Aurora Heights i still believe something is out there

This year was going to be much different than the previous one. Greer and his scarlet mate had jumped from one kid to four, which meant they were going to have their paws full for awhile. Although Revon was now a yearling and no longer relied on her parents she was still a trouble-maker and very much capable of causing her parents grief. At least now they had a readily available puppy-sitter for the Borealis Boys and could call on her when needed… as long as she didn’t evade her parents first. The mini-Kyna appeared interested in her younger brothers but had kept busy over the recent weeks. Patrolling, keeping tabs on the coyotes in the area, hunting… she was seldom seen standing still. Maybe it was to keep her mind busy after losing her friend/kidnapper, or maybe she was just eager to please. Greer never pried. If his daughter wanted to confide in him she would. He would not force her.

With a limp squirrel hanging from his jowls the dark leader padded toward the den he shared with his mate and their three boys. As of late Greer had chosen to reside outside the den to give the mother some space. He preferred to observe the mountain by night, which meant he could trade off with his scarlet mate during the day and allow her some time to stretch his legs.

He woofed softly as he appeared at the entrance of the den, the squirrel dropped between his paws as he beckoned his children forward. It was time they were exposed to the outside world.

Thank goodness it was finally time to move their growing brood from their natal den. It had only been a few weeks, true, but time had a weird habit of stretching on longer and longer as the boys became more and more active. When they were but little precious beans, sleeping more hours than they woke, it was relatively easy to dote and coo – or get Greer to watch over them. But the boys, they were awake all the time now. Their eyes were open, they were eager to get out into the bright light and open air.

Finally, she could allow them to.

“C’mon, my little loves,” she cooed, doubting she’d really have to coax them much more than that. “Time to go see the sun!”

And…

“C’mon, let’s tackle Papa, shall we?”

The time that was spent inside of the den was something magical. The young boy delighted in the adventure of the unknown but he had a habit of clinging to his mother when new things came into play. So when father left, Lance immediately suspected what was to follow. Mother seemed adamant about moving, too, and not only that but she signaled with her voice that the three boys come along. It certainly wasn't every day that either of them invited all of them along for the journey outside so Lance immediately got to his wobbly, thin, gangly legs and began to overcome the sensation of moving.

When mother expressed the notion to tackle papa, Lance's eyebrows wiggled with concern before the scene magically played within his little head. Oh. He thought, somewhat slow to understand what she was asking them to do. Slow to the get-up he misses Vindlys', but Lance immediately pushes forward at ample speed only to trip on one of his large paws, noggin hitting the ground and his back-end flipping up and around so that his head rested on the ground and his back end propped up against something rather sturdy (~~could be Vindlys, could be father's other front leg, could be a tree! who knows!~~)

with every broken bone I swear I lived

Even though he had heard the shuffling within the depths of the den, and fragments of his wife’s soft voice, Greer had not been expecting one, two, three bundles of fur to fling themselves at him. The first was his little shadow; Vindlys. The inky blob propelled himself against Greer’s leg, catching the older Archer off guard and causing him to stumble backward. But before he could react another blob—this time a blur of reds and browns—appeared. The second son was not as agile as his brother and managed to trip over his own paws. He landed on his shoulders, his backend resting against Greer’s other front leg. The shadow managed to stifle a laugh as a mighty warrior cry came from the palest of the three; little Capra. The blonde boy had flung himself at his father just like Vindlys, barreling into him without hesitation.

Greer collapsed to the ground as the pale boy made contact with his leg, his slender body falling to the side as his legs splayed out over the warm stone. He was sure to lay very still, his silver eyes blinking shut as he steadied his breathing…

Well! That plan had gone off with delightful success.

Kyna’s eyes twinkled as her children stampeded towards their father as fast as their fat little puppy feet could take them. She had thought they might need a bit of encouragement, but no. Playtime came naturally, it seemed – and Greer too, seemed quite at home. Revon had never been quite this rough, but then, she hadn’t any siblings in her litter, either.

The redhead’s tail wagged happily as she walked over to where her mate had ‘fallen’, leaning down to sniff at his face dramatically. “What’s this?” she cooed, looking at the puppies with wide eyes. “What’s happened to Da?”

The gangly boy would always be a little slow to really do much damage to another, especially when it came to family. Pa was never ever going to get really hurt as far as Lance was concerned, especially not by him. The two of his brothers were applicable soldiers, though. They were tough (far tougher than he) and didn't cower in the face of danger so clearly they were the ones that had ultimately defeated the Pa.

At least in this state, crumbled atop Vindlys, Lance was about to eventually slide down to the ground as his brother moved before falling to the side. It allowed him the opportunity to attempt to rise to his feet and inspect what he and his brothers had done. As soon as his blue eyes fell to his dark father, he could feel a pressing weight as he stared blankly at his fallen body. I sorry Ma, he murmurs, his mouth agape as his mouth suddenly began to take some shallow breaths, I not mean to! Lance began desperately stressing out that he had "deaded" his father, ultimately being the groups debbie downer and negative nancy all in one go.

^{* Lance is still very young, table is not appropriate age. *}

It was soon after he made impact with his father that the man fell, laying still on the ground as Capra frowned. He was too young and far too oblivious to fully grasp the concept of death, even a pretend one. Well this is no fun! He huffed to himself as he rammed his head into his father, trying to get him move. “Up, Pa!” He said with a pout on his features. Sure, he could tackle Lance or Vindlys, but that would be no fun! “UP!” He called out again as he went to headbutt his father a second time, not that he could put enough force in to actually do any harm to him.

And why was no one else trying to get him to stop being a lazy butt? Lance was even apologizing to his ma. For what? She told them to tackle him! The alabaster boy’s nose crinkled with disinterest before he plopped onto his butt. "Maaaaaaaa, make Pa play!"