Rhyme quietly ushered the twins back into the den before anyone else could find wakefulness. He smiled with relief when he saw his girls curled together, Samara took to motherhood like she was made for it. Despite the difficult labor that brought their children into the world the weeks leading up to this moment had been perfect. Rhyme’s family was as close to complete as it had ever been and the environment healed the scars on his heart. He was very nearly always smiling.

Except for when Imperia woke him to find Haiku and Senryū already charging their own course. That was the moment he realized that these kids were going to kill him with a heart attack. He managed to return them with relatively little fuss, and hopefully their mother wouldn’t be any wiser to their escapades. Rhyme gave them a few stern words on the way home, beyond that today would be a good day.

They could be formally introduced to the rest of the pack now, and he had little doubt that Theory would call everyone together to meet her new siblings. They were just about old enough now. First things first was introducing them to the outside world. Rhyme nuzzled Samara’s cheek lovingly before moving to his tiny daughters. He licked Ruin’s little head before offering the same affection to their miniature Suspense. He grinned as he stood back up and waited for the excitement to set in.

”Good morning.” He spoke softly, looking from the pile of girls back to his naughty sons. ”We’re going out for breakfast today.” They were on the very edge of being weaned, something he was both looking forward to and felt sad to see. The first evidence of their independence, learning to eat on their own.

They’d escaped so well Haiku hadn’t expected that he was going to get caught, but when their father’s tall dark form came to collect them the boys didn’t put up too much of a fight. He lowered his ears and said ‘yes pappa’ after being scolded lightly for going outside without permission. Though Rhyme looked much more worried than angry.

The boy scampered quietly back inside with his brother, their shoulders touching as usual. Bright tri colored gaze found their mother and sleeping siblings and excitement began to bubble within. They were going out for their breakfast?! As Rhyme nuzzled his siblings awake, Haiku's ivory tipped tail began to wag with enthusiasm. He whined lightly as he couldn’t keep the emotions in check. The boy bound closer to his mother and nuzzled into her cheek, hoping to encourage her into wakefulness so they could go outside.

”Wake up mommy,” he spoke softly as he lowered himself into a play bow and kissed her lips eagerly. His tiny puppy tongue covering her muzzle with licks of love.

Her brothers might have been raring to go but Ruin was not. She wasn't a particularly subdued or grumpy pup but when she was sleeping she wanted to wake up on her own terms, not to be licked awake by a humongous tongue. Grumbling, Ruin stretched out her stumpy little legs as he puled her tail in tight against her side. Her black eye flicked open first, squished into a narrow squint as she glanced from her Pa to her brothers. From the looks of it they were already awake and raring to go. But where? The many many times she'd tried to sneak out of the den all ended in failure, resulting in her being scooped up or herded back inside. But something was up and as clever as she might be Ruin just couldn't work it out. Not that she tried too hard to be honest, as a pup she didn't have the longest of attention spans. Disinterest quickly set in and Ruin yawned, flashing her baby teeth as she rolled onto her tubby little stomach, only for her ears to perk to attention at her Pa's words.

Breakfast? Outside? Now that got her attention. Pushing away from the fluff of her mother's side, Ruin clambered to her oversized puppy paws. Her brother's excitement was infectious, but instead of pleading and asking nicely like a good pup the little shadow had other ideas. Even at such a young it was clear to see that she was a rascal at heart and that she'd only get worse. Probably.

"Get up! Up!" She ordered, slapping the ground with her paws for emphasis, as if she held any authority in this den.

The children were proving to be a hassle, not that Samara wasn't loving every moment of it but there were times when she sometimes wished they were still small and unable to speak or move much on their own. Many firsts had happened in what felt like the blink of an eye, the first times they'd opened their eyes, all of them carried the same gorgeous coloration their father showed, though Ruin's one black eye had given her a bit of a start at first, though now she appreciated the little unique quirk that helped to separate her from her siblings. She loved all of the things that made them different from each other. Suspense's already obviously tiny size, the subtle difference in markings that helped to distinguish Haiku from his brother, the blue tinge to Senryu's ears.

She'd at first been worried that the two boys, whom they'd taken to calling the twins despite not being truly identical, might drink her dry, depriving their much smaller sisters of her precious milk. She'd made sure to eat frequently to help try to counter-attack this worry. And then they'd started teething, if her pregnancy hadn't been so hellish she'd have said that was the most pain she'd ever been in. Tails, ears, toes and yes her teets had become chew toys for the growing children, though there was some satisfaction in the fact that Rhyme didn't escape this stage either.

