All the girl had ever seen was darkness, her eyes had opened when her siblings became apparent however her silvery white eyes were sightless. She knew sounds however, she knew sounds much better than her siblings. She knew when another wolf was approaching long before her mother, and she could sense in the den where all of her relatives were by their warmth. It would make it seem that she could possibly even have sight, but it would never be so. The ashen pup would snuggle into the side of her sister, the eldest girl finding immense comfort in the presence of her siblings. She has not felt the tug of loneliness yet, always having the simple warmth of someone beside her. A
Sigh would fall from her lips as she felt wakefulness come over her. She knew not what the time of day was, only that her stomach was growing hungry. A squeaking yawn would fall from her pale lips as she found herself in consciousness again.?






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Although her vivid orange eyes had blessed the young Olympus with sight, Andromeda hadn't really witnessed much of the world so far. There had been visitors to the den of course and she had begun to recognise them but sight but her life had so far been spent confined to the den with her siblings for now the girl was content with that, though already that desire to do and be more was starting to spark within her heart. She had been awake for a little while now, staring at the opening of the den at the little sunlight that streamed through into their cosy little world watching and waiting for any sign of something happening. The world was rather still though up until the point she felt a slight stir at her side and heard the yawn of her sister. "Gaia" Her sister certainly had the easiest name to speak, her tongue had gotten the hang of it far swifter than her own name or that of her brothers for they still presented her with a little trouble. "You wake?"

The tiny girl would feel the breath of her sister, her lungs moving her sides up and down. Her breath was not quite so soft and even as it would be if she were sleeping, so even before Andromeda said a word Gaia knew she was not in slumber. The ashen she pup knew not her surroundings, only the cold gritty feeling of the earth on her paws. There was a definite boundary, but Gaia knew there had to be more than just their den. Where would the other wolves have come from? And all the strange scents that wafted through the opening? The half Destruction girl would stir slightly, moving herself so her ears could more easily take in her sister's words. She almost found it odd that she could speak so well, when her siblings still struggled with the concept of language. "I'm awake, and hungry." she would tell her sister, not that she could do anything about it. "I can't feel mom, think she'll be back soon?" she would ask, her muzzle pointed towards the ceiling while she reclined on her back next to her golden sister.?

Listening was certainly a skill that Gaia had mastered, Andromeda was sometimes find in awe by the things her sister could hear with little difficulty outside the den whilst she and her brothers had to strain to work out what it was she had heard. Tiniest little details such as the shift in breathing pattern, Andromeda had never relied on such things to guess whether her siblings were awake or sleeping and hadn't on this occasion either. "I'm awake, and hungry. I can't feel mom, think she'll be back soon?" There certainly wasn't much that Andromeda could do about the hunger. Her mother was in charge of food and as Gaia had realised, Virgil wasn't currently inside the den. "Don't know." Andromeda responded. "She wasn't here when I woke up." She couldn't really judge how long she'd been awake for though it had been for a little while now, simply felt like much longer with the absence of her mother and her siblings still sleeping.

Gaia's missing sense was no harm to her yet, being confined within the walls of their tiny den world would see to that. She had no idea the threats that lay just beyond her reach, she could only guess at what the real world held. Her remaining senses however had begun to develop at an extraordinary rate, her hearing was incredibly sensitive along with her sense of touch. Her small whiskers would act as feelers along with her paw pads and even the fur that covered her tiny being. She would use her skin to detect the heat of her siblings, but she more than anything would use her nose to get around. It was quite often the little girl would put her head into the air by the door way to get a good whiff of the world outside. She would never go any further though, fear would grip her whenever she found herself too close to the open air.?

She would fall to her side, her features now facing her sister as the other girl would announce her lack of knowledge. She wondered how long Andromeda had been awake, if it was too long it was more likely that their mother would end up retuning much sooner. However no matter how long she took Gaia's belly would only grow ever more empty as time went on. "I hope she comes back soon. My tummy is empty." she hadn't realized it but her tones had been rather soft, she knew her other siblings must have been sleeping still. "Wanna play something while we wait for her?" she would ask as she moved once again, pushing her front legs underneath her so she would be sitting before her younger sister.?

