The woofing might have gone unnoticed if the boy hadn't been straining his ears, listening to the Grove around him. Though, truthfully, he might have recognized the low bark anywhere. Marsh. Heeding the Second's beckoning call, he slowly crept back to the den site. His ears had lowered and his tail had fallen limp and was now slightly curled between his ankles. Fenru cautiously approached, not eyeing or paying any mind to the bird at the den's entrance.

He stopped a few feet away from his superior, offering a brief whine in greeting as his eyes cast a rather sad, timid glance into Marsh's face before looking to the ground. He dared to lift his eyes again to assess the encounter then took a few steps backward. He whimpered. Maybe he should have started running away when Marsh called.

This went beyond simple quietness, though. Marsh stood, head high but manner soft, and waited for the boy to return. Marsh heard him before he saw him, and almost instantly his overly meek demeanour caught his attention. Slowly his head turned to one side, to better fix Fenru with an appraising stare, and he noted the tail, the whine, the deflated expression.

Then the boy stepped back, and had Marsh not been so sure that he did not frighten the children, he may have wondered if Fenru's timidness was his own fault. Or perhaps it was his fault?

Faintly he frowned, and took a step forward (which was more than enough to equal the few steps back). With a small jerk of his muzzle, he gestured for Fenru to come closer.

Fenru's nose twitched. He certainly wasn't afraid of Marsh; that was for sure... For when the auburn male invited him to come closer, he did. One large tan paw was placed in front of the other until the boy nudged Marsh's chin with the tip of his leathery, black nose. He blinked then slightly withdrew from him, just enough to look back up into his superior's face again. The fire might have been gone from the Tainn's amber eyes but there was definitely a spark somewhere within their depths. He sat down quietly, wondering now what the Second had wanted him to do.

Marsh stood patiently as Fenru approached, glad that the timidness was not because of him. So what, exactly, had brought this disquiet to the boy? The small nose touched his chin, and Marsh was satisfied with the offered respect, still watching the young Tainn closely. There was still some energy behind those eyes, just tucked away.

Fenru sat, then, and Marsh followed suit, slowly tucking his legs beneath him as he continued to appraise the sight before him. With a soft, decisive snort, he lowered his muzzle, placing it beneath Fenru's own - and gently lifted the boy's head further, encouraging a little confidence in his posture. He was one of Corinna's first born, and had much to be proud of. He may not have been the bold wolf that his brother was, nor the elegant creature of his sister, but Fenru would grow up to suit his family name. The Tainns may have been an eclectic bunch, and in many cases possessing a touch too much arrogance, but never could it be said that they were the weak type.

As much as he didn't like to admit it to himself, Hael was becoming antsy. His new siblings would be here soon, and while he still wasn't quite sure about the mechanics of the whole ordeal, he at least knew that they would render his mother pretty helpless for a while. Or at least, that was why the den had to be so well prepared for the cubs' arrival, right?

Approaching the entrance of the new den, he lowered his nose to the ground. The scents of his pack mates were strong here. He knew that soon, new scents would be added to the mix— and briefly wondered whether or not Mom's scent would ever change back. In front of the entrance, he plunked to the ground with a little sigh, much on his mind...

Now that they'd been let out into the world, it was a constant source of fascination for Aiyana. Her family, previously only known as scents on Indru's fur, was real, much more than mere blood - and the world, it was vast, soft, unlike the stifling darkness and dirt of the den. The den was familiar, and its Dark was familiar; the Dark outside was much more interesting. She was perched just outside the den entrance in the late evening, watching the colors spread out across the sky - half of it was already full of the Dark, transiting to purple to bright, warm orange... where the Light was disappearing. A few clouds were as red as the blood that she sometimes saw on others muzzles. Why was the sky bleeding?

It reflected in the little child's still-blue eyes, and her tail gave a thoughtful twitch. A tree was covering the best view of the sky, and with a hesitant glance back at the den, the young Tainn pushed herself up on large paws and awkwardly made her way out a couple of paces. There. Much better. Content, the girl sank down in a haphazard sit again and lost herself in the beauty of the sky; and her friend, the wind, stroked her with gentle hands.

The wolf lazily sauntered his way to the birthing den, a large grasshopper dangling from his jaws. It was large, long-bodied, and still twitching, another casualty of Rihael's affinity for aimlessly capturing things that were smaller than him. He'd graduated to a few rabbits and other small prey, but his fascination with insects was something he wasn't planning on getting over anytime soon.

Speaking of things that were smaller than him, Hael quickly realized as he approached the den that one of his new baby siblings had found her way outside. Her dark coat was barely discernable in the failing light of dusk, but he could smell her unique, weirdly sweet baby scent, and his mother's scent on her fur. Quizzically, he slowed his pace, watching her for a moment.