And once they'd started walking? Well, puppy wrangling had basically become a full-time job. Senryu was easily capable of whipping his siblings, but especially his brother, up into a whirlwind of play and Ruin? Well, the girl never seemed to stop trying to escape the den. Suspense had more than once tried to leave with her father whenever he went out and had only been stopped because after the first attempt they'd started looking out for the tiny girl. Samara knew as soon as they were allowed outside it'd be nigh on impossible to keep them all within sight, and while she was very excited for the rest of the pack to get to meet them she also couldn't push down the fear that she might not be able to protect them. She was especially worried about the amount of water found within the packlands.

So she wasn't exactly overly excited about the morning she found herself waking up to, a gentle rousing from her mate followed quickly by the slobbery kisses of her son. Samara pulled her head back, her eyes fluttering open and picking up on the insistent orders of her children, Ruin's solid tone especially standing out. "Alright, alright." She said, the sleep still clinging to her voice, though she'd quickly learned how to shake herself awake once her kids were old enough to start demanding her attention in the morning. She spotted both the boys and Ruin quickly, and after a quick glance to her side noted that Suspense was the only one still snuggled to her side. Gently she nosed the girl until she saw tiny fangs and a pink tongue as her daughter yawned. Then she rose to her paws, shaking herself out and then gently swiping her paw at Ruin, aiming to gently bowl her over so she could rub her nose in her daughter's little belly and tickle her. "I'm up little princess." She said, and cast her gaze up at Rhyme before addressing this question at her children. "What are we up to today?" She knew well enough what the plan was, they'd discussed it before but had missed Rhyme's prior announcement, still dozing when he'd spoken. She'd often found that letting them feel they had some control over what was happening helped to keep them off her tail when she had to dictate other things for them... well sometimes. Ruin was a pretty adamant little girl.

Speech

Suspense squirmed a bit as a warm wet tongue ran over her form but still clung strongly to sleep, it was only the insistent nosing of her mother that finally woke the girl. She was a typically deep sleeper and so had missed the announcement of the day's agenda, though she could pick up on the excitement from her siblings. Wobbling to her paws the girl spotted her dad! "Papa!" Instantly tiny limbs carried the girl to his paws, and she pressed herself to his foreleg, bouncing on her toes as she cast her gaze from one sibling to another, already starting to absorb the feeling of excitement. Maybe they'd get to eat more of the red squishy stuff their dad usually brought home for them? Suspense liked her mother's milk well enough but anything their father brought for them was like magic to her eyes. She tipped her head back to look up at him, more expecting him to answer their mother's question than any of her siblings. She'd be happy as long as they were all together. "Speech" Think

Art by RoyalOverdose

Ru hopped back to the den alongside Haiku and puppa without so much as a peep of complaint. The adventure with Haiku, well short lived, had been epic. When they snuck quietly back into the den, to the sleeping forms of his sisters and mum, his dad would explain that they were going out for breakfast. They got to go out, all together? His wiggling became intense, and as Haiku nudged their mother, Ru would dive under his twin brothers stomach. Heard half buried in little tummy floof, and tail wiggling behind him, he would grin up at his mumma.

When their mother got to her feet and nudged Suspense, and asked what the plan was, Ru crawled further under his brother's stomac, until he was halfway through to the other side. “Outsite, Mumma! Outside! Outside, outside, outside” just in case she didn’t get it the first time, or two.

"Speech"

Haiku and Ruin tag teamed their mother with Sen taking his own unique approach. Rhyme grinned, his broken heart mending as his little family made memories together. He couldn’t remember his own first time out of the den, but this was more for him anyway. Seeing their awe at their first, or second, time out and about.. There would hopefully be a lot of firsts to enjoy over the coming weeks.

His heart was further warmed as tiny suspense shakily made her way to her paws and her first order of business was to greet him. Rhyme showered her in affection before returning his attention to Samara as she was bombarded with Sen’s eager revelations. A hearty chuckle fell from his lips as he leaned over and gave Rara another kiss, astounded by the love that filled their den.

Blue and lavender eyes returned to Suspense as he answered to clarify their son’s statement. ”Our first family outing to breakfast.” He repeated while lifting himself to his paws. ”We’ve got some rules to go over before we head out though.” He tacked on before any of them could get the wrong idea and bee line for the entrance. ”On our way there you’re all to stay between me and your mom. Once we get there you can wander as long as you can see us.” Rhyme would let Samara add anything then before going on.

”Before we go, there’s a surprise for you waiting outside. Go see Imperia and Solitude outside.” He could barely contain his excitement for the young pups. He’d follow them out to where the two ravens had their four fledgling chicks waiting. ”Don’t rush them. Let the ravens pick you.” Rhyme looked back to Samara proudly as their pups were introduced to their lifelong companions.