The curiosity was only natural really, Andromeda was sure that they had all wondered at some point or another about the world outside. It had been gripping her own thoughts after all until Gaia had awoken and given her something else to think about. It wouldn't be long thought before her mind begain to trail off again into imagining what the world outside was like. "I hope she comes back soon. My tummy is empty." She hadn't really realised it before, though now Gaia mentioned it, Andromeda knew she certainly wouldn't turn down a meal right about now. "Wanna play something while we wait for her?" That was a good idea, take their minds off of food for a little while, though she supposed they ought to be careful not to wake their brothers up. A part of her was tempted then to seek adventure in the outside world, a rather thrilling thought. Not entirely certain as to whether or not it was a good plan however, she kept her mouth shut on that for now. "OK" She responded, crawling a little to free herself from her brother's sleeping form, leaning slightly against her side. Once the task was achieved, she rose to her paws, stretching as she glanced back to Gaia. "What do you wanna play?" Perhaps if Gaia too thought of venturing outside she might suggest it now, and then together they could move out into the open.

As of yet the young Olympus girl had not had any desire to stretch her limits and greet the outside world. Everything was too mysterious, too unknown for her to feel safe going there. Would she be able to find the barriers of the outside world? Were there even boundaries for her to follow? Even the tantalizing scents that would lure her to the entrance would not be enough to bring her into the fresh air.?

Gaia's tiny mouth would usher out yet another yawn, her form lifting fully from the earth as Andromeda's would. Their brothers were all still very much asleep, she could hear them snoring quite well as she and her sister disentangled themselves from them. The question would be placed back to her, what did she want to play? She was decent at tag, but she always seemed to get caught. Tug-o-war was a good one, she didn't have to run around for that one. "We can play tug-o-war!" she would exclaim, proud to have thought of a game. "Are there any sticks left?" she would put her nose to the ground as she would use scent to search for the piece of wood they could use. If there weren't any she didn't know what they would do.?

It seemed that Gaia didn't share her taste for exploring just yet, perhaps a sign that it was a bad idea to venture out just yet. Hopefully soon enough their mother might decide to take them out, they'd surely all be safer then though she doubted and that they would stay in this den forever, or hoped they wouldn't anyway. "We can play tug-o-war! Are there any sticks left?" It was a rather good suggestion if there was anything they could play with lying around. Gaia began to try searching though it was Andromeda that would find a stick partially hidden beneath their brother. "Found one, hang on." She informed her sister, venturing closer and taking a hold of the stick and pulling it out from beneath her brother. He stirred, though it didn't seem he'd wake up just yet, those snores soon resuming. "Here you go." Or at least that was what the words were meant to be, not quite coming out right with the stick in her mouth. She held it close to Gaia's nose for now, letting her sister grab a decent hold of it before starting to play.

She would hear her sister shuffle slightly as she found what was being searched for. Listening to her sister maneuver the stick from what she could smell was her brother and hear his disturbed breath. Andromeda would voice her offering of the stick, Gaia would follow where the words were spoken, opening her jaws searching for the thin toy. She would push her weight into her front paws, bracing herself to pull on the stick.?

As a short growl would leave her throat her tail would begin to wag excitedly. Her brows would furrow over sightless white eyes as she would shift her weight to her backs paws, claws digging into the den's floor. Another playful growl dripping from her jaws as she grip the stick tightly within her teeth. she would lose the thoughts of her hunger, but still her ears would be trained on the hopeful sound of her mother's footsteps.?

It didn't take Gaia long to take hold of the stick and as she sounded a soft growl, Andromeda took that as a sign of the start of the game. Tightening her grip now, she gave little tugs in retaliation as she fought to keep hold of the stick. For now the game was still rather fair, though those older and wiser would probably hazard a guess that it wouldn't be long before she overtook her sister in size. Only a little larger now, she did have slightly bigger paws and ears than Gaia that one day she would have to grow into. Her own puppy growls mingled with Gaia's and the pair tugged, rather enjoying their little game. With another tug in her direction, Andromeda attempted to pull the stick backwards as she shuffled slightly. Unfortunately neither girl had really thought much about the strength of different sticks and with the grip of both girls and their pulling, it seemed that this one wasn't going to hold up for much longer. The stick broke in half and sent Andromeda tumbling backwards. It was fortunate perhaps that she had turned herself away from her brothers and so at least wasn't about to wake them up, though had angled herself towards the entrance of the den instead it seemed and as she stood up and recovered from her fall, the golden girl realised that she wasn't actually inside anymore. Orange eyes gazed around the world in awe, unable to believe the size of the world outside. "Gaia." She called softly. "It's so big."

