Whitefish River I Am Too Big to Hide, Too Tall to Lie

Come meet the puppies! Takes place around noon @Primrose @Blackberry @Nutmeg will be present if they don't post I'll be doing some light PP on them. Tagging those who might be around/not with kids, but feel free to hop in if I didn't tag you too! If a ton of people join we will be going by rounds with no posting order. @Hieronymous @Connor @Emrik @Spica @Syrma @Raimo

Four days had passed since the disappearance of Dandelion. There was no doubting it, in her mind, Ira knew the boy was dead. Too young to even know his own name, to feed himself, to keep himself warm, lost to the harsh elements of the world. The mother had done her best to grieve quickly, few knew of his existence she could prevent causing another scene if he was never addressed. Now was perhaps the best time to introduce those that remained, Speedy would be too busy with her own litter to bring attention to the missing child and Hieronymous had been instructed to keep silent. It was about time anyway, her little ones were not so little anymore. The three had been making great strides within the den and it was clear that the desire to explore was strong. At least this way if one wandered too far the others would be aware of their presence and can hopefully keep the rest of her kids from meeting the same fate.

It was with pride that the Count ushered her young to the mouth of the den knowing full well it would take little convincing to move them into the light. The sun greeted them, despite being blocked by trailing clouds and the canopies of the forest, its rays breaking through to the dirt scattered ground. Ira basked in the fresh air grateful to be moving once more. Of course, she had already taken quite the trip around the territory a few days ago, but now her pups had no need to stay cooped up inside all day. Starting now she could properly prepare them for the world that waited. Once all three had taken their first steps out of the den, Ira would tilt her head back to call for those who might be interested in meeting some of Kaistleoki's newest members.

At some point, Nutmeg had found the accelerator but finding the brakes was still an issue. She'd probably been blocked from escaping a few times now, along with a few crashes that had ended in her bonking into walls, siblings, her mother, or anything else that happened to be in the den. It wasn't like she was having any issues seeing where she was going, more that her brain was only starting to connect the fact she should probably not smash nose-first into random things in front of her. I know, smashing in to things is totally fun, but it probably should be avoided.

So after her latest escapade pretending to be a ricocheting pool ball, this time they weren't being stopped from going outside?? Weird! Well, she nyoomed right on out, forward another yard or two then tripped over her own paws and landed in a pile with an oof. Yeah. Totally coordinated this one.

Connor had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders, for now, he had become a father himself by accident but the male didn't think so, but the father of the beautiful pups was unknown, either way, he would love them all the same. When Connor heard the call, he had been near the den where his whelp was but he was far away enough so that Moonshadow wouldn't get anxious. His heart ached to know that the Count was summoning him and turned his head towards the den with guilt in his eyes. But, duty calls and as he rose to his paws, he looked towards the den and made a whispering promise that he would be back even though the three probably couldn't hear him.

The Herald didn't have a hard time finding where the Count resided, and with quick strides, he found Ira basking in the sun with little puppies by her side. The titan stopped for a moment to take in the moment as his jaw slightly dropped at the mere sight of them. They were so small as their pelts reflected their mother to which the male could only smile. Connor walked towards them with a smile and sat a little bit away from them as to not make the Count uncomfortable, "they are beautiful," he remarked, his emerald gaze looking at them lovingly. "You must be very proud," his warm tone directed at the Count because he figured this was a happy moment, but he didn't know of who the father was. "Might I ask who the father is?" His expression was a bit cautious, yet curious at the same time for the Herald didn't know that she would have a mate.

Once the girl's eyes opened and she was stable on her paws, she was eager to explore every corner of the den. She would stumble and fall but quick to get to her paws. She found out that she wasn't alone in the world. The large blob had gotten more of a shape and identified her as her carer. She was not introduced to the concept of mother. But she definitely liked this one the most out of the large bodies that visited. The girl also found out there were some of her size and they were very fun to bite, crawl over and run with.

Today, however, was different. She was ushered towards the one part of the den she had not been allowed that often. Prim eagerly climbed out and was met with light. Even though the sun came down in rays it was still considerably light compared to the den. She had to blink a moment before her eyes adjusted. The fearless pup instantly started to patter forward, going in complete the other direction than her sister. Not a care in the world and eager to see it all. She noticed some green blur up ahead so she wondered what that was. She had to find out!

The knight wasn't feeling quite like himself, or at least the himself that he liked to show off as being. Most of his recent days were spent wandering the borders and lands of the kingdom, he even looked in the cave for signs of the little boy that had gone missing. He didn't tell anyone, it was not his place to and it was confirmed to be the right choice as Ira herself had asked him to keep the news to himself. Every time someone would come by to talk he would slap a smile on and keep the act that nothing was the matter.

