He had been ready to leave for a while now, of course. Cador had known for as long as he could comprehend that there was a space beyond from which the lifegiving food that his mother ate came from, where his father went to often, that he was able to handle it. Of course, the rest of his family did not share these beliefs, and often, Cador's efforts to press through the mysterious fifth wall of his den had been thwarted by the paw of his mother or his father. But today, it seemed, this was going to be different.

Cador had awakened at some undetermined point in the day - everything looked the same in there, after all, and discovered that when he padded towards this wall that no paw came out to stop him. Giving a little yip of joy, Cador leaped into action, racing through just in case his mother changed her mind. She didn't seem to - and so Cador found himself tumbling into the outside world for the first time.

His amethyst gaze went wide as Cador flopped back on his haunches to gaze up at the sky. It was like the roof of their den but bigger! And the burning light made Cador paw anxiously at his eyes for a moment when he looked away and saw it still, but that was gone within moments and Cador found himself turning back towards the den. "Come see!" He called demandingly towards his siblings, eager to show them this vast new space that he had discovered. They could explore it together!

Walk | Talk | Think She knew they could not stay in the den forever, but even so Ashtoreth watched them nap with a worried look of reluctance. They were still so little yet, in particular both girls. Likely Ashelia and Vaishya would take after her in size, but even young Cador hardly seemed big enough to take on the world beyond their den. She sighed again, her two-toned, gold and purple eyes shifting from her kids to the den's opening. It was safe out there, more or less. Leon had put much thought into the location when he had originally claimed it, so much that she half suspected he had had a mate and children in mind at the time all those years ago. She would have smiled at the thought, if she was still not too busy being worried. Already she could see them rousing, Cador most noticeably of all. Such an active little pup, she knew without a doubt he would be the first outside. He had already tried too many times, so many that she had taken to laying between him and the exit, with both sisters confined with him. But today needed to be different. Leon had explained to her in that endlessly patient way of his that they were old enough for this, and that she needed to give them that little bit of extra space. Brows furrowing over her eyes, Ash watched as her boy got to his feet, watched her, and made a break for it. Likely he expected her to reach out with a quick paw and scoop him back into the den, and the urge to do just that rose up in her, needed to be stifled as she turned her head to follow his passage. She got to her feet, turned, and followed only so far as the den's entrance, her head peeking out and watching as he only got so far before the sunlight, so blinding even in winter, stopped him. The look of pure awe and amazement that spread over his expressive face drew a sudden smile to hers, happy to witness such a special moment in the life of her child. And, as Cador reminded her, she had two more who needed to take this step too. The grey hunter lowered her head to peer at them, finding that the worry, though still present, was quiet beneath her desire to see her daughters smile as their brother had. "Go ahead," she urged gently, her smiling expression encouraging. To show the girls it was okay, as well as keep a better eye on her adventuous son, Ashtoreth stepped outside of the den and sat upon the ground, happily and only slightly worriedly watching her kids take their first steps within the world of Valhalla.

Nestled between her teeny sister and bulky brother, Vaishya made the most of her cramped quarters. She curled tightly in on herself, two-toned eyes closed and her deep grey side rising with each gentle breath. This was just how she liked her naps, squeezed between her siblings and with Mom close by. She may have been a small, young thing, but she was more than old enough to understand safety, comfort. And amongst her family was where she found it easiest.

It took Cador waking and rising for her to begin to stir. Him moving displaced her where she lay, and as she felt her body shifting to accommodate the newly opened space beside her she blinked her bleary, blue and gold eyes and, with a cranky frown, eyed his back as he had something that seemed like a stand off with their mother. Vaishya knew how these went. Cador would dart one way and Mom would grab and guide him back into the den, keep them all confined again for another day. It had happened so many times that Vaishya herself doubted she could do better, no matter how quick on her feet she thought she was.

But this time, as Cador ran for the exit, Mom only turned to watch, and Vaishya stared on in a moment of amazement. Had she slipped up? Their mom was super fast, always a step ahead of them; how had her brother gotten by? With a nudge to Ashelia - if the girl still slept then she needed to be awake to see this - the small grey pup dragged herself to her paws and hurriedly followed their mother to the den's entrance, stepping between her Mom's paws to peer outside with her mouth slightly agape. He made it. And all Mom did was stand there and stare at him, even as he called for them to join him. Did that mean..?