Andromeda's growls would begin to harmonize with Gaia's and the game was on. Each girl tugging back from her sister, trying to gain the upper hand on their opponent. Gaia would tug her hardest, determined to gain the piece of wood as her own. Back and forth they would tug, slowly wearing down the integrity of their toy. As Gaia would heave one last time the stick would suddenly break right down the middle. Gaia would not see her sister tumble backwards, she could only guess Andromeda did the same as she. Gaia would tumble backwards, landing mere centimeters from her sleeping brothers. Her head would be thrown against the floor painfully, almost hard enough that she would not hear her sister's revelation.?

"Oooouuuuch" she would groan as she slowly picked herself from the ground. Her ears perking up as the little golden female would speak her name, following with describing something as very big. From where her voice came from Gaia could only guess that her sister had tumbled outside. "Are you outside? Oh!" she was awed, the ashen girl would paw her way to where her sister's voice had come from. She couldn't feel the openness but at once she would feel so much less confined. "What's it look like Andromeda? Does it have boundaries like the den? already she could feel the texture of the earth changing beneath her paws, blades of grass would tickle between her toes as she pushed her side into her sister's form. She really didn't want to lose her.?

So stunned from the tumble outside and her first glimpses of the world beyond the family's den, Andromeda had completely forgotten about the game. There were plenty of sticks that they could have used to replace their broken one, including rather large ones that they probably couldn't have even lifted with all four pups holding on together. So caught up in her discovery, she barely heard Gaia's little groan as she tumbled. "Are you outside? Oh!" Those words did pierce through her little trance however and Andromeda cast a brief glance back inside to see that Gaia had begun to follow her now. "Yeah" She responded as she turned her attention back to the sights outside and took a couple of steps further away from the den. "What's it look like Andromeda? Does it have boundaries like the den?" Gaia of course couldn't see the world, though she coped wonderfully, Andromeda couldn't help but feel sorry for her sister, she was missing out on a lot, like the views ahead of them now. "No" She responded. "I can't see where it ends."

Dundun. Blue eyes settled on an unwitting target.
Dundun. A small fluffy rump lifted into the air, pushing down the front end of the the super predator.
DunDUN. The rump slowly started to settled back down, legs coiling beneath it.
DUNDUNDUNDUN....
Nemesis threw himself towards Andromeda, hoping to tackle her. He came at her from the side, bounding from his hiding place outside the den. His little legs pumped as hard as they could; it wouldn't be long before she became aware of his presence. He was determined to make every second count. At the last second before he crashed into his sister, the boy let out a war cry, his stubby legs flinging out into a superman dive.

The boy had crept out of the den while his sisters were playing. The talk of going outside was motive enough for him to actually do it. If they were thinking about it then he needed to hurry up and do it first. So that's what he'd done. Already the boy loved it. He wanted to spend all his time outside now! Like Andromeda, Nemesis couldn't see where the edges were which meant he had a lot of exploring to do! He wanted to see everything, absolutely everything, this big place had to offer. But first he wanted to jump on his sister.

Disturbed by Gaia's tumble, the one sibling still asleep stirred. Orange eyes cracked open, finally, at the sound of his siblings' exit. Hephaestus blinked around at the basically empty den quizzically for a moment before his eyes finally settled on the den's bright entrance. Immediately he clambered to his feet, fat puppy body waddling toward them. "What you doing?" he yawned, concern wrinkling his brow. "Not s'posed to be goin' out without Mama, are we?" Stopping beside Gaia, he gently bumped her with his nose. "You 'k, Gaia? I heared you fall." He snuffled over his sister to check she was all right. "Where's Nemsis?" Had he realized where his brother was and what he was about to do, he may have continued his waddle over to get in between him and Andromeda, but he was blithely unaware. Speech

She is exhausted; the early weeks of motherhood are not easy. She worries constantly, a young mother and one who is concerned. She is concerned that the gods will smite her children for her own weakness, that they will curse her with some defection. So far, however, the Empress has yet to notice anything. Most are golden of fur and beautiful, with her perfect little heiress being the only exception (which, how can she see her firstborn as a defect). She refuses to notice the obvious hints of blindness in Gaia; she simply tells herself that the girl?s eyes are slow to develop, that soon she will be able to see as well as the rest of her siblings. She wakes up and panics, feeling the absence of little bodies by her side. She hears words outside the den, and she moves, head peeking out as she observes what occurs. ?Hephaestus is right, my loves,? she tells them, a gentle reprimand as she goes to nuzzle her son, before seeking to press affection on all of her children. She is not truly bothered by the exploration; she was about to take them out to see the world anyways. Soon they would leave for Olympus, but before that they needed to learn of the outside. She proceeds to seek to press affectionate kisses to the head of each child. ?Do you want to explore?? she asks them. She won?t take them too far just yet, but far enough to sate a child?s curiosity. Table by Lu - Image by Poison - Code for Ala Only

