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

Sleet and freezing rain fall from heavy clouds, coating everything with ice and making the ground slippery. The world looks silver in the icy grey light. A raw wind blows from the northeast. In the forest, rain freezes on the bare twigs of the broadleafed trees and the needles of the conifers, coating them with a layer of glistening silver ice and weighing the branches down. While at the coast, cold winter sleet falls from the grey sky and splashes into the grey and rolling ocean.

Eugh. Nasty days. The year rolls on, and it's getting colder and colder by the day. Ice type pokemon are undoubtedly having a hay-day, and three cheers for the ice type pokemon, it's too cold for everybody else. Any pokemon with half a brain is staying inside today, but it doesn't -take- half a brain to realize that Peppy the Growlithe doesn't quite fall into this catergory. Maybe he got hungry, maybe he got bored, maybe he just felt like freezing his tail off, but whatever reason, the pup wandered out into the Eternal Abyss of Freezing Death earlier this morning, and hasn't returned yet. It's been a while, but it's unlikely he's necessarily in trouble. Hey... it's harder than it looks to hunt where anything and everything out there is nothing but white, white, and more white.

Meanwhile, as the father of the family hunts, Aurora waits inside the barn along with the puppies, who by now are able to walk fairly steadily... with the occasional exception, of course, demonstrated ably by Briska as he trips over a stone that's jutting from the barn's earth floor and lands on his belly. Aurora's still apparently exhausted from caring for the litter, as she's lying on a soft patch of straw close to the puppies, and watching them as they play. She glances up at the door for a few moments, then sighs quietly and returns her attention to her five pups.

Maybe that's his entire plan! Maybe Peppy's only trying to skip out on his daddy duties! Maybe he's using hunting as an excuse! ... Right, because Peppy's really just that inclined to go out of his way to turn himself into a pupsicle. Anyway, a few of the other pokemon in the barn take casual attention as the puppies stumble and trip over their own paws as they march around the area, but for the most part they go ignored. Most of the other inhabitants just want to sleep on this miserable day.

It's not much longer after Briska goes crashing to the floor that Peppy finally does make it home. Squeezing through the crack in the barn door, the snow-covered pup is carrying something in his mouth - a rather large Rattata. Some of the barn pokemon drool, others glare, one of them mutters something under her breath about how horrible Growlithes are, who would dare kill another pokemon? Peppy doesn't seem to mind. His tail wagging happily (it bangs against the barn door as he makes it through the crack), the Growlithe seems to be more than happy with his catch. And who wouldn't be, in this weather?

Aurora looks up as the barn door creaks a little to let Peppy through, and her expression brightens as she sees who it is, and what he's carrying. The mutters of the other inhabitants of the barn make her glance in their direction for a moment, but she soon turns her attention back to her mate and his delicious prize. <Well done!> she says to him as he approaches, and three of the puppies turn to look at their mother as she speaks. She gives them a little grin, then points a paw in Peppy's direction. <Look, your brave father's back with some food.>

Sleet and freezing rain fall from heavy clouds, coating everything with ice and making the ground slippery. The world looks silver in the icy grey light. A raw wind blows from the northeast.

If any pokemon come up with any ideas of approaching Peppy and taking or asking for his Rattata, they don't initiate the plan. Indeed, with his chest all puffed out and his head way up high, Peppy marches, bouncing all the while (and sending little flakes of snow flying as he does), from the entrance to the other Growlithes, the limp and lifeless rodent bobbling in his mouth. "Grrrrrrrphph!" woofs the Oh-so-strong-fierce-and-tough hunter, his voice muffled and garbled by the big rat in his jaws. Some of the puppies just sort of ignore him. One of the girls peers. Peppy doesn't seem to notice. As the canine's mouth goes slack, the Rattata drops from his mouth, landing with a sickening thud on the ground. <Are you hungry, Aurora?> he asks, probably giving her the first bites before he stuffs his fill. He's hungry. Of course. He's always hungry.

<I'm just a little hungry, but thanks...> Aurora starts to say, before a gurgling from her belly makes her stop and look a little embarrassed. <Well, maybe more than a little.> She stands up and walks the few steps over to Peppy and his catch, then bends down to the Rattata, tearing a chunk of flesh from it with her teeth and chewing eagerly. This goes on for some time, and when she finally lifts her head up from the Rattata corpse, a good third of the meat is gone. <There, you have some,> she says, her voice rather muffled from the remains of the Rattata that she's still chewing. Two of the pups have been watching with interest, and one of them - Dakota, by the markings on her face - takes a step forward to peer at the Rattata curiously.

