Faceless, Nameless, Innocent, Blameless, Free

Sunlight filtered through the cave, casting light over her closed eyes. Aerndis stirred and blinked as she snuggled closer to her mothers belly. Outside it was bright, and the glint of sunlight sparkling atop snow immediately caught her attention.  Carefully she got to her paws and trotted across the cave floor to peer at the white, sparkleness that stretched out as far as she could see.  Oooohhh she wanted to touch it!  

Delicately reaching out a paw she tapped at the stuff.  It was cold… and it was wet…  She reached out to sniff at it for a moment and the chomp! Aerndis snarfed up a big bite of snow then stared for a moment as a sharp pain shot through her head.  She shrieked and spat out a half-melted mess of snow and shook her head. "Ow, ow… mooommmmyyyy!" Aerndis ran back toward Artemis to snuggle into her mothers chest fur.

Artemis woke up rather violently to the screech of one of her children. It took her a moment to take stock of herself and her surroundings, and by the time her brain was fully functioning Aerndis was already clambering to get back to her. Sleep had all but fled from Artemis like the floor had dropped out from underneath it, leaving her more than a bit disoriented in its wake. The blue woman pulled away and looked down at the tiny girl, at first just making sure she was okay. Physically her daughter appeared to be fine, until Artemis noticed a few melting clumps of a snow at the corners of her mouth. Pieces falling into place (and, now that Artemis was fully awake,) she was fairly certain she understood what had happened. Artemis deflated, laughing gently. "Are you okay, darling?" Of course, Aerndis shouldn't have gone beyond their den without her permission... "I better double check to make sure." A laughing gleam came to her eyes as Artemis smiled lovingly at the small bundle of fur and energy, then darted a paw forward in an attempt to plop Aerndis over and roll her onto her back. Artemis left a paw over Aerndis' small form to hold the wriggly girl in place, then booped her belly with her nose and snuffled about in the fur there, hoping to tickle her and not really minding at all if they woke the boys up. In fact, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. They had been clamoring for a while now to be let loose to explore, and with such a bright and inviting day outside waiting for them, today might as well be the day. She released Aerndis and stood, shaking her fur and likely dislodging her sons from wherever they had been sleeping. "Wake up, boys! Come on, we're going on a little adventure today." Artemis grinned, remembering the first time she and her sisters were deemed old enough to go beyond the den, and filled with warmth at the idea of seeing what her own children would make of it. "Talk" "You" Think

Unbeknownst to the rest of his family, Jupiter had already sneaked out of the den. Patience wasn't exactly his strong suit. He'd stared longingly at the snow for what had felt like forever; pining over the thing he wanted so desperately but couldn't have. The whys behind what made the world beyond the den forbidden hurt his feelings a little. Too little. Not safe. Not ready. He'd felt ready. What he lacked in size and coordination he'd more than made up for in spirited hard-headedness, so without thought of the consequences, the little boy had slipped out of the den when no one was looking.

And boy, was it worth it!

The snow was painfully cold, but reveling in his freedom kept Jupiter warm enough. He pounced through the snow, kicking up his heels and stomping on the powder as he battled imaginary foes. Every which way he looked new nemeses cropped up but he dealt with them joyously and with all the braggadocio that came with innocent invincibility. Frozen sticks became frigid witch fingers; snow covered rocks became squat, hidden monsters. His time outside was one glorious battle after another.

A commotion back at the den dragged the boy from his reverie. Punishment never once crossed his mind as he listened curiously and tried to suss out just what was going on. It was time to go back, he decided, and with a swing in his step Jupiter followed his old paw prints back towards the den. Once he got close enough to see the mouth of it, the boy dropped to the ground and burrowed under the snow. Like a shark he cruised below the surface; fully believing himself to be invisible even though his tail stood straight up through the powder and his back was uncovered more often than not. When he got to the entrance he burst from the snow and skidded into the den with a whoop  meant to scare the bejeezus out of any who were still sleepy. ”Ha HA! Did I scare you?”

