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

Everything is grey, veiled by mist. It's cool and the air feels damp. There is no wind. In the forest, only the nearest tree branches show the full color of their buds and new leaves; more distant trees and branches are colorless and indistinct in the pallid grey fog, looking ghostly and not quite real. While at the coast, the sea is sluggish and grey as fog lays on its surface like a thick wet blanket.

Even though it's the middle of the day, the light that can be seen through the open barn door is dim and misty, and the air outside is foggy. Little droplets of water cling to everything outside and to many things inside the barn, including Aurora, who's sitting on her haunches near the door and peering outside. Peppy's not in the barn, and from the expression on Aurora's face as she looks around at the outside world, it's likely that he's out in the fog, hunting for more food for the family. The lack of wind thankfully means that the barn's still mostly dry, but water collects on surfaces over time, and occasionally Aurora stands up to shake her coat out, spraying droplets onto the floor.

What's that smell? Candylion? Better save be-Ooo, pretty colors! (Delet-er, saving!)

The fog is grey-white in the light of mid-day.

The day trugs along. If anything, it's slowly getting more and more groggy outside, and the dull grey of the fog outside becomes thicker. The air is wet and no wind circulates it around, so it's difficult to breathe. And yet Peppy's been out in this stuffy mist for hours now, stumbling through the cloud, trying to find something even remotely edible. Five trips (three over rocks and two over sticks), two cuts on the chin, and about four thousand pawprints later, the Growlithe finally makes it back home, fur all sticky and wet from the weather, eyes hanging and squinted. As he squeezes through the barn door, the few pokemon still remaining in the barn (including, if they're not too busy or fast asleep, the Growlithe's own mate and kids) will see not a Rattata in the mouth of the dog, but instead a Pidgey. A somewhat less meaty, less healthy meal. And judging by the look in his eyes, Peppy really isn't very happy about it.

Briska is little more than a scrap of spikey fur walled in on three sides by the snoozing Dusk, Karen and Dakota. His long head tuft and fluffy tail merge together in his curled up position; it's impossible to see the puppy's face. The only thing obvious about him is the rising and falling of the orange and black-striped lump of body in between the head and tail. Sometimes this bundle of fur shows that it has muscles and bones underneath, for it shifts and mutters meaningless "Lii"s and "Grrr..."s in its sleep, words and actions sometimes imitated by one of his three sisters. Only Flame is missing from this picturesque scene - he's off taking a snooze in his own corner, the one with the scratches on the wall. Or maybe the devil pup isn't sleeping at all, but plotting to destroy the barn. You never know with that kid. At least with Briska it's easy to figure out what's up.

Aurora's joy at seeing her mate finally return with the spoils of the hunt is diminished when those spoils turn out to be... a Pidgey. She pads over to him, the smile on her face more sympathetic than happy. <I suppose the Rattatas would be staying dry today...> she murmurs to herself, and leans her head towards Peppy's to attempt to give him a consolatory nuzzle - it's a difficult thing to attempt, as the Pidgey's mostly in the way. Whether or not she manages it, she'll woof softly, <Welcome home, dear,> to him as he comes in.

Even Peppy, by no means the master of picking up the obvious, notices that Aurora's not exactly thrilled and ecstatic with glee at the fruits of Peppy's labor, but it's not that the pup is let down - he expected it. When Aurora leans forward to nuzzle him (which does surprise him, and he was actually expecting her to glare, roll her eyes, maybe even bark at him in disgust), he promptly lets his jaw go slack to let the bird tumble lifelessly to the floor. He accepts the nuzzle, though doesn't put much spirit into it. When she welcomes him back home, he sort of nods as he turns his head to the side submissively, mumbling his excuse. <It was just... hard to smell anything. No scent. Too... hard to see. But...> And he leans over, snatches the Pidgey up in his jaws, and looks back at Aurora with his eyes perhaps a little more wide and spirited. He heads over to the tight mass of puppies, and sets the Pidgey down on the ground in front of them. His movements are slow, and when he sets it down, he's very quiet about it. <Anybody who's hungry...> he half-whispers, not wanting to the disturb any of the Growlithes more sleepy than starving. He turns back to Aurora, gives her a slightly tired grin, and barks, no longer all that quiet, <Maybe they were getting sick of Rattata anyway.>

