The pups were getting a lot bigger now, growing older a lot quicker than Bass had thought possible. Days went by in the blink of an eye, and the pups growing more and more bold in their adventures. The only one who seemed to be hesitant was Finch, and he hoped that the girl would snap out of being so shy. But to each their own, and they for sure all had their own. Chuckling the Azat tipped back his head, calling out for all his little children. Today they would start learning Italian, a language that him and their mother knew very well. He was excited to teach them like he had been taught, for them to all know how to speak it. It would be like their own secret language! Chuckling, he bunched his muscles and jumped on top of their den, his favorite spot to reside. Practically wiggling, his golden eyes narrowed as he looked out for his pups. He wondered if Wren would show up to help him with the lessons.

The call from his dad was the only thing that distracted the boy from his adventure. Whatever sort of bit of leaves he held in his mouth were dropped, forgotten as he started running like a bullet over the grass. Stepping on random things, snake skin? Oh well! The boy would pause only for a moment, to itch some scratch that was plaguing him behind his left ear, before making the rest of his way to his father. Almost naturally the boy moved lightly over the grasses, carrying his weight with quite a bit of sound, but with practice could be taught to move more with stealth. The boy had already decided the plants that Starling liked he liked too, but he wanted to be able to run! Despite his... childish nature... {naturally, since he is a child} Shrike was considering what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Shrike would arrive out of breath, but tail wagging as he looked up to his dad. He was the first one here, but surely his sisters and brothers would be along! He would plop his rear oh so gracefully a loud thud. Tongue lolling out of his mouth the boy finally managed to get out his greeting. "Hiya dad!" Rest of the body would follow suit as he just went "fwomp" on the ground. He ran too fast. No, wrong, the world moved too slow under him. He was perfectly fine the way he was. He was perfect. The world just sucked.

"Speech!"
'Thoughts!'

Table by:: Eve

Starling was nose deep in some rather pretty purple flowers, breathing in their scents as he pulled them so gently from the ground. He was on a mission, trying to get the best flower with the least teeth impression with some roots included. He wanted to be able to just tug them from the earth without damaging the petals, leaves, stem or roots. One day they might come in handy, for what he had yet to know. His senses were full of the flower that he barely heard his father's call. Blinking the pollen out of his eyes he lifted his head, flower in his jaw. He whimpered slightly when it tore at the base but shook his head and spun around to trott back towards the den, never too far from home. He had yet to discard of the flower that he deemed as gorgeous, and decided he would leave it in a patch of sun to dry out to keep as a souvenir (while he guarded it from his energetic brother's paws, of course). He took a quick detour to hide the plant at the entrance of the den before lopping towards his father. He didn't stop as he approached, moving to push his head into his father's chest and stop directly infront of him. With a wag of his tail he grinned at Bass before turning to Shrike. "H...Hey Shrike..." He said softly, moving to bump his shoulder with his brother's, a small but nervous smile on his lips. "Burn Baby Burn"

Why their father was calling them all together, Lark did not know, but he would be stupid to ignore a call from either of his parents. Slowly the boy rose, shifting to stretch his limbs and let a quiet yawn fall from his lips. With ease he would move from the log that he had chosen as his preferred choice for today's nap, slowly beginning to pad toward the source of his father's call.

The warmth of the sun on his back was refreshing and he found a rare smile toying with his lips for a moment as his brothers and father came into view. It was immediately obvious what they had been up to before coming here. His brothers stunk of dirt and flowers, so typical of them. They were strange, so unlike him in some ways; and yet he was as loyal as could be, despite their drastic differences. The larger boy's pace increased as he drew near to them, nose twitching as he examined their familiar scents quietly. "Hi Starl, Shrike," he would greet each of them in a solemn voice, his voice laced with a slight bit of warmth that was uncustomary of him. Though not exactly an unpleasant boy, he was prone to seriousness and silence more often than joy or friendliness.

