Contents:
Streetwind
Aurora
Obvious exits:
North <N> leads to Overgrown Lands - Route 11: Off the Route.

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west, along with the wind. The sunlight on the snow is dazzling, and it gleams on the ice. In the forest, blowing snow drifts against the trunks of the trees. While at the coast, the sea is bright but cruel and cold looking in the sunlight, the waves gentle and the whitecaps small.

Why is it that the weather actually seems to be improving as December rolls onward? Today is a considerably nice day. A little windy, but it's sunny and blue. Chilly, but not intolerably bad. Were they old enough, the five Growlithe puppies in the farm might be out playing around in the snow, but, almost undoubtedly, their parents are making sure they stay inside this wintery day. ... Well, at least, the mother is. Where's dad? Taking advantage of the good weather, Peppy (surprised that he's actually using that fuzz-filled head of his?) has been gone all morning, out hunting anything he can get his grubby paws on. Whether or not he's met with success is unclear. He's been out for about two hours... is this a good sign or a bad one?

Like always, Aurora is indoors looking after the pups... unlike always, today the mother Growlithe doesn't appear to be falling asleep on her paws. Maybe the puppies slept quietly for once, or perhaps they didn't fuss as much when she tried to get them to go to sleep - but whatever the reason, Aurora's more alert than usual, even to the point of playing with two of the puppies while watching the others tussling in a mock-fight. Dakota's busy trying to bat at her mother's paws as they're moved from side to side, forwards and back. Meanwhile, Dusk is trying to scramble up her mother's right hind leg, though her tiny dewclaws don't allow her much purchase in the fur.

Will Santa's route be extra long this year? Better save! (Saving)

Arrived, at last. The stray standing outside the barn cannot help but find it convenient to have a place to rest that is NOT covered by a thick layer of cold, wet snow. Well, it really is, but sometimes, it takes a while for certain facts to breach through the stubborn fox's head. Especially when humans are the cause of something nice. That... just doesn't add up in her head.

The sun is high in the sky, and Streetwind has been in the barn for a good minute or two before Peppy does finally make it back home, the pup squeezing through the crack in the door and stumbling into the barn, tracking snow and mud and dirt in and leaving grimy pawprints on the floor. A few of the sleeping pokemon take notice. Most of them don't care much, but one little Pidgey's eyes widen with horror, and she prods her sleeping mother, who wakes up and stares down at the Growlithe, her eyes immediately frowning at him. And for good reason, too; Peppy found something new today. Not a Rattata, not a branch of berries, not a leftover burger some kind-hearted kid (or sap, depending on your point of view) left, but a Pidgey. And though the Growlithe doesn't look as ecstatically happy as he usually, he's still got his head up high and his tail-a-waggin'. Does he even know what Pidgey tastes like?

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west, along with the wind. The sunlight on the snow is dazzling, and it gleams on the ice.

Aurora looks up as Streetwind enters and initially blinks in suprise for a second or so, then gives her a smile and a nod and turns her attention back to the puppies. The second triumphant hunter gets more attention paid to him - Aurora's eyes widen at the prey, and she walks quickly over towards Peppy, the two pups she was playing with following behind more slowly. <How did you manage to catch that?> she asks, her voice filled with admiration. <They can fly, can't they? And you...> She looks at Peppy's back pointedly, and grins. <Unless there's something you're not telling me, you can't.>

Streetwind is pretty good at not noticing people if she doesn't want to. If one is alone, why look around for others? Aurora doesn't get even a quick glance, as does neither of the other pokemon in the barn, and not even Peppy entering a little later and the starting conversation catches her attention. She settles into "her corner" (luckily not occupied... that is, lucky for the non-existant occupant) and starts chewing on her catch. The only thing that would make her look up would probably be someone trying to take the prey for himself. Let's hope that doesn't happen, right? Chew chew chew, the firefox has quite some eating speed... and sound.

The baby Pidgey up high starts to cry out something, but her mother immediately shushes her before she can get anything out. She was probably going to scream at Peppy, how cruel he is for trying to feed for his family using -Pidgeys-! (Rattatas must be just fine.) Quickly turning over to Aurora, the Pidgey's head bouncing up and down lifeless as he does so, the corners of Peppy's mouth perks up into a doggy grin, and his grip on the bird tightens. Before he replies to Aurora, however, he trots closer to her, depositing the Pidgey onto the wood not two feet away from the female Growlithe and the pups climbing all over her. <I caught it all by myself!> he woofs rather proudly, though he does peer at Aurora blankly for a couple moments, wondering what she's implying. What would he not be telling her? Cocking his head a bit, Peppy stares for just a moment more, before his furry face softens a bit. <I used a Flamethrower and hit it!> He doesn't let it on that it actually took six or seven fire attacks and the bird was taunting him the whole time. That's Peppy for ya.

