The startling reality of his new role as a father had taken a great deal of adjustment. Already, he was finding himself overwhelmed by the prospect of having to raise these tiny mongrels. They were undeniably his children, but that didn't change the fact that he kind of wished they weren't. He was too old to be having his first litter. Worse yet, they were bouncing off the walls of the crypt from the moment they'd gotten their legs under them. Once Jack had decided she was done nursing them- probably something to do with how many of them had budding tusks that kept jabbing her- he decided it was time to get them ready for a move further north. Could he bring puppies to the frigid climes? Ah, this really threw off his whole seasonal routine. "Alright, everyone out!" he announced, watching the rugrats fucking around in the main antechamber. He'd been adding a few extra fires to the nearby caverns to increase the roaming space of his new brood, but it wasn't the same as letting them outside so he could have peace and quiet. So, today was the day. Jack was restless, more than ready to get the hell out of here, and he was about ready to pack up and leave this insanity behind in the crypt. "Time to chuck you all into the snow, come here!" this time there was a wild grin on his face as he lunged for the first pup he could grab. Gripping a scruff between his teeth, he hoisted Hen into the air with a chuckle. Whoever got underfoot between here and the crypt's entrance would be scooped up towards his chest so he could toss them into the snow that had accumulated in a thick drift outside the yawning entrance. The little ones weren't big enough to break through it, so he was going to let them experience snow in a true trial by fire. ooc. alright kiddos, line up to be yeeted, and then it's a snow day! ""

"Speech" Cosmas was already proving to be less useful at tussling with their siblings than at goading them on, and they were already very good at using the inherent heart-string-tugging ability of a tiny, fluffy, chubby puppy's innocent smile. The call of time to go out was enough to finally motivate Cosmas to try squirming their way free from Henbane, who had pretty easily pinned them to the floor of the cavern, Cos wasn't even sure if it had been a wrestling attempt or just their sister happening to fall over and pin them to the ground, admittedly not hard to do considering Cosmas was, despite their very rounded shape right now, clearly gonna be the smallest of their litter. Luckily for Cos it seemed their father had plans for Hen as it was and the pink pup sprung back up to their paws the moment their sister was hoisted into the air. They watched as their father started towards the entrance of the crypt that was their whole world, every time they looked at it all they could see was a lot of really bright white but their father had said something about Chucking them into the snow and Cos liked it when their father tossed them around a bit so they were practically tripping over themselves to get to their father's paws. "Me too! Me too!" They exclaimed in that squeaky voice only a puppy would ever have, they wanted in on the fun!

She was already a loud, unruly, noisy thing. Hen takes great joy in poking just about anything she can reach with her tusks, swinging them about wildly. Wild. She's wild. Borderline feral, actually. The child cannot help herself, trying to roll around and tussle with basically anything she can get a good enough grip on. Everything about the child is brilliant in the most terribly wonderful way. Cosmas was squarely in her line of fire. Gnawing on the smaller, lighter pup was sorta fun. They were easy to catch and nibble on, and didn't seem to have tusks to poke Hen back with. It made them a good target, even if they weren't the most fun. Shit, there was dad's voice. Come here, but she doesn't shy from it. Hen tried to wiggle away from dad, but it wouldn't work. He pretty much already had the girl by the scruff, and Hen was trying to grumble and growl and wiggle free the entire time. Then-- yeet? Yeet. "Holy fuck!" Hen shouted, muffled against the snow drift. How cool was this? How absolutely fucking awesome was this? She pulled her head from the snow, gaze wild and shining. "Holy fuck that was awesome, do it again!" The cryptborn scrambled on her paws, trying to find her footing. This had to be the best day ever. Henbane Aeris

Raka watched with big, wide eyes as they were herded from the den. This was the day! The day the real adventure began. As their dad began to toss them into the snow, she scrambled for his giant paws. Getting underfoot in an effort to be next in line for a tossing. But then Cosmas was there, getting the next ride. “I wanna, I wanna!” She cried, tossing her head back and almost impaling someone on her tiny nubby horns.

