Loosening her reins on her children seemed even more difficult than she'd expected. Since they'd been born she'd kept the five of them close to her, never once letting them out of her sight. Only Song she trusted around them, though she knew eventually - and sooner rather than later - they'd be off doing their own things, without her constant supervision. She wasn't eager for those days and even now that they were ready to start exploring the world a bit, she wasn't quite ready for them to leave their den. That wouldn't stop her from doing it though, even begrudgingly. She found herself rousing from sleep before they did, gently nudging Song awake. It was early morning and quite chilly, but that seemed the norm for the north even now. A thin layer of fog hung over the pine forest, and as Kirsi peeked out she decided she didn't want her children going far at all.

"Alright," she raised her voice and begin to rustle the five up from sleep. They were all healthy and seemed to be growing perfectly, something she was thankful for, but that didn't stop how overprotective she felt. "Ready to go outside?" Surely they were interested in seeing the world beyond their small den and it was time for them to take their first steps. Though Kirsi had been faring well after birthing them the prospect of their safety being threatened by anything made her nerves begin to skyrocket, though she took a deep breath and tried to not fear the worst.

Song would have given his life for any of his pups without a second thought. Having a family with Kirsi was one of the most important decisions they made together and the man wouldn’t have had it any other way. He knew there was a lot of sorrow in Kirsi’s past, but he had also seen her joy as they raised the tiny newborn puppies together. They were getting bigger, and much more curious about their world. He had little desire to introduce them to the dangerous world but both parents could sense their readiness.

Kirso nosed him awake and he rolled over quietly to do his own small preparations before the pups started to wake from their mother’s voice. She roused them and Song’s icy blue eyes rose to her face and he could see the tension build. Without even thinking he shifted closer and nuzzled her cheek supportively. The cruel reality was they couldn’t keep them in the den forever, the sooner they were made familiar with the rules of life the safer they would be. Mom and Dad couldn’t play helicopter parent forever.

”This will be fun,” He said to Kirsi softly. Song gave her a kiss on the cheek as he moved towards the entrance, happy to play his part as the front guard.

Haüyne was a bright and curious child, for the first few weeks of his life after he'd opened his eyes and started being able to control his limbs enough to crawl with a sense of purpose, even if slow and stuttery to start, he'd followed his parents around the den the curiosity clear in his bright ice blue eyes, then he'd exhausted every nook and cranny he hadn't explored. And then he'd started asking questions. He'd hounded his father whenever he was seen with tools or materials, asking what it was that he had, what he was doing, how things worked... whatever question popped into his head. Of course, there was the greatest question of all still unanswered, what it was that existed outside of the den, he'd been called back a few times from the mouth and so he'd eventually stopped trying, though his curiosity was never abated. The warmth of his parents and siblings was in stark contrast to the world outside, and the cold the boy had yet to truly experience. He roused slowly, blinking blearily and desperately attempting to catch hold onto the words his mother had asked to awaken them. He looked up at his mother for a moment, unsure if he'd heard wrong but as his father moved towards the front of the den a thrill of excitement ran through him. He practically jumped to his paws, not really concerned about which of his siblings might be within the range of his slight flailing. Then he started to dash towards the entrance of the den... suddenly stopping and glancing over his shoulder at his mother, wondering if she'd call him back once again, and continued to move towards the entrance only tentatively, stopping beside his father. Haüyne peered out of the entrance... mostly unable to make anything out but white... Occasionally small white flakes of something fluttered into the mouth and Haüyne gingerly placed his paws on a few of the snowflakes that had fluttered inside, puzzled as he pulled it away only to find his pads were wet and small drop of water where the flakes had been. "Precious stones"

Art by CorruptAshes

Onyx was getting tired of the same walls of the den day in and day out. She too like her brother had found herself inching closer to the mouth of the den, but instead of remaining completely loyal to her parents, she would roll her eyes and turn back into the warmth of the den. She did have to admit, the cold that lingered in from the outside as she grew closer to the blinding scapes did not seem that enjoyable. But she was growing more used to it everyday while she tested her mother's authority by getting closer to the exit. And she was sure getting tired of this place. Still, with her bad attitude and desire to run out and do what she wanted, she was loyal to her parent's decisions so she wouldn't just find a good time to run on and escape without anyone noticing. That would be an impossible task anyway. She wasn't that much of a morning person herself, so even when Kirsi would announce the day of venturing out of the den, Onyx would groan as she rolled over away from the light of the outside world. The offer was late to her thoughts, but she wouldn't jump up and run outside once it processed. She took her time as she laid up, rose, stretched, and eventually found her way sluggishly beside Hauyne and her father. "What, you gonna stand here all day?" She addressed to her brother who was being much more behaved than her. She would go to exit the den slowly, not in any rush to get anywhere as she still attempted to wake her bones. Besides, she knew it was little steps at a time as eager as she was to leave the den. She wouldn't go far from only the mouth of the den, but if stopped by either of her parents, she wouldn't come rushing back to their side. Walk "Talk" Think

The tiny girl woke up slow, her pale eyes blinking open as their mother spoke up softly to tell them the news. Pyrite might have slept for the rest of the day if she hadn’t been encouraged awake by the possibility of going out into the world. For days now they had been testing their boundaries, Pyrite was eager to go out. She didn’t know what called her but she knew there was so much more than just their den. The young Destruction girl was curious about everything, whenever anything new came into the den she was right there eager to learn.