Peppy's explanation is met with an <Oh, I see,> Aurora's voice still full of admiration. <That's very well done of you, to attack it and manage to take it down... what are you doing there?> she asks Dakota, who's padded between Aurora's front paws up to the Pidgey, and now has a few of the wing feathers grasped in her jaws, pulling feebly at them. <Do you want to play with the feathers?> Aurora asks Dakota, who looks up at her mother, blinks a few times, then returns to tugging at the wing. Dusk, meanwhile, is back to her old game of climbing, and still isn't making much progress as she attempts to get a grip in the fur Aurora's left hind leg.

Once the first hunger is stilled, the Ninetales puts the half-eaten Nidoran aside and licks her muzzle excessively. Mmmh, that sure tastes good. No need to devour it all in one go. Rare catches shouldn't be wasted like that. By the way, what's all the commotion about? Streetwind looks back and forth between Peppy and Aurora. Oh no... don't say it is about that Pidgey. Those are /so/ easy. How can they be proud of a Pidgey? ...On the other hand, it's Peppy, and she had watched him hunt more than once before. Well, let them be proud about their little feather-thing. Almost, she turns her attention away, but then, she notices something small moving in between the two Growlithes. What is /that/?

Dusk is the one who first captures Peppy's attention as it goes from mother to daughter. Narrowing his eyebrows a little, Peppy focuses back on Aurora, growling amusedly, <There's a puppy climbing on you.> No, couldn't be! Aurora didn't just spend all morning out in the cold like one certain Growlithe, she's not the one with the numb nerves. Peppy drops his head back down to the Pidgey, settling his teeth on its brown feathers while his mate speaks. He's in the process of bringing his eyes up to look at Aurora, an oh-so-happy smile on his face (gotta love compliments!)... when he feels a tug on the bird. His eyes shoot back down to Dakota, who is having limited success, given her teeth and strength. "Grrrr," growls the pup's father, his grin widening, his tail wagging back and forth. He pulls back a little, giving Dakota just a bit of resistance. He's unaware of Streetwind's presence now, but undoubtedly that won't last one she finds out just who he's playing with.

Dakota growls a little as she tugs harder at the wing, although it probably won't feel like much more of a pull for Peppy - after all, she's only little, and she only has a few teeth so far to properly grip the feathers with. Aurora, meanwhile, turns her head as far as she can to the left, catching sight of Dusk and then grinning. <You're doing well,> she woofs softly back at the puppy, who apparently doesn't take much notice, but continues trying to scrabble up the leg with not much success.

Family idyll, how nice. But now there's a curious Ninetales padding towards the group. As she closes in, she recognizes the furball for what it is - a miniature Growlithe. Hmmm, wait, didn't Peppy once tell her something about puppies once? She stops a moment to affirm that thought, halfway over the distance. Satisfied with the result, Streetwind continues. Interesting... she wouldn't have thought that Peppy, the hopeless case, could be a father. Some things you just have to see with your own eyes to believe... or smell them. The firefox proceeds to sniff the little puppy that's fighting with the feathers. What's rude and what's not, that seldomly bothers her, and it doesn't right now, either.

Will Santa's route be extra long this year? Better save! (Saving)

Out of the corner of his mouth, Peppy woofs a little reply <Thanks!> to his mate as he lightens his tug just a bit. Somebody is hogging all the compliments in the room, no matter *who* they're directed towards. Tug, tug, tu-stop. Peppy's eyes immediately flicker over to the Ninetales, and he drops the bird right away, jerking the unaware puppy forward a bit with a squeak of protest as the Pidgey slams into the ground. <Hey!> he growls, taking a little step forward, keeping his eyes locked to Streetwind. Undoubtedly he'll be ignored, but at least he's giving it a shot. Looks like somebody doesn't perceive this as rude, but threatening. <Where did...> Pause. Better question. Growling a little louder now. <Why are you over here?> His tail stiffens, his position tenses... and he looks somewhat uncertain. He's never actually had to, you know, "defend his innocent family from impending doom" or what not.

Aurora's reaction to Streetwind's approach isn't quite as aggressive as her mate's - after all, she noticed the Ninetales when she came in, even acknowledging her presence, though the reverse wasn't true. She takes a step back instinctively, causing Dusk to trip and fall onto her front as the leg she's climbing suddenly moves. After a quick glance at Dusk to make sure she's all right, Aurora then looks up at Streetwind, tail wagging slowly and a little nervously, but with a smile. <Are you feeling better since that time you weren't well?> she asks the Ninetales. <It's not nice to be ill in this weather...>

Eh, there's a muzzle pushing into her field of view. Peppy's muzzle. What's his problem anyway? She's just sniffing the little thing. And he's /growling/. What, is he trying to threaten her? (Bad idea, Peppy...) Streetwind's eyes narrow. Slowly, she takes back a step to face Peppy, and just as slowly, she brings her head up, until she can easily stare down on the smaller Growlithe. Her eyes are like stone, for steel is not a viable comparison in the pokemon world... <I've liked you so far>, she states matter-of-factly. <You don't want to ruin it.> And with that, she turns around abruptly, her tails whooshing as they follow the quick motion. Aurora gets a taxating glance from the corner of Streetwind's eye. Well, at least she acknowledged Aurora's presence before she pads back to her place near the wall of the barn. Let's hope Peppy doesn't protest against this treatment. He won't get far with asking for fairness.