Orion loved plenty of things. He might have been young, but already in his short life he had found things that made his heart warm and happy, and gave him a tickley feeling in his tummy when he thought about them. One of course was his Mama and his brother and sister too, and one was food, but another one was sleeping. Possibly a side effect of his relentless and exuberant attitude towards life whenever he was awake, Orion was always equally as excited to sleep as he was to wake up. As such, he was the only sibling left snuggled into his mother's flank by the time she stood. For Orion, the day arrived not with mischief but with a bleary tumble. "Wassat?" He peered around, ears struggling to process the word 'adventure', but once they had made sense of it he perked up, the gentle glow in the filaments of his coat pulsing a bit brighter with his excitement. "Really? Where are we goin'? Oh boy!" Immediately overcome by an all-encompassing exuberance, and realizing that Jupiter was already gone, Orion turned to dash out of the cave entrance. Of course, he hadn't really been expecting Jupiter to pop up out of no where. Orion yelped in surprise, but seeing as he was already running forward, when he startled it caused him to stumble past his brother in an uncoordinated tumble that ended with him spilling out into the snow. Orion struggled to his feet in a daze, coat covered in powder and clumps of snow, leaving him looking more like a tiny yeti than a tiny wolf. He let out a woozy, "Whoa..." before planting his paws and shaking as much of the snow free as he could. Of course, the boy was still dizzy, so he plopped right back down onto his hindquarters. "Jupiter! That was mean!" He complained with a ferocious pout. He'd have to get Aerndis to help him get his brother back, and he was sure there'd be plenty of opportunities now that they were going to start going on adventures! "Talk" "Listen" Think

Faceless, Nameless, Innocent, Blameless, Free

Aerndis felt better as she snuggled into her mother. The cold seemed to be immediately chased away and as her mother asked if she was okay she nodded. Suddenly her mom flipped her onto her back and she let out a shriek and started laughing as her moment nuzzled her belly."Eeeeee!  Mooom!" She couldn't work out any more words through the giggles. Panting she stood and shook out her fur as her mom let her to her feet. An adventure? "Are we really?  Finally!" She bounded over toward the den entrance where her brother's were waiting. She'd missed the scare having been subjected to her mother's tickle torture but it wasn't a surprise to her that Jupiter had already been outside.

Orion rolled out the entrance and Aerndis quickly followed in her awkward way that was more like bouncing and hoping than actually walking. Tumbling out into the snow she immediately pawed at the frozen flakes.  "It's so light and fluffy! Hey, mom? Where are we going?"

Artemis thoroughly enjoyed the gentle torment of her only daughter, but it was cut short as a trill of fear lanced through her upon realizing the Jupiter had already wandered off. These mountains were hardly the friendliest, even to grown and experienced wolves, let alone to pups. She doubted Jupiter would have gone terribly far, but it didn't make it any better. Artemis let out a disgruntled huff, watching as Orion raced towards the den entrance only to find her wayward son lying in wait. Well, that made sense, but still. Aerndis raced towards the boys, hot on her brother's heels. Following a bit more slowly, Artemis paused next to where Jupiter stood and gave him a stern look. "From now on, you need to wait until I'm awake before you go somewhere I can't see you. If you got hurt I wouldn't know where to find you. Okay?" She knew it was no use getting angry with him, though the remnants of her fear made a rather convincing argument to do just that. Winter was waning, and it wouldn't be long before the bears began to awaken, not to mention a litany of other dangers that plagued these ridges and valleys. It was no place for pups to be wandering unattended. She looked over as Aerndis called out to her and found her daughter enthralled with the snow around them. Aerndis wanted to know where they were going, and Artemis decided that was a very good question because she did not know herself. An idea came her suddenly and she ran with it, looking back to Jupiter with a small smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes.  "We're going to explore the whole area that you will be able to play in and explore. If you bahave it might get bigger. Of course... if you misbehave..." She gave her sons a meaningful stare, before turning and beginning to pick her way down the slope. Artemis figured that the expanse of hills and trees below her den for a few dozen yards in each direction would be suitable, at least until spring when they were a bit older and stronger. Either way, she was confident her children could find enough mayhem to occupy them for hours in a turtle shell, let alone out here amongst all of this. She smiled fondly to herself as she led her little ducklings along. "Stick close, kids. I don't want any snow monsters to get you!" "Talk" "You" Think

