Contents:
Briska 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.

Well, after yesterday's horrible blizzard of sleet and rain, it seems only fair that the weather today would be more peaceful and enjoyable. The sun has started to sink in the sky, and dusk is only a few hours away. The sounds of chomping, slurping, and growling contentedly have echoed throughout the barn for the past five minutes, as the barn's keeper has stopped by with the day's grub already. A fair portion of the food had been saved for the family of Growlithes in the corner - nowhere near enough to fill the father up, of course (as if anything could), but the puppies should be more than content. Though Aurora's fast asleep, content to nuzzle into his side and use him like a pillow, Peppy's still awake. He has to be; who else is going to watch over the puppies? He's not exactly doing a great job, however, because every couple moments, his eyelids close, and his head slinks further into his paws, and he immediately has to perk back up to keep from falling asleep.

Purple, gold, and vermillion clouds grace the western sky as the sun descends toward the west.

There's a great big world outside. It's full of wind and snow driven by atmospheric pressures, on a spherical crust of earth with a molten core at its center. It's a world full of human cities, vast wilderness, islands popping up wherever you turn, giant Charizards, nasty Mankey, edible Rattata and other Growlithe.

Somewhere, a blue haired boy selects the right shade of lipstick. (Eee! Saving!)

Aurora's reply is a half-grunt as she nestles deeper into her mate, undoubtedly signalling for Peppy to do something about the pup before he gets much louder. Perking his head up once again from his nod, Peppy settles his own green eyes upon Briska. Unlike the child's, which are likely wide, bright, and pleading, Peppy's eyelids are half closed, partially from tiredness, partially from annoyance. Thankfully enough for Briska, Peppy was never one to stay mad for long, so he only keeps up this peering act for a couple moments, before softening his face is something more of a tired grin. <Hi... um...> A pause. Let's see. It's not the black one... and it's a boy one... so... um... <Briska!> Wag, wag goes Peppy tail as he realizes he's -so smart- for figuring it out! After only two and a half months, too!

The fair weather clouds in the west turn purple, gold, and vermillion as the sun sets. The snow, in shadow, looks blue. A cold wind blows from the west.

Briska's eyes remained glued to his mother until Peppy speaks. When the daddy doggy does, Briska blinks before slowly looking over at his poppa. He looks rather confused - just why is his father talking to him? ..Does he have milk? Briska tilts his head, first one way and then the other. But, hey, daddy's tail is wagging. The puppy's own tail begins to wag in response, a smaller imitation of his father's action. Soon, the fuzzy pup pushes his rump off the ground, almost faceplanting into the straw in his eagerness, and wobbles over to his dad. His little nose works furiously as he walks, sniffing for any milk-scents. Flame pads stealthily over to his brother's bit of meat and snaps it into his jaws, before padding back to where he had been eating before. Briska remains unaware of the theft.

The orange-red sun sinks below the western horizon, leaving a darkening tapestry of purple and red-gold clouds behind it.

Peppy does notice Flame's sinister stealing and, lifting his head off of his paws, he opens his mouth to scold the black-furred pup... but in lifting his head, he notices that, while Dakota's gobbled her dinner down, but both Karen and Dusk have still left a little of the generic food, so there's no harm done. Briska can just take some of their food! (Peppy, obviously, is not a very good disciplinarian.) Keeping his head hovering above the wooden floor, Peppy looks down at Briska in his Sphinx-position, tail still wagging, mouth still upturned in a doggy grin. <What's the matter, Briska?> he asks, affectionately enough. <Ya hungry? Or tired?> Peppy doesn't reason that if he was hungry he wouldn't have left his food, or that if he was tired he'd go to sleep. That's Peppy for ya.

Soki has connected.

Briska plops onto his rump with a heavy rocking motion. He studies his dad intently, though for all the strength of his stare it doesn't seem like there's much going on behind it. Well, Peppy isn't rolling over and offering him milk, nor is there any milk smell. But whatever could this mean? Finally, Briska hits upon the answer. It means he's just not sniffing hard enough! That thought comes with a happy canine grin, and he gets to all fours. Briska, ignoring whatever his father is woofing about, leans forward and snuffs at Peppy's chest fur, taking a few more steps towards his pop. If Peppy hasn't moved by this time, he'll bury his face in his dad's shaggy coat. It's not quite the belly, but it's close enough for the pup.

