Whitefish River You are an eye-catcher, mom.

@Ira but also others that were allowed in the den before :) Sibs welcome too!!! @Blackberry @Dandelion @Nutmeg

There was another change for the young child. Her world had been surrounded by darkness, a comforting dark. She was not aware that this wasn't normal. Her development was going smoothly and thanks to her frequent milk she had grow bigger and stronger. Prim was unaware that she opened her eyes. The thing that struck her the most was that not everything around her was completely dark anymore. Everything she saw was still blurry, but those blurry shapes were not all dark, there were mixes of different color blobs. She let out a chirp to greet those colors and shapes.

Over a week had passed since the kids had been birthed and despite the short timeframe, they were already growing. It was good, it meant despite everything they were healthy and hopefully, their early birth would have no complications down the road. Ira had come to accept the reality that Evergreen nor Winterbourne would be returning home. As harsh as it sounded, she hoped they were dead. She could forgive them if something happened, but to disappear without a trace...

The Count shook her head, it was best to stop thinking about it now otherwise she would fester over it just as she had with her father. Luckily the noise of one of her pups distracted her, and given how Prim's head was raised she could only assume she was the source. Ira nosed the girl lightly, her tongue running over her head until she noticed the blue that seemed to stare back. Her eyes had opened. A soft smile graced the Count's features as she adjusted herself to get a better look. Well, hello to you too.

Her mother's movement was enough to stir one of the darker colored pups into a wild stretch or wriggle or something that was maybe a little bit too overdramatic in that she rolled away from her siblings and over to where things were colder and vacant. Any acknowledgement of any kind of vision? Uncertain. It wasn't enough for her to truly react at it at all -- there more pressing matters. Like the fact now things were cold, and her still stubby legs flailed around. Now she didn't quite whine yet, but there were definitely a few grunts as she tried to right all that was wrong in the world and still found herself relatively incapable of doing so in any quick fashion.

Prim wasn't really registering what she saw, since they were mostly blurs. Automatically she closed her eyes once more, not really registering the voice that was talking to her. She wasn't able to respond back to her mother simply because her ears were not yet at that stage. With her eyes open there wasn't much difference than with her eyes closed, especially since she was in a dark den. The girl let out a gurgle and yawned. Tiredness swept her, and the girl was quick to doze off into a dreamless sleep.

The Count was left with no response as the girl settled in closing her eyes once more. Perhaps her hearing had not yet developed or it all had been too confusing. Ira would place once last kiss to Prim's head before turning her attention to her other girl who had rolled away. Nutmeg seemed discontent, but Ira did not want to fret over every mishap in her kids' lives so she waited. Chances were she would have to move the girl back to the side of her siblings, but the mother wanted to give her the chance to figure it out on her own.

She probably would have had better luck comically scrunching along like an inchworm, but instead, tiny paws splayed against the ground, successfully brushing earth away but not really making too much in the way of progress. Her muzzle scrunched up slightly -- like wow, this was so unfair. No, wait, it was because she managed to kick dirt back on herself somehow, which was very displeasing. It was a tiny guttural noise, if such a thing was possible, displeased even more by this turn of events. Nutmeg flailed a bit more, scooting only a fraction of the distance, but the longer the distance continued to last, the louder she was getting before finally giving up with a tiny yowl.

permission to skip prim until she wakes up

Ira watched with an amused huff as the youngest scooted about kicking up the dirt of the den's flooring. She was displeased, but that was to be expected when one did not achieve the results they'd like. It would only be a matter of time before the girl was up on her feet and causing all sorts of trouble. With the brown girl quickly growing louder, Ira would finally intervene giving her a quick kiss atop her head to hopefully soothe her and avoid waking the others. Do not fret, you will get it soon. If she had no further complaints, the Count would pick her up carefully by the scruff to rejoin her with the rest of her siblings.

She quieted a little at least -- attention was a good pacifier, a reminder that she wasn't going to be forgotten, that things would be made better. And, with the world as simple as it was, that was all that was needed. Her cries turned back into little mumbling noises, then silenced entirely when picked up and moved.

Once set down again, she was quick to find a teat and try to forget all that had just happened.

Thankfully the little girl seemed content with the attention she received. There was no complaint as she was moved beside her siblings, nor was there any attempt to wander around once more. Instead, Nutmeg moved to her side insistent on filling her belly as she settled down, once again happy. The mother gave a content hum as she curled around her babies keeping them close as she too rested her head.