There's very little wind today, so no draft from the door awakens young Briska or his sisters. Instead, the soft voices of the adults he knows so well slowly break through his dreams and awaken him. His eyes remain closed, and for a few seconds he's too heavy with warmth and sleep to move. "Row," he mutters, the equivalent of a sleepy <mrrphh,> in Growlithe-speak. His eyes open as slowly as the sunrise, and even then all he sees is his own tail. The pup slowly raises his head, his jaw dropping in a yawn that makes his tongue curl out of his mouth. He shuts his jaws with a snort and a snap. <Quieb...> Dusk slurs in a sleepy state, barely opening one eye. Briska stares blankly at his clever sister for a few seconds before he licks her on the side of her face closest to him. Dusk grunts and flops away from her brother, but Briska doesn't mind. His eyes have now gone to Peppy and the Pidgey dumped near him. At their father's louder words to Aurora, Dusk's eyes fully open and Karen and Dakota begin stirring.

Everything is grey, veiled by mist. It's cool and the air feels damp. There is no wind.

Aurora follows Peppy over to the puppies, and stops next to him when he deposits the Pidgey. She calls softly to the sleeping pups, <Your dad's brought food back,> and smiles as they wake up, lured by the prospect of a meal. Peppy's comment about the Rattatas receives a nod in reply, and an added, <It's good for them to try different things. That way, when they're older and have to hunt their own food, they won't get stuck if there aren't any Rattatas to find. It's a good idea, Peppy.> She smiles encouragingly at him once more, and then woofs, <Morning, sleepy...> in a teasing voice to Briska.

Peppy blushes slightly and tucks his chin into his chest when Aurora speaks to him, quite obviously embarrassed by her words. Only Aurora could take one of his -failures-, one of his -mistakes-, and actually make it sound like it's a -good- thing! He doesn't reply to her, though perhaps his lowering head is obvious enough of a gesture that she'll catch his gratitude. He turns to the waking puppies, growling quietly as he watches their jaws stretch into yawns and their eyes blink open. The growl is a content little "<Aww>", and Peppy glances at Aurora with a grin and a bright-eyed look before turning back to the puppies. <Okay, guys! Today we're having something new. It's called a Pidgey, and it's... uh... different. Try it and see what you think.> The adult Growlithe places his muzzle behind the Pidgey and pushes it towards Dusk, the seemingly most awake puppy. <Uh... but don't eat the, uh, the beak. It really... doesn't taste good.> Sounds like he's speaking from experience. Ha!

What's that smell? Candylion? Better save be-Ooo, pretty colors! (Delet-er, saving!)

Briska opens his furry jaws in another wide yawn, and blinks a few times before he gets to his paws. He moves his forelegs before slowly maneuvering his back legs upright. He glances at the ground, as if to make sure, yes, he's actually standing. Briska's head jerks up when his mother addresses him, his ears perked. <Mawww-muh,> he says, trying the word out. Empty-headed pause. Then he suddenly bursts into a grin. <Maawm,> he repeats. While their brother tries out one of the few words he knows, the three young women aren't idle. Dusk gets up, ears perked towards her mother and father. As the Pidgey is pushed towards her, she sniffs it. <Pidgey,> she repeats softly. Dakota and Karen are still getting over their tiredness by yawning and looking around with sleep-moist eyes. Briska looks back to his two sisters to make sure they're up and going to get some food as well, and then looks to the rest of his family. He frowns, and looks between his siblings and parents a few more times. <F...Fuhlaaame?> he questions, face wrinkled in quiet worry as he looks around the immediate area. The pup in question is still snoozing/dreaming/plotting/whatevering in his corner, and it doesn't look like he's noticed his family from his spot in the back.