Well, okay. Peppy is sort of a jittery pokemon to begin with, and it's quite easy to unsettle him. But maybe this time, his discomfort at the situation is justified. <Wh - hey!> he ruffs, tucking his chin down into the top of his creamy white-furred chest, eyes narrowed down at his son. The adult Growlithe shifts his position a little bit, rocking to the side (causing a faint growl from Aurora) but not actually getting up and away from the curious puppy. The look on his face has shifted from loving adoration to perplexed uncertainty, and his voice is far more nervous and far less fatherly as he asks, <... Are you cold?> That must be it! Gotta be it! ... Oh please, let that be it...

Briska is now inhaling scents of Growlithe, the great outdoors, straw...but no milk. That and he's breathing in a lot of hair. Here is where Briska experiences something new - not being able to breathe. It takes him a few seconds to realize that breath won't come before instinct takes over. He jerks his head away, stumbling backwards from his dad, his paws splayed for balance as he gasps. His eyes are wide, and they don't diminish in size once air gets into his lungs. Now Briska peers up at his father, a shocked look on his fluffy face. If he had the ability to communicate the idea, he'd be saying 'wow, dad, did you know suffocation is a /bad/ thing?'.

Once Briska is all tangled in his chest fur and -not- biting, clawing, or flaming him, Peppy calms down a little, exhaling out of his nose. That's it. The poor little guy must have been cold, or maybe even lonely, or... and then Briska tumbles back, seemingly surprised, causing Peppy's own face to adopt a look of fusion. He cocks his head. <What's the matter?> Ah, Peppy's even more clueless than usual today, and that's saying something. And so the father Growlithe peers down at the puppy, and should Briska not react in the next five seconds or so, Peppy's eyes will finally widen in understanding. "Gr.... grrrowlithe!" You can see the lightbulb over his head. <You want milk, don't you? You...> And then Peppy blinks, glances up at his forehead... and blushes behind his fur. So -that's- what Briska was trying to do. Apprehensively, Peppy turns his head to the left and right around the barn, mortified that somebody might have watched.

Brindled clouds conceal a few patches of starlit sky.

Somewhere in the other plane, the one where gods watch and play with the ways of mortals, one of them is snickering cruelly for, as was Peppy's hope against, someone was indeed watching. With interest. You see, this someone is someone used to adventure, and travelling, and the ways of the road. This someone can stand rain, snow, sleet, and hail... for a while, until his skin gives out and he starts to bleed. This someone is very frustrated at the lack of ability to get out and move around, and for the sake of sanity has turned to alternate means of entertainment. This someone is Soki the Sandslash, and at the moment he's trying to conceal a chuckle and look the other way, with only partial success.

Briska doesn't react to the question with anything other than a tilt of his head. He can differentiate the questioning tone from normal sentences, but he still has little idea what this jumble of words means. Milk has always been associated with primitive concepts (full belly) and actions (mom rolling over) - not with woofed consonants and vowels. Briska just stares blankly up at his dad, the pup looking like his brain has fallen out of his head. But when Peppy looks around...maybe he's finding someone else to get him milk? The puppy swings his head from side to side, mimicking his father with large, unsteady actions, shifting weight on his feet with each stare around the barn.

Soki's turn away does fool Peppy for a moment or so (as is easy to tell, he's not the brightest Growlithe in the world), but the canine eventually figures it out. Somebody was watching, indeed, and the simple thought makes the pup's nose twitch and his jaw clamp. His mind swirls into chaos over what to say. Chuckle along with Soki? Get mad? Get embarrassed? Get even? He speaks without thinking it though. <He was just a little confused, that's all!> he woofs loudly, invoking a couple grumbles of irritation from other barn members, before turning back down to his puppy. The pup struggles with every word, as though he has to actively concentrate on speaking to the baby and -not- impulsively whirl attention back to Soki to see if the Sandslash is still looking. <If you're just hungry, Briska, you can just eat some of the hard food. It's really yummy!> Cans dipped in mud would be 'really yummy' to this pup, but Briska probably (unfortunately) doesn't realize this. Peppy's smile is a little more genuine now, and his tail wags. What if the puppy tells him to demonstrate eating? Peppy would like that!

Somewhere, a blue haired boy selects the right shade of lipstick. (Eee! Saving!)

