Redsand Canyon think about what you believe in now.

aw, but only for those who would be allowed inside the den ofc <3

It had been a few days since she had gained her eyes and her tiny world had become a little less tiny. It wasn't so small to her, of course. To Liri, it was friggin' massive, and it had alarmed her at first to find it growing. But now, she was beginning to feel something akin to curiosity as she laid tucked against the warm bodies of her family, gazing owlishly at her surroundings.

Like the quintessential newborn, Liri found even the most mundane things to be absolutely fascinating. How could it not be when she had literally never seen anything before? For some, the fascination was short-lived. The mundane that had surprised and delighted upon introduction were quick to become ordinary, commonplace. Uninteresting. But for Liri, the intrigue was slow to dissipate. She enjoyed watching the world, and prior to this moment, she had been content to do little more than that.

Until, the cricket.

It crawled into view from somewhere, but to Liri, it was though it had simply poofed into existence. She stared at it for a while, her head tilting from one side to the other as he crept slowly about the den. It eventually came within a few inches of where she rested, and quite suddenly, for seemingly no reason at all, the synapses in her brain chose that moment to fire and make her wonder. Could she actually affect the world around her?

Slowly, tentatively, Liri reached out a paw towards the insect. It stilled, sensing something was happening, but it didn't move until she prodded it with a toe, at which point it leaped away from her by a few inches. Liri stared at it in utter fascination, her paw still outstretched. Had she caused that? Could she do it again?

Without glancing one way or the other, she began to inch forward, eager to find out if she could do it again.

germanicus kept his mind so full that thoughts of the shadow could not enter.

arsenio and tamar had departed to begin the work of claiming the vale. he was content enough to receive any report carried by @Kallik and strengthen the perimeters of the canyon himself. 

another excursion to the south was in order. he would have glaukos lead it. 

these plans filled the eagle with a bracing sense of organization and he trotted back toward the den, a pigeon in his jaws. the imperator arrived in time to see little liri attempt a first leap toward an insect.

germanicus set the bird down. he was still, watching her and the intended quarry with a controlled silence as he did not wish to interfere.

he was not yet settled in being a father. moments such as this moved him toward that place, though for now he could scarcely understand how he had contributed to the existence of a child, let alone four.

skippable!

A large shape darkened the doorway, blocking out the stream of light from the outside world that Alivia had yet to discover. She moved toward the door, knowing by now that such an occurrence marked the arrival of a visitor. 

Toddling around by her father's feet, she was drawn toward a pungent scent. She nudged at the bird on the ground, and blood smeared across her nose and the bridge of her muzzle. The scent intensified. Alivia's tongue darted out and swept over her nose, capturing the tangy substance. It was nothing like the milk she had taken from her mom or from Towhee, and yet something about the taste was familiar.

Valiria was blind to the fact that her father had come to witness her antics. He, his prey and her sister became blurred background noise as she crept after the little bug. It allowed her to once again come near and after a brief pause, she prodded it once again and off it went, hopping a couple feet away from her. This time, Liri pursued it almost immediately, toddling as swiftly as she could until she was near enough to poke it again. It ran, she pursued. It ran, she pursued.

On the final pursuit, Liri didn't hesitate, nor did she hold back. She bounced after it, now delighted to have discovered a new game, lifted a paw and slammed it down on the cricket's back. The crunch was inaudible to her, but she felt the sensation on the pads of her paw. Her eyes popped wide and her mouth dropped in surprise at this new feeling. Lifting her paw delicately away, she peered at the cricket and noted its shape appeared to have changed. Confused and intrigued, she took a few moments to stare in wonder at this miraculous development.

he saw little alivia dip her muzzle toward the bird.

he wondered if she made herself a huntress this day, or if he was only superstitious despite himself.

liri too was hunting. germanicus watched her pursue the little insect with a goodly amount of pride for them both shimmering in his expression. 

she caught her prey and dispatched it. the imperator stood close. "you have ended a threat to mereo. very good, auxillary," he joked, more for him than either of his daughters.

Liri didn't notice her father's presence until he was suddenly standing over her. She wasn't startled by this--most things in her world seemed to just suddenly appear, and she had no reason to fear them. She peered up at him for a moment, his words a mere humming in her ears. Having no clue what he actually said was irrelevant, though. His voice made her smile.

After beaming up at him for about three seconds, she turned her attention back to the dead cricket at her feet. She leaned down to sniff eagerly at it, prodding it a few more times just for good measure. When it still didn't move, Liri leaned her head into the ground beside the bug and began to roll around on top of it. Not sure why. It just felt like the thing to do.

still skippable

Alivia bent toward the bird a second time, this time opening her jaw to grasp at one of the splayed wings. Her tongue lapped over the soft feathers, and she was overcome with the urge to bite down. The delicate bones in the wing creaked, and Alivia continued to chew. She pulled the bird into her chest for a better grip, and blood smeared across the downy white fluff of her pelt. 

Her father's voice caught her attention, and her eyes rolled over to capture his visage. There was rustling and movement in the shadows of the den, but this did not attract Alivia's interest for more than a few fleeting seconds before she turned her attention back to gnawing on the wing.

having daughters had created a place inside germanicus that he recognized as softness.

and yet he did not shy from it.

it was not weakness. he loved them both fiercely. liri began to roll upon the dead insect. alivia tested the bird he had brought. germanicus lowered his muzzle to sniff at the bloodied feathers and wondered if she would carry it off.

he lowered himself to his belly, forelegs sliding forward and a thump of his tail inviting the little ones closer.

It didn’t take Valiria too long to figure out that dead bugs were far less interesting than living ones. After rolling around on it a few times, she tired of the game and rolled back to her belly. She glanced around, her eyes quickly landing on her father. Her eyes widened slightly to see his posture, but not out of fear. She did not know fear yet. She was simply excited.

With a giggle, Liri bounced to her feet and charged towards him. She didn’t pounce at him, but slowed to a stop once she came within a few inches of his face, simply grinning. She stared at him for a few seconds, then tossed her head back and giggle again, dropping onto her elbows as her gaze landed back on his again. She waited then, her tail wagging.

The scent of fresh blood awakened a latent instinct in the young warrior. When Alivia saw Liri move into the light and square up to Germanicus, she lifted her head in interest. The bird was forgotten. Liri then dropped into a crouch, and Alivia scrambled to her feet. 

"Rrrrr," she rumbled encouragingly, rooted to the spot for the moment, but sorely tempted to join the impending battle at Liri's side.

liri wished to play. germanicus gently clicked his teeth on the air and rolled to one side, pawing toward her face. somehow these things came easily to him now, though he would not have wanted an adult wolf to come upon him in such a state.

germanicus chuffed toward alivia. "well, come then. i will defend against you both," he declared, tail thumping once behind himself.

Valiria heard the grows of encouragement from her sister, but she only had eyes for their father. She grinned at him with bared teeth, trying to look fierce but ultimately failed. She enjoyed the sound of her father’s voice too much, and it kept her smiling through her snarl even as she sprang forward to launch herself at his muzzle.

The chuffed invitation was all that was required to dissolve Alivia's inhibition. Liri provided a great distraction by leaping at Germanicus's muzzle. Already a bit of a tactician, Alivia saw that as her window of opportunity to sneak in her own hit. She lunged for her father's forepaw, and her little jaws snapped closed with gusto.

cool to fade this if yall are! tagged u in a newer one too <3

they rolled with him. they attacked.

he fought them as well as he was able, but soon found himself downed by their sundering jaws.

"help, ruenna!" he shouted gruffly, hiding a smile.

he would entertain them until they were tired and then bid them inside, for mother and for bedtime.