She tilted her head back, met her mother's eye as she glanced down at both Vaishya and her sister. Rather than warn them both to stay inside while she fetched their brother, as Vaishya still half expected her to, she encouraged them to follow, to venture beyond the confinement of their den. She shared a speculative glance with Ashelia before she quietly crept from the den, her small body slightly hunched and cautious. Her nose twitched with each quick inhale, her gold and blue eyes wide. So this was what it was like outside? It was rather intimidating.

Sleep. It was so nice...unfortunately it hadn't lasted very long. She was lying on her back, paws in the air. She usually liked to sleep that way, though nobody knew why. She felt something poking into her side, and one eye opened lazily to see her sister nudging her awake. With a wide yawn, she rolled onto her side, paws flopping onto the ground as she blinked away the sleep. She watched her sister rise to her paws, Ashelia's own dual toned blue and purple eyes watching her before looking at their brother. She nearly did a double take, was he really outside?! For a moment, she couldn't believe her eyes...but yes, Cador was outside. Vaishya moving hesitantly towards that direction. Ears perked up as her Mother's voice beckoned them, giving permission to follow their brother outside. Was she still asleep? Was she still dreaming? Never had she thought their mother would let them outside! They had tried and failed many times, but today...

She would stumble to her paws, shaking out her fur as she walked towards the entrance. She glanced up at her mom, wondering if this was some kind of trick. She would walk forward, slowly at first. All the while keeping her eyes on her mother for signs of being stopped...but none came. Tail would begin to wag, and she would stop at the entrance of the den, claws barely touching the line that separated shadow and sun. She watched her brother adjust to the sun, and without warning she would burst forward. Aiming to knock him over in her excitement at finally being able to go outside! She yipped, rolling across the ground like a tumble weed as her coat began to take on a layer of dust. The sun felt so warm! And it was so bright! Upon focusing on the light, she scrunched her eyes as they adjusted. And shortly after she would dash to her mom, practically barreling into her leg as she reached up to cover her muzzle in licks. "Come play with us mommy!"

Cador turned a glance over at his siblings, slender brown tail wagging a mile a minute as they appeared from the shadows, their mother in tow. Ash was the first to properly burst from the den, racing at Cador and smacking into him, sending him tumbling towards the earth. It wasn't far to fall, to be fair, but Cador leaped to his paws in an instant, a playful growl escaping his maw. "No fair!" His voice was high and clear, and Cador let out another growling giggle before springing into action, launching himself not at Ashelia, but at Vaishya, determined to drag her into the fun as well.

He raced towards his other sister, leaping in her direction when he drew closer. His aim was to tackle the other to the earth, and from there to lick her as much as possible. Within moments, regardless of whether or not his 'attack' was successful, Cador would move on to turn his attention back towards the suddenly vast world around them. "How many trees are there, mommeh?" There had to be like, twenty, right? That was a pretty big number. It was large enough that Cador was in awe of it all, to say the least. There was so much more than he'd ever thought there would be... This was awesome!

Walk | Talk | Think Ashelia kept her eyes on her mother, taking tentative steps at first until she realized Ashtoreth had no intention of stopping her and then bolting outside. A quick breath exited her muzzle, the sound the suggestion of a laugh. So much energy resided within that little body, so much energy that collided with her brother. Ash winced slightly as she watched the pair tumble, laughing outright as she allowed herself to relax yet again. Leon had been right. They had needed this, this new freedom. She had every intention of still keeping them close, but at least there was more room for them to wander and tire themselves out outside of the den. Vaishya was more cautious, stepping hesitantly from the den and out into the open. She thought with a little time the girl might become as boisterous as her siblings, but the process was sped up as Cador got to his feet and went barreling her way, taking her down much the same as had happened to her brother. Almost Ashtoreth said something - rough housing was all good fun but she did not want them getting too rough - but it turned out to be just what the young girl needed to break from her tentativeness. Ash's smile returned as Vaishya let go of her wariness and began to play, the proud mother's tail beginning to wag with happy surprise. Leon was going to be so happy when he heard their first outing went so well. Her attention had been too long on Cador and Vaishya. In her inattention, Ashelia came running right for her forelegs, hitting them solidly and wasting no time as she reached up to lick at her mother's muzzle. Ash laughed again as she bent her head to nuzzle her tiny girl with quick kisses. How sweet that she wanted to include her in their fun. Maybe she had less to worry about them wandering off and potentially getting into trouble or worse. "Okay," she answered with a grin, tail wagging as she got to her paws. Glancing toward her son, she saw him staring up and around, seemingly enraptured by the forests that surrounded them. He asked about those trees, and for a moment Ash was stumped how even to answer. "Oh," she remarked thoughtfully, her own gaze scanning across the woods as she considered, "A lot, Cador. Too many to count. And all different kinds, too." It was only a matter of time before he wanted to see them all and would try to leave to do just that, but she did not need to think about that now. She needed to worry about one thing at a time, or risk overwhelming herself again.

