His children had been growing fast, and he liked to think that he had too. For starters, the word "children" didn't give him heeby-jeebies any more. He had spent the past moon coming to terms with it all... And he was actually beginning to enjoy himself. His and Faria's relationship was still a bit... awkward, but they seemed to be making it work. Regardless of how they felt about either other, they loved their children dearly. And now, as they grew and their personalities were starting to shine through, Mithras found himself falling deeper and deeper into this parental trap of "affection" and "worry." He could see his own reckless ways in them, Caia's exuberance, Faria's passion. And of course they're beautiful coats reminded him of home in all the right ways. It was strange how something so new and different could make him feel like he'd finally found a place to stay. The rest of the Diamachi had been scarce of late, but he knew they'd wander back in when it suited them, he wasn't terribly concerned. All the same, he'd appreciate the help. His daughters sure knew how to raise a ruckus. As it was, he was headed to the den now. A bit of rabbit hide was clamped between his jaws, left over from his own breakfast. The pups weren't eating meat quite yet, but Faria kept telling him it would be soon. He figured in the mean time maybe this would make a good toy, and maybe he'd be able to get away with letting them out to explore the densite while Faria rested. Mith had been forced to endure their badgering about it since the girls had grasped the art of speech. As it was, he paused outside the mouth of the den he and Faria had made and murmured, "Hey kiddos, wanna come out and play? I brought a gift!" He backed up a pace or two, anticipating a rather explosive reaction. "Talk" "You" Think

Artemis was sleeping like a log. Full blown, stretched out, on her back and snoring. Occasionally a paw would jut out and kick the open space (or one of her sisters) but to the young cerulean girl, it was nothing but dreams. In her mind she was fighting bears (or at least, what she imagined they looked like from her Mama's stories) and exploring mountains and hunting and everything her parents did! She hung on their stories like they were a lifeline, fed off of every word to fuel her... energetic, approach to life. So, when her Papa's voice filtered down into the den she was awake and up in an instant. She rolled to her feet, feeling something furry under her paws but not having the presence of mind to realize which sibling she'd tread upon as she bolted up and out the den. Maybe Mithras hadn't meant "come out and play literally" but this was hardly the first time she'd tried to bolt from her home, and he'd always caught her or bounced her right back in before. She was willing to take the risk! Instead her stubby little legs met with no opposition, and she rocketed out of the den entrance and into the world. Everything was so bright! Bits of leaf litter took to the air, kicked up by her tiny paws, as she ran from clumps of grass to fallen logs to gnarled roots. She didn't even bother asking what they were, she just wanted to see them all! "Letooo!! Iskyyy!! C'mon, why're you so slowww?" She was quite upset that her sisters were so slow on the uptake. There was so much to see! Artemis curved her path back around so that she was headed for her Papa's giant legs. She planned on ramming straight into them and making him go get them from the den. That ought to work, right? ~ ARTEMIS AERIS ~ "Talk" "You" Think

Sleep... even in sleep Leto couldn't look like a sweet and innocent little pup. If anything she just looked... ridiculous. Splayed out like a pup-skin rug with her head twisted at an awkward angle, her ears accidentally bent at the tips so that they'd turned inside out, her tiny muzzle wide open and drool matting fur around her muzzle, she was sawing some serious logs for a body that small. Every once in a while Arry would kick out and smack her in the face and, still deep asleep, Leto would automatically bat at the offending foot with one dark forepaw before going back to snoring. Then their Daddy's voice cut into the snoring. Leto came awake with a distinctly unattractive snorting sound, red eyes popping open. Come out and play? FOR REAL? But before she could make a mad dash for the outside world her younger, larger sister stampeded over her, sending her rolling with an angry squall. Maybe that extra moment was what allowed her to catch the second part of Daddy's question and process it while Arry was still making a break for the sunlight. A PRESENT?! An excited yip echoed in the den as Leto charged out after Arry. "Cuz your fat feet squished me flat!" she snarked back at her sister, rocketing into the larger blue pup before her own eyes could even adjust to the brightness to see anything but a painful blur. "Oof! Daddy, present present present!" "" ""