Learning was one of the few things that allowed her to stay content with remaining inside, she enjoyed their lessons and her vocabulary blossomed quickly. Se liked to talk and to express the questions that formed in her mind accurately for a good answer.

Onyx and Hauyne were on their feet much faster than the tiny girl, but Pyrite never forgot about her twin. She looked to her twin brother and rubbed herself against his side as she coaxed him up and towards the door with her. A playful grin settled on her serious features, always the one to bother and ever eager to lighten the mood.

Little Bronze was just as curious about the world as the rest of his siblings, though he was far quieter about his wish to explore the rest of the world. Not that he knew what that really entailed, beyond the great pine trees and stretch of snow that he could see just outside the mouth of the family den, but he knew he wanted to see it. All of it. It sounded like a monumental task, even though the boy couldn't even begin to comprehend just how much world there really was, but he was certain he could see all of it, someday at least. He felt a surge of excitement begin to flow through him when their parents rustled them awake.

As slow to move as he was to speak, he lifted himself up and let the rest of his siblings rush ahead of him - save for Pyrite, of course. She was smaller than him, though he couldn't begin to know just how much taller he'd grow. Nor did he know just how identical the two of them looked. He knew he loved all his siblings, but Pyrite especially he was drawn to, and he held back as she encouraged him forward. He gave her a little grin as he headed out after the others, pushing past Haüyne and stepping out into the snow. He felt it crunch in a satisfying way beneath his paws and he tested a few more steps, wrinkling his nose as he glanced back at the rest of them to see their reactions. What now?, his face practically screamed.

ooc: sorry for the delayed reply, it's been a busy week! Unlike her siblings, Kyanite had no burning desire to go outside the den. Well, that was partially a lie. Multiple times she'd gone to the mouth of the den just to feel the bite of the wind as it changed direction to blow in the mouth of the cave. Shivers would rack her body and she'd happily go back to the warmth of her siblings and parents. While the puppy piles often got quite wiggly and you risked getting kicked, there was no denying just how cozy they could be as well. Still there was the knowledge that there was a world far larger than the living space they currently resided in and that was enough to pique the girls curiosity. Of course she would need to get out of bed first to satiate the questions. She rolled over and stretched her legs out as the siblings vacated to the mouth of the den. It was the twins leaving that finally caught her attention and fully roused her from her slumber. While reluctant to move quite so early in the morning, the blue-clad girl opened her eyes and peered inquisitively at her siblings. Seeing that they were already beating her outside, and not wanting to be left behind, she clumsily scrambled to her feet with a determined look on her face. She wasn't gonna be the pansy who said no to an adventure. She barreled outside as quick as her puppy little legs could carry her and skidded to a halt as soon as the cold touched her feet. Letting out a yelp she high-stepped through the snow awkwardly. Her snout wrinkled in annoyance as she fought the urge to run back into the den. She definitely wasn't going to be the last out and the first to go back in. No way. "Why is it so cold?!" She exclaimed disdainfully. Walk, "Talk" Think

This will be fun, Song said. She didn't entirely disagree - it'd be fun for the children, and maybe a bit for herself too, though their newfound freedom would come with a fair bit of anxiety on her behalf. She knew there was no chance that monsters (or one particular monster, rather) would be lurking just outside waiting to snatch up her children, and yet somewhere in the back of her mind she couldn't help but fear just that. The world was not a safe place, not really, even if Incendium was by far the safest place for them to be. "I hope," she replied with a faint smile to Song as she moved outside and largely let her children take the lead.

If they strayed too far she wouldn't hesitate to rope them back in but she wanted them to explore at their own pace. Hauyne seemed enamored with the snow that fell, holding back some while Onyx and Kyanite moved out into the snow. Pyrite and Bronze weren't far off, all of them seemingly stunned by the snow now that they were faced with its presence rather than just seeing glimpses off it through the mouth of the den. "It's been a cold season," she explained gently to Kyanite. They would soon grow used to the harsh weather of the north, even if it took them some time to adjust to it. "You'll get used to it." Slowly she moved out further, feeling the snow crunching beneath her paws. Before long she had no doubt they'd feel at home out here in the cold and snow.

He had certainly hoped that the pups would be well behaved and perhaps not quite as adventurous out the gate as he had been. However his hope was swiftly dashed the moment the puppies began to eye the den. He supposed there wasn’t much way to get out of the youth’s desire to see the rest of the world. The children woke up slowly for the most part, groaning and stirring but swiftly finding their paws as the prospect of seeing the outside world shed the rest of their dreamy sighs.

Song’s attention was both on the children and on Kirsi as he felt her worries roll off her in waves. He tried to encourage her as much as the puppies. He could do little more than cement the fact that he would be here to protect them, just as he promised. The massive man was swift to lead the troop outside and placed himself between the young puppies and the wilds beyond them. He chuckled at Kyanite’s question before her mother could answer. He couldn’t help but add in.

”Your heritage is in the north, we thrive in these harsh conditions and prove our strength compared to the soft wolves of the south.” He told her proudly as he added in a nuzzle to her pretty cheek. ”You wont notice at all once you’ve gotten a little bigger.” He promised her and the rest of the children as he lifted his features and again returned to the lead position. He wanted to let the children decide where and what they were doing on this first outing. He figured they wouldn’t get too very far before everyone’s paws started to go numb.