He had gone out early as usual, to patrol with Caerul. Sephiroth had decided to go beyond the borders, and Leon didn't blame him. The Beta had been feeling empty lately, the look in his eyes obvious. Leon hoped that Sephiroth would find happiness someday, just as he had. And now, he was on his way back home with a fat meal for his family despite the winter. He had managed to hunt with the Digamma on the way home, running into a fat hare that was nibbling at the last remnants of grass before the frost killed them off. Caerul had caught it, and gave it to Leon to feed his new family. With an eagerness he hadn't had before, the male seemed to feel energized as he ran the rest of the way home. He couldn't wait to see Ashtoreth, and more so his children. They had been asleep when he left, but surely they would be awake now? And hungry perhaps.

He would soon hear the sound of laughter. Young laughter. And it was clear that his children were indeed awake, and probably giving Ash a headache. He chuckled at the thought, it would be the first time the kids were outside of the den. Hopefully they weren't being too mean to their mother...He would come over the rise, stopping atop their den as he leaped down next to Ashelia who was standing by the entrance. Ashtoreth next to her as she answered Cador. He dropped the hare, nuzzling his mate before licking the top of Ashelia's head. "Good morning, Love." He murmured to his wife. "Good day so far?" He would nuzzle her again before then going towards Cador and Vaishya. His tail wagged as he lowered himself to the ground, rolling onto his back which then brought Ashelia running towards him and tackling him. "Hey kids! Not giving your mom too much trouble are you?" He had never felt so happy before. To him, it was indescribable. He lied there, wrestling with his children as laughter emanated from him.

Vaishya's hesitant steps only stopped long enough for her to peer over at her sister as she came to accept their new freedom and then bolted from the den. She moved fast, very fast for her small legs, and went crashing into their brother. The deep grey pup's eyes widened even more at the sight of them after their collision, and her tail picked up into a trepidatious sort of wag. They had never gotten to play like this in the den. Not only because there had not been enough space but because their mom had been very careful about how they played to make sure no one was unnecessarily hurt. But out here, outside of the den...those rules seemed more lax. What else could they get away with here?

She was not yet ready to test those boundaries, evident by her slow, still cautious pace. Vaishya continued to creep, to stare wide eyes around them, to take in the startling new scents that were so prevalent here. Her attention was so fixed on what was around her that she only half heard her brother's unfair cry to Ashelia, hardly registered the thundering sound of his paws as he darted away from his smallest sibling to her. She sensed rather than saw him leap, felt the fur along her shoulders tingle as she attempted to turn her head, but he was already on her. Together she and Cador fell, she on her side and he above, and before she could register anything but shock and surprise he was assaulting her with licks. Vaishya squirmed, beginning to smile, and then growled playfully as she pushed with her forepaws to drive him away and let her up.

Quick to get to her feet, the grey pup looked from sister to brother with her tail wagging earnestly, smiling across her lips but also within her blue and gold eyes. Ashelia was attempting to get their mother to play while Cador asked about the forests. She was surprised to hear that it was so vast, so huge, and wondered how they might ever see the whole of it. She turned in place, staring upward in wonder, only to freeze again at the familiar voice. Her tail took to racing again, her smile returning in full. "Da!" Already Ashelia had him pinned on his back, and Vaishya moved in to help, assaulting his face with gentle nips and quick licks like her brother had done to her just a moment earlier.

Cador tilted his head, curiously examining the trees above his head in a vain attempt to figure out which trees were different. "Wha' do diffewent trees look like?" His thin, reedy voice echoed in the air as Cador turned his questing purple gaze upon his mother - only to be beautifully, gloriously distracted by the appearance of his father, the wolf Cador resembled most closely of his parents (in his own humble opinion). "Dad!" He yipped happily, tail wagging in the air behind him.

