It had been a stressful time for him and Modesty. Originally, there had been five pups, but unfortunately, the smallest girl hadn't made it. Between their loss and Gilgamesh attempting his best efforts at fulfilling his duties as the Pride Sin, he was on edge. Spread thin between the stress, he felt bad that their four healthy and large pups hadn't gotten much time outside of the den. With winter winding down into spring, the splotched man figured now was as good time as any to introduce the pups to everyone else. Turning to Modesty, he placed a gentle touch upon her cheek. "I'm taking the pups out to the beach if you'd like to join," he spoke quietly in his deep timber before moving his attention to their brood of rascals. "Alright wee ones, time to explore the beach!" Gil said with a beaming smile as he used a paw to shoo them from the confines of the den. Making sure all four were ushered out into a chilly, sunny afternoon, he stood a few feet back as he watched them spread out. Lifting his gaze, he wondered if any of the others would come to meet them. He let out a short howl just in case the other pirates were interested. ”Speech” ’Thought’

The large boy among his siblings - like many of them, actually - was a near spitting image of his father. Rexx was all muscle, though concealed by the typical puppy down fur and baby fat, with the slyness and cocky attitude that was sure to reveal itself as he emerged into the world. For now, the brawny child knew only the confines of his and his siblings’ birth den, nestled away from the rest of the universe among curled up bundles and warmth from the winter. Still, there finally came a day where they needed to be introduced to the infinite expansion of the world, as well as meeting the rest of the pack they called home.

Rexx stirred and promptly rose without hesitation upon seeing his father, not caring if he accidently smooshed his siblings in the process with his too-big paws or poked them with his row of crystal spines. He was rearing to go and it showed, eyes glinting with mischief and malice only a father could love - or even his mother as well. The tusks in the back of his mouth were growing slowly but surely, and he already felt the gnawing pain on his jaw as he sprinted out of the den and onto the beach, paying it no mind. The excitement of the world was more than enough to distract him from growing pains anyways. “Hey Dad!” He said, not yet possessing Gil’s deep timbres but rather, a raspy child’s voice. No matter, he wagged his stump of a tail and looked around eagerly for his siblings to bowl over and push around, or maybe some adults to pester. Rexx’s entire appearance, vibes and disposition would indicate to anybody that he was goimg to be a real pain in the ass - something he took pride in.

While Deluge would ultimately be the largest of their litter, Scald was next in line. And somehow, the only one who really ended up looking like their mother. The other three were clothed in splotches like their father while his ebony coat hosted an array of galaxy colors. Hidden among the bundle of greys, browns, and blacks, his coloring poked through as he and his siblings began to stir at the coaxing of their father. Glancing up at the long-legged man with weird eyes, Scald peeled his lips back in an excited grin before tossing a glare in Rexx's direction. His bulkier brother may be shorter but made up for it in meat. It felt like they had been kept hidden in the den forever. Even though their parents assured them it would only be until it warmed up, Scald was itching to see more. Untangling himself as quickly as he could, Scald rushed out after Rexx, paying their father no mind. Just as Rexx turned round to search for the others, the thin pup let out as good of a cackle as any pup could before launching himself. Front paws reached up as toes stretched apart, sand flying in all directions. Hoping his tusked brother wouldn't be fast enough to move out of the way, Scald aimed to belly flop right on top of him.

Sparrow wasn't entirely sure about how the parenting things went or when pups were supposed to do this or that, so she was leaving all that up to their parents. When did pups usually apprentice? When did they go on their first hunt? When did they first drink alcohol?? Sparrow tried to remember what milestones in her own upbringing and then had a mini-crisis as she wondered if that would be a good model. She, in her own opinion, turned out great, or at least seemed to turn out great. She had a pack, some companions, and a budding alcohol problem- what wasn't there to love?

Seeing the itty bitties running out on the beach, Sparrow decided to sit back and let the rascals have at it, keeping eye on a rather disturbed looking crab further down shore.