As she plunked down to a seat once again, he moved to come up behind her, woofing softly in hopes that he wouldn't scare her. After all, she was so small, and fragile— there would be a time for beating her up in an older brotherly fashion, but tonight was not that time. Instead, he simply nosed her left ear gently, and took a seat at her side. His thick tail thumped the ground behind him once, and he glanced downward at her, still amazed at just how tiny she was.

The world kept darkening as the Light sunk away, and in breathless fascination did Aiyana watch the colors change - the blood in the sky paled, every color paled as if the Dark bled the warmth and brilliance from them... Her lower jaw relaxed and slipped open in a small expression of amazement, and likely she would've sat there, enchanted, all night, hadn't a scent and a low woof intruded upon her vigil. Small ears flicked and she looked over her shoulder - moved a little too quickly, gave an undignified yelp and caught herself before falling. Something dangled from his mouth, but she couldn't see what yet, and as he fondly nosed her ear she chirped in baby tones, "Ri!", and reared up in an attempt to nip his head with her little baby teeth. He was out of reach, though, and she settled for leaning her clumsy paws against his front leg and sticking her cold little nose into his neck fur. Then she sunk down on her haunches again, her entire hind end wagging with the motion of her excitable tail.

Once she'd been introduced to the rest of her family on that first day in the Light she'd taken quickly to them, overjoyed at having so many more wolves to cozy up against and poke her nose at. While Torrel and Rissa - and mother and father - would always have a very special place in her heart, she had no qualms adopting the entire pack. There was no reason not to, and being envious or antisocial was just bothersome and counterproductive. Thus, the girl was comfortable around all Swift River members.

There was, however, the mystery of that thing dangling from his mouth... and it refused to be ignored. The sky was forgotten for now as her eyes grew wide, taking the thing in - she'd never seen a wolf with one of those before, and upon a closer inspection from her blue eyes it definitely didn't seem wolfy. She came to the conclusion that it was something else, but why it was stuck in his mouth she wasn't quite sure. Squinting at it, she tried to make out the details, but it was hard in the poor light. That her eyesight wasn't fully developed was something she wasn't aware of, though there wasn't much left until it was - she just hadn't really got the hang of focusing properly yet. Sighing in frustration she pointed her nose up at the thing, silently asking the question of what is that?

Where the world had once been scary, it was now utterly delightful. With a woof, the two month old cub plunged into the light, leaving her siblings behind. Her first visit out into the world had taken some coaxing, and motivation by fear. But now, she was leaving the den consistently, to go out and explore the world around her more thoroughly. Today, her nose led her to the base of a nearby tree trunk, where a strange scent had attracted her attention. Standing a bit more steady on her lengthening legs, the cub wandered in that direction, her nose not refined enough to be able to easily pick out the scent she was searching for.

But eventually she arrived at the tree in question. Falling back onto her haunches, she peered up into the sky, looking in the leafy branches. But she didn't see anything there. Her weak eyes had strengthened some, but they had not improved enough for her to pick out the squirrel hiding on the trunk of the tree, not too far above her head. Pawing at the trunk, she heard the scamper as the creature scurried up just a bit higher, and she anxiously looked up, trying to find it. But she wasn't able to see it, and with a whine, she fell back, and sat staring up, trying to spot the elusive creature that had captured her attention so thoroughly.

Aiyana Tainn sat, as usual, outside the dark den. Its mouth gaped black and hungry at her, like a monster wanting to swallow her up and keep her confined, and the picture of that didn't exactly allure to the young girl. While she was not adventurous in the energetic, adrenaline junkie sense, she certainly had a deep thirst for knowing and seeing everything that there was to know and see. Growing, she found so many new sensations within herself too - and when rain puddles allowed her to watch her own reflection, she saw changes there. The milky blue of her eyes was turning rich orange, and the only thing it made her think of was dusk - sunset, and the hours just before, when the pale blue of a summer's sky darkened, eventually turning into a splendid explosion of vibrant oranges and deep, dark reds.

It was what she was waiting for now, the eastern sky already dark and dotted with so many bright little specks her eyes had a hard time seeing more than just a blur of pale dots. A crescent moon hung like an adornment above, but she had eyes only for the Light, or, what she could see of it through the trees. In the previous hour spears of golden light had shot through the trees, dust motes dancing like tiny balls of fire in the air, but now the shadows ruled. What she could see was a vivid display as the sun began to sink - for only a few minutes would it be like this, she knew, because soon it would grow pale and dark. But while it lasted, Aiyana was determined to enjoy it.