Upon seeing his brother careen into the snow Jupiter dissolved into a puddle of laughter on the cold den floor. "Jupiter! That was mean!" The boy rolled over onto his back and playfully kicked his hind legs at his brother. "It was funny! Your face was funny!" Jupiter's jovial expression morphed into an exaggerated look of surprise as he mimicked Orion's startled expression. He couldn't keep the face straight; in seconds his expression crumbled and he beamed, giggling once again, at Orion. Suddenly his mother loomed close by and in a bid to save himself, Jupiter quickly adopted a wide-eyed, innocent expression. She had a point, but he wasn't sure what he had to fear. He'd never seen anything scary and he doubted he'd ever get hurt. Still, to appease her, he chirped, "Okay!" He'd missed the earlier exchange between his mother and siblings, but it was clear they were on the move. Not wanting to be left behind, Jupiter flipped over and bounced to his feet before skittering after his mother's heels. He half listened to her as she spoke. Every noise, every movement made by the little critters around them drew his attention. He watched a pair of squirrels race up a nearby tree and then a bright red bird land on a nearby bush. Every little thing, no matter how small, briefly captured his attention. Including, however briefly, his mother's pointed gaze. He hadn't really listened but it was clear she wanted something from him, so he did what he thought best, and made his expression innocent once again. Yes, yes. He was a good little boy, see?

Orion definitely thought his brother was being a jerk, but he supposed Jupiter did have a point. After all, if Orion had scared him or Aern like that, Orion would definitely laugh. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna get you back!" The nebulous boy was grumpy, but not for long. Following close to his mother's heels, Orion gaped at the world around them in wonder. The few trees scattered along the mountain side seemed so much bigger up close! And underneath every rock and behind every log was something new and amazing for him to investigate. Mama said that they would be able to explore more if they behaved, or... something. Orion wasn't really sure, but he definitely wanted to explore more so he nodded vigorously. "We'll be the best! We swear it! Will we get to see places outside the pack?" Orion was already eager to explore the world beyond the boundaries that marked their homeland. He liked the mountains well enough, he supposed, except it was cold. Not to mention he didn't have much else to base his frame of reference on, but that was exactly why he wanted to go on a real adventure! Needless to say, Orion began to lag behind. His Mama's call of "Stick close, kids!" fell on mostly deaf ears. The idea that a snow monster might show up was pretty cool, he definitely wanted to see one of those! "Mama, what's a snow monster look like?" He turned to Aerndis and said, "I betcha we could fight a snow monster!" He might have said it to Jupiter instead except his brother was a stupidhead and he definitely didn't want to talk to him right now. That would show him for sure! "Talk" "Listen" Think

Faceless, Nameless, Innocent, Blameless, Free

Milling about in the snow Aerndis paused long enough to listen to her mother lecturing Orion before she was off rooting around in the cold fluff hunting for… hunting for things obviously! She was a mighty hunter and she'd know what she was hunting when she was done hunting it. At the mention of an outside area the could play in Aerndis let out a victory cry. "Yes! We'll be so well-behaved you won't even recognize us! Ok, ok, how far can we go?" She bounded ahead, scrambling over snow-covered rocks. "Just tell me when to stop!" She skidded promptly to a halt at the mention of snow monsters and quickly darted back to her mom. "Snow monsters? What are snow monsters? Do they eat puppies?" She didn't like the sound of snow monsters, whatever they were, and she could imagine them well enough. Massive, pale, hairy beasts with long teeth and beady red eyes.

Orion mentioned that they could fight one and she frowned but only for a moment. If Orion though they could beat one then they probably could. "Of course we could! We'd poke out their beady little eyes with our teeth and pluck out their fangs one by one! And if one of us got swallowed we'd just eat our way out. I bet they taste like squirrels."