It was natural for Sen to be right beside him, on top of him, or in this case, right beneath Haiku. They were two peas in a pod, not quite twins but close enough to cause confusion if you glanced at them from the corner of your eye. The boys only backed off when Samara caved in to their demands and tails wagged even faster. Haiku grinned and leaned back onto his brother’s haunches as he wiggled through the space beneath his belly.

He visibly deflated at having rules to abide by, he was already on his paws and eager to be out of the door. Haiku listened obediently to what his father and mother had to say and nodded solemnly. He was impatient but at least they’d get to be back under the great blue sky. He was perplexed when he was told to go meet the ravens outside, but that was one order he would do with eagerness and huge paws carried him outside.

The two big ravens that accompanied his father were a big intimidating with their hard eyes and huge forms, but between them stood four much more manageable sized birds. He heeded his father’s instruction and sat back on his haunches as he stared in wonder at the young creatures. They were all beautiful, but almost immediately he caught the eye of the only all white fledgling. It didn’t approach but Haiku felt a connection. The boy looked over to the other ravens and his siblings as they approached.

Ruin beamed at her Ma's attention and gave her a kiss for good measure. More often that not she earned it by acting out, being naughty or chewing on her families limbs a little too hard, but that didn't mean she was totally opposed to being called a princess either. It quite suited her actually, or so she liked to think. Whilst her sister fussed over Pa and the boys were together- as always- Ruin decided that she was tired of waiting and very sloooowly began to inch her way closer to the dens exit. Just one step at a time, then she'd sit and fidget as if really excited and then repeat the process over and over. Making slow but steady progress, hidden in plain sight. Clearly Ruin wasn't patient and nor was she very fond of rules. As though Pa could read her mind he stood up and blocked the entrance of, trapping her inside and forcing her to listen. Boooring. Ruin huffed a long sigh, bearing her baby teeth in an open, and honestly quite endearing, rebellion against her Pa's silly rules.

The mention of a surprise though was more than enough to soften her up. Galloping outside, Ruin's mismatched eyes widened at the sight of the four little chicks, more fluff than feathers. She wanted to scoop them up and claim them all for herself but...well maybe that'd be a bit too mean, her siblings deserved presents too, she supposed. And then the little piebald bird hopped over and stared at her with it's beady black eyes, causing Ruin to stick out her tongue in retaliation. As if that was the sane and reasonable thing to do when first meeting a possible companion. A little taken back the fledgling glanced over his shoulder back to his parents, but it was too late for the bird, Ruin had made up her mind.

"Mine!" Ruin claimed and quite loudly too for all present to hear.

The piebald bird flinched, clearly a little surprised, but he didn't protest against and instead hoped closer to stand beside her. It seemed, for some reason or another, he'd made his choice too.

Samara's question would get her question answered quickly enough, multiple times. She grinned at her son's enthusiastic response, shoved under his brother as he was. Her attention was briefly turned towards Rhyme as he explained, she kept her gaze on her mate though she was aware of the slow sneaking of Ruin towards the den mouth. She was about to step in when Rhyme moved to block their daughter's great escape. He ran off a few ground rules and Samara quickly chimed in. "Also stay away from the water's edge." Images of her tiny little bundles falling into the water and being swept away filled her mind.

Though the fact that the children were about to meet their own ravens helped to ease her mind some, the birds would easily be able to contact either her or Rhyme if anything were to happen to the pups, and she couldn't help but feel happy that her own children would be getting their own companions much like Rhyme's older children. She moved to sit beside her mate, settling onto her haunches and leaning into him to watch as the children met their companions.

Speech

Suspense wiggled happily as her father showered her with affection. Though her attention was easily taken by the announcement of what they were going to do. Suspense quickly started to dance from paw to paw at the notion. She joined in on her brother's chant. Soon her attention would be turned back to her father and she hung off of each word, eagerly chasing his paws and flopping onto her stomach to chew on his toes as he stood right in the mouth of the den, a sideways glance a sign she was also listening to the rule added by her mother. Then they were allowed outside. Ruin and Haiku immediately darted out of the mouth but Suspense was a bit more cautious. She peered out of the lip of the den, her eyes immediately swinging towards the sky, which was so big and blue and open, for a brief moment she was filled with a sudden fear that without the den above her she'd simply float up into the sky never to be seen again. But as she finally tore her gaze down towards her siblings she couldn't help the wave of curiosity. Suspense had seen her papa's birds before but as she saw four small fluff balls in front of them she couldn't help but take a few steps towards them, needing to get closer. By the time she realized she was out from under the den lip she was already wobbling towards the raven chicks. With her head tilted to one side, she settled onto her haunches before the brood. A pure black chick, already standing a little taller than she did, seemed to match her titled head, and hopped over closer to her though he didn't seem totally eager to leave his siblings quite yet. "Speech" Think

Art by RoyalOverdose

Suspense’s voice joined his own, and he glanced over at her with a grin. The weight of his brother lifted off his back as Ku went running towards the door alongside Ruin. Ru wagged his tail, excited, but waited for his smallest sister to join him. She seemed more cautious at the den door, and he brushed his taller frame against, and walked with her outside of the den.

