The morning began with a positively massive yawn which send the pudgy pup rolling over backwards. After he righted himself with much flailing of small, awkward limbs, he blinked and glanced around. Everyone appeared to be sleeping still... How boring. Clambering over other warm bodies in probably the least sneaky exit in history, Amos waddled his way to the den entrance, hesitating slightly when he heard his mother calling(more like growling, really) after him. But no, the small and curious lump of baby fluff would not be stopped! Today was the day, she'd promised, and with or without his mother he was gunna go explore right now.

When he reached the den entrance, warm tendrils of light dipped down through the leafy branches to settle on his dark fur. Oh, that felt nice. Scampering through the orchard a ways, he scaled a nearby fallen log with little to no grace, barely managing to get himself up. Whew! That was a workout. Once safely perched he'd soon begin making his way across the log towards another tree. Once he reached it, the little pup heard the sound of pawsteps approaching. Immediately Amos dropped into a crouch, peering curiously around the tree, poised to leap with tail swaying merrily side to side.

Those pawsteps belonged to the old Mercenary, his gaze ever watchful, his body ever ready to do what it must. The children were getting older, bit by bit, and soon the man was sure they would meet him for the first time. Sure they likely smelled his scent, but Feli respected Mara’s boundaries, as well as Ruthgar’s, and had been patiently waiting for this day. His ears were perked forward, nose twitching a little as he breathed in the fine air of the morning. He hadn’t gone to wake Ruth, letting the man sleep in after they had been training. Ruthgar might be sore with him, but the old man had a feeling one of these days soon Mara was going to release their sons into the world for the first time. Ruthgar needed to be rested for that.

Of course Felicien hadn’t expected one of the little scamps to have come out this early in the morning. Weren’t good little pups still sleeping in their den? He couldn’t help but let a hint of amusement enter his eyes before his “natural” face slipped over him, and the male slowed himself. He had scent the pup before he saw him, had even heard a little bit of rustling… but it seemed the pup had heard him too, for the little one wasn’t moving about anymore. At least the lad had some common sense.

He decided to keep going though. Let the child have his or her moment. It wasn’t exactly… like him… but Felicien had a soft spot for the young. Besides, these were Mara’s children… they couldn’t just be treated like anyone else’s kids. But Feli kept a corner of his gaze on the tree as he began to pass it, waiting to see if the youth would leap out to try and defend his territory or if he merely wanted to play. Either or, the good news was that Felicien was no threat.

you want me to change
but all I feel is strange

Torryn was less than pleased when his morning began with being stepped on by one of his siblings. He grumbled quietly when a paw landed on his tail, but that little growl soon turned into an indignant, puppy sized roar when another paw landed right on his face. "Hey!" he snarled. Well, he didn't really snarl, but he at least tried to.

Torryn sat up, glaring in the direction his brother had gone. It was Amos who had stepped on him, wasn't it? Ugh. Stupid Amos. He watched the stupid pile of fluff as he waddled to the entrance of their den, but he didn't stop there. Torryn felt his glare dissolve into a wide eyed look of admiration as Amos took his first steps into the unknown. Of course he would never admit that he admired his brother for any reason. Besides, why admire him for his bravery when he could be just as brave? Torryn wasted no time stumbling toward the light of day, gasping a bit in surprise when the sunlight hit his eyes. It was so bright! And so amazing! Even grumpy little Torryn couldn't help laughing a bit as he romped away from the den, tripping over his own paws more times than he cared to admit. But then his little nose twitched as he smelled someone. Someone that wasn't his mother or any of his siblings. He stopped a few yards away from where Amos was hiding, and dropped into a crouch as well. Now, the two boys had to wait and see if this other wolf was friend or foe.

Rogdar gave a hungry yawn, as he stretched his paws away from his body and splayed his small padded toes. He blinked the sleep away from his eyes just as Torryn wobbled out of the den and into the sunlight.  It took a moment for his half-asleep mind to register what he had just seen, but once it did he glanced hurriedly around the den for Amos. He quickly realized that now the den was completely empty save himself and his mother and his thoughts condensed into a single blunt word;  "Jerks!" He charged out of the den after them panting as he struggled to keep up with his brothers. He had every intention of telling both of them off for leaving him behind, but as he approached his brothers he realized that they had both crouched low, hiding behind different obstacles. He matched their stance as best as he could and crawled toward Torryn. “What’re you doing?” He asked in a harsh whisper, his nerves still grated upon by being left behind. He hadn’t seen the shadowy male; his focus singled onto his traitor brothers. Speech Thought

The little scamps waddled out of the den one by one, at such a horrifyingly early hour, too. Screw that. Rolling over, Mara tried to simply send out a scolding growl after them, but the brats probably didn't even hear it. Ember-colored eyes slid open begrudgingly after an unsuccessful attempt at ignoring the fact that her kids had decided it was time to leave all by themselves. They were gunna get in trouble that way if they weren't careful... Her inner parent was clawing its way to the surface as her laziness struggled to hold it back. Oh, hell, fine.

Dragging herself to her paws, Mara trudged after them so she could at least say she tried to keep an eye on them when Ruthgar asked why they suddenly disappeared into thin air. Keeping them in the den this long had been one heck of a chore so it was probably best they got out now anyways, but damn she was tired. Just as she was about to plop down in front of the den entrance, she spotted her trio of little rascals all crouched and ready to spring - with Feli being the center of attention. Grinning, she settled down to watch this play out. It looked like someone was gunna be covered in a heap of fuzzy pups, and for once that someone wasn't her!

Tiny hindquarters wiggled to and fro while he eyes the stranger from a short distance, sizing him up and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. His focus was soon shattered when his brothers came on the scene, tri-colored eyes flicking to the side so her could look at them and huff, "Wuz'it look like 'am doin?" he fired in response, cover likely broken, but he was a bit too young and foolish to know that one didn't talk while stalking after potential enemies.

Sinking back down into his crouch, Amos wasted no time in hurling himself at his target as soon as the man was close enough to at least seem like he was in reach, hoping he'd hit his mark but it likely wouldn't have surprised any onlookers if he was wildly off his mark with the way he scrambled before takeoff.