The pups' attempts at speech both get big grins from Aurora - Dusk's smiled at with a nod, because she's learning words so fast, and Briska's also smiled at because... well, it's one of the few words he knows. Briska's question is answered with a shake of Aurora's head, and a quiet, <No, he's still asleep. There's no need to worry. Now... eat up!> She turns her attention to the Pidgey, looking the bird over. It's a little scrawny, and not as filling as a Rattata would be, but there appears to be quite a bit of meat on it, at least.

Briska is the last puppy Peppy pays attention to, not because of favoritism but simply by chance. The adult's eyes are straying over all the puppies, watching them greet the morning... well, afternoon, but who's keeping track? Peppy happens to look at Briska right as he rumbles out his word, and, his tail wagging furiously, he looks over at Aurora quickly to see the cheerful look on his mate's face. No doubt she's feeling better than he is about their son's speech. Upon the little pup's inquiry about Flame, Peppy furrows his eyes, and slowly turns his head over to the black puppy, who is just... lying there. He frowns a little, though whether from guilt or shame or whatever is unclear. Peppy's ear flicks when Aurora speaks, and he brings up his back paws to plop down on his haunches, perhaps so as to make it easier to watch the puppies eat. <Make sure to save some for your brother,> the father woofs slowly, eyes straying over to Flame's corner of the world. <He'll be hungry once he's awake, too.>

Dusk grins at her mother, but bats at the Pidgey with her paw. At least Rattata have their nice normal fur; the stuff on this 'Pidgey' looks different. Dakota is quickly on her feet. She yips and wags her tail enthusiastically at her parents before turning to the bird and ripping out a tail-feather, her head raised with her trophy clutched in her jaws. She's seen these things on the ground of the barn, and now she has one of her own! Karen pads over and joins Dusk in examining the Pidgey. She bats at the bird's head, and it flops to the side. Briska gives the bird little more than a glance. His brother has to be part of this. Why? Because this is...family. <Flame!> he barks, taking a few steps from the group. <Faaame! Flaaaaayyymmmuh!> Briska calls. <Be. Quiet.> This is from a rather grouchy Flame, whose eyes pop open as if he was never asleep at all. Briska stares at the area where his brother's voice came from...before he grins. Broadly and mindlessly. <Fa...Flame,> Briska says, tail wagging happily.

Aurora's attention is drawn to Flame when Peppy points out that he'll be hungry as well, and she looks over at the dark-furred Growlithe with a little pity in her eyes. Glancing at the Pidgey, then back at Flame, then at the Pidgey once more, she steps over to the bird, and says to the puppies surrounding it, <'Scuse me. I'm going to take some food to Flame, okay?> As long as none of them are in danger of being stepped on or squashed when she moves closer, she'll bend down and rip a chunk out of the Pidgey's side, as carefully as she can, and then step back with the meat between her jaws.

Flame gets a half-glare, more like a moderately annoyed look than anything else, from his father when the black one tells his brother to be quiet. In actuality, Peppy does realize that Briska is being far more loud than he needs to be, so the adult Growlithe doesn't take verbal action. Instead, after taking a look at the Pidgey and the puppies slowly plucking it apart (Dakota's enthusiasm at holding a feather in her mouth draws a smile from his face), Peppy lifts his head up high, and calls to Flame, <Flame, if you're hungry, there...> It's only just now that the Growlithe realizes that Aurora is taking some meat over to the black puppy. The scene, in Peppy's eyes, is enough to bring him to complete silence. Man. What a great mother she is. He remains watching her for a moment as she gets closer to their son, before turning back to the girls and Briska. <How does it taste? Is it good?> Peppy can smell it from here, and yes... it smells good.

It's when Aurora rips out a hunk of meat for Flame that the three sisters finally get interested in eating. Maybe all those feathers and the non-Rattata shape of their food was a bit intimidating, or maybe the smell of blood and insides makes their little bellies rumble. Once Aurora has left the wound she made, the girls gather around. Karen is first to the food; Dakota has to drop her feather, but she's faster than Dusk, who waits until Karen grabs a morsel before taking a piece herself. The puppies chew their food, Karen smiling at her papa through a mouthful of meat, Dusk swallowing before she yips an affirmative. Briska looks over at his sisters before he turns back to where he believes Flame is, his grin not fading. <Flame,> he woofs insistently, not quite as loud as he had been when he was calling for his brother (as he knows Flame is close now). It's time for his brother to come join the pack! Flame grumbles something under his breath, scratches a mark or two on the wall, and turns to grooming himself. It's obvious his attention isn't on his family, or he'd know what Aurora was up to.