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/2...81seu9.jpg); background-position: bottom; background-repeat:no-repeat;  border:2px solid #000000;">

Her children had been growing so breath-takingly fast. They were so big, Bass and her kept having to expand the den to certain points. They always liked to explore, each one of them. With...the exception of Finch. Finch was shy and timid, always sticking around her mother and constantly turning away from little trips away from home. It certainly concerned Wren. She hoped that soon the young girl would slowly become a little less antisocial and shy...but for now, she just had to deal with it. It couldn't last forever, right?

Wren had just begun relaxing in the shade when Bass' smooth howl tore through the sky, reaching her ears and causing her to jolt upward. It didn't sound urgent, but just by listening, she could tell he was trying to gather the pups. Did he need her, too? Maybe he was getting ready to teach them Italian? They had talked about it once or twice...maybe now had appeared to be a good time. After all, it was a beautiful day. The woman grunted softly and lifted to her feet, trotting her way to group. There, Bass and three of her children sat. Wren smiled weakly and approached from behind Lark, affectionately nuzzling his emotionless face and giggling softly. "Hello my lovely," She hummed, her salmon tongue rolling over his ears. She knew very well that Lark was less affectionate than any of the pups. He was loyal, assertive, strong. But...he wasn't one to get all lovey-dovey. This is exactly why Wren picked him to love on. This little man needed to smile!

Once she was finished with him, the girl glanced up at her husband and smiled again, letting out a simple, "Buongiorno, amore." Before trotting up to him and jumping up beside him. She wondered where the two girls were...?

"Speech"
'thoughts'

The girl had been looking for her mother, even after her father howled for them. She wasn't going anywhere without her! She was about to give up and start calling for her when she saw the gray woman move towards the den. Letting out a delighted squeal she raced over and wrapped her forelimbs around Wren's front right leg, body dragging on the ground. She giggled as Wren pulled Finch's body with each step, the grasses tickling at her belly. As soon as they reached the den, she saw that all three of her brothers were there. Blue eyes shifted towards Starling, and she pulled herself off the earth and trotted over to him, squeezing between him and Lark. Nuzzled in between the two she let out a nervous giggle as she looked up at her father, grinning up as her mom jumped up and joined him. What was going on anyways?

Sparrow had been too busy chasing a large grasshopper to even care for her father's howl. This ugly bug was so big and plump...it had cool eyes and little twig legs. She wanted to capture it and keep it! Or maybe she could give it to her daddy as a gift...? Either way, she needed to catch it. That was her prime goal today, over everything. So when her father called to her, she paused and growled stubbornly, lifting her head to the air. The fur upon the back of her neck rose instantly with irritation. 'Daddy won't care if I catch this real quick...' She thought, turning away and continuing to bound after the plump grasshopper.

After several more minutes of desperate chasing, she finally had the live creature stuck between her little jaws. It squirmed around and tried to escape, but every time she became tired of it, she bit down on it a little harder. If only she could sit here and play around with it for a little...but unfortunately, she was late to Dad's little family meeting. The young girl sat up and raced down to their den, finding all her siblings there, including her mother and father. Sparrow huffed and seated herself beside her brothers, tail wrapping around her small paws. "What's going on, Daddy?" She muttered after dropping his gift and stilling it with her paw.

"Speech"
'thoughts'

He watched as the pups trickled in, Shrike was the first to arrive. He couldn't help but laugh as he flopped to the earth, having tired himself out by racing over here. He was the most energetic of all of them, always moving about and making the most sound. "Tired yourself out, did you?" He asked, his golden eyes soft as he gazed at his multi-coloured boy. Starling was the next to show up, standing up on the rock to push himself into his chest. Bass ducked his head down and cuddled into the boy, humming softly as he placed a kiss on the top of his head. He said nothing as he watched the brown and white boy settle beside his brother, and his gaze moved towards Lark as he too joined his brothers. While he waited for the two girls to join them, his wife came up and covered Lark in kisses, and he flashed the silent boy a grin. That is when he saw that Finch had attached herself to her mothers leg, giggling as she dragging along the earth. He chuckled and rolled his eyes, sticking out his tongue when Wren then hopped up beside him, joining him on the post. "E buongiorno a voi, cara. Ho pensato che fosse giunto il momento che i bambini hanno imparato un po 'di italiano. Vuoi aiutarmi a insegnare?" He asked, leaning towards her and nuzzling into her shoulder. He would love it if they could all speak and understand Italian, it would almost be like their own little secret language.

