Redhawk Caldera Fuzzy Trouble-butts

Somnia's going to see the puppies, and also discuss some stuff with Peregrine and Fox. If the parents don't want to be in the thread, you can assume Somnia told Peregrine about her idea of starting a hunt, and told him and Fox that if/when they need a small break, they could just holler and Somnia would come and watch them as she's the primary Caretaker. @Peregrine @Fox @Wildfire @Derp @Raven @Nightjar Any one of you guys who want a thread with the aspiring Caretaker, come on in!

Somnia had decided to wait a full day before coming to visit. There were others flocking to the den within the past 24 hours, but unlike them, Somnia figured it would be best to wait. The aspiring Caretaker's job would not only be to help entertain the pups when they were older, but watch them while they were still too young to play when the parents needed a break. But, the family was still new. As with all new things, they were very interesting at first. Somnia didn't want to disrupt any important family bonding that was taking place. But at the same time, it was best to keep in contact with the parents, so she could know when they were ready for her start interfering with their bonding time. Besides, Somnia wanted to see the demons offspring Peregrine and Fox had created.

Somnia did not approach the den empty-handed. While she may not have known what the deal was with the peridot gem she had found with Elwood that was supposed to be a present to Fox from the two of them, she did know that it just wouldn't do to come without gifts. From her mouth swung a dead badger carcass; it had been waltzing across the border, as if it too wanted to join the pack with growing numbers. Well, Somnia had told it where the only available homes within the pack were for the fee of a few minor scratches on her front legs. That home was inside the Alphas' stomachs.

The father of the pups was standing right by (or maybe inside?) the entrance to the den, guarding it from anything dangerous that should manage to get near the inner reaches of the Caldera. Somnia gave him a respectful dip of her head, and dropped the badger at his feet - it had sharp claws and teeth that could easily harm the pups. Whether it was disassembling the harmful parts or just eating away from the pups, Somnia knew Peregrine would let Fox in on the gift.

Peregrine gave her the go-ahead to go inside, yet Somnia lingered for a moment or two, seeing if there was anything he would like to say about her Caretaker duties before going inside.

Hearing and sight were not the only senses Wildfire currently lacked. She did not possess a sense of time either. She had no idea that it was late afternoon, nor that she was already growing and developing in minute ways. She just ate, slept and pooped, although not necessarily in that order. Sometimes she ate while she slept. Sometimes she pooped while she slept. She did a lot of that (sleeping), only really waking when something or other disturbed her snooze fest. During her brief waking moments, Wildfire always made her presence known with a seemingly endless array of vocalizations, all of them high-pitched.

She was already awake just now when she sensed movement in the den. Wildfire continued suckling for a moment, then unlatched with a gasp. She burped, then promptly turned away from the milk bar and began scooting parallel to her mother's belly. Wildfire climbed up and over anything in her path, including her siblings. She was quite determined to get somewhere, her little black tail sticking out behind her like a poker. Little did she know that her current destination was Somnia's right forepaw.

Others are welcome to jump in at anytime! :)

Somnia's eyes immediately went to Fox's side when she had entered the den. Not only did Fox no longer look like a balloon, but there were also four little pups by her side. Each one was the focus point of Somnia's attention for a few seconds before one stole the show. It was just long enough to take in their coloring and size. They were all so small!

But, as mentioned earlier, one of them did manage to steal the show. The pup making a beeline to her held her attention. "Well aren't you a curious one?" Somnia rumbled softly as the pup came in contact with her paw. She made no move to move it out of the way, but rather watched and felt the pup touch her paw with amusement.

Belly fat with milk, the darkest of the Firebirds was sound asleep, tucked snugly between her mother's soft body and some random combination of siblings. Dreams danced in the shadows of her undeveloped mind, vague and indistinct echoes of a distant past that made no sense to her and wouldn't for a very long time. Now and then, she twitched and uttered soft, faint little growls and whines in her sleep, but otherwise showed no signs of distress or unrest.

...That is, until her flame-kissed sister trampled over her like a freaking buffalo.

The little blackbird awakened with a jolt, an indignant growl bubbling from her tiny maw as she rolled over onto her side. Without any sense of direction and zero coordination whatsoever, she could only fumble and flail about. Shakily, she pulled herself across the den floor in no particular direction, unwittingly moving toward her clumsy bison of a sister and the strange visitor who had come to see them.

Like the other cubs, Nightjar was fast asleep with limbs and face wildly twitching. Every so often he whined quietly in his sleep, usually accompanied by another kick of one of his four legs. This was normal for him; he wasn't dreaming, but this active sleep was how he developed strength in his legs for the coming weeks when he would begin walking.

His sleep was rudely interrupted mid-kick by an unpleasant pressure on his side. Nightjar protested loudly, having filled himself with a great deal of milk prior to his nap. Wildfire passed quickly by, but the damage was already done; straining and grunting, the pup let his loose bowels unclench and messed himself and whoever was nearest to him.