He watched as his two sisters launched themselves at their father, pouncing on him and bringing him down to the earth. Though Cador's first instinct was to leap into the fray as well, Cador bit down on that impulse and instead padded at a more stately pace towards them, anxious purple gaze scanning them to make sure that neither Ash nor Vaish had been injured. It seemed that they had not been injured - yet.

Cador settled back at his mother's paws, sitting back on his haunches as he tilted his head back to gaze adoringly up at his mother. This was going to be an amazing day!

"Speech"
'thoughts'

Walk | Talk | Think Oh, her son and his curious mind. She was beginning to think she was going to have her paws full with him alone just trying to figure out the correct answers to his questions. And this was only his first trip outside the den! What sorts of things might catch his curiosity once he saw the whole of Valhalla, the pack, the world beyond? She breathed a quiet sigh even as he continued to speak, asking now about the differences between the trees, but she had not even begun to give thought to the answer when the strong, mottled brown frame dropped into sight from the top of the den. Leon! Almost she said his name aloud, already grinning and wagging her tail as she rose hastily to her paws, but the kids were quicker even than her. He greeted her over their excited cries and she placed a quick kiss against his cheek before he moved in to kiss the top of his smallest daughter's head. Ash laughed. "They've been good," she assured him, though they had really not been outside that long. At least now if they decided to be extra rambunctious she had Leon there to help. He was still much calmer about everything than she could manage to be. He proved that now, greeting the children excitedly and then rolling to allow his girls to pin him there on the ground. Ashtoreth could only laugh as she watched, her gold and purple eyes bright as her gaze shifted from her wrestling trio to her quieter son. Rather than leap to assist his sisters or father, the boy padded to her and settled himself at her paws. With a smile, the happy mother reached down and nuzzled his cheek affectionately. She could not hear her son's thoughts but she agreed with them nonetheless. Today was to be an amazing day. So long as everyone played safe. "Easy girls, play nice."

ooc//Sorry for the crappy post...got things going on right now.

The girl laughed as she tackled and climbed all over her father. Soon, her other sister coming to join them. Ashelia's tail wagged a mile a minute, her small body climbing all over her dad as he rolled around with them. She would fall over to his other side, landing on the ground on her side before darting up to nip at his ear. He would roll and laugh, paws in the air while she attacked his face with licks and small harmless nips. She would run around to his other side, yipping as she nipped at Vaishya's tail before careening over to Cador and her mom. She tackled jumped her brother, placing her paws on his head as her neck stretched up to lick air near her mothers muzzle.
"Come play with us momma! You too Ca'or!" She would nip at his ear then, tugging it playfully as her body fell to the ground.


"Speech"

Erani Adravendi

Today was the day that Ashtoreth?s pups would be old enough to leave the den. Erani made her way toward the Psi?s den, long legs carrying her at a graceful jaunt across the lands, tail swaying behind her as her deep blue gaze took in the surroundings. As she drew close, she could already hear the small family outside the den, and she slowed, waiting in the shadows, as it were, watching quietly, a small smile on her muzzle. Cador, Vaishya, and Ashelia. All three romping and playing while Ashtoreth and Leon watched, Ashtoreth refereeing the girls. Erani lowered herself to her belly, merely enjoying the sounds of children?s laughter, some of her old childhood memories surfacing; watching Annali and Cormalin tumbling and playing in the den, giggling and yipping. Erani had always been the one to mainly watch, though she hadn?t passed up any offers to play? A soft grin, tinged with sadness pulled at her lips, as she lightly pressed the memories away. No need to be teary eyed around the youngsters. She rose, sliding into the full view of the small family, offering a soft bark of greeting to Ashtoreth and Leon as she approached. ?Lovely day for a first day out, isn?t it.? Her soft tones were warm, as they always were when speaking to those of the pack, while her eyes watched the three pups with a gentle warmth. It hadn?t been so long at all since Surreal and the rest of Erani?s litter had been that way. And only a while longer since Chrysanthe, Epiphron, Syrinx, Preston and Neo had been bouncing about in a den far away. ?Settling into motherhood alright?? Her eyes cut to Ashtoreth, a smile tugging at her lips. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Vaishya heard her mother's warning words and, her grin becoming rueful, backed slightly away from her father, ceasing her nips and licks and giving him a little space to appease Ashtoreth. She really had not been hurting him - Da was so strong that he probably had felt nothing - but considering how protective Mom was she was not keen on testing her and possibly being put back inside the den for misbehaving. They had only been let out of the den! Having that taken away, and especially so soon, would have been incredibly disappointing.

