His kids were growing quickly, their features losing the clubbed, fat-faced appearance. They were becoming more streamline and were beginning to look more like miniature adults and less like big-headed aliens. Today he was going to begin their training. Sure they were young, but already they were weaned. If they were old enough to eat meat then they were old enough to start training. Reaching the densite, Valentine looked it over for signs of the kids. It was oddly quiet for the time of day. Usually by mid morning they were out and about, being loud and terrorizing whatever animal had the misfortune of crossing their path, but this morning it was quiet enough that he could hear birds singing. Usually Eva did a pretty good job of drowning them out. He woofed in the hopes of alerting them to his presence and then braced for the burst of motion as they came to greet him. Annnnd...nothing. There was no stampede of heavy puppy paws, no squealing or shrieking and no wailing from the girl. His head tipped to the side. ...Where were they? Surely they weren't still sleeping! Whiskers curling forward, Valen stared hard at the den entrance before woofing down into, hoping to rouse the little monsters if they were still in there. “”

NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.

Daddy's voice boomed into the den and Phim woke with a gasp. A moment of confusion was wiped away when he realized that, oh my goodness Daddy was here! With a woop he charged over his siblings and up the steep little run that led him to the surface world. Phim swerved so as not to crash headlong into Valentine's long legs, and lost his footing in the dirt. He thought it felt warmer than usual that day (perhaps he was just overly excited) and the dirt was dry. He rolled along like a fat little log, and when he found his feet he was more brown than blue. "Daddy!" he crowed. "Angel, Vana, c'mon!" He called out to his siblings, upset and confused that they weren't here with him, weren't just as excited. Was Valen going to take them all hunting? Or maybe off to war? He hoped they would get to fight off intruders or maybe eat a buffalo. The young boy continued to run around, jouncing this way and that. "Talk" "You" Think

Angelus had been out running around for some time before he'd heard his dad approach. Instead of running up to greet him exuberantly, the boy had chosen to hide. His dad walked right by him without noticing and Angel, feeling emboldened by this, decided to see how long he could stalk Valentine before he was caught. He crept along behind his dad, following right in his massive pawprints. Well, kinda. He couldn't quite reach from stride to stride but if he really stretched he could get it down to three steps for every one of his dad's. When his dad reached the densite, the boy remained hidden. Both times his dad called for him and his siblings, Angel ignored it, too intent on the "game" he was playing. Seraphim burst from the den suddenly, causing Angel to jump and stifle a surprised yelp. His ears flattened; he didn't like being startled. His curdling mood was quickly reversed as it occurred to him that unless he did something soon, one of his siblings was going to rat him out and the game would be up. If the game was going to end, he may as well end it himself, right? Gleefully Angelus raced forward, attempting to rapidly close the distance between himself and his daddy. He sought to come up behind the massive wolf and wrap his forepaws around Valentine's left hind leg. Because that didn't feel like a fitting end to the game he'd been playing, Angel decided to try to bite him too. Not hard of course, he didn't want to really hurt him. But a good, solid, startling pinch to the back of his daddy's leg might make him squeal and that would be fitting end. "Talk" "You" Think

It was a rare quiet morning for the pups - except Angelus, whose restless feet had already carried him off, leaving Seraphim and Evangeline sleeping quietly in the den together. Even more rare would be to find Evangeline actively cuddled up to her brother, little paws wrapped around him and puppy-chubby body curled warmly against his, unbeknownst to her in her sleep. Until Daddy called. Suddenly Phim was out of the den like a bullet from a gun, limbs flailing at his groggy sister and paws shoving at her as she was used as a launching pad. "Gggrggle mmmmmmmphahhhhh," she complained unintelligibly, still clawing her way to wakefulness as she stumbled grumpily from the den in his wake. "D'aaaaaaaaaah," she whined, half complaining greeting and half yawn. Mostly yawn. "Whaaa we doon?" She tried manfully - womanfully - to straighten, to come alert, but somehow Phim's hyperactive cheerfulness just made her feel even more tired, so she settled for elegant seriousness in her attempt to show Daddy that she was being way better than hyperactive Phim and as-yet-absent Angel... all unknowing that her wobbly, sleepy attempt at looking grown up just looked silly. ""

Phim was the first to burst from the den. Seeing his son racing towards him, Valentine immediately dropped into a play bow. Before the boy could reach him, he swerved to the side and then tumbled headlong into the dirt before rolling over repeatedly. In seconds he was on his paws again. With much amusement, Valentine waited to see what his son's reaction to the fall would be. He reached out to brush some of the dirt off of Phim's head. Would he cry or carry on? The latter, it seemed, but the brute didn't have time to be proud before needle sharp teeth dug into one of his hind legs. Curling to the side, Valentine quickly pried the boy off his heel and pinned him belly up on the ground. He then proceeded to "chew" on Angel's belly all the while growling ferociously. This earned him a mixture of shrill shrieks and maniacal laughter. Mock outrage laced his voice as he taunted, “Who do you think you are, biting me like that? Little punk.” He then continued tickling the boy mercilessly until the little guy was winded. “Not so tough now, huh?” Satisfied, he released Angelus and watched, his satisfaction growing, as the boy raced away from him. There. Maybe that would teach him. Straightening, he motioned for the kids to gather in front of him. “Alright, come on, guys. Stand right here.” To answer Evangeline's question, he said, “We're going to play a game. I want you to make the scariest face you can make, okay?” “”

NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.