MITHRAS AERIS Mithras was patting himself on the back for retreating from the den entrance, because his rambunctious progeny certainly did not disappoint. Gods, were he and his siblings this bad when they were at this age? He wasn't even sure how it was physically possible for such tiny bodies to have so much energy, but lo and behold... He was busy laughing at Artemis' antics when Leto burst forth as well, calling out the blue girl for whatever had happened within the depths of the den. He knew he ought to rebuke them, tell them to call down, relax but... Really. Where's the fun in that? Artemis turned and seemed to be making a bee line for him, and his spirits fell. What had he gotten himself into? Leto had his back though, and he could not hold in his raucous laughter when the two little ones collided. Sure, he trotted forwards to make sure they were both okay, but it was hilarious all the same. He sniffed at Leto, carefully keeping the rabbit pelt out of her reach, and waited to see if she would start to wail or if she was bleeding. For all he could see she was fine, so he turned to Artemis and nosed her so thoroughly he toppled her over, head over heels. "Carefuh you thoo-" he said, voice muffled by the hide. "-Or you'll break yourthelfs." He flicked his muzzle and tossed the hide out into the clearing, grinning ear to ear. "First one to bring it back to me will get another prize!" If he was being honest, his bet was on Leto. Sure Artemis was a bit bigger, but Leto was quick and crafty whereas her sister was always rushing into things without thinking. Man, he still needed to think of what that prize would be... Oh well, he thought with a shrug. I'll cross that creek when it comes! He settled in to watch the chaos ensue. "Talk" "You" Think

Leto's rebuke was filled with fire, but that only made Artemis smile. She'd just wrestle her sister into submission, that would fix it! She'd definitely win this time too, now that they were outside there was so much more space for her to move. It was definitely the den's fault that she kept losing, she was too big for it! And never mind that their Mama could move around just fine, she was an adult and they knew how to do those things. She had completely forgotten that their Papa had a gift for them, and by the time she realized it was too late. Leto hurled into her side and with a squeak Artemis was flung sideways. Her rolly-polly puppy body recovered quickly, but boy was she dizzy! The young girl scrambled to her feet and lurched sideways a second time with a little, "Woah!" and then a "Hey!!" She rounded on her sister, a tiny blue fluff ball of rage, and whined, "Daddy, Leto pushed me!" as Mithras inspected her for injuries and subsequently knocked her down all over again. She made a grab for the fur in his mouth but she was too slow, and before she knew it he'd tossed it away. She gasped, spun on her hind paws and sprinted after it. She'd get it before Leto, she just had too! She strained her tiny little body and ran as fast as she could. Oh, if she tripped, she'd never forgive herself!! and if Leto won, she'd never forgive her either! ~ ARTEMIS AERIS ~ "Talk" "You" Think

Ria was just a little bit slow on the uptake, raising three very energetic girls was quite the job. While she and Mithras were... weird. She didn't know what to call their relationship anymore. They were parents though, and she could focus on that for now. She was more than thankful that Mithras was just as eager as her to see them grow up strong. Even if she didn't know where they stood anymore she knew she could count on him to be there for their girls. So Ria wouldn't hurry and wake as he called out for their three children. Sighing heavily the dainty she wolf would slowly realize her wakefulness, as Leto and Artemis made their way out of the den Ria's head would lift from the floor. Vibrant blue gaze would watch as they sped out of the entrance towards their eager father. He was so excited to take them on adventures. She trusted that he would protect them no matter what, but there were three of them and only one of him. Anything could happen out there and she wasn't sure if she was ready to let them out into the world yet. Despite how much they begged and pleaded. As Artemis began to bicker Faria would find her feet and make her way out of the entrance, sparing a quick glance back at the still sleeping Iskra. She'd leave her with a small grin as she looked to Artemis as Mithras played with her. Ria couldn't help the grin on her face. She really had missed the big lump while she was pregnant, she wondered if things might be different if he had stayed. Not that it mattered anymore. He was here now for their children, and that was what mattered. As Artemis ran off Ria would make her way to his side, offering him a soft smile as her eyes strayed from him to the pups. "They really love you." She'd clue him in as if it weren't obvious already. They adored their father. ~ FARIA ARDELLE ~ "Talk" "You" Think

Legend tells of a child born once every three millennia who sleeps through the night – who sleeps when it should and sometimes even more. A child who grants parents their due rest at the end of the day. That child is salvation! That child is Iskra! That child is… one damn heavy sleeper.

And currently missing out on a fun game, so it seemed.

She continued to sleep like a rock for a good minute or two after her mama had left – showing no signs of noticing the change. A little puddle of drool had collected under her open mouth, and her breaths came out scratched and bumping in small snores. Other than the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, she was completely still. And then with seemingly no reason, she snorted and sat up, blinking in a daze.

