Redhawk Caldera Because I'm tacky

Dawn brought with it a piercing shaft of light in the den that, somehow, Nightjar ended up in. Oh, he was fast asleep, but somewhere in his thrashing and dreaming he parted from his mother's side and ended up here, rather near the den entrance and in a warm patch. He slept deeply, at least until it became uncomfortably hot on his back.

Having mastered many motions by now, including unsteadily standing and toddling a few feet at a time, Nightjar had no trouble rolling over and arching his back as he stretched. His tongue folded toward his nose as it peeked out of a wide yawn, and then his eyes popped open and he was squinting up at the den ceiling.

You'd think this would alarm Nightjar, but in reality, he hardly even noticed and certainly didn't care. It was almost like he was always able to see and this was nothing new. Moving instinctively, the boy began flailing to stand in an effort to get back to Fox (in his slow and laborious way) for breakfast, unwittingly staring unblinkingly at her with his huge, steely grey-blue eyes.

The den's resident loudmouth was eerily quiet this morning. She was also warm, listless and without her normal hearty appetite. Unbeknownst to anyone (especially Wildfire herself), the pup had caught a bug after being exposed to so many visitors recently. It wasn't anything serious, though she currently felt exactly how she looked: like a turd on fire.

She was too warm to cuddle up against her mother or siblings and she wasn't interested in suckling, so Wildfire pushed herself into a relatively open space on the floor and simply sprawled there, her tongue lolling from her mouth. She sensed someone (Nightjar) nearby and wriggled her nose in his direction, yet made no sound, nor any attempt to interact with him. Rather, she let her chin sink to the floor while still facing him, her own eyes still tightly shut.

Since he had nothing to compare his new sense to, Nightjar thought that he was looking at the world in all its glory, and boy was it glorious! Unfortunately for him and everyone involved, what he was seeing wasn't even a fraction of the clarity he would develop in weeks to come. Fox was more of a blur, and the den ceiling was more of a smudge, and that thing lying in his path surely wasn't concerning.

Unfortunately for the toddling pup, that thing was his sister, and the way he tripped right over her certainly was concerning. He tumbled over her body, likely squashing her rump in the process, and smashed his squished nose straight into the den floor. For a while he lay there, partially draped over Wildifre and too shocked to move, and then just like that he shrieked and began to flail around as a dull, throbbing pain set in along the bridge of his squat snout.

She was too out of it to react to being squished, aside from an indignant snort and whimper. Even when Nightjar remained halfway sprawled over her backside, Wildfire didn't move or make a sound, which was highly unusual for her. She just tried to curl more tightly into a ball, her forepaws jerking forward to drape over her eyes and snout.

But one problem did arise: she began to feel uncomfortably warm and feverish. She couldn't bear her brother's hot, heavy weight on her anymore. At last, Wildfire opened her mouth and squeaked, then weakly kicked a hind leg right into his flabby gut.

Lifting one of his weak paws, the boy awkwardly rubbed at his smarting chin, momentarily forgetting that he was acting like a blanket to his smaller sister. She was so still that it was easy for Nightjar not to notice her; after all, he was still learning to coordinate his body, let alone realizing that part of it was higher up than the rest. Wildfire wasn't interested in letting him stay there forever, though. A loud squeak was the only warning he had before her paw kicked out and hit him, not in the gut, but in his sensitive little boy bits.

The sound that came from Nightjar's throat as he fell off of her and curled into himself was somewhere between a strangled yowl and a screech. It was an incomprehensible feeling, this type and level of pain, enough that when Nightjar was able to move—yes, he'd momentarily been paralyzed—he promptly thrashed his hind legs about, hoping to deter Wildfire from ever doing that again.

Her aim went wild, clocking Nightjar in his family jewels rather than his stomach. Not only had she busted his eardrum shortly after birth, now she had quite likely rendered him infertile. She felt him twitch and begin to slide off her. Wildfire sighed, remaining oblivious to the true damage she had wrought (either time) and tried to curl tightly into herself again.

But he wasn't about to let her get away without punishment for her misdeed, however unintentional. Nightjar began to kick and flail, one of his paws catching her right in the tailbone and sending a bolt of pain up her spine. Wildfire squawked in surprise and discomfort. Despite her listlessness, she began to squirm, writhe and grunt, determined to get away from him. But without senses to orient herself, it was a rather fruitless endeavor; she only managed to flop in place, like a dying fish.

His paw struck something. If he was able, Nightjar would've pumped his fist at this victory, and then immediately felt like a douchecanoe for it. It wasn't hard for him to notice Wildfire struggling to get away, since she took her warmth with her and left his side exposed to the cool air. Whining indignantly, the puppy continued to churn his legs and flail in place, and with every second of doing this, his whimpers grew in volume until he was practically screaming for Wildfire to come back.