Picking her way through a small sea of puppies, Aurora makes her way over to Flame's corner, stopping several feet away from the puppy and leaning down to carefully deposit the meat on the floor. <Here you go, Flame. I brought you some of the food,> she woofs quietly, and takes a few steps back from the meat as she waits for a reaction from the pup. She's not expecting much beyond either him lying there and ignoring her, or him going to eat the food and ignoring her, but after all, he's part of the family, and as family he gets food.

Peppy, ever the pessimist, breathes a sigh of relief, his eyes rolling up towards the ceiling. They enjoy it! There's no spitting and gagging and crying, just lots of munching and tearing and even a little happy bark from Dusk. As interesting as the little puppies are, all munching away on this new tasty food, Peppy can't help but find his attention being magnetised towards his mate and black-furred son. He, for one, knows that Flame isn't as bad as he appears to be, and so the adult male turns to the corner, waiting for Flame's reaction. His expectations aren't far greater than Aurora's.

What's that smell? Candylion? Better save be-Ooo, pretty colors! (Delet-er, saving!)

Briska watches his mother go, slowly trundling after her. His paws are more sure than they were in months past, but his movements are still broad and youthful. <...Flame!> Briska exclaims when his mother reaches Flame, having not fully understood where his mother was leaving to. Flame stares daggers at the obnoxious Briska, before turning nonchalantly to look at his mother. Well, this is the type of service he deserves! The black pup rises elegantly, gives his mother a curt nod (is it in thanks? is he dismissing her?), and begins munching on the food. Briska yips, taking a few steps back towards the group before stopping and turning around, looking at Flame expectantly. The black pup grumbles something underneath his breath and ignores his brother. Briska gives a soft woof and a kind grin, motioning to the puppies surrounding the Pidgey with his head. Flame's attention now appears to be on the food and nothing else.

Everything is grey, veiled by mist. It's cool and the air feels damp. There is no wind.

Glad that Flame's at least deigned to accept the food, Aurora smiles and gives a little sigh of relief. She stands and watches the pup eat, until Briska's yip attracts her attention, and she turns to look at him. <You've finished already, eh?> she asks Briska, and looks over at the other puppies who are still munching away. <Let's go and see if there's any more left for you once your sisters have been at it.> She gives Flame a last, <Eat well!> before trotting back towards the main group, her pace slow enough for Briska to easily keep up.

Peppy watches Briska make his way back and forth, so small compared to his mother - and yet, so big compared to compared to what he used to look like! The scene of Flame munching away on the food his mother gave him, even if it does involve him being somewhat rude to his brother, is enough to bring another smile to Peppy's face, and that cheerful look should welcome Aurora and Briska back into the feast. <I don't know if they like it more than Rattata,> the Growlithe woofs to his mate, looking at down at the three female puppies as he does. <But I think they like the change. We'll have to show them berries soon.> Though a fair portion of the Pidgey is left, chances are there's not going to be enough for both parents to eat after the younger dogs have eaten their fill, but even Peppy with his bottomless pit for a stomach seems far more intent on making sure the young ones are satisfied than filling his own belly up.

Peppy will have to wait for a bit to smile at his son. Briska glances up at his mother when she speaks to him, with a curious little whine, having no idea what she just said. Oh, he knows it's a question, but he can't answer it or understand it. The Pidgey is rapidly disappearing under the onslaught of the three pups, but there's still some meat they haven't got to. <..Flame?> Briska asks of his brother, once more soliciting him to join in the family fun even as his mother moves. Flame swallows a mouthful of food and grumbles, <Briska, go away.> Briska's ears flatten and he whines softly, turning the full force of puppy dog eyes on his brother. Flame snorts at the dumb one. Briska grumbles...or, rather, his belly does. The orange pup glances down at his tummy, before turning around and walking back to the bird. He's a little less lively as he walks towards the group, but he musters up some gusto as he begins to chew on the bird.

