Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Pokemon Haven: Assisi Farm.
North <N> leads to Field and Streams - Route 11: Farmlands.

Dakota has arrived.

Aurora has arrived.

Briska has arrived.

Flame has arrived.

Fair weather clouds sail across the blue sky, propelled by light breezes from the west. It's warm in the sun, cool in the shade, and the air is clear and dry. In the forest, the wind rustles the bright green leaves of trees and bushes and carries Oddish pollen, downy seeds, and the fragrance of wildflowers along with it. While at the coast, the ocean is a deep cool blue today, the waves lapping at the coast gently under the pleasant spring sky.

The long winter has finally run its course, and Spring abounds in the clear blue sky, the refreshing light breeze, the sun's warm ways. Though snow still lingers on the ground, it dissipates more and more by the day, and patches of green shoot out from the blanket of white here and there. Needless to say, the Assisi Farm is nearly empty as pokemon pour out of the musty old barn, enjoying the fresh air. Some of these pokemon haven't been outside in weeks, some not even for months... and for some, never in their lives. The family of Growlithes of the barn have come out as a pack for the first time ever today, and, in Peppy's mind, they couldn't have possibly picked a better day. Sitting down on his haunches, the Growlithe is supposed to be watching over the puppies whether they play, sleep, fight, or explore, but more often than not, his green eyes are fixed on the clouds above. Is there something special in the sky that he's noticed? Is he just thinking about something else? If anybody were to look up, they'd see nothing other than a bright sun, a deep sky, and a few wispy clouds.

Flame trots along after his father, mother and the rest of his brothers and sisters. While there's snow on the ground, it isn't enough to deter the pup from venturing out and exploring the world. He cranes his head, perking up his triangular ears and listening to his surroundings. A mop of silvery white fur serves as his tail, and he flicks it from left to right a few times, enjoying the fair weather. Suddenly, he goes stock still, and his entire body tenses. Is that a Rattata he smells? Wait, he can smell some Pidgey too! His wet nose wiggles on the end of his short muzzle, and he sniffs the air curiously. Beady emeralds widen in wonder, and for a moment the dark puppy loses his sinister expression. Padding further along, Flame immediately begins rooting through the new grass and tender spring growth with his muzzle, nose running along the muddy ground. He snorts as he shuffles along, his muscular legs leading him further and further along. If Peppy or Aurora doesn't watch it, he's going to wander away from the rest of the group.

A world beyond anything ever imagined. The fluffy puppy named Briska stands by his father, his green eyes wide and his jaw slack. Briska stares around, slowly drinking in the sights, sounds and smells of the new land. Trying to take in all three senses simultaneously becomes very hard - soon, Briska has his ears flattened in order to block out sound and his eyes are squeezed shut. His chest expands like a furry balloon as he takes in the scents playing on the breeze. Earth, green, wildflowers, soil...the smells of growing and budding and warmth and spring. The information is quickly catagorized in his mind; though the youngster won't know what produces these scents, he'll certainly recognize them again. "Rrrlithe," he whispers to himself. Though there is no meaning behind it, his awe is so thick one could reach out and touch it. The pup's ears begin to twitch and Briska breathes through his mouth, tongue lolling out. And so many sounds...

The sun shines overhead, bracketed by puffy fair weather clouds.

Also watching over the pack is the mother of the puppies, Aurora, who's grinning widely as she sits on her haunches in a shallow patch of snow. Even though her hindquarters are getting damp, her tail's thumping the ground as she watches the rest of the pack. The puppies are what she keeps most of her attention on, though every now and then she glances to her side at Peppy. Briska gets an encouraging grin - although with his eyes squeezed shut, he may well not notice - and Flame does as well, as well as a murmured, <Don't go too far ahead...> Still, all the pups are exploring and playing nicely, it seems. What could possibly go wrong?

As the most energetic of the pups comes out of the barn, she stops completely for a moment. Ahh! The sensory overload! And after just that moment, the look of shocked amazement leaves her face, and is replaced by a puppy grin of joy, her tongue lolling out. She bounces about sniffing everywhere, not noticing whether or not she is staying with the pack-although, as chance would have it, she is. She dashes over to the first bit of fluffy white stuff, and shoves her nose down in it-and quickly pulls it back out, yipping in surprise. That's cold!