Ira's howl rang out and of course, the knight came running, there was no urgency to her howl and yet he still felt the need to make it there quickly. Upon his arrival, others had already gathered, so it was today she would introduce them to the pack. He smiled at the sight.

Thankfully he was just on time to hear Connor's question, a question that didn't seem appropriate to ask especially given the time. Rushing in, Hiero bumped his body against Connor's, given the opportunity to the smaller of the two men would drape himself over Connor's shoulders in a brotherly gesture. Hey that's a little invasive to ask hm? It was all in light nature, trying to draw Connor away from the question.

He watched the little ones with awe, but his heart was twisting knowing that his own pups were alone without him even though they were with Moonshadow. The titan felt a bump on his side and turned his head with a curious expression to see Hiero with the male draping over him in a friendly gesture reminding the male that who the father was is none of his business. The cinnamon male felt hot with embarrassment and gave an awkward smile to the spotted male, "r-right!" He turned back to the Count with an apologetic look, "apologizes, it's just..." his emerald eyes drifted to the sky for he was contemplating how he should explain that he had his own complications with his whelp.

"Nevermind... Just forget about it," he simply stated with a false smile, there was just too much complication and he didn't want his babies to be the target of any controversy so he kept his mouth shut. So he directed his attention to Hiero, "I haven't seen you in a while, how have you been?" Connor stated with a welcoming smile, for like Hiero, he wanted to change the subject entirely.

Gonna pick this up now, anyone else is still free to join. PPing Blackberry for now.

Nutmeg was quick to bolt out of the den, something that might have concerned the mother had she not tripped shortly after. The girl fell with a thud, but as always it didn't seem to bother her. Her youngest had always been a ball of what felt like endless energy. Prim was next to exit, something in the distance catching her eye as Connor and Hieronymous arrived. An ear flicked back to catch the cinnamon man's words as she trailed behind her silver pup who already sought to make the introduction difficult as she wandered in a completely opposite direction. If she wandered a bit too far she'd pick her up by the scruff to return her to the small gathering.

The Count was proud of her children, being a mother was all she could ask for, but of course, the question of their father lingered. Ira missed the painted knight's words as she nudged Primrose to go to her sister, but it seemed that Connor was quick to backtrack his question. She chose to ignore the topic altogether, acting as if she never quite caught what he had said in the first place to tame the bout of shame that threatened to show.

I am, they're very eager to join the pack. Well, most of them at least. Her last child lingered near the mouth of the den, it almost came as a surprise. Almost. When they were alone Blackberry seemed to have no issue coming out of his shell, but he was quick to turtle around strangers. Even Hieronymous who came by so often received the shy treatment. He would have to learn to grow past it though if he were to be a functioning part of the pack. The Count approached slowly to nudge him out, it was likely past his comfort zone, but life was not always comfortable. Even if Blackberry glued himself to her leg, it would be better than remaining in the den all day. And that was exactly what he did.

Ira motioned to the dark-colored boy, This is Blackberry, he's a bit shy. The eldest is Primrose, and their younger sister is the one who never seems to sit still, Nutmeg. She had gestured to each one as she introduced them. Hopefully, the three would take the chance to socialize with someone other than their little family. They might not be able to actually respond yet, but some new faces would be good for them. I thought it might be time for them to meet the pack. They should know we aren't alone, even if they do not fully understand yet. It was hard to gauge how much information they actually retained, but soon enough they would be able to communicate back.

Prim was rushing to the green blur but when she ran closer she noticed there was a big shape like her mother and she stopped in her tracks. For her it was like she ran a mile. But that wasn't the case she had only reached Hiero and Connor. She looked up at the now two wolves. Her blueish eyes widened, still as a pup she had not learned about fear. These couple of weeks were crucial for her to be exposed to many things as possible.

The young girl eagerly pattered forward, curious to explore the others that were like her mother but also smelled very different. She stepped closer and started to inspect them, especially what she could reach which were their paws. She sniffed them and tried to taste them by licking them. She moved from paw to paw, unsure which one belonged to who. Her tail wagging.

It had taken a moment for her to sit up, and she spent a few more moments contemplating the existence of her paws and the ground beneath it as if it was all some brand new thing. She hadn't looked up as others arrived, and just sat there a moment, oblivious.

Whatever had gone through her brain had now processed and the little brown fuzzball was finally moving again, pulling herself up to her feet, and starting a wide circle that came to a stop as the strangers came into view. At that, she froze. She had a different reaction than her sister, she stood stock still, skinny little tail raised behind her, staring them down. Nutmeg didn't seem particularly aggressive beyond the who goes there reaction she seemed to be having.