Peppy gives Aurora an incredulous look as her stomach rumbles. He expects that out of himself, sure, but it's something of a surprise coming from the other end. Though he doesn't verbally reply, his face does soften into a toothy grin that asks, 'Just a little?' As Aurora approaches the Rattata and munches away, Peppy takes this opportunity to glance around at his pups. No longer can he simply take a glance and see five helpless balls of fuzz all in a little row. Now they can see (if not sorta fuzzily), walk (if not sorta clumsily), and hear (if not sorta bluntly). What does this equal? A lot more -hassle-. <Were they... uh.> Even if his mate's not looking at him, Peppy will sort of lift his head up a bit and make an uncertain gesture towards a random one of the pups - Flame. <They, uh, were they busy? Not causing trouble, are they?> He's trying to stay quiet for the sake of the other animals in the farm, thank goodness. He looks like he's about to say something else, but the actions of one of the kids catches his attention. Dakota approaches. Her dad sort of blinks at her, a tiny little grin forming on his face. <... That one's Dakota, right?> he asks out of the side of his mouth, eyes flickering back and forth between mate and child. He still hasn't gotten them all right?

<That's Dakota, yeah,> Aurora replies, glancing over at the curious puppy. <Since she started to be able to walk and see, she's been looking around the barn as much as she can.> Dakota's tail wags a little in response to her mother's statement, and she steps a little closer to the Rattata and sniffs at it, prompting another tail wag as the scent hits her nose. Three of the other puppies, meanwhile, seem to be engaged in a game that involves a lot of rolling in the straw and prodding each other with their paws and noses, while Briska walks over slowly to join Dakota in her inspection of the Rattata.

Peppy's tail wags a bit as Aurora tells him he was right in placing Dakota as Dakota. It's sort of a surge of hope - maybe he won't have that much trouble remembering their names after all! (This is four weeks after the birth, now. Aurora probably had them down-pat by the next day, but then, Aurora's IQ goes above and beyond decimal points, unlike her mate's.) <And that one I know is Briska,> Peppy woofs with a matter of fact sort of voice, obviously considerably more confident now. Speaking now to the puppies, the father pokemon woofs a little, <Hey, you two! Why aren't you with the other puppies?> Speaking of the other puppies, Flame is not playing nicely. After nudging little Karen a bit, he growls softly at her, swiping (and missing by a long shot) at his sister's paws. Narrowing his eyes a bit, Peppy lifts his head a bit, woofing a quick and sharp, <Stop that!> He gets an immediate reply from the Spearows near the top of the barn. <Hush, mutt! Some of us are trying to sleep!> And hush, mutt, Peppy does, though he still does keep his eye on the black-furred puppy.

Aie! Peppy and Aurora's puppies are headed for the database! Better save! (Saving)

Dakota is still looking curiously at the Rattata, but Briska seems to understand Peppy's question... at least, he stays looking at the corpse for a little while, then turns to run back towards the straw where the other puppies are playing. Flame appears not to pay much attention to his father's order, as a few minutes later he swipes at Karen again, this time at her other paw. Karen's little squeak of pain is noticed by Aurora, who turns and woofs, <Flame, stop it! You're hurting Karen!>, though she does so more quietly than Peppy, and only gets an irritated mutter from the Spearows roosting above them.

As the female adult has to scold the black pup, Peppy frowns at Flame, before glancing back at Dakota, who doesn't seem to notice her siblings playing at all. <I wonder why he keeps bugging the others,> Peppy growls under his breath, mostly to himself (though it's quite likely that if Aurora's paying any attention at all, she'll overheard him). He's a little louder, a little more cheerful, however, as he smiles down at Dakota, though he gives the other four puppies the occasional glance. <But not this one!> Slinking down closer to the ground, Peppy brings his head a little closer to Dakota's, before giving a head-gesture towards the corpse. <That's called a Rattata. They're yummy, okay? You'll be hunting them one day!> Peppy seems to have some idea of the fact that his words probably have little impact on the puppy - she probably comprehends she's being spoken to and that's about it. That doesn't stop him from talking to her, of course!

Sleet and freezing rain fall from heavy clouds, coating everything with ice and making the ground slippery. The world looks silver in the icy grey light. A raw wind blows from the northeast.

Much as Peppy's guessed, Dakota doesn't have much idea of what's being said to her, though she seems interested in listening to him, and watches him curiously as he explains to her. Aurora grins as she watches the pup, and adds to Peppy's explanation, <They're a bit fast, but you'll grow up to be clever and strong, and we'll teach you how to catch them with no problems. Won't we?> she says to Peppy, grinning. Flame, now looking suitably chastised (or possibly sullen), keeps his paws to himself now, sitting in the straw and watching as the other three pups chase each other around.