Then her dad’s teeth were on her scruff and she let out a shriek of joy that was likely far too loud for their little cavern, and then she was being tossed. Landing in the snow and shrieking again. This time from the sheer cold of it! And then she was wiggling and shoving and attempting to move around in the strange thick, cold stuff.


"Speech"

The cave system that they'd been born into was alright, there was plenty of room to run around and more than enough fun stuff to do. He particularly enjoyed finding large antechambers and screaming as loud as he could, just to see if the echo would deafen anyone. So far, it hadn't. He'd almost given dad a heart attack, that one time. So it was worth the effort, easily. When he heard the old man haul himself to his feet in their den and gruffly command that they all get up and out of his way, the boy was already on his feet. He watched their dad grab Hen by the scruff and hoist her off of Cos, who was the current focus of her bullying. He bounded along after his dad with Raka, who nearly took his eye out with a swing of her horns. He growled a quick warning, and tried to bowl her over with a solid cross-check for the trouble. It was bordering on painful, waiting for his dad to scoop him up and toss him over the towering bank of heavy snow that blocked most of the entrance to the crypt. So when he had the misfortune of being the very last one to get lifted off the ground and quite forcefully thrown out of the cave's mouth, he couldn't help squealing with delight. However, hitting the snow on the way down was an entirely new sensation. The top layer of powder gave way with a poof that sent it flying in all directions, but the dense layers of snow beneath that held his weight easily. Instead of landing on his feet, the boy hit the ground on his ass and had the wind knocked out of him by the impact. He sucked in a huge breath, golden eyes wide with shock. No one had ever hit him so hard, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Instead of wailing, he let out a triumphant "WHOO!" and leapt to his paws. Grinning from ear to ear, the brightly hued boy immediately rushed his father. "AGAIN! AGAIN!" he shouted, wriggling with glee.

He wasn't really expecting them to be so excited by the prospect of getting thrown across the room, but in hindsight he really should have. They were, after all, Aeris progeny. Violence and chaos were sort of the modus operandi. So when Cosmas emerged from beneath Henbane's dark, fluffy frame, he scooped the littlest of his children with his paw and held them to his chest. He'd already gotten used to moving with one leg wrapped around a squirming rugrat. The sunlight glinting on the fresh snow was nearly blinding after all these weeks spent mostly sequestered in the crypt, and he already wished he'd picked a different time of day for this outing. Too late now, if he backed out these little monsters would harass him endlessly until he kept to his word. With a careful flex of the corded muscles in his neck, Henbane went flying over the snowbank and disappeared into the snow on the other side. He knew she'd survived by the immediate litany of curses, and he couldn't help grinning even as he rolled his eyes at their mother's influence shining through. He lifted Cosmas by the scruff with his teeth, and the pale child was promptly tossed in the same direction as their sister. If he hadn't been able to see Karaka, it wouldn't have mattered- she was already underfoot and demanding her turn as a furry missile. Time for an airstrike. In one smooth motion the celestial giant gripped the back of her neck with his incisors and hoisted her upwards, using the momentum to carry her up and over the edge of the snowbank. And off she sailed, disappearing into the powder with a shriek of delight. Then there was one. His son looked so much like him that it was unsettling at times, though the spines that were already protruding from his tiny shoulders reminded the old healer of his own sire. Just like his golden sister, Deion quickly scruffed his son and tossed him headlong into the wide open space just beyond the mouth of the cave. He could hear them squabbling and squeaking amongst each other, navigating the unfamiliar terrain with gusto. With little concern for their safety, he pushed through the snowbank. Using his bulk to tamp newer layers down beneath his paws, and his shoulders to shove the rest aside, he made a path for his brood to move freely between the safety of the crypt and the mysteries of the outside world. "You'll all learn to move in the snow soon," he assured them, watching the little ones flounder for their first few moments on the strange substrate. "it is a good idea to play with each other here, so you learn how to put your feet down without falling." he added, though it was abundantly clear none of the kids were in the mood to listen. As they all rounded on him for more air time, Deion rolled his eyes rather dramatically. "I don't know, my loves. I'm awfully tired already.." the tone he used was overdramatic, teasing the children. With exaggerated slowness, he started to collapse onto his flank as though perishing from exhaustion. It was hard not to enjoy being a dad, after waiting so long. ""