As he gazes up at the sky, both of Peppy's ears prick up, just barely detecting Briska's wondered little growl. His head slowly comes down as he settles his sights upon his son, and the grin that forms on his face matches his mate's. He takes a quick check of the puppies, as though making up for having kept his eyes on the sky. Karen and Dusk have pretty much the same temperment as Briska, an overwhelming sense of a new world. Peppy moves his paws up a few inches, placing more weight on them as he leans forward, just a little closer to Briska. <... Hey, Briska!> he woofs with in a excited whisper, his voice just reeking of 'I-have-something-to-show-you-and-it's-going-to-be-really-cool!' Should Dakota happen to dance by him, he'll also beckon her over. Same thing should Flame happen to stroll by, but given that he's more intent on seeing just how big this new world is, that's probably not going to happen.

The black puppy avoids the snow whenever possible, tiptoeing around it when the space allows it, and charging through piles he can't clear with a jump. His mother's voice reaches his ears, and her jerks his head up, ripping his nose away from the ground and its many enticing scents. So many things to smell, so little time! Even Flame is in shock at all there is to be seen, heard and smelled. Ignoring his mother's call, he pushes a rock with a paw, and turns it over. He watches as ants crawl out from under it, carrying their wriggling larvae between their jaws. Seconds later her spots a small anthill, and he narrows his eyes mischievously. Luckily, before he has a chance to demolish the tiny insect's home, something new catches his attention. Bounding forward, he spots a paw print imbedded in the muddied ground. He peers at it intently, squinting one eye and sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth in concentration. <Ooh!> he exclaims, continuing to walk farther away from the group. <Big.> he says to himself, pondering over the paw print's origins, and what possibly could have created something of that size.

Briska does miss his mom's kind grin, for he's too busy listening to everything the great outdoors has to offer. Wind through grass, the clacking of branches as they hit together, pawsteps of pokemon, his mother's voice, yips of his siblings. And...a deep whisper quite close to his ear twitching ear. The pup's eyes pop open and his ears perk. He stares ahead of him, his head moving slightly from side to side; only a few seconds later does it occur to him to actually, you know, look in the direction the sound came from. Briska swings his neck to the side with a large, clumsy movement; his emerald eyes fall on his father's furry chest. The furry puppy raises his head to look into Peppy's face, his head tilting to the left. "Row?" he questions - if Briska has learned the word 'what', he's not demonstrating it today.

Aurora is as curious as her pups about what Peppy's planning to show them, and leans over a little to listen more closely. Flame's "investigation" of the anthill gets a little frown from her, which clears as she notices his attention's wandered to something else. There's a glance over to Briska, who's looking interested if a little clueless, and another one over to the girls. Wincing a little in sympathy as Dakota pokes her nose into the freezing snow, Aurora then turns her attention back to what exciting things Peppy's got to say.

Shaking her head, and wiping her now very cold wet nose with a paw, Dakota gets over the coldness. After her nose thaws enough, she sniffs just above the snow. Weird. This stuff smells like water!

Peppy's tail wags back and forth furiously as he waits for Briska to look at him, and his eyes dance and sparkle. Briska finally does settle his curious eyes upon dad, who no doubt is far less interesting than this sprawling boundless land of smells and sounds and sights. Peppy doesn't seem to care; perhaps the magic in seeing the world for the first time is lost on him. Flame goes unnoticed, which is not exactly a very good idea if he's following the pawprints of some undoubtedly large creature. As Dakota boings up to him, Peppy gives her a small grin and directs his eyes... up to the sky. <Look up there,> he commands softly. And again, there's nothing special. Just lots of blue with a dash of yellow and white... or grey, light grey, and white, to the colorblind ones. <See those... uh... those light things that are big and fluffy? Those things are called clouds. Sometimes...> He steals a glance back at Briska and Dakota now, and leans forward a little closer, as though is a secret that nobody else can know about. Aurora, however, should easily be able to hear him. <... Sometimes you can see things in the clouds. See that one right there?> He gestures with his nose to one of the larger ones. <Doesn't that look like a stack of straw?> Whether the puppies understand everything he says or not Peppy doesn't seem to care about; his spirit remains undampened. Truth is that the cloud doesn't really - it's more like a big mass of white that might sort of look like a haystack if you squint.

The wind brushes past the Growlithe, and runs through his long, well kempt mane of silver. A few unrestrained locks fall into his face and over his eyes, and he blows them back into place, pursing his lips together as he does so. Pidgey chirp from their roosts, Rattata squeak as they scurry along and a Caterpie or two call to each other from the bushes and the trees. After a minute or two of sniffing, pawing and squinting at the paw print, Flame loses interest. Sitting on his rump, he opens his maw wide and yawns, flashing his sharp milk teeth and pink gums. Smacking his lips with his raspy tongue, he lifts up a leg and scratches behind one of his ears. Boring. He shifts his gaze to his father and the other puppies, and follows Peppy's eyes to the clouds. The pup has an imagination down in his brain somewhere, but his instinct to analyze things overrides it. He squints at the clouds, and can't see anything particularly special or interesting about them. Ambling back towards the rest of the group, Flame comes over to see just what has his family's attention. Whatever it is, it has to be more interesting than the paw print and the anthill. Maybe he can break it.