At this point, someone saw fit to comfort him with wide swipes of a tongue. Nightjar had no idea who it was—it could've been either parent or any of the babysitters—but it was enough to quiet him down. No doubt Wildfire was receiving a similar treatment or soon would be, if she hadn't already.

Indeed, a muzzle lowered, a soft nose gently pressing against Wildfire. She went limp suddenly, every last fume of energy leaving her. She mewled and tried to curl into a ball for the umpteenth time. This time, no one squished or kicked her. Instead, she received a few comforting licks. They didn't do much to make the peaked pup feel better physically, though the sensation took the edge off her malcontent condition.

The quiet, fatigued Wildfire tumbled into a dozy state. She was not destined to sleep comfortably, however. Fever dreams preyed upon her, causing her to jerk awake within moments of falling asleep. The first time it happened, she jerked and let out a long, low wail. A gentle tongue coaxed her back to sleep... only for it to happen again. This time, she jerked so hard her head bonked Raven's, starting a domino effect of squirming and flailing among her siblings.

Unlike his sister, Nightjar wasn't tuckered enough to fall asleep, so when he was moved back alongside his siblings, he immediately squirmed. Raven was the unfortunate victim of many of his light kicks and prods as he slowly turned himself away from Fox's belly and toward the enticing middle of the den. He was just barely beginning to pull himself away when something else disturbed the sooty pup next to him and he was kicked roughly in the ribs.

Squawking, Nightjar turned his head and bonked his muzzle right into his poor little sister's face. Raven, of course, had done nothing the entire time, but now she was the target of his ire, seeing as Wildfire was too far away. He yawned open his mouth and gummed her brow with a tiny growl burbling away in his throat. No doubt she didn't take kindly to this treatment; the flailing continued, perhaps more frantic now.

Once more, she was a punching bag. Wildfire couldn't take any more of this abuse, not with the way she felt. She let out one earsplitting shriek, then began to wail lowly. This only went on for five seconds before she found herself being airlifted, the points of sharp teeth pressing harmlessly into her sides. When she was placed back on the ground, there was nothing beside her except cool, open air. She could feel the brush of her mother's fur on her backside, just barely, but there were no squirmy siblings or anything else to disrupt her as she tried to get some sleep.

Except for the fever dreams, of course. The instant she sank into slumber, she jerked back awake. It happened in roughly three-minute cycles. No one comforted her, as the effects weren't exactly notable and Fox likely presumed her daughter to be asleep. And everyone knew not to touch a sleeping Wildfire. The pup was forced to cope with it, shifting restlessly every once in a while, before she finally broke through into a deeper level of unconsciousness and fell into black stillness.

I think one more post from you will be enough for me to get it to 10!

Rather POed with Raven, Nightjar managed to rock himself back onto his shaky feet and made slow but purposeful steps toward the light that crept in through the den's front door. For the moment, he was left alone to explore, although his toddling was more like a drunken stagger than a meaningful stride. Soon he wasn't even heading in the same direction anymore, and a reddish smear dominated his scope of vision. This didn't deter Nightjar, who found himself clambering over one of Fox's paws and tumbling down to strike his poor, ill sister before long.

Call it magnetism—he found her wherever she went. By now, Fox had about had it with Wildfire's shrieking and, knowing that Nightjar's tumble would probably wake the sleeping banshee, she roughly relocated him to her side. Nightjar might've made another escape if her hind leg hadn't curled up to trap him there. Refusing to nap and calm down, the babe began to fuss loudly, earning an exasperated sigh from his mother.

I think this is actually #12, though here's a last one so you can wrap it up for us! :)

I loathe it when backspace backs up the browser, omg. Have v. 2.0 of this post... :|

Nightjar was determined to mete out just punishment, which he demonstrated by scrambling over Fox and continuing his assault on his sick, sleeping sister. Fox quickly caught and moved him, though not before he landed a pow right to Wildfire's kisser.

But she had been swallowed up by a deep, feverish sleep and was too busy dreaming to wake. She knew not what fire was, yet all the same she dreamed that the den was burning. Nightjar's hit was felt in the dream as she continuously smashed her nose into the wall in her attempt to escape.

Soon, she passed into an even deeper layer of slumber and the nightmare's ashes floated away. By the time she resurfaced, her fever would break and her next cycle of dreams would be much more cool and refreshing—supposing Nightjar didn't get in another kick to shatter them completely.

Wow I can count. My bad! Thanks for the thread!

He cried for a long while, long enough to earn a hard dirty stare from his mother, before finally settling down. He was no longer able to move and he couldn't locate Wildfire or Raven even if he tried. He struggled futilely for another thirty seconds before slumping to the ground in defeat. As quickly as he gave up, sleep nabbed him and soon he was dreaming of running and kicking out his legs as if he truly could soar over the ground.