Artemis stared down at Jupiter, her son's face open and accepting and innocent. A little too innocent. Artemis remembered her mother once telling her about the mother's curse, that you were inevitably rewarded with a child who would reproduce whatever hell you put your own mother through. If that was the case, Artemis didn't need to reflect on the long seasons spent making mischief to find herself skeptical at Jupiter's obedience. Orion and Aerndis swore their undying obedience as well, and Artemis already began to concede defeat. Well, it was worth a shot. "Snow monsters," she began to explain for the hell of it, "are big hairy creatures that run on their hind legs. They have the eyes of a hawk, they sense heat like snakes, and they like to eat younglings because their meat is still soft and tender." Artemis lowered her voice to make it as ominous as possible, trying to catch the eyes of each of her children as they walked. She didn't necessarily care if it scared them, but she'd sooner they believe in an imaginary monster than run into a very real threat in the flesh. Until they realized that the world was truly dangerous, they ran the risk of learning the hard way instead of simply doing as they were told and listening to their mother. Orion suggested that they would fight the snow monster, letting Artemis know exactly how effective her last tactic had been. She sighed, finally coming to stand at the bottom of the slope her hilltop cave overlooked, and the frozen stream that would be gurgling there come spring. Artemis turned towards the east, and began leading them along its small bank. "This leads to a larger stream," she began to explain, hoping to distract them. If they weren't going to stick close to her out of fear of being eaten, maybe they would if she appealed to their incessant curiosity about the outside world. "The big stream will be your first boundary, because in the spring when the snow melts it'll be fast flowing and dangerous. If you get swept away you could drown so I don't want you trying to cross it until after the thaw. If we make it there in one piece I'll show you how to find signs of prey along the banks." Hopefully the allure of hunting would be enough to capture their attention for now. "Talk" "You" Think

Oblivious to the cold shoulder being directed his way, Jupiter giddily trotted along behind his mother. This was exciting! They were going in the opposite direction than the one he'd played in, so everything they passed was new to him. Not only that, but, as he mother explained, there were snow monsters around. Scary monsters just made everything better! "If a monster tries to eat me I'll eat 'em first!" he declared bravely. He'd never met a monster he couldn't beat. Granted, he'd never met any real monsters, but eh, details. Alright, the big stream was the boundary. That meant everything in front of it was fair game, right? And that he could go as far as he wanted in the opposite direction, yeah? Surely that was right. That's what he was going to believe until told otherwise, anyway. Happily he skipped along, his mind once again roving. Snow monsters sounded really scary and mean, and just thinking about their beady bird eyes fixing on him hungrily made him want beat one up. Yep, if he ever laid eyes on one, it was game on!

It was difficult for Orion to focus his attention on any one thing for any length of time even when he was excited, let alone when he was grumpy. So his thoughts of anger and revenge upon his brother quietly faded, to be returned to another time. He listened to his siblings assume themselves and one another that they could definitely handle a snow monster. Both of them seemed sure, so Orion was pretty positive it was true! "Yeah," he chimed in, "We'll just push him over and eat his face! What kind of weird animal walks on two legs anyways," he grumbled, having never seen one before and thus at once rendering the concept stupid. His Mama went on to tell them about the spring and a thaw and how the stream they weren't supposed to cross would get bigger. Orion gasped. "Mama, what is spring like? What's it look like when the snow is gone? Will it be spring soon?" Orion couldn't imagine what the world would look like. Dry sprigs of withered grass and brush peaked up through the snow, but the rest of the world remained cold and white. "And what are the other seasons like? What's the best season? Are there different seasons other places?" The questions poured out of him, tumbling one another another with little regard for the listener or care in receiving an answer. The world had so many secrets, and he immediately wanted to know them all! "Talk" "You" Think

Aerndis bounded after a sprig of grass that got caught in the wind, listening absently to her mother as she chewed on it. She was trying to imagine what a snow monster looked like and she started to giggle as she mentioned that they ran on their hind legs. "Like this, mama?" She tried to stand on her hind legs and run but only ended up flopping onto her backside with her legs flailing in the air as she laughed. What kind of creatures ran on their hind legs? That was just silly! Her giggles started to fade a bit though at the mention that they liked to eat young ones. "Mom, what's a snake? Do they run on their hind legs to?" She bounded after her mother as they started walking along the frozen stream. She took notes of the boundaries but soon she was distracted by the mention of finding prey. "Oh, yes, please mama! I want to learn to track. What are we going to hunt first?" She scampered farther ahead, pausing as Orion started asking more questions. Yes, she wanted to know the answer to that to. "Talk" "You" Think