Briska may not understand words, but, fortunately, he's a good imitator. He peers up at the sky - he hadn't quite noticed this big blue roof before, as the puppy is much closer to the ground. He plops down heavily on his haunches to better look at the land above. When Peppy speaks again, Briska's head turns back to the patriarch of the family. The look in his eyes is utterly empty, but when Peppy gestures to the big white poof that may look like a haystack in Peppy's world, Briska looks there too. His stocky leg rises and he tries to bat at the cloud; the young canine frowns when his paws touch nothing. "Iiii," he half-whines, looking back to Peppy with ears lowered and brow furrowed in confusion. Amusingly enough, he then looks to his mother, gestures to the cloud, then looks back at her. Maybe Briska is figuring out who the brains of the operation is, or maybe he'd just like a second opinion on...eh, what is it he's supposed to be learning again?

Looking up at the clouds, Aurora does indeed spot the cloud that Peppy's talking about, though it looks rather more like... <Oh, it looks just like those berry bushes near the den,> she woofs in surprise. <Well, what they'd look like if they were white, and... I wonder if they looked like that while we were here.> Her attention turns to another one of the clouds, and she points with a paw to one with a little puff of cloud protruding from it. <That one looks a bit like a Growlithe, don't you think?> she asks Peppy. Looking down to talk to her mate, she notices Briska trying to swat at the clouds, and smiles. <They're high up, Briska,> she tells him gently. <I tried to reach them before,> she demonstrates, leaning up and swatting a paw into thin air, <but they're too high for us to reach.>

When Peppy doesn't do anything, except talk and look at the sky, Dakota frowns a little. When she follows his gaze at the cloud, she ruffs a little in astonishment. She looks back and forth from the cloud to the pile of snow, as if to say, "That thing came from up there???" She too tries to bat it with a paw, to see if that one is cold too. It's not. In fact, it seems like nothing except air is there at all. She bats at it again. She can't feel anything! Darned thing must be moving away. She sits there for a while just batting, but quickly gets bored and decides to wrestle with her nearest brother.

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

Dusk has arrived.

Briska's little whine drags Peppy's head down to his level, and the little puppy's hopeless grab at the clouds stirs something in Peppy's chest and makes him beam, perhaps unknowingly. His right ear pricks as Aurora speaks, and, as he almost always does, he turns his head towards her as she speaks. <I don't even think something really, really big could touch it,> he adds, giving the skies another look. Aurora's Growlithe cloud is given a close look, and Peppy peers at it from all angles. He squints, opens his eyes, cocks his head, leans forward, leans back, cocks his head the other way, and eventually arrives at a conclusion. <It... does look like a Growlithe!> His tail wags back and forth at an unsteady rate. <That one right there. You s-> Poof! And then Dakota, obviously bored with cloud-watching, attempts to get in a little fight with her brother. Peppy can only shake his head, grinning.

When Flame draws near enough to catch the conversation being shared amongst his relatives, he stops so suddenly he has to brace himself with his front paws in order to prevent himself from falling head first into the muddy ground below him. Still, despite his effort to keep from taking a header, he stumbles quite ungracefully before he comes to a complete stop. Are his brothers and sisters actually trying to -touch- the clouds? The idea is so inconceivable; he can hardly believe his eyes. He looks from Briska to Dakota, and then he bursts out laughing. Sitting on his haunches, he cups his front paws over his mouth, and he tries to contain his uncontrollable laughter. He points first to his brother, and then to his sister, squinting his eyes to mere slits as he struggles to breathe. Falling onto his back, he rolls around on the snow-patched ground, holding his sides with his paws. He kicks the air with his hind legs, and small tears of moisture roll down his cheeks.

Briska's attention shifts to his mother when she speaks, and he fixes her with a happy grin, even though her attention is directed at Peppy. It's only until she pays attention to him and swipes at a cloud does Briska remember that he needed her for clarification. His face scrunches up, what baby-pudge there is still on his face wrinkling and folding. So, mom is hitting the cloud. ..Only not. Briska cranes his neck upwards. Hey - he can't touch the roof of the barn either. Therefor, doesn't it make sense that he can't touch this speckled roof? Briska's mouth curves into a grin--ack! But then Dakota's paws and jaws are on him. "Owli!" he yaps with a smile as he faces his sister, the sky business vanishing from his mind as his tail frisks from side to side. He snaps his jaws, trying to catch Dakota's ear in his mouth. If he manages to do so, he won't chomp down on her ear, but he'll tug on it a little - it won't cause too much pain that way. Briska's attention is on his sister, not whatever theatrics his brother is throwing.

