As he had suspected he would, he hadn't left Ikigai's side since the day their pups were born. The furthest he would go was down the path to the pack's store of supplies to get more food or another blanket if one of their little daredevils decided that their blanket was their new chew toy. He was absolutely infatuated with them. Three pups–a large litter for his family–and all of them absolutely stunning. There was so much of their mother in their appearance with white bases and dark markings and he was absolutely thrilled. Ikigai was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on so of course he had hoped that their children would take after her. Whether or not their personalities turned out to be more shaped by one of them or the other was yet to be seen, but they were growing into their own individuals with every passing day. Now all he could wish was that time would slow down so they would stop growing so fast.

Still, he couldn't deny that they were getting restless being cooped up in their den–no matter how spacious it was–and he'd eventually have to relent and allow them to go out and see the world for themselves. The weather was lovely this day with warm sun and just enough breeze blowing through to keep it cool and not too chilly so he had fully run out of excuses to deny them their first trip out into the world. With Ikigai's help he loaded the pups up into a set of connected baskets that she draped over his back with Damira and Darika on one side and Dominus on the other. After a stern warning to not try and jump out of the baskets before they got where they were going, he walked out of their cave and down the winding mountain path, making sure not to hurry both so they could take in the view and so that he wouldn't jostle them around too much. Only once they got down into the grassy valley near the island's lake did he lower himself down onto his stomach so that Ikigai could remove each pup out of their basket and onto the grass. "Stay close, you three," he warned, a little smile tugging at his lips. "If I can't see you then you've gone too far."

"Deimos & Ikigai"

The den was warm and cosy, had everything she could ever want and need. But as the days passed and she grew, though not to the same extent as her sister and brother, a lingering curiosity settled in her mind. Before she got close to acting upon her wayward thoughts, it seemed as though today was the day. Scooped up into the little carrying basket, Damira rested her chin on the wicker edge as she took in the unknown. Her dark eye had a bit of trouble adjusting to the sheer brightness of the world outside, but soon she could make it out well enough, and it was vast- unlike anything she could have cooked up with her own imagination. The dark of her nose twitched as the wind brought in a myriad of scents she couldn't even remotely recognise, let alone put a name to them. It was close to overwhelming, from the swaying of the basket to the feeling of her sister shift beside her, she was inching closer to a sensory overload but stopping just shy of it.

Finally, Daddy came to a stop and Damira tilted her head as she watched her siblings be scooped out of their baskets. Only to be carried out herself. She'd never been an overly talkative child, usually only speaking when one of her siblings was getting on her nerves or when she was spoken to by Mummy or Daddy, but she did pay close attention. If she was told not to venture too far, then...she wouldn't. Though if one of her siblings decided they wanted to test the boundaries then so be it, she would happily sit back and watch, observe what consequences might come their way.

Standing up a little straighter, she flicked her long tail. With how short she was, it was easy to step on it if not careful. Her siblings too were guilty of this, something she hissed at them often.

Children were lovely... and tiresome. Ikigai wasn't even close to being unhealthy, but she had always been delicate. Bearing three children in such quick succession had taken a lot out of the ink marked woman. She was so very thankful that Deimos had turned out to be a loving and attentive father. His help in the den and wrangling their brood had allowed Iki to heal up more quickly than if she'd been dealing with the trio alone.

While the pups grew, Ikigai had already been working on weaving a set of baskets. They were a bit longer than normal baskets with one flat side and one rounded. Both baskets were connected with a long strap, allowing a basket to be held on either side of the body. Iki and Deimos had discussed taking their children out into the world and a carrying system had seemed like the best way. With the three younglings in the baskets, Iki and Deimos moved outside of the den at a leisurely pace. The new mother glowed, so very proud of the children that she and her love had created.

Having reached the expanse of grass that blew gently in the wind like a green sea, Deimos crouched. Iki gently extracted each child, giving them a kiss atop the head before settling them on the grass beside her. Their father gave them a warning and Ikigai chuckled softly, sliding down onto her belly and leaning against the giant, purple man. "Have fun, my loves," Iki spoke sweetly to her children. She wanted them to be bold and unafraid of the world around them, but she also hoped that they would be obedient as well.

"Ikigai"

As they're loaded into the baskets, Dominus huffs quietly. "I can walk, you should let me walk," grumbling. At least he'd be full of energy when they got down to the bottom. Curiously, he peered over the edge of his basket, taking in the world. There was so much of it, and at once, he's reminded how very small he is. The boy's eyes go wide, ears flickering. So many sights, so many sounds. Threatened by sensory overload, Dominus sinks back into the safety of his seat for the remainder of the ride down. Right. Something about saving his energy.

Recovering by the time they reach their destination, Dominus is bright eyed once more. Resilient. Leaning up to kiss his mother on the cheek in return, as she places them each in turn on the ground. Happily, the boy toddles off into the unknown. Stay where dad could see them, but Dom is still pretty sure that's plenty of space. A stiff breeze through the tall summer grasses, there's something beautiful about it all. Tipping his face to it, taking in the warmth as it washes over him. "Which way are we exploring first?" Content to let his sisters pick the direction-- he gets to enjoy the beautiful day regardless.

It felt like it took forever for them to finally be allowed to leave the den. Their grandparents and family members came to visit sometimes, but they always got to go out past the edge of the cave and disappear without them! She wanted to go see where they were going and actually look at all of the things that their parents described to them. Hearing about them was fine and all, but her imagination only went so far! Finally their dad agreed that they would go out, but the catch was that they had to ride in a basket to get down the mountain. She agreed with her brother's grumbles of the fact that they could walk so they should be allowed to walk, but she was also too eager to finally get going that she didn't put up a fuss and allowed her parents to load her up into a basket next to her sister. The whole trip she stood in the basket with her front paws on the lip of the basket so that she could see out around them, her unique eyes wide with curiosity as she took it all in.

Eventually they got to where the rocky terrain changed into forest and their mother placed them down on the grass. The grass alone was such a weird feeling compared to the stone and furs that they had back in the cave so for a moment she just felt around on the ground with her paws and got used to the feeling of it brushing against her belly. At her dad's warning and her mom's wishes for them to have fun, she nodded with understanding, giving him a sweet smile. "Okay, dad! We will, mom!" Of course she wanted to go running off to see just how far all of the trees and grass went, but she didn't want to be taken back home so soon after getting here so she figured it was probably better to behave... for now. Dominus was the first to really venture off and she was right behind him, bounding through the grass to catch up. When he asked which way they should explore first, she hummed and looked around, eyeing the lake that was sort of close by and a cluster of trees that sat on the opposite side of them. She spotted a hole at the base of one of the trees and got Dominus' attention, pointing out the hole with a motion of her paw. "What do ya think is in there?" Better her brother go poking his nose into things than her!

"Kintsugi Mendacium"