Flurry was certainly used to being walked all over by her bigger siblings seeing as how she was the smallest of the surviving group, at least for now. In the end she and Rexx would stand evenly but she certainly did not and would never have the bulky build he did, and as children it would make her appear smaller than him for a while. Flurry had no real concept of their final sister, she only had vague memories of another body but the girl hadn't ever really seen her sister and so could not know to miss her, all she knew was that her parents seemed to be protective of them, but with no real point to compare it too it was simply the way their parents were.

Rexx would tromp over her in his excitement to get out, to see the world. The girl wriggled her way free of the puppy pile, watching as he brothers shot for the den entrance before she even had time to rise to her paws. She approached with just a little more care, though only really a tiny bit. The girl blinked against the harsh light outside the den's mouth and then quickly stepped into it, feeling the warmth of the early spring warming her pelt for the first time in her life. Rexx and Scald were already playing with each other in the sand, though did not know that was the name of the soft grains under her toes, but her attention was elsewhere.

Blue and brown gaze spotted the pirate king watching from a bit away and instantly Flurry wanted to meet her! Her brothers could play with each other all they wanted, they did that all the time already but they were out of the den for the very first time and Flurry wanted to meet new wolves. So the tiny speckled girl trotted right on up to Sparrow, tipping her head back to look up at the woman, her high pitched voice sqeaking an enthusiastic if not a little direct question: "Who're you?"

- | movement | speech  -

code by Cloudy

Updated 01/13/23: I am currently on indefinite scarcity, please be patient and don't remind me of missing tags right now.

I'm Trying to Find A Signal Fire

Pyralis shifted uncomfortably in her den. She'd eaten a monk seal, stuffing herself to the brim with fatty goodness but now her stomach protested. She felt like a bloated whale. Maybe if she got up and started moving around a bit things would settle down. She padded down the beach, gaze shifting out to the ocean now and then until the sound of small voices pulled her attention farther down the beach.

She stopped suddenly, her halted momentum nearly bring her ass over ambition. Gilgamesh was out with his pups. She'd know Modesty was pregnant but in her efforts to stir up trouble she'd spent a fair amount of time outside the pack. It was strange to see pups running around here. It made her ache for her own. They were probably the only good thing she'd ever really done with her life.

Pyralis cleared her throat and strode forward to stand by Sparrow while peering down at the nearest pup (Flurry). "Aww, what an adorable set of puffs. When they're older I'll have to show them out to play coyote ball, it's almost the season for it."

He watched as the boys tumbled along in the sand. It was more than expected and even brought a small smile to his lips. Watching his pups grow and start to explore brought a new sense of emotions to him that he'd never experienced before. When he looked back over his shoulder to watch Flurry make her way out, his own yellow gaze followed her to where Sparrow stood off to the side. Curious and adventurous in her own way, he was proud that Flurry wasn't shy about approaching others. No one would get anywhere in life hiding in the shadows. Glancing one more time over his shoulder to see if Modesty or Deluge would join, he let out a sigh before wandering closer to Sparrow and Pyralis. He heard the tail end of Pyr mentioning something about a game called coyote ball. Tilting his head to the side for a second, he couldn't help but chuckle. Not daring to ask what exactly this coyote ball was, he was content to stand near the other adults while the pups played and questioned the Pirate King. ”Speech” ’Thought’

Scald quickly joined him on the beach, bellyflopping him as the two boys collided on the cool sands. The calico boy then turned himself onto his back, crystal spikes digging into the sand, batting his large paws at his brother's face. A giggle bubbled from his lips, wholly engaged in their tousle. The world was such a big place with so many new wolves and things to see, but he really needed to let out his energy a bit first. Should they pause their little play spar, Rexx would rise from the sand, shaking it off his back and spikes, which glinted in the sun's rays. The burly boy scanned the beach to see a few new figures that weren't his father or mother. Tilting his head, the tusked boy loped over to the two women that were watching them, his nub tail wagging. "Hi! I'm Rexx! You should play with us sometime," He said proudly, beaming with all the confidence and ego he most certainly inherited from Gil. He grinned towards his sister flurry, resisting the urge to bowl her over. He at least was learning to control his excitement, especially since his crystal spikes and tusks would soon be quite sharp. Upon hearing the older lady mention a game of coyote ball, he bounced up and down where he stood. It sounded so fun! So cool! "Coyote ball? I dunno what that is, but I wanna play!"