Her explorative sister would confirm her whereabouts with a simple word as Gaia shuffled out. As she made her way to the golden pup's side she would answer he question. There was no end. Before she could let herself think on it too much she would hear a disturbance in the earth beside them. She would not see Nemesis sneak up on them but Andromeda could, "What's that?" her voice was slightly frightened, before the scent of her brother would arise in her nose. Then Hephaestus' voice was with her, warning them of what was to come. His plush body would lean into her own as he voice his concern of her earlier fall. "hmm.. I'm alright." she would do her best to nuzzle his neck. She had forgotten her pain, and would further push it from her memory as her mother's disturbed scent would fill her nostrils. Before Virgil would speak a word Gaia would greet her, "Mom!" The tiny grey pup would push herself back towards the den at her words, nuzzling into the affection freely given to her. At the she Wolf's question Gaia would eagerly wag her tail, "Yes." her words were somewhat sheepish as she listened for her siblings answers.?

The arrival of Nemesis would certainly be a surprise for Andromeda. Her attention was reserved solely for the world outside and for the silver girl pressed against her side. "What's that?" The warning came a little late, the golden girl turning her head slightly in time to see Nemesis leap out at her with an awful noise. A small yelp of surprise sounded as she was once more sent tumbling, though this time with her brother landing on top of her. Now Nemesis had her attention and although she had planned on answering Hephaestus as he had emerged from the den, she didn't have the opportunity to do so as she now squirmed attempting to escape her brother. "Get off, you lump!" Insults were certainly things that the children had yet to discover, though it was doubtful they'd ever be anything but tame when aimed at her siblings, even Nemesis. Their noise it seemed had awoken their mother now and as Virgil approached, for the action was quite possible with Nemesis trapping her. "I fell out Mama." Andromeda reassured her. They certainly wouldn't have gone far but for a moment the world had indeed gripped her every sense and held here there at the entrance of the den, unable to return inside right away. "Yes" She answered, her excited response overpowering Gaia's more timid reply and she immediately began her wiggling once more to try and escape Nemesis, little teeth now coming to her aid as she began to nip him.

Success! Nemesis plowed into his sister and the pair tumbled to the ground, sending up a satisfying puff of dirt. Even better, she couldn't get up! The boy didn't know what to do with this new power. Should he tickle her? Chew on her ears? Lick her upside the head? He couldn't decide. Honestly, he hadn't thought that far ahead. "Get off, you lump!" she cried and the boy decided he needed to make up his mind quickly. "Make me, you..uh.." Nemesis' mind went blank. "Uh..Just try 'n make me!"

?Do you want to explore?? WHAT?! Explore?! He lived for exploring! Had it not been for the teeth that sudden chewed on the fat roll around his middle, Nemesis would have been off Andromeda and running laps around his mother that instant, but he couldn't, wouldn't, pass up the opportunity to retaliate. In response to her nipping, the boy worked up as much saliva as he could produce and swiped it across his sister's face. Then and only then did he let her go, and squealing for fear of revenge, ran and hid behind Virgil.

Hephaestus blinked worriedly as Nemesis crashed into their older sister with a shriek. Should he go over and stop them? But then he'd have to leave Gaia all alone and some part of him, the part that was more mature than a puppy ought be, told him that Gaia was the one who needed to be protected no matter what. He didn't have long to wonder what to do, however, since the playing and shrieking had awoken their mother, whose voice came from the den behind them. Hephaestus was slow to turn around, not because he didn't hear her or because he didn't process what he'd heard, but just because that was the way he was... just slow to change gears. He finally stopped worrying over Andromeda and Nemesis when Mama nuzzled him, instead leaning into the caress happily. She would then ask if they wanted to explore, and Hephaestus' chubby face wrinkled up in thought. "Can we please, Mama?" he asked carefully. He didn't really care if they did or not, but Gaia and Nemesis and Andromeda seemed to really want to, so for their sakes he would go along with it happily. Speech