Stavanger Bay It was a privilege, wasn't it?

@Verrine @Liyani @Levi @Charon @Julooke Any family!

Three hours had passed since his birth, each as dismally slow as the last. By the third, Kevlyn was already bored of his life, and felt the need to make it well known to all in his vicinity.

It started as a gurgle in his belly, and then the squishing of his fat, babyish features into a typical ugly grimace. The fur stood up all the way along his back, his tail quivered around his knees. Kevlyn momentarily attempted to fight his own dismay by tucking his snout into his fat forelegs, but it was short-lived. The boy's head reared suddenly, his tightly closed eyes rolling behind their eyelids as he let out the first long wail of his life.

It picked up quickly from there, climbing exponentially in volume until it was an all-out screech. No one could or would put an end to his "boring" life, but that didn't stop the three hour old pup fron trying his hardest to ask them to.

His nap, which had been a long and much needed one, was interrupted when the warmth of his brother vanished from his side. Levi rolled over clumsily, looking for his twin, mewling quietly in the darkness. His senses were still dull, though much sharper than they had been inside the womb, and in his tiny brain he wondered what in the world he would do now, outside of the warmth and comfort.

But his wondering didn't last long. Levi could feel Kevlyn's screeching not far from him, and he rolled a little further, trying to get to his brother. Unfortunately with his unsteady movements and lack of hearing or sight, Levi actually went in the opposite direction of his brother and began to cry and screech in his own way, which was quieter and less rowdy than his twin, but still alarming nonetheless.

Others welcome to hop in whenever!

When he wasn't immediately tended to, Kevlyn wailed louder. His lungs felt fit to burst with the sheer force of his voice, and the added pressure he was exerting on himself made him wail more. No matter what he did, Kevlyn couldn't seem to deal with his own dismay, and nobody seemed willing to help him out with it, at least not yet.

But something changed suddenly. Though he couldn't hear it, he could feel it both physically and emotionally. Something was wrong. Little did Kevlyn know that his doppelgänger was sitting a mere foot or two from him, wailing in harmony with him (but for different reasons). He didn't know what the problem was, but sensing it was enough to make him stop crying... For a moment, anyway. He took the brief break to sniffle away the snot that was collecting on his upper lip, and his whiskers quivered as he extended his wobbly head forward, sniffing but unable to actually pick up any scents just yet.

Omg, you guys…these kids are so adorable already. I'm sitting here grinning like an idiot. XD

The puppies had only been here a couple of hours, and yet Verrine could already tell that he and Julooke were in over their heads.

One child was a handful. And they had four. Four restless, curious kids all going in different directions, all wailing and whimpering for something, all crapping on themselves and demanding attention at the same time. He had found himself repeatedly thinking back on Ragnar's words of advice and hoping that he could handle all of this. He was terrified, overwhelmed, and…incredibly, insanely happy and excited. He had kids! Kids! Four of them!

Kevlyn had started wailing again. Despite him and Levi being nearly identical in appearance, it was easy to tell them apart because from the moment Verrine had laid eyes on him, Kevlyn hadn't shut up. The only time that child was silent was when there was a teat in his mouth. He even whimpered in his sleep. He started his squealing again, and Verrine grinned and sighed, giving Julooke a look that said, Here we go again. Levi was disturbed by Kevlyn's ruckus, though, and began fumbling around and crying as well. Verrine allowed him to crawl about for a moment before his screeching made it clear he was in distress, at which point he gently picked the infant up and placed him with his other siblings beside Julooke's belly. Kevlyn's tiny voice carried on, and Verrine's tongue gently swiped the boy in an attempt to soothe him. "Quiet, you," the father said softly, knowing they couldn't hear him but still talking to them anyway.

Charon had been greedily drinking since the moment he had been born, far from the same state of mind as his brothers. This brave explorer had had a busy day, what with being born and all, so he felt like he deserved a break and a good, sturdy dinner.

The child was not bothered by the wails of his brothers, for he did not hear. Once he had had his fill and turned away from the feeding place, Charon opened his mouth wide and yaaaaaawned long and wide. He smacked his lips a few times after the yawn while contemplating what adventures he, brave explorer, was going to have now that he'd had his munchies.

Liyaní had spent the first few hours of her life in the world beyond her mother’s womb doing little besides nursing and sleeping. Little did she know that her first real adventure was about to unfold. The dark-furred babe stirred from her dreamless slumber when her tiny body was jostled around by the other warm bundles she was nestled beside. A high-pitched whine of complaint was issued from the littlest pup, but of course her wail was more or less muted by the noises made by her brothers.

She couldn’t hear her litter mates squawking about, but she could certainly feel them. She, too, began to crawl blindly around the small space she shared with her family. Bitty black paws scrambled rather uselessly against the den floor as Liyaní squirmed unknowingly towards her father. When her nose bumped against his front paw, she let out of surprised squeak but quickly found delight in her new discovery. Without hesitation the second-born opened her teeny mouth and placed as much of one of Verrine’s toes in it as she could. Drooling, she cooed happily.