Boy, what a nap. She blinked a few more times before realizing that something was missing. It was dark, and her hoarded warmth was seeping away… and… and Mama and Leto and Arty were gone! A small gasp left her mouth as her eyes widened and she looked rapidly around the den. "Mama! … Mama!" she cried, softly at first and then louder. Where were they?! She was scared! She jumped up to her feet, about to slip into deeper panic before… Huh? She heard voices… outside. She hesitated, eyes wide and breath held. She had never been outside before. Her face contorted strangely with some weird expression of concentration and debate. What if it wasn’t actually them outside? Would she get in trouble for going out alone then? But…

Chewing on her lip briefly, Iskra plodded outside. It was bright out! She squinted, her whole face scrunching up as she stopped then. When her eyes adjusted, she glanced round to observe Mama, Leto, Arty, and Daddy. They looked like they were doing something fun, and she immediately felt worried that she would get completely left out. "MamaMama!" she babled quickly, running over to the familiar blue wolf. "What’re they doin’ wifout me?" she asked, sounding endearingly concerned as she sought to press up against her mother's leg..

Leto gasped in delight when her eyes adjusted to see the fuzzy thing in her father's mouth. That was the present?! It was so FLUFFY AND AMAZING she just wanted to KILL IT AND RIP IT TO SHREDS!! But her jaw dropped in comedic horror as he sent it sailing away with the added admonition that they had to be the first to bring it back. "Whaaaaaaat?! No fair no fair!" she squalled as her larger sister took off. Arry was so much bigger, she always won races! Welll..... she always won fair and square races but did Daddy say it had to be fair-and-square? Why no he did not! She threw herself forward on the very heels of Arry's own exit, her own shorter-and-stubbier limbs a blur of even blurrier color that could not hope to bring her in front of Arry... but she was not aiming to get in front of her younger sister, nope! Instead, she had to be sneaky! The little monster wanted to sink sharp little baby monster teeth into her sister's tail and jerk backwards until she stopped, but Arry was bigger enough that she'd probably just drag Leto along like a burr until she got to the rabbit and won anyway... So instead - with a wild shrieking war cry - she flung her whole body on top of her sister's back in an attempt to tackle her to the ground, slobber all over her face (she was ready with a mouthful of slobber pooled on her tongue already waiting to drool all over Arry's face), and leap off again to victory! Or at least... that's how she pictured it happening... "" ""

Mithras couldn't help but grin at the chaos he'd caused. He tried to suppress it (kind of) because somewhere in his heart of hearts he knew he shouldn't be encouraging his kind of behavior in his daughters but honestly. It was just too perfect. And besides, they had Aeris blood, it was practically inevitable anyways! they were going to be hellions, so he might as well make sure they did it right. Faria had crept from the den sometimes after the ensuing chaos, and he worried for a moment that he had woken her up. She would murmur to him, "They really love you," and for some reason those words brought a lump up into his throat that he had trouble swallowing around. "Er, yeah, well-" he began awkwardly before coughing a bit, still assaulted by the damn lump. "Who wouldn't love me? I'm me." He hoped the sarcasm would cover up his damn emotions. Luckily, the girls seemed set on trying their best to distract them both. Iskra appeared at last, trailing at her mother's heels and seeming quite perturbed that her older siblings had found fun to have without her. Mithras would lean down and tickle the scarlet fur of her flank with his nose, hoping to make her giggle. "Arry and Leto are being silly, don't you think? They're fighting over that tuft of fur I brought home." He wondered if she would join in. Iskra didn't seem as... well, as prone to violence and drastic measures as the older girls were. He was certain one day he'd be thanking her for it. He looked back up to see Artemis and Leto both dashing towards the scrap, and unless he was mistaken there was an evil glint in Leto's eyes... "Talk" "You" Think

Artemis was gonna win, she knew it! This would be her big moment! Leto and her stupid tiny legs and her stupid tiny face couldn't even get near her! The scrap of fur was sooo close, her Daddy probably would have been able to get it in two leaps but her little legs could only go so fast. She grit her teeth, pushed for the home stretch... And heard Iskra's voice. In a flash of pure brilliance she formed a plan. If she could get Iskra to help her, they could team up on Leto and DEFINITELY win! Arry, feeling benevolent, also decided she might even share the prize afterwards! She dug in her heels in a desperate attempt to stop, but only managed to get out, "Isky, you-!" before WHAM!!! Leto collided with her for the second time that morning, only this time there was a little more umph to it. Artemis was bowled over with a high pitched yelp. She scrambled in the dirt, tiny claws fighting for purchase while she howled out, "You stupid!" She was too dizzy to see where Leto had gone or what had become of her, but when she got upright again, oh, she was gonna get it! "Big fat stupid head, I'm gonna bite your butt!" She tried to stand up and fell right back over because even the ground was being mean to her, it wouldn't stay under her paws! She was so mad, she'd even forgotten about the rabbit fur. All she cared about was vengeance! "Talk" "You" Think