I meant to mention this in my first post but I forgot! I generally avoid having two characters in the same thread, so I'll be PPing Perry in the background, in case Somnia wants to talk to him. :)

Wildfire felt something warm and wet on the tip of her tail and, not long after that, a foul smell filled the den. She paused to sniff deeply. She squawked (whether in approval or disapproval, it wasn't clear), then continued shuffling forward until her wrinkled little face mashed into the Gamma's paw.

She still hadn't learned to differentiate toes from teats, so she began to mouth Somnia's foot, rooting around for a nipple and quite likely tickling the hell out of her. Before Wildfire could latch onto anything, something bumped her from behind. She squalled, then practically folded her tiny body in half to bite at her assailant. Meanwhile, the feces-smeared tip of her tail waved in Raven's blind face.

Beyond them, Peregrine had assumed the unfortunate duty of cleaning up Nightjar and the space around him to make him more presentable for Somnia. Once his son was clean, the Alpha closed his jaws around the boy's tubby body and plopped him down beside his sisters so the would-be Caretaker could take a closer look. (He did not disturb "Derp," who was currently fast asleep beside mama.)

A quandary arose as the unmistakable scent of fecal matter filled the den. The pup with unnatural brown smears was easily located. The few moments it took for the smell to reach the father stretched out for Somnia as she started to wonder if it would end up being her that had to clean up the pup. She was the primary Caretaker for them after all, so wouldn't cleaning up their bodily functions be included in that?

Before any decisions could be made by the inexperienced aspiring Caretaker, Peregrine swooped to her rescue. Letting out a small sigh of relief at not having to do the task, Somnia's focus returned to the pups. The little girl had reached her paw, and was now trying to do something to it. Whatever it was, it tickled! She stifled a few giggles as she watched the black pup approaching her too. The now-clean boy was even presented to her by his father.

"You and Fox make cute pups... We should hold a celebratory hunt to celebrate." She suggested to Peregrine.

The acrid smell of her brother's mess reached her nose, but it meant little to the tiny blackbird at this point. She continued to fumble blindly about, frequently falling over as she lost her balance on the weak, shaky legs that still didn't quite work properly. After a moment, she bumped face-first into something hard, bony, and fuzzy, causing her to tumble over again. Slowly and clumsily, she pulled herself up and began exploring this strange thing -- which was, in fact, Somnia's other paw -- sniffing it, prodding it with her muzzle, pushing on it with her tiny paws, chewing it with her soft gums.

As his bum was wiped clean, Nightjar protested loudly and even loosed a thin trickle of urine in the process, partly to submit and partly because his bodily functions were kicking in in full gear. Inevitably, Peregrine won the battle and placed the fat pup back in the vicinity of the Caretaker, who Nightjar could now note smelled a bit different, but he still had no idea that she wasn't normal.

His legs reached out like little claws and he scooted himself forward, mostly on his belly, but he wasn't as fortunate as Wildfire and Raven. He never bumped into a paw and, with alarming speed for a newborn (there's a reason you never looked away!), he was beneath her belly and making a break for the den entrance without ever realizing he was going anywhere significant at all.

Since Somnia's gone and Raven's on absence, I'm going to edit a conclusion onto this post (as of Mar. 19). If either one of you (Houkie or Chelsie) wants to continue this later, just send me a PM and I'll revive this!

Undeterred by her sister's toothless bite, Raven bustled right past and began exploring the Gamma's other paw. Wildfire righted herself and resumed her own investigation of Somnia's right foot. She thrust her tiny snout in between two of the would-be Caretaker's toes and discovered the thin webbed membrane there. She began to gum it, squeaking happily at the strange texture.

Above them, Peregrine had been watching his daughters with a goofy smile on his face. When Somnia proposed a hunt, he glanced up at her and caught sight of Nightjar making a break for it by scooting beneath the Gamma. "Grab him!" he urged, surprised and a little impressed at his son's speedy waddle. "They'll keep you on your toes," he quipped, "when they're not busy eating them."

"That's a great idea. We probably can't participate ourselves but we'll be happy to reap the rewards," he finally answered with a wink. "You're a proven Gamekeper. By all means, you're welcome to lead it," he added in case Somnia was doubtful whether to host a hunt without the Alpha pair. Fox could use the fresh meat and it was a perfect outlet for the caldera's members to celebrate the future of their pack.

Meanwhile, Wildfire had grown tired of the webbing between Somnia's toes. She wiggled backward, her chin sinking to the den floor as she heaved a dramatic sigh. When nothing happened, she rolled onto her side and hiked her free hind leg into the air, exposing her pale belly to the Gamma and simultaneously unleashing a loud yelp for attention and an ungodly fart.

When still nothing happened, she fell fast asleep in that very position. The adults left her like that for a while (mostly because they were busy chatting but also because it was amusing), though eventually Somnia's visit ended and Wildfire and her siblings were rounded up and placed back at their mother's flank for a proper nap.