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west, along with the wind. The sunlight on the snow is dazzling, and it gleams on the ice.

Streetwind has disconnected.

Peppy shoots a nervous glance at Aurora, his eyes almost curious, before turning back to Streetwind. ... That was her, wasn't it? The Ninetales at the den? The one who needed the berries? His tense drops a bit, his angry face softens, and he doesn't appear quite so... defensive. And this is only further enhanced by that cold, soul-chilling stare, which causes Peppy to shift uncomfortably and glance away submissively. Towards Aurora, in fact. When Streetwind heads back to her corner (undoubtedly, Peppy will later recall it as 'retreating', maybe even 'running away'), the Growlithe exhales a little sigh, shaking his furry head quickly and watching the Ninetales stroll off. At least he -tried- this whole "being tough" thing. ... And it worked, for three seconds or so.

Peppy's behaviour doesn't get the best of responses... and Aurora's questions don't even get replied to, a mere glance all that the Ninetales gives to Aurora. She watches silently as the Ninetales returns to her corner, and then sighs quietly and returns her attention to the pups - Dakota and Dusk are still playing happily, but one of the pups in the playfight in the straw seems to have disappeared, as Aurora discovers on a second look back at the group. Frowning a little, she turns and picks Dusk up by the scruff of her neck, holding her lightly with her teeth before depositing her next to Dakota. <I think Briska's got lost in the straw somewhere,> she says to Peppy. <I'll go and look for him-> A little fuzzy head pops out of the straw a metre away from the other pups, looking rather confused, and Aurora grins. <Well, I'll go and bring him back,> she adds, and bounds off to do just that.

Will Santa's route be extra long this year? Better save! (Saving)

Peppy seems uncomfortable. Maybe it's his clenched teeth, or the blush under his fur, or his jerky tail movements, or his glance to the side, or his tight frown... Sublty, thy name is anything but Peppy. The moment Aurora starts to speak, however, the pup snaps back into reality, and, his eyes jumping to the his mate's face, he nods, almost a little too enthusiastically. <Sure! I'll, uh, I'll...> He glances down at the Pidgey, tail now slowly shifting back and forth. He contemplates eating (but then, isn't he almost always doing that?). Eyes turn to the two little female Growlithes playing. He smiles. <Know what?> Peppy notes offhandedly, his nervousness dissipating into the air as he rests on his haunches. <... I think they're growing up well.> Whether Aurora hears him or not depends on her, but the Growlithe isn't particularly loud.

Scooping up the stray puppy with a paw and returning him to the group he was playing with, Aurora then bounds back to Peppy, the puppies and the Pidgey. Dusk seems to have discovered Dakota's first game, and the two of them are now tugging on the end of a wing. Aurora grins at them for a while, then nudges them away from the bird with one paw. <Go and play with the other pups for a little, you two. Your dad and I need to eat. We'll give you your food later, okay?> Perhaps the two puppies understand first time, perhaps not... anyhow, with the help of a few more nudges from Aurora's paw, they go trotting back to join their siblings, and Aurora nods to Peppy, <Well, let's start eating.>

Okay, and Peppy goes back to contemplating eating, something he does all the time. Almost immediately he lowers his head slightly, though it stops halfway to the Pidgey. Pulling it up almost as if it's a struggle, it seems to take all of Peppy's will to keep himself from immediately diving upon the bird and stuffing it down with one gulp. Grinning nervously at his mate, his eyes bouncing back and forth from Growlithe to Pidgey, Peppy asks, quietly, struggling to keep from getting too excited (brand new food! It smells good!), <... Do you... want the first bite?> Before he'd always invite her to eat first, now it's shrunk into a question. Bad Peppy, bad, slowly killing the last remnants of chivalry.

Aurora shakes her head. <I'll wait until you've eaten something. You must be starving from having to hunt for it, and it's the first time you've caught a Pidgey.> She smiles, and says, <I'll get the pups together so that we can find them for feeding later. I'll come back when you're finished.> And she's off with another bound, loping quickly over to where the five puppies are now playing, wrestling with each other in a heap of black, red and white fur.

Peppy opens his mouth to protest, but he doesn't make a sound. Not from his mouth, however - his stomach is loud enough, giving off a gurgling rumble that causes the pup to peer down at his stomach with much embarrassment. "Lii..." he mumbles, mentally stumbling over what to say until Aurora hops off after the puppies, leaving Peppy somewhat... dumbfounded. ... Well... she did say he should eat first... Giving into to his ever-present instincts, Peppy sort of just falls from his sitting position onto the bird and begins to gnaw away, munching on beak, feathers, flesh - anything his canines can rip apart, which will probably include the bird's hollow bones if he can get that far. Mmm, mmm, mmm. If the pup remembered more about his trainer life, he might comment that it tastes like chicken.