Mithras was more than amusing in his acceptance of her words, he'd try to cover up the emotions it brought to him and Ria would smile knowingly, accepting his sarcasm and knowing how much he cared for their babies back. Before being pulled back into their antics she'd offer Mithras a bit of her own affection, a swift kiss to the cheek before she heard her name on the wind. Iskra had finally found her way out of the den. Ria's attention would fall to their sun shine daughter as the other two got into a tussle. Mithras would answer her question and Faria would scoop her up into her arms. She'd snuggle her little girl before she was able to join her trouble making sisters. Nuzzling into the red fur before letting her free once more. "They're being very silly, you should go and play with them." She'd return her cyan gaze back to the other girls as Art struggled to right herself again. ~ FARIA ARDELLE ~ "Talk" "You" Think

The red girl giggled with delight as Mama scooped her up and nuzzled her. She would peer over her mother’s arms briefly at her father, cocking her ears towards him as he spoke. Then her gaze slipped to the tussling girls. Leto had started to say something to her earlier, but Iskra was now occupied listening to their current squabble. Big fat stupid head? Oh, how mean, Arry! Iskra blinked, and glanced towards the patch of fur her Daddy had referred to. They seemed to have forgotten about it. A grin spread across her face as she looked up to Mama. The blue wolf encouraged her to go play, and with new sparkling mischief, Iskra wobbled out of her mother’s grasp and began to plod over to the fur to pick it up. Since Leto and Arry were fighting, maybe they wouldn’t notice! And then it could be all hers! Besides, the idea of scrapping with Leto and Arry did not interest her. No way she was gonna get her fur pulled and her tail stepped on. Leave that to those goons.

Her plan didn't go according to... well, plan, but it was close! She knocked Arry down, but was sent tumbling over Arry's head to slam into the ground herself and the mouthful of spit she'd intended to drool onto Arry's face instead dribbled out of her muzzle to wet her jaw and throat with the substance. Arry shrieked at her, she was all wet, and the game hadn't been fair anyway and it made her super mad! So forgetting entirely about the game she turned on her stumbling bigger sister and puffed up her fur with a shriek of her own. "YA WELL JUST TRY IT!" With that she attempted to fling herself the short distance towards Artemis, stopping short to rear back onto her hind legs - her short fat legs spread in a wide stance for balance, with her orange-tipped tail flailing wildly above her hips for balance and her weight centered over her hind legs and evenly distributed. Her eyes were shut tight, her whole face scrunched up in big wrinkles and her hackles puffed up with her dark ears pressed down. Her hind paws were spread wide, claws digging into the ground... and she flailed wildly with both paws, aiming slaps towards Arry's cheeks with her right paw on Arry's left and her left paw on Arry's right. Her tiny muzzle opened wide, she attempted to close her tiny puppy teeth overtop Arry's left ear, seeking a solid grip. LETO vs ARTEMIS for PUPPY DOMINANCE SLAP FIGHT OF DOOM Round 1 of ? ""

The scrap of fur was completely forgotten in the midst of what could come to be the most epic battle that had ever been fought!... According to Artemis, anyways. He sister called her out in response to her insults, and it simply would not do to back down! So at the sound of her sister's voice Artemis rounded on her, tiny legs spreading out and tiny head lowering. She (tried to) put a fierce snarl on her face so show her sister exactly what she was getting into. This was her last chance to back down, after all! Her mind ran through all the ways Leto had beat her in the past. She squinted her eyes incase her stupid sister kicked dirt in them. She pinned her ears in case Leto tried to chomp on them. She dug her tiny nails into the dirt incase she charged and tried to knock her over. But then thinking time was done because Leto made her move. The smaller sibling charged her, ending up just about a foot away before she reared up. Tiny slaps would rain down on Artemis, bonking her face and nose. "Hey, quit it!" she howled, as she rammed her head forward across the short distance between us, front paws planted firmly in the dirt and skull lowered. She hoped to knock her sister in the stomach and bowl her over, or maybe even push the wind out of her. She felt her sister's teeth scrape against the top of her head as she moved, probably trying to bite down on something but instead just giving her a mild scratch. If she could get Leto knocked over she could probably bite her butt, and that would definitely show her! ROUND 1/2?? Artemis VS Leto for SLAP QUEEN AWESOMENESS LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORRRRRLDDDD!!!!!! "Talk" "You" Think