But she could not still be playing by standing around as she was. Wishing to continue what Ashelia had started, she crept back in and began trying to nip at his legs, wrapping her forelegs around the one that she attacked and letting herself get tugged around as he moved. She laughed happily, watching her smaller sister as she darted around their prone father and then over to where she was clinging to his leg. Her gold and blue eyes followed the girl and saw when she nipped at her tail, only a faint sting rising from the spot as she pulled the appendage away at the same time. She growled, letting go of her father's leg and leaping away to chase after her sister.

Until she spotted their new company. The white woman was tall, taller even than Da, and seeing her walk forward, even with a kindly smile about her face, made the deep grey girl suddenly shy and wary. Lowering her head, she crept over to her mother's side, reassured a little that she was still smiling too, and tucked herself close to her side. Eyes wide and staring, she peered around her mother at the woman and listened to the questions she asked, as well as the answers her parents gave.

Cador blinked, watching as Ash drew closer to him, sleepy amethyst gaze never wandering from her frame. Though he recognized her approach, he remained still, waiting until she leaped to even react. She easily smacked into him, paws pressing against his head so that she could stretch upwards towards their mother. The brown pup let out a good natured laugh, tail wagging contentedly against the earth as she nipped at his ears, "Maybe soon," Cador nodded, though he was reluctant to commit just yet. How could he keep an eye on them if he was playing too? But his parents were watching - and they could do a better job helping if either of his sisters were hurt.

It was then that the white female appeared as if from nowhere. Cador blinked wide eyes as he tilted his head back to stare at her. "Hello!" He chirped out a greeting, but the white female wasn't as high on his list of priorities as the sudden shyness in Vaishya. Suddenly, Cador detached himself from his mothers paws and padded around to her side, settling down mere inches from Vaishya. The pup leaned casually closer to her, nudging the gray pup's shoulder lightly with his own, hoping to offer her a small degree of comfort. He would protect her if this stranger turned out to be scary, of course. But since his parents seemed friendly towards her, Cador wasn't too worried about it.

"Speech"
'thoughts'

Walk | Talk | Think Goodness, her kids had so much energy! She watched as Ashelia continued to battle with her father and Vaishya backed away for only a moment before she leaped right in to play again. Ashtoreth sighed, feeling just a bit uncertain whether she was ready to have them being this playful, this adventurous, compared to how they had been when they had been confined to the den. How far would they go? What sorts of things would they get into? She was only one wolf, and even with Leon they were only two against three kids. How were they ever going to keep track of all of them? Very quickly, Ashelia was right there at her paws, wrestling Cador to the ground and asking her to jump into the fun. Thank goodness she was so tiny; if she had been any bigger she would likely have been a danger with how much she liked to tackle everyone. "Play?" Ash repeated, considering the request with a mix of reluctance and uncertainty. Someone needed to supervise them, to make sure that they played nicely with each other. But she could hardly allow herself to disappoint her daughter, not when she wanted very much to keep them all happy. Ash was saved from needing to make any kind of decision as an unexpected guest arrived. Her gold and purple eyes shifted away from her children and Leon to Erani was she approached, and she smiled brightly. It was so good to see her, especially now that her family was finally getting ready to venture out into the world. Likely Erani and the rest of the pack was going to be seeing a lot more of them now. "Thanks for coming by, Erani," she welcomed the Alpha wolf gratefully, glancing once at Leon before she chuckled as she was asked how she fared. "I'm adjusting," she answered, recalling a bit sheepishly just how nervous and worried she had been before the pups arrived. Even now a bit of it remained, but she thought she was doing better. She glanced down as a shy Vaishya tucked herself against her and her look softened. "I really didn't know what to expect," Ashtoreth added quietly, "I still don't, not exactly, but they're teaching me. As is Leon." Surely without his help she would have crumbled even before they had arrived.