile.

He had agreed to take them farther only because they all seemed so happy to be out beyond the borders of the creek. He loved to see them happy, and he was always looking for ways to encourage their curiosity, but the farther they got from the creek, the more tense he became. As they moved into the forest at the base of the mountains, his gaze continuously scanned their surroundings before lowering to count and make sure four little pups were still behind him scattered around Alessia. As if she could sense his steadily increasing unease, his mate pushed up against his side and playfully nipped his shoulder. He turned to offer her an equally playful raise of his eyebrow, his muscles relaxing just a little as he waited for the children to answer their mother's question.

Further away from the Creek they went, and part of him finds himself tense just like his father. It is uncharted territory by the raven boy. His eyes scanning, watching for the slightest movement upon the horizon. Just as before, Helios keeps close to Zephyr. The silver sibling seeming to take the outing the worse amongst them, and thus, it is his responsibility as dutiful older brother to watch over the youngest. Maybe when they're settled again, he could offer further comfort via play or cuddles. For now, they keep moving after their parents.

At mom's question, Helios halts. His ears alert and eyes scanning for possibilities. There is... trees. Many trees. And a weird smell in the air. Lips part, about to answer in French when a harsh, eerie cry echoes in the Forest surrounding them. Helios stiffens, and Zephyr clings closer. The raven boy tucks his chin protectively over Zephyr's head. His eyes on his parents—questioning what the hell that was.

gah sorry to keep you's waiting!

to her pleasant surprise, the little family continued further with their little adventure and despite feeling the familiar drag of tiredness, her mind whizzes with excitement. little paws carry her nimble body from parent to parent before racing off the investigate something and circling back once more to begin the process again. there's just too much to see and do and she has to stop for a moment, feeling suddenly a bit overwhelmed. it's just, there was so much beyond swiftcurrent! already her paws itched, not satisfied with her home anymore now that they knew how much undiscovered land lay beyond and she felt breathless at the want to discover every single thing this amazing world had to offer. 

a butterfly suddenly catches her attention; something some adult had told her about before and her head tilts back to watch in awe as it flutters about. so tiny and delicate yet also one of the prettiest animals she'd ever seen- or wait, these were called insects. like animals but...not? the only difference she knew was that insects did not taste good. otherwise they didn't seem all too different to the rest of them, except maybe their colours. animals liked to blend in with their surroundings, this apparently was why prey could be hard to catch but bugs didn't let safety restrict them. they wanted to stand out and moved around in bold and beautiful colours, well some of them. worms were yuck. she glances around to her siblings, lainie leading as usual whilst zeph and helios hung back- seeming anxious at all this new stuff. she instinctively moves closer- nudging the two in a wordless gesture of support, smiling softly before looking up as her mama spoke. 

what could she see?? how could she even begin to fit all that in! in the end all she can get out is a simple; "lots". eyes widen at the noise to suddenly echo through the forest, slowing so that she remained tucked close to papa, peering up at him with wary curiosity as she asks what the four were likely all thinking; "what was that?"