Given the fact that speaking at this distance would probably get more irritated grumbles and the fact that Peppy wouldn't realize it, Soki decides to close the gap to save them both some embarrassment. Slowly, he gets up and casually starts walking over to the daddy and pup (did I just use those words of my own will?! Yargphlheahbl...*). It looks like neither complaint nor tease is in order... just that Soki wants to say something and distance ain't the best place to say it from.

His father's loud woof causes Briska's ears to flatten. The pup gives a short, wordless grumble himself before his ears then perk to catch the noises of the other barn members. He's never been quite sure what to make of all the visitors to the barn. When Peppy speaks again, at a more acceptable volume, Briska turns back. Once again, he stares up at his dad. But this time, a spark of something rising within his large eyes. <..Y..yyah...mmmah,> he slowly murmurs, a contemplative look on his face. It's not quite his first word (because words generally have to mean things, don't they?), but it certainly is rare from Briska. The pup isn't the most avid speaker. That prize goes to his sisters. He's also not the most observant, as he fails to heed the information his ears are giving him - that there's a giant Sandslash moving towards the group.

Even ignorant Peppy has to quirk up his attention when Briska opens his mouth and "speaks", something the puppy's not well known for doing. <Very nice, Briska!> Peppy compliments the little puppy, rotating his head so as to nudge Aurora with his nose. Does that count as his first word? It's not a yip or yap, and it certainly almost sounded like something, and was the pup's mother awake to hear it? No! Even after a little prodding, she doesn't wake up, and, exhaling out of his nose, he starts to turn back to the puppy - but his eyes lock upon Sandslash. Panic sensors are flicked on, and a jolt runs down the Growlithe's spine. Soki's fine when he's on the other side of the barn, but when he's waltzing into this corner, Peppy can't help but be a little apprehensive. Can you blame him? His teeth clamp together and he growls, though it's not a particularly threatening one. It might become one if Soki doesn't do something.

Soki holds up a paw in a rather human "quiet, please" gesture. He probably picked it up from Zenny. <Peace, guy. Just wanted to talk,> he says in the most disarming voice a bespined claw-wielding rat with warrior training can muster. <I'm not here to hurt you or your son. He's kinda cute, actually.> Somewhere in Soki's subconscious, two sides have gotton into a severe debate over whether or not that sort of thing should ever have made it to his mouth, but they're unimportant and will not be known to the world unless Soki develops schitzophrenia.

Briska is sensitive to tones, and he's mightily pleased by his father's. His tail waggles, the little puff of fur motoring even faster as he's pushed towards his mother. Milk! Briska trundles over to his mom, sniffing her, having forgotten just why Peppy wants to show him off to her (or he would forget if he understood it at all..it had something to do with his mutters?). His ears lower when he doesn't find the smell he wants. Growing up is so hard to do. He begins a little whine when his father's growl alerts him to Soki's approach. The puppy turns around clumsily, peering about the barn before his eyes rest on Soki. Briska blinks a few times before hestitantly growling along with his dad, though his volume is even less and he looks even more unsure.

Well, that's good enough for Peppy. His body becomes a little more loose, and he closes his eyes for a moment in relief. It's as though simple words are enough proof to the Growlithe that the Sandslash is a friend. The larger pokemon's eyes drop to his son, and he beams proudly, his white teeth revealed in the side of his mouth. <Yep! And he's all mine!> Beam, beam, falter, frown, glance to Aurora. <... Well, he's hers, too.> Just in case Soki has problems in figuring out the obvious. His gesture to his mate triggers a memory, and his eyes scan the rest of the puppies, just to make sure they're all safe. Sure enough, they are; the three girls have all snuggled up into each other on a mound of straw and are fast asleep, and Flame lies near the wall, attempting to make slow, careful scratch marks in the wood but, for the most part, not succeeding. With an exhale (he's been sighing a lot all day; taking care of kids is stressful work!), he turns back to Soki.

Soki nods emphatically. <Children. I know how that works,> he says. On a tangent point, his mind draws into the spotlight the memory of the children that had been playing outside the Sandstone den that day...... no! He's not going to think about that day. He's been a guilty, remorseful person too long to wonder whether what he did was right. It's the past and he's leaving it behind him. Meanwhile, back in reality, Soki's eyes return to focus and he realizes that several seconds have passed. <Oh... sorry...> he mutters, before saying, <Do you mind if I sit down somewhere?> Probably far from the kids.

Framed by a rack of clouds, the last quarter moon rises into the deep blue of the starlit sky.

