To give Cricket a break, Ghoul had offered to take the pups on their first outing. As first time parents, they were rather concerned about their wellbeing, but the space was becoming cramped. It was time to let them have some space! Even if they were rather tiny for the exception of Muskie. She was massive compared to the other four! Making his way out of the den first, Ghoul inhales a deep breath before turning back. Lowering his head toward the entrance, he lets out a call to get the pup's attentions. "I believe it's time you all experienced the outside world," Ghoul calls for them, his shortened tail swishing happily as he awaits the little gremlins to emerge.

This day couldn't have come soon enough for Muskie who was already almost dwarfing her mother. When dad lead the way outside, she cautiously shuffled forward taking extra care to try and not step on any of her much smaller siblings. Escaping from underground she craned her head upward, delighting in the crackle and pop of her neck as she took it all in. The waving branches were visible from inside the den, but seeing where they came from? It was more than her baby brain could comprehend. Her lips parted in wonder and she took a few more careful steps forward so she wouldn't be blocking her siblings. Actually, she should probably find a spot to sit, before one of them darted under her butt.

“Speech”

One might expect the first outting for a litter of puppies to be loud and full of excitement. But anyone would be hard pressed to say that this particular litter was anywhere close to normal. Although Hag was among the minority of her siblings when it came to exploring. She'd watched her sisters practically map out the entire layout of their den over the last week, more content to watch them in silence than to join in. Gourami was hard to predict so how he'd respond to the change in their environment was impossible to say. All of this to say it was odd that out of all her siblings Hag was the second one to venture beyond the mouth of the den. Not far though, it only takes a few steps for the change in light to become too much for her sensitive eyes. "Bright." She says in the closest thing to a whine she's done since she started being able to talk, affectation eerily flat with just a hint of pain as her eyes water involuntarily and she ducked her head to try and shade them. Unlike Muskie she spared not a thought about if she was blocking her other siblings or not.   "Speech"

Lineart by Silvered.foxx and coloured by Nacho!

The days inside the underground den where much of the same for the pups, eat, sleep, perfectly memorize how many steps it takes to get from one wall to the other, and repeat. It isn’t that Coho doesn’t enjoy the safe space, far from it, but, with her rapidly growing sister, it has started to felt just a little cramped. Plus, the naturally curious pup has been already sat on… well, more than once and it doesn’t help that she hasn’t quite gotten the hang of her voice yet so the most she is able to get out when she is being squished is a string of pitiful squeaks.

But today is different because, today, dad lowers his head and calls to them and Coho immediately freezes to turn her wide, wonder filled eyes up to where he is. They are going outside. Muskie is already striking off toward the entrance and the girl shrinks back, plastering her frame against the furthest wall to avoid getting trampled in the bid for freedom. Hag follows after their biggest sibling and the russet girl eventually peels her form from the wall when the excitement is too much to stand and she bounds toward the door.

The dramatic change in lighting blinds her for a moment as she emerges from the darkness but it does not stop the girl from plowing forward. Starbursts of white obscure her vision as she moves outside, hiding the world around from view and that is how she misses her sister’s giant form… well, until Coho ends up running face first into Muskie’s backend. With a startled squeak, the girl’s butt folds and collides with the ground and her vision once again returns to show her exactly what she had run into.

Rubbing her nose, Coho regains her paws and darts shy grin to her father and siblings before giving her bigger sister wide berth as she can continues to explore.


"Coho Klein"

Unlike his sisters, there's something different about Gourami. One can't quite place a paw upon it, but it's there. Hiding beneath the surface, lingering until he's a bit older. For now, he's the typical puppy. Wagging tail, tongue flopping from his mouth as he pants and runs around. Vibrant green eyes dash from one to the other, eager to play. He's also the smallest, easiest stepped on, and easiest to forget about. He doesn't mind it though. Mama always comes back around to herd him toward the girls. Today is different, just like him. Gourami has been eyeing the outside world from the den's entrance for a few days now. Still uncertain, weary of what dangers could happen. He is miniscule after all. Being picked up by a raptor wasn't impossible - actually it's quite likely an attempt will be made. But he believes their father will keep them safe just as much as he knows Muskie will probably sit on him again. Not that he minds, she provides a sort of warmth that makes his bones feel not so crunchy. Once Muskie, Hag, and Coho have all filed out, Gourami stands in the entrance of the den. His vibrant green eyes blink against the bright sun filtering through weeping boughs. Compared to the den, it was overwhelming. Instead of being excited like one might believe a pup to be on their first day outside, he moves over to the base of the tree right behind where the den has been dug. With a sigh as he still tries to shade his sensitive eyes from the blinding sun, he slumps down against the trunk of the tree and finds himself content to watch whatever his sisters are doing. Gourami Klein

Outside! Outside, outside! They were going outside! The space cadet was so incredibly excited to go outside, even if she was a little behind her siblings. Easily distracted, she'd been in the middle of a craft with a stray caiman tooth thank you very much! What was it? Art. It was art. Don't ask too many questions, just smile and nod.

Oh!

They're leaving without her!

A little squeal and squeak, Molly scampers to follow her siblings. Not paying enough attention to quite how close she is to anyone or anything else, the girl isn't quite sure who or what she slams into on her way out into the sunlight. Blinking hard, stumbling, landing ass over tea kettle. It could have been a hole stepped in, or a sibling slammed into... who knows. All she knows is that everything is so bright!

Molly will lay, a heap in the soft dirt, for a little longer. It's nice down here.

Ghoul watches the pups from the den filter out into the real world. First Muskie who stops just outside the den and off to the side, the look of wonder on her face bringing a smile to his own. Next came Hag who whined about it being bright and tried to cover her eyes. Though she tries to stand in front of the den, nearly blocking everything else, Ghoul will scoop her with a paw and place her gently beside him so the others could come out. Then came Coho who squealed as she ran into Muskie and Ghoul had to hide a chuckle. They were rather funny, weren't they? He keeps an eye on her though as she wanders a little farther to explore. After that is Gourami, who after standing in the entrance of the den for a moment, is promptly barreled into by the last one, Molly. Once Gourami recovers, the only boy of the group moves to rest against the tree that homes their den. A sigh escapes Ghoul, but he then turns his attention to Molly. "You okay?" He asks the girl who lays on her back, staring at the tree canopy above. Now that the pups are all out in the world, Ghoul looks at them one more time before figuring out what to do with them. Hm, maybe he'd let them decide! Yes, great idea, good thinking! He puts on that fatherly smile that he's been working on, pushes his front paws out until his belly is resting against the ground, and looks again at his pups. "Well, what would everyone like to do?" Ghoul asks, his head canting to the side for a moment.