At least Aurora's stomach's not rumbling... By now, the Pidgey's looking a lot more skeletal than it initially did, and it doesn't look like there'll be much meat left at all for the two adults. Aurora glances at Peppy, and then at the Pidgey, then takes another long look at Peppy, her expression contemplative. Finally, she turns her head to face him, and says in a determined voice, <I'll go and look for more food now. Maybe there'll be another Pidgey that didn't see where this one went.>

Even as he speaks, Peppy can hear Briska's tummy rumbling, and he can't help but snort out of his nose in amusement, his bushy white tail wagging. Peppy knows all too well that Briska got that from his dad. <Be careful to eat as few feathers as possible, Briska,> the older Growlithe instructs his son, leaning towards the puppies slightly as he does. <And -don't- eat the beak.> A pause. <Believe me.> Aurora starts to speak, and, automatically, Peppy's attention shifts to her as it always does. He straights his posture so that he no longer leans, and looks at her out of the side of his eyes. His mouth is initially set into a wide smile, which fades bit by bit as she speaks. <Y... you, uh... hunt?> This doesn't go over well in Peppy's mind. He doesn't think it's a good idea, but... but... to suggest Aurora could possibly, just maybe be... wrong? <But...> His voice is a little higher pitched now, as it always is when he's nervous, scared, or sad. It's not a significant raise, but it's detectable. <But it's really... grey out there. And last time, you came home hurt and I was scared the whole time you were gone and I knew I couldn't go out there to find you but I didn't want to stay here when you could be hurt...> This is all launched on one breath, and by the time he's finished, he has to take a moment to pant for breath. He does manage a quick <I should go,> before giving Aurora her fair chance to speak.

Briska wrinkles his muzzle at the unfamiliar taste of feathers. "Rrrrthhh," he grumps, swallowing what meat he has in his mouth with a frown. Huh. That tasted so odd. His sisters didn't seem to have many complaints, but they're done eating now. Dakota has roped her two sisters into playing a game of 'tug the tail', and the three of them happily try to grab each other's tails in their little jaws, yapping away. Briska wolfs down two more mouthfulls on less feathery portions of the Pidgey before glancing up at his parents. Something's going on up there. The pup doesn't understand it, but the pitch of Poppa's voice...Briska pads towards his father. He looks up at his dad and then turns back down and licks his dad's leg. Nobody should have to feel bad, ever.

As Peppy's opinion of her plan is made clear, Aurora's tail slows its wagging, and finally comes to a stop. <If you think so, then I'll stay here,> she replies quietly, and stares at the Pidgey, which has been almost entirely stripped of meat. <But I wanted to get some more food for us, and since you got this one I thought I should try and hunt for more. After all, we've got to look after each other, haven't we?>

What's that smell? Candylion? Better save be-Ooo, pretty colors! (Delet-er, saving!)

<Yes,> Peppy woofs slowly in reply, nodding his head slightly. But I... just... I don't know. Maybe if it was... sunny and nice outside, I'd feel okay.> He takes a glance at the door, turning his head in that direction. The weather outside has not lessened even slightly, and nothing beyond a foot of the barn's exit can be seen - it's just a thick swarm of grey. <But it's so... ... hard to see out there, that if you-> It's right about now that he seems something warm and wet slurping on his tail. The Growlithe freezes up, blinks, and very slowly lowers his head to see what's happening. What he expects is a big disgusting looking bug. What he gets is the complete opposite, the most adorable thing he's ever seen. Briska comforting his dad. Filled with the emotion to respond somehow, he walks around in a tight circle, lowers his head, and (supposing Briska hasn't moved) nuzzles the puppy, touching cheek to cheek and rubbing down to the little one's neck. If Aurora begins to speak, he'll raise his head once again and listen to her, but if she remains silent for a few moments, he'll start to growl, very quietly, into his son's ear how much he loves him.