Bass was about to howl for Sparrow, but the girl soon came racing in a bug in her mouth. His nose turned up as she held it in place, asking what was going on. Clearing his throat he looked around at all his little ones, getting all giddy as he eyed all of them. "Good question, Sparrow dear. I have called you all here today to start your lessons in Italian. You may have heard me and your mother speaking it, and I would like you all to learn. Today we are going to start with the basics, and you can also ask us if you would like to know a certain word," shuffling in his seat, he pulled his front legs down until they were dangling over the edge of the rock, trying to remove Sparrow's paw from the bug and hold it down himself. "Since Sparrow was kind enough to bring this little gift, I shall name it for you. This is a grasshopper, or 'cavalletta'," He paused, looking around to see if the pups would repeat him. "A cavalletta is a bug, or a 'insetto'," Bass made sure to say each Italian word slowly, giving time for the young ones to repeat it after him. After a short pause, he looked up to Wren and smiled. "Wren is your 'madre', and I am your 'padre'. Your brothers are your 'fratelli' and your sisters are your 'sorelle'."

The white male looked across the sea of puppy faces, trying to see if they were all soaking it up. He knew that it was a lot to take in, but he knew that they were young and that they soaked things in like sponges. "To say hello, you say 'ciao', while goodbye is 'arrivederci'. Good morning is 'buongiorno', while goodnight is 'buonanotte'," Bass stopped then, thinking that that was enough for now. Unless they asked for more of course, and if they requested words. Turning to his wife again he smiled at her, seeing if she wanted to add anything to their little lesson.

A goofy grin would be given in response to his father’s question. “Me? Ha..haha! Never!” No way he was admitting any faults! The boy would adjust himself, looking to Starling as he came up. Tail would wag behind him, stirring up a little dust cloud as his brother bumped his shoulder. “Starling~~” The boy would greet happily. Yes, Shrike had little cares in the world. Everything was truly fine, especially when he was around his family. The next to arrive was certainly the more quiet and serious of the siblings. Lark would arrive on scene, and Shrike would greet him as well with an excited bark {while, of course, still flopped down on the earth}. “Heya Lark!”

Their mother would approach as well with a little Finch hanging off her leg, approaching from behind Lark and greeting him first, then their father. The lat to arrive would be Sparrow, bringing with her a bug. Shrike would raise a brow, glancing over at it, before their father began to speak. It was...a lesson? For Italian... The boy would sit up straight, head cocked to the side as the words, so strange in his ears, left his father’s mouth. Cavalletta. Insetto. Madre. Padre. Fratelli. Sorelle. Ciao. Arrivederci. Buongiorno. Buonanotte. Shrike would furrow his brow, sighing. “Dad... You’re going too fast. That’s too many words!” They were already getting mixed up in his brain, leaving the boy in a frustrated state.

"Speech!"
'Thoughts!'

Table by:: Eve

It wasn't long before their mother trailed behind them, greeting them with her typical warm affection. Instantly she moved to Lark's side to nuzzle him, licking his ear, causing it to swivel slightly away from her unconsciously. "G'morning, mom," he greeted her quietly, letting a tiny smile peek through his serious face as he turned to face her for a moment.

Finch and Sparrow both arrived not long after, both quietly curious about what this lesson had in store for them. After they all settled in, he spoke softly to their mother, in that language they didn't know; he was slowly becoming familiar with how it sounded. He then spoke to all the children, telling them he would be teaching them Italian, the language his parents spoke in. A serious nod was given in return and he turned to eye his siblings, wondering if they would be excited at this news.

The first thing he named was the grasshopper that Sparrow had brought. "Cavalletta," he repeated the strange word, testing it on his tongue and trying to memorize it. He repeated the other words in return, his voice quiet as he repeated them, trying to store them in his memory. There was quite a few words for him to remember, and he hoped he didn't forget any of them. Shrike seemed overwhelmed though and he turned to eye him, tilting his head. "You'll get them all," he assured him solemnly. "Just gotta keep trying. It's not hard."