Peppy, for one, is very glad to see that Flame's no longer picking on his siblings. Disappointed, resentful, and depressed is much better than mean in dad's eyes, all right! As Aurora speaks, the Growlithe turns his head to the side in order to listen to her better. Anything Aurora says definitely deserves attention, and this is no exception - just as Peppy expected, his mate woofed something intelligent and true, and he nods his head in agreement. <You'll be the best hunters ever! Even better than me!> He must have gotten a little louder; now it's not just the Spearows who are getting angry. A pair of Bulbasaur across the barn also spit out an angered <Shut up or get out already!>. Quieter, much quieter, the pup mumbles, <They will be.>

Aie! Peppy and Aurora's puppies are headed for the database! Better save! (Saving)

Aurora blushes a little with embarrassment as the Bulbasaurs yell, and turns to look at Peppy ruefully, muttering, <Maybe we should get them to quiet down and sleep. There are a lot of people in here, after all...> Turning back towards the straw where the puppies are playing, she woofs quietly but insistently, <Let's try to be quiet, okay? Others want to sleep, and we should let them.>

Mrph. Speaking of sleep. Peppy stifles a yawn, a purring-growling sort of sound that comes out muffled, and thankfully not loud. <Maybe we should get some sleep ourselves, Aurora,> suggests the dog, turning his attention back to Dakota, still listening, still surprisingly quiet. <It's really cold outside.> He says this as though it somehow enforces his point, as if that's supposed to make his mate as sleepy as he is. The way this pup's mind works. Lifting his head up high once again (causing to Dakota to strain her neck as she looks up, up, up at her dad's big head!), he slowly approaches the other four pups. Maybe he's going to play sheepdog and herd them over to mom? Maybe he's going to ask them politely? Who knows?

Aurora nods, and moves over to the pile of straw where the pups are playing, lifting them carefully one by one out of the straw, her jaws carefully holding them by the scruffs of their necks. Depositing them at the edge of the pile, she then settles down on the straw to make herself comfortable, then murmurs to the pups, <All right, it's time to go to sleep. Come and get yourselves warm and comfortable.>

Peppy just sort of watches while Aurora transports the puppies from Point A to Point B, his teeth clenched as he does so. Are they old enough to be bitten on the scruff? Does that hurt? The worrywart's fears are unfounded, apparently, as they don't seem to mind it in the very least. A few of the little puppies, especially Dakota, squirm and wiggle and don't feel like going to sleep just yet, but looks like that's too bad for them. Peppy takes a glance at the Rattata, then back at his mate. Rattata. Mate. Rattata. Mate. Apparently Peppy's more tired than he is hungry, as he shuffles his way over to the puppies. Making sure not to crush one of the puppies, he proceeds to just sort of fall to the ground, shifting into a comfortable position - and, if Aurora will allow, will get nuzzled up against her.

As Peppy comes over to lie beside her, Aurora also shifts her position slightly so that the two of them are comfortable close, nuzzled together. The puppies blink a few times as they're put down, then one of them takes a few steps forward and nudges at Aurora's side, then nestles down next to her. The others soon follow the first puppy's lead, and after a short time all five of them are happily and quietly nestled next to their mother, although the quiet is interrupted by Aurora's muttered, <Ow...> as Flame nudges her a little too hard. Aurora turns her head to look at Peppy, and says softly, <Thank you for going and hunting today. I'm so glad you came back safely.>

Aie! Peppy and Aurora's puppies are headed for the database! Better save! (Saving)

Peppy rests his head upon his paws, turning on his cheek to allow himself to see Aurora better. His nose is almost touching his mate's, but even if his head wasn't in this position, he wouldn't be able to see the puppies. Indeed, poor Aurora's a sandwich now, with five little pups on one side and a -big- pup on the other. When Aurora thanks him, Peppy blushes slightly, a proud little smile creeping up onto his face. <It wasn't that hard,> he woofs softly, followed a moment or two later by, <It was really cold, though. A lot of snow, but I found it and I knew you'd be proud because it was a really big one and did it taste good?> His tail begins to wag as the Growlithe gets more excited about his catch. But if he's trying to get to sleep, is being excited a good thing?

Sleet and freezing rain fall from heavy clouds, coating everything with ice and making the ground slippery. The world looks silver in the icy grey light. A raw wind blows from the northeast.

Aurora nods to Peppy, and gives him an encouraging smile. <It tasted very good, and it was a good size, too.> She sinks down onto her paws until she's lying down rather than being half-standing, and leans over to try to nuzzle Peppy's cheek. <Sleep well, Peppy, you brave Growlithe,> she murmurs to him as she does so.

Peppy gives a little exhale here, and he sounds genuinely relieved as he woofs a soft, <That's good. I'm glad you liked it, because that's all...> His gaze is gradually turning to the front and away from Aurora as he speaks. <All I really want to do, make you happy... so I'm glad y-> And right then and there his mate shushes him with a little nuzzle, catching him totally off guard. When she adds her little good night, Peppy just sort of glances back at her for a moment, blinks twice, then adds a soft, <... Good night...> Nuzzling the side of his body into Aurora's once more, Peppy takes only a couple moments to succumb to sleep. 'One more day down' is Peppy's last thought before dreams (undoubtedly revolving around food) take over.