A cold wind blows from the west, driving charcoal clouds before it and blotting out the stars in isolated patches overhead. The air is clear and elsewhere the stars shine brightly.

He's Peppy's and Aurora's, and neither one of them are giving him milk. Such child abuse. Briska's growl trails off into a "grrrrrr..li?" of three parts confusion and one part curiosity. His attention is focused on Soki, though it wanders when the Sandshrew doesn't immediately pay attention to him. And worse, all he does is start talking. Briska looks over at his sisters and gives a soft wuff of surprise - hey, they're sleeping without him! Briska takes a step or two forward, before the much more active Flame captures his gaze. "Row," he mutters to himself. Briska hobbles along with a distinctly childish lack of grace, going to join his brother in the action and excitement! ..He's even forgotten that he's hungry. Beautiful.

Peppy's reply comes complete with a gesture to his left. Probably not as far from the sleeping girls as the ground-type would have liked, but at least Peppy's caring. <Sure.> Almost immediately, the adult Growlithe launches into his question, as though he hasn't picked up on Soki's disliking of little cute fuzzy things yet. <You do? Really?> Peppy's tail bursts into action, and the Growlithe's head lifts up a little further to let his chest puff out more. <I know it's really hard, but... but...> Peppy is silent for a moment, his eyes shifting to the floor, his head whirling with thought. If Soki knows... <You have a mate?> Right as soon as the question is asked, Peppy's head turns to the side, and he directs his sight from the Sandslash to Briska. <Play nice, guys!> His focus remains on the puppies until Soki attracts him back.

It's a difficult question to answer. More difficult in how to put it than in coming up with an answer. At last, Soki says... <No.> That's it? No tirade about his past? No angsty flashback to a lost love? Just "no?" <I couldn't. Can't. Er...> Heaven help us, Soki's stumbling over a topic. The very fabric of our continuity may well be unraveled soon! <...no,> Soki concludes. Of all the things Soki's put thought to... mating isn't one of them.

Briska galumps towards Flame, yipping a greeting to his brother and coming to an ungainly stop in front of him. Flame gives a little grumble. Though both Flame and Briska's ears flicker towards Peppy as he calls out to them, only the black puppy seems to understand the gist of what their father is saying - and he grumbles again. A midnight paw lashes out to scratch wood, making no impression on the wall. The wall is as black as the pup, a chilling reminder of a certain Ninetales. Briska examines the wall, soon mimicking his brother and smacking it with a clumsy paw. "Wwrow," says Briska softly, staring at the wall as if he's never seen it before in his life. It's so...solid. Woah. He pats the wall gently with the same paw. And it's..it's still there. Double woah. Flame watches his brother, looking the very definition of the word bored.

Peppy stumbles over topics all the time, so it doesn't really strike him as particularly interested when Soki does the same. With a nod designating his respect for Soki to keep his word to himself, he grins very slightly. Knowingly. If Soki happens to look at him, he'll see in his face a very obvious smirk, as though Peppy knows what Soki means. As if to prove his point, he nestles his side deeper into Aurora, though not to discomfort her. Oh, how off he is - but to Peppy, it makes complete and perfect sense. And Briska makes another noise, which Peppy's keen sense of hearing picks up. He turns his head to watch them. <Don't d... ...> His blink is practically audible. <What are you guys doing?> A glance at Soki. A glance at the puppies. A glance back at Soki. How helpless the Growlithe looks.

Somewhere, a blue haired boy selects the right shade of lipstick. (Eee! Saving!)

Soki follows Peppy's gaze the first time to the puppies. Feeling just the teesiest bit slighted, the Sandslash nods. <Go ahead. I need to get some sleep anyway,> he says, standing. With that, he turns and heads back for his nest in the straw. It appears that the debate, whatever debate there was, is over. Also, add one more item to the list of things that Soki kicks himself over. But what else is new?

The conversation would be very interesting, if the two pups could talk. As it is, body language is a good clue. 'Well, gee, I'm so utterly bored of watching Briska discover walls,' would likely be Flame's response. Briska, what with his touching of said wall, would probably say 'woah, dad, look at this thing - it doesn't move like straw does when I touch it!'. In fact, the little puppy even walks nose first towards the wall. His nose bumps into it, causing Briska to stare at it, mouth half open and black lips pulled back in a canine grin. Flame opens his jaw too, in a yawn. He was here when Briska discovered walls yesterday; it's nothing new to him.

