Hello world!

The little ones had been rambunctious from the moment their eyes opened, and it took a great deal of energy to keep them contained within the den as they grew. Ears unsealing, but so many of those ears did not perk up like a wolf pup's were meant to. There was a hint of glee in the back of his mind whenever he saw his little ones (and they were certainly his, regardless of the impossibility of it) running about with bent ears bobbing to and fro. Of course he knew of his lover's concerns, had been let in on the travesty of his childhood. It angered Nao in a way he couldn't dare act on, but he found himself exceedingly wary of others now.

The night before had been full of chaos, to the point that once the brats had finally tired themselves out in a pile of twitching limbs and gentle snores, he pulled Mojito aside. It was time, it had to be. The longer they fought the passage of time, and worried about the cruelty of the world beyond their den, the higher the risk of a pup slipping past their careful watch. Better to have some measure of control while they still could, right? Which meant that neither of the parents slept a wink the whole night. He could hear the uneven breaths of his beloved, the soft stirrings as he moved restlessly during the small hours of the night. He heard every one, because he was equally anxious, equally awake.

The first inklings of dawn were all he needed to see, a hint of warm grey through the entrance to their den. With a soft kiss upon Mojito's brow, he'd promised a nice breakfast and taken off. This nervous energy needed an outlet, he couldn't let anyone see that he was worried. He needed to remain strong and stoic, for the sake of his children. So off he went, a shade slipping through the pre-dawn undergrowth as he sought out a meal to bring to the family on this big day.

By the time Nao hauled the fawn home, the sun had finally emerged from beyond the horizon. The day was fully upon them, and the shadows were growing shorter by the minute. No time to waste. He slipped into the den with practiced ease, and met the mournful, bittersweet expression of his beloved with a soft smile of his own. "Indeed, love." he affirmed, and joined the effort to rouse the little ones. He relied more on Mojito for parenting guidance than he would have preferred, but the man had a child already, and that was useful experience to lean upon. So he followed his lover's lead in these matters. By the time the children, all seven of them, had begun to clamber out of their heap, he couldn't be bothered with nerves. There was too much going on, and he had to mind the little bodies that were scampering out into the sunlight for the first time.

The consensus from the first few that tumbled free of the earth was that the sun was too bright. He snickered softly, eyes crinkling at the corners as mint green gaze fondly traced the arc of their paths through the clearing. The strained nature of Mojito's voice as he warned them to be wary of strangers, and to mind their manners, and to avoid the water, and to eat breakfast soon- it only made him love the man more. Concerned only with the safety and wellbeing of their children. "They'll have to learn to swim eventually, won't they?" he teased quietly as he settled down beside the smaller man. Breakfast was a quiet ordeal, he couldn't spare much thought to conversation while he kept a careful eye on the children. Ears tipped back nervously each time he noticed someone stumble, or they strayed too far from the den for his liking.

"Do not stare at the sky, you'll go blind." he chided eventually, as he noticed the pups spending a bit too long focused on the sun's rays. As the day went on, it would only get brighter. Better to keep them from developing that habit in the first place. Though his voice was not as harsh as it would have been with an adult, Nao was still getting used to softening his edges for the children. Sometimes he scolded them too much, or spoke without care. He cringed at his own mistakes each time, worried he would irreparably damage their developing minds.