Bright, searing light was invading her happy place. It hadn’t happened suddenly; for a while now it had been creeping in, and Karina thought that if she could just bury her face far enough into the big warm, soft one with the milk it would all go away. She was doing just this when one of the others—you know, the ones that nudge and squirm and don’t let her drink—started squealing. Karina pulled her face away in curiosity, her eyes only able to detect the blurry discrepancies between light and dark. Sometimes other large, unfamiliar creatures came into their happy place, carrying strong smells that even Karina’s developing nose could detect. These times were the most frightening of all... Karina squealed a lot when this happened.

But this was not what was happening, from what Karina could tell. The squealing one had somehow detached himself from their happy place, and he was moving... Toward the light. No! Karina yipped in panic. If that one walked away into the light, would the others go too? Karina wiggled all the closer to her mother, cloudy eyes still locked on her adventurous brother. ”Rrrr RRRrr!” she called desperately to Aleksei. It was an experiment really-- the first time she had ever tried to communicate with anyone. He had stopping moving, and he was now making happy vocalizations—like the kind they made after eating-- which confused Karina. How could he be happy so far away? If a pup her age could look dubious, that was the look she wore now. It was an expression her family would become quite familiar with as she grew. She turned her face back into the warm belly of her mother, whining for the “big one” to correct this issue.

Try as she might to bury herself in her mother’s belly fur, Karina was unable to block out her brother’s calls. She thought that he must be terrified, yelping in panic at the strange, shadowy shapes that lurked outside just outside their safe place. Karina saw them sometimes, shuffling at the mouth of the den until her mother’s low, throaty growl banished them. She felt her second brother’s warmth leave her side and for a moment she cried pitifully for her brothers’ safety and for her own newfound loneliness. She had never been without her siblings company before, and it was cold. Reluctantly lifting her head, she saw the shapes of her brothers moving toward the light, wagging and barking at what they saw. Now that she could hear and see (somewhat) clearly, Aleksei’s yelps sounded less like terror and more like excitement. Karina gave the Big One a nudge, her final attempt to alert her mother to the out-of-control situation. Nothing. The princess grunted in frustration, turning back to where her brothers stood. ”ArrrrrRaar!” she called out. Wait for me!

She thought that leaving her mother’s side would be the hardest part, but quickly she learned that it was an incredibly difficult task to move all of her appendages in a way that was conducive to forward progress. She resorted to scooting along the soft dirt of the den floor on her belly, her clumsy back legs pushing her body along. It may have only been a few wolflengths in reality, but to Karina it felt like miles. She whined a little bit as she crossed into the harsh light, her cloudy blue eyes adjusting for the first time to the sensation. The pup was still blind when she reached her brother—the one who had ventured out first—and leaning against his rigid stance she was able to pull herself to the standing position that Orren and Aleksei had both assumed. She was still leaning against him as the shapes of the outside world materialized around her, and her body froze also as she suddenly realized just how big everything out here was. She began trembling from head to toe, unable to move but also unable to tear her eyes away from the shapes and colors all around.

As Karina leaned against her eldest sibling, his head swung around and she quite suddenly found herself staring into the soulful blue eyes of her brother. There was something soft in his gaze—an emotion that Karina would later come to know as concern-- and the girl made a quiet, gurgly sound in her throat in response. Her own cloudy blue eyes blinked as it suddenly clicked in her mind that this being was not simply a wiggling competitor for their mother’s food and affection. This was another person, like her, who was soft like her mother and gave out warmth and attention and well.. support—especially at the moment. Stepping out of the den had explosively expanded her world, and at the same time it had expanded her heart. Where there used to be only concern for herself and her mother, she now realized she had her brothers to love. She had a family.

Orren piled into the two of them, and Karina lost her balance as her support, Aleksei, lost his. She wriggled from underneath her mischievous brother, squeaking with delight. This was a game that they had played in the darkness, but it was so much more fun when you could see. She mouthed at Aleksei’s paws as they came toward her, snapping at the air as he drew them away. She rolled onto her side as her brother disengaged, stumbling away as quickly as he could. Karina panted as she laid on the ground in defeat, knowing that trying to run would be a lost cause. She yipped to cheer Aleksei on though— at least one of them might get away.

In the early mornings, Naia sometimes liked to lay here, a few wolflengths from the birthing den, and listen to the puppy sounds echoing inside as Cut Rock River’s youngest awoke. She told herself that she was guarding the den, but in reality she felt joy in simply being near the new generation. The squeaking and yipping had grown stronger—louder—the past couple of days, so Naia had her honey gaze trained on the opening of the den in case a curious little face emerged. It gave her a secret thrill to imagine that she would be the first of the pack to set eyes on the new litter, aside from the parents and Lachesis of course. No doubt the medic had given the pups and their mother a check-up after the birth.

Naia stiffened as she heard a high, puppyish growl sound from the mouth of the den. It was about time for the children to be opening their eyes.. had the early morning light enticed one of them to the entrance? She barely dared to breathe as one—then two and three—tumbled from the birthing den. Naia’s heart fluttered in delight as she watched the pups discover the world for the first time through newly-opened eyes. She tried to imagine what they must be experiencing, seeing the gray morning sky for the first time, the cedars looming over them, and the soft grass beneath their paws.

It was all Naia could do not to whine in excitement. She yearned to bury her nose into the pups soft coats and to smell their sweet puppy breath. It had been so long ago when she was a teacher and pupsitter in her birthpack, but she instantly recalled the bliss she felt in those days spent with the puppies full of curiosity and enthusiasm. She stayed quiet though, knowing that if she made a sound she would likely attract their attention. The last thing Naia wanted was for Kisla to emerge and decide the River scout was much too close to her young. Despite her efforts, a bark of laughter escaped as one of the young males took a nose-dive for the ground during an attempt to catch his brother. It had only been a single bark though—perhaps it would go unnoticed by the trio.