Soki has disconnected.

Peppy doesn't even get to see Soki retreat, for his eyes are settled upon the puppy as he... walks into the wall. Peppy steals a glance at Aurora, notices she's still fast asleep... and struggles to get up. It's not exactly easy, she's putting her weight on him so he has to struggle... but finally, Peppy pops up to all four paws. Aurora tumbles over on her side, mumbles a groggy "Grrrth" of protest, then just goes back to sleep. The father Growlithe makes his way over to Briska, his shadow becoming larger and larger on the wall in front of Briska. <What are you doing?> he repeats, standing tall, looking down at Briska with utmost curiosity. Even *Peppy* doesn't walk into walls! ... Except that one time when he walked into a tree, but that was justified.

Briska blinks once, twice, three times at his father's words. The little puppy then slowly turns around, the grin not leaving his face. He peers /all/ the way up at his father, his little tail beginning to frisk back and forth. Babies are pretty much attention hogs, and Briska is happy to bask in the spotlight. Usually attention is on Dakota or Flame, not the more sedate pups. "Li," he says meaninglessly, bobbing his head. Then he quickly spins around. Unfortunately, his legs aren't quite responding properly. His fast move causes him to pitch forward and his nose bonks into the wall. Briska blinks. He stares at the wall. And then he "Grrooooo...!"s pitifully - not bothering to move his tender nose away from the wall. Flame is slightly more interested, now that his brother is doing something interesting.

And Peppy just keeps his stare up, his confusion becoming more and more intense as the seconds roll on. Briska just walked right into the wall. Again. Peppy isn't quite sure how to react... but it comes evident soon enough. A warm smile starts to perk up the corners of his mouth, and a snort of amusement escapes his nostrils. It's close enough to a laugh as far as Peppy goes. <Briska...> he growls softly, padding a step forward, pressing his own nose to the wall, then gently leading it toward the little puppy's, still touching the wood. Should Briska still keep his muzzle adhered to the wall, Peppy will touch his own much bigger one to the puppy's, and sort of push it off the wall, almost in a teasing fashion. <That could hurt if you do it fast enough,> he woofs softly, as though he expects the puppy to understand.

Briska continues to suffer the most horrible pains imaginable, as evidenced by his thin howl...which for some reason tapers off as Peppy speaks to him. Maybe he is recognizing his name, slowly but surely. He doesn't move his nose, so Peppy's nudge is successful, and Briska begins to tumble before he catches himself. His eyes are crossed, even though he looks up in his father's direction. "Li," he mutters. Already, the (terrible, pervasive!) pain that was there is fading swiftly as Briska looks to his father. "Rowli," says Briska, responding to Peppy's kindness rather than the words themselves - although to Peppy, it just might look as if he's agreeing with his all-knowing parent.

Ironic that Peppy should be considered all-knowing indeed. But still, he is the father figure, and Briska's cheerful approval (or is it acknowledgement that nose away from wall means less pain?) causes him to exhale softly, letting out just a tiny little whimper as that feeling in his chest gets the best of him. He inhales once again, clenches his teeth, relaxes his body, and grins back down at his puppy. <Now let's not do that again, okay? Or it'll hurt more!> Expecting Briska to simply stand there and wag his tail (hey, Peppy's might be getting used to his children's personalities! Go him!), Peppy leans forward, bringing his head close to the ground, and should Briska not back away, he'll give the little puppy a little nuzzle and a <I love ya, Briska. Okay?> Awww.

Somewhere, a blue haired boy selects the right shade of lipstick. (Eee! Saving!)

Get this, now - Briska does stand and stare up at his dad, his tail wagging. At the nuzzle, the puppy rubs his own cheek against his poppa's; it's one of the things he knows how to do. That done, Briska grins from ear to ear. His stomach, however, isn't touched by the comfort and happiness that the rest of the pup is feeling - and it growls to show its displeasure. The puppy blinks, a sour face exploding onto his features. His nose once again twitches, and this time he sniffs for meat. His sisters still left some pieces of meat for him, and his nose and unsteady legs soon bring him to those bits. He wolfs them down, before waddling over to his sisters and flopping down next to Dakota. The puppy pauses, lifts his head, and locates his father. Briska stares at him blankly, before his tail wags softly. A glance is given to his brother and his mother, as the little puppy checks to make sure everyone he loves is here, so that he'll see them when he awakes.