Julooke had only been half-resting since the puppies had been born. She felt an overwhelming need to stay somewhat alert and know what her babies were doing, especially when they weren't latched on and feeding. It was easy to keep track of them when they were attached to her. When they weren't, however, she lifted her head and opened her eyes to get sights on them. She didn't really need to since Verrine was here, but she just couldn't help it.

Kevlyn began wailing beyond what was becoming his usual vocal noises, and Verrine tried to sooth him. Julooke saw that Liyanì was happily sucking on his toe, so she turned her attention to Levi. Her tongue bathed him soothingly, knowing he felt distressed but also that he wasn't in any danger. Her eyes went to Charon while she continued to lick Levi, noting that he seemed to be much calmer than the other boys. Their personalities seemed to already be coming out, and Julooke couldn't wait to see what they would be like when their eyes and ears opened. Her tail wagged softly as thoughts of them running around, causing chaos reeled through her head. The new Mom was confident she'd be able to keep up with them. The pups might prove her wrong, though.

Quiet, you, was a not a command that Kevlyn understood, much less obeyed. His tiny brain did not compute the peace that came with quiet. He was bored, damnit, and he would be entertained, or he would be rid of this world!

Verrine's wet tongue slapped him in the face suddenly, dumbfounding him for a moment before his wailing began anew. Now, he wailed because he was wet, and because there was no longer the sensation of fuss in the den, even though the other cubs were active now as well. His cries echoed off the narrow den walls and came back as vibrations in his rib cage and skull, the only feedback he received being these feelings. When his ears popped open, maybe then he would come to appreciate silence.

Levi's mewling quickly changed from distressed to all-out panicked when Verrine picked him up, but soon he was calmed when his mother's smell and touch once again permeated his little bubble. He mewled again but turned toward Julooke's teat and began suckling, wondering if his brother would ever shut up.

If he could think more logically, Levi would think Kev would be a good chronicler or outrider, because he liked to hear himself talk. Or wail, as it was now. But right now he simply wanted his brother to calm down, and his belly to be full; at least one of these things was happening as he suckled at his mother's teat.

skipping dad 'cause of absence (:

There was a lot of activity in the den all around him. Charon decided, after a moment of contemplation, to start moving around too and he (unknowingly, for he could not really see where he was headed so merely waddled and crawled around aimlessly, looking for adventure) started to squirm in the direction of his father and Liyaní.

When he reached his father and sister, Charon did not notice their presence in time, his senses far from honed yet, and bumped into the toes that his sister was drooling over. Charon moved his head up and sniffed his father's paws, let out an eager squeal in the general direction of his father and sister, and plopped down on the ground. All this exploring was tiring.

He watched them with wonder, still completely awed and baffled at this sudden, exciting change in his and Julooke's lives. They were all so healthy and soft and lively, he could hardly believe how lucky and blessed he was. He'd heard horror stories of she-wolves losing their entire first litters, or having a bunch of stillborns or stunted pups. But these four…they could not possibly have been more beautiful and perfect.

He was glad when Levi latched onto Julooke's side and began to suckle again, wanting all of his children to eat and grow up strong. Kevlyn fussed and squalled, of course, and Verrine watched the darkest pup -- his precious and only daughter, Liyaní -- fumble blindly toward him on weak, wobbly legs. Her journey came to an abrupt halt when she bumped into her dad's forepaws and eagerly took to gnawing on his toes with her bare, tender gums. Soon there would be needle-sharp teeth in that mouth, and this playful chewing would make Dad grit his teeth and grumble. Charon soon bumped into Verrine's forepaws, just like his sister had, and plopped down on his pudgy little rear. Verrine grinned, gently touching Charon's cheek with his nose, and continued to watch Kevlyn.

Last post!

Kevlyn settled after some length of time passed where he wasn't getting any attention. Maybe it was because he was tired or maybe because he'd grown bored. Whatever the case, Kevlyn finally did shut up long enough to be lulled to sleep by the quiet thrum of activity in the den.

What happened with the rest of his family was unknown to him.

last post for me too.

Charon barely registered his father's touch, because it was gone by the time that he realised and would have reacted to it, so he just sat there. Where there had been activity all around him just moments ago, now things seemed to be settling down; or perhaps it seemed this way because Kevlyn was the biggest source of activity. Whether it was his internal clock that was at the same page as his siblings', or whether he was just tired and it was a coincidence, Charon was about ready for another nap.

He let out a long yawn and, at the end of it, nearly flopped over on the spot. However, missing a bit of warmth, Charon crawled over to his mum, found her soft, warm fur, inhaled her scent and curled up against her. He dozed off, feeling content as he was surrounded by family.

last post for me as well!

Time was lost to the tiniest member of the new Ostrega quartet. She was unaware of how long she spent suckling on her father's toe, just as she was oblivious to the movements of the rest of her family in the den space she shared with them. The only thing Liyaní knew was that she was content; she felt safe, happy, and warm where she was, wherever that happened to be.

At some point the soot-furred girl fell asleep, her head resting atop Verrine's drool-coated paw.