Briska stares at his dad as Peppy walks around him, looking rather blank. If there were a category in the Oscars for puppies who can stand around looking dumb for great lengths of time, Briska would win it. But then Peppy nuzzles him. Briska blinks, but soon nuzzles his poppa back. This is what he wants Flame to experience, because the dark one doesn't seem to have a lot of the physical and social contact that is such an important part of Briska's life. ..Of course, Briska's thoughts are more along the lines of 'lovelovelovelove' right about now. "Rrrrow," he trills as his tail bobs from side to side. If Peppy's words reach the pup, he'll flick his ears to his father, but he won't respond in any way other than a large, goofy grin.

Aurora's waiting for Peppy to finish before she replies, which is why his sudden mid-sentence stop makes her blink, and turn to face him properly. It takes a few seconds before she realise that he hasn't suddenly fainted on his feet, or frozen stiff - he's just been the victim of a very enthusiastic and loving pup. Unpleasant houghts of going outside in the wet foggy weather are banished from Aurora's mind as she watches father and son bond, and without her noticing it her tail starts wagging again vigorously, and she grins.

Everything is grey, veiled by mist. It's cool and the air feels damp. There is no wind.

Peppy eventually strips his cheek off of the other Growlithe's, and, raising his head back to where it was before leaning over, he gets a glance at Briska's wide grin. "Grrrth," Peppy lets out, just a small exhale of humor at watching his son's reaction. The adult eventually settles his green eyes upon Aurora, and with any luck, the warm smile he gives her will be enough to tell her that he loves her just as much. <I'll go out tonight,> he finally woofs, putting a little more weight on his haunched, leaning back and looking at the door. <But if tomorrow's a nice day... I'll watch the puppies outside and you can hunt, maybe. Then I can at least watch you from... some distance, right?> A little paranoid? Maybe, but at least he cares.

Briska's pink tongue pokes out of the corner of his mouth and he smiles. As his father's attention goes to Aurora, Briska looks around, tuning out of the conversation. Karen seems to be getting the upper hand in the tug the tail game, as Dusk is struggling playfully in her clutches, but Dakota is getting ready to pounce. The puppy's eyes then go to Flame and what he can see of his brother from his vantage point. The fluffy kid takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out, his face pensive...but only for a second. After all, Flame made it clear that he didn't want to play. A bark from Karen says that Dakota's attack was successful, and Briska looks back at his sisters. He surveys the scene for a few seconds, before barking joyously and rushing into the fray. "Owwwli!"

<Oh. Are you sure?> Aurora asks Peppy, surprised, when he suggests that he make the second hunting trip of the day. She looks a little disappointed, from her slightly flattened ears and her drooping tail - but all that changes with Peppy's suggestion of outside puppy-watching, and she nods her head several times. <That'd be really good, Peppy,> she replies with a big grin. <The puppies would get to play outside again, and we'd get more food, and... it's a wonderful idea. Thank you.> And for the second time of the day, she leans over to attempt to nuzzle Peppy's cheek, growling affectionately as she does so. Well, Peppy's been on fine form with his ideas and suggestions today - he deserves a reward.

What's that smell? Candylion? Better save be-Ooo, pretty colors! (Delet-er, saving!)

Peppy really needs to see these things coming more. His head has turned in the direction of the other puppies, yipping and yapping and making lots of noise. Though he's listening to Aurora, as is evident because he keeps glancing at her, occasionally nodding, she catches him completely off-guard when she leans forward to nuzzle him. He goes stiff for a moment, eyebrow quirking up in surprise, before he realizes just what Aurora's done. Settling himself back down, he nuzzles her back with just as much love in his growling. Should they nuzzle for a while, he'll probably lift his head slightly, exposing his white-furred neck, rubbing his cheek a little higher up on his mate's head. If she does cut the nuzzle off short, however, that's still fine by Peppy, because he'll give her a warm smile and a soft mumbling about how he still loves her. The yips and yaps of their children ring in the background, but right now Peppy's content to keep his eyes on Aurora.