“Go say hello” he whispered into his sister's ear, noting the pure black bird that had caught her eye. He glances across the brood himself. There was only one left that didn’t seem fixated on a puppy. It was sitting with its fluff bundled up around it, like it was cold. It let out a soft peep, watching as its siblings picked a wolf. It looked alone. Even his Ku had found a white bird to call his own.

“Mine!” Ru called, mimicking Ruin, as he pranced forward, closer to the black and blue bird that sat there, waiting. Waiting for him. He scooped it up gently with a paw, and placed it on the back of his shoulders. “You and I are going to get into a lot of trouble. I’m Ruku, and your Rhyme.” he glanced across at his Puppa, and grinned widely.

"Speech"

Rhyme moved closer to Samara, having quietly ignored the water comment himself. He tried not to dwell on the near disaster earlier. Hopefully moments like those would be further quelled by the addition of their raven friends. Each pup took their own place, and like magic it seemed the chicks were paired with their puppies. Some were more bold than others, Haiku and his bird had not touched at all where Ruin and Ru were quick to make their claim.

He felt a surge of pride when Sen encouraged his tiny sister into embracing the relationship. As the kids made their introductions Rhyme looked curiously to the boy as he offered up his name for his companion. Rhyme chuckled amusedly and shook his head before finding himself beaming down at Samara. She’d saved his life and turned him around completely. She’d given him a gift he hadn’t known he needed so desperately. Now he couldn’t imagine not having her beside him and their wonderful children in the world with them.

”Alright, who’s ready for breakfast?” He asked after placing a kiss on Samara’s cheek. Rhyme stood up and prepared to lead the family towards the common area where their meal was waiting on them. The puppies would enjoy their first meal with their new friends.

Haiku watched as Ruin stepped forward confidently and asserted her claim over the bird. The boy hung back, but so did the white raven. His interrupted blue and lavender stare kept returning to her pure white feathers. It seemed like his twin was the one who would make a final decision next as he echoed Ruin and placed the dark bird on his shoulder. The contrast of his twin’s choice gave Haiku a renewed surge of energy and he took a slow step forward.

The white raven tilted her head in his direction, and with his decision made she accepted it as well. With no further prompting the ivory raven fluttered laboriously but managed to make her way to the tall pups shoulder with a pleased coo. Haiku smiled brightly as he looked back to his parents, joyful and proud of the fledgling that chose him.

”I am!” He called out as the alabaster raven cracked her beak lightly in agreement. Haiku kicked his heels in excitement as he returned to Sen’s side. Having a pair of ravens was going to be great.

Ruin watched, mismatched eyes gleaming with curiosity as one by one her siblings claimed a raven as their own. Lyre remained beside her, silent but thoughtful as he lingered in her shadow cast by her tiny form. Wherever Ruin went he'd follow, even if only at a distance. For their first time-officially at least- out of the den it was all turning out to be rather eventful. But still Ruin wanted more, even if she couldn't put her paw on the specifics just yet. Food seemed like a great place to start though, as if on cue her stomach rumbled and Ruin whined along with it. She realised she hadn't had breakfast yet, not even a sip of milk, so naturally little Ruin gravitated to her Ma's side and pawed at her expectantly, ready to chew on her leg if food wasn't provided soon enough to her liking.

Luckily it didn't come to that.

Trotting after her brothers, Ruin smushed herself between them with an easy, toothy grin. It was difficult to tell the difference, to know for certain which brother was which, but Ruin liked to pretend it wasn't an issue, that she somehow just knew. Even with their closeness her brother's never tried to cut her out or ignore her, it was easy to insert herself into their little bubble but it wasn't something she did as often as Suspense might. Solitude suited her a little more than it did the others, but today was a good and fun day, she saw no reason not to share it with those she loved the most in the whole wide world.

"Me too me too!"  She hollered, her tail swishing so hard it rocked her little form."Hurry uppp!"

Lyre lingered behind still, always watching with his little black eyes.