Nodding to Peppy, Aurora adds, <And that little bit at the top. Maybe that could be an ear...> Glancing over at Dakota and Briska, who've decided to get back to playfighting, Aurora smiles, and then turns back to Peppy, coughing a bit nervously. <Peppy, um... you remember our den, the one we left to come here?> She scuffs her foot on the ground, and then asks, <Do you... should we go back there? Or will we have to find somewhere else when the snow's gone? We can't stay in the barn for ever...> Then Flame's antics catch Aurora's attention, and she simply stares at him for a good minute or so, puzzled by the uncontrollable laughter.

Lagging behind the others, the smaller Growlithe female steps uncertainly through the snow and does her best to avoid the muddy spots. She slinks along on her belly, nose working and blue eyes wide with wonder. She is finally free to explore the big world beyond the barn doors! Occasionally she picks up one of her paws to give it a good shake. So far, she isn't overly impressed with this place. Wrinkling her nose at the offending, slushy ground, she fixes her eyes on her mother and continues her slow progress forward. With everyone taking turns peering up at the sky, she is forced to check it out for herself. What are they looking at? The clouds float gently along; their fluffy white forms the epitome of grace and beauty. She hadn't noticed this yet. With a doggy grin forming on her maw, dark-eared Dusk decides that she wants to be a cloud, or perhaps as just as graceful as one. The puppy puffs out her chest proudly and then attempts to glide along more smoothly, glancing up at the sky every now and again. Splut. <Eww,> she whimpers.

As Flame starts laughing, Dakota only pays it enough attention to be proud of herself for being a source of joy-even if she can't quite figure out why. As Briska tugs her ear, she yips, and tries to return the favor, although this is a bit difficult, since he's still holding her ear... Actually, she just put herself in a little more pain. She gives that up quickly, and swats at him with a paw.

Peppy grins slightly at the antics of his two children. He bumps his paws up a few more inches to bring himself closer to the ground, maybe with the intentions of getting a more accurate view of the battling. Aurora speaks, and Peppy glances up at her out of the corner of his eye, entirely ignoring the battle for now. The father eventually opens his mouth to speak, but the black puppy's loud laughter sort of distracts him. Peppy raises his head and, along with Aurora, peers at over at the puppy, a quizical sort of look on his face. The Growlithe glances up at the sky, then back at Flame. <... Maybe he saw a funny looking cloud?> Peppy suggests helplessly, his nose twitching slightly. <You're right, though,> he woofs, readjusting his stance and staring at the plains, the patchy snow-and-grass mosaic that sparkles in the sun. <I don't... really want the puppies spending most of their growing life in the barn. I really want them to experience having a den... since most or all of them will someday.> The breeze picks up. Peppy spares little Dusk a glance as she whimpers at the mud, smiling to himself. <... Maybe we can just make a new one somewhere new. Somewhere better.> Peppy's eyes nervously head up to the sky as he realizes that... well... he doesn't exactly know where somewhere new is.

Fair weather clouds sail across the blue sky, propelled by light breezes from the west. It's warm in the sun, cool in the shade, and the air is clear and dry.

Finally, Flame's laughter subsides, and slowly his breathing goes back to normal. While he waits for his breathing to return to a more regular pace, he lets his arms and legs go limp, and he lies on his back on the ground. His fluffy tail is smashed flat underneath him, his tongue lolls out the side of his mouth lazily. Eventually, he gets back on all fours and he shakes himself off, sending mud, snow and bits of grass into the air. Peering at his siblings a while, he watches as they play fight, and he shrugs his shoulders indifferently, chuffing under his breath. Emeralds drift to his mother, and they rest on her a moment before landing on Dusk. Those green gems disappear as he shuts his eyes, and seem to fade as his dark eyelashes cover them briefly. Reopening his eyes he woofs to himself, and regains his composure after his dramatic laughing scene. Staring at the ground a moment, he re-interests himself in the ants, and licks his lips hungrily. He wonders what they taste like, and he laps a few off the ground and onto his tongue. <Pfft!> he ruffs, spitting the chewed up ants back onto the ground.

Briska lets go of Dakota's ear as she moves in to swat him - however, Dakota's little move is quite successful. As the paw hits him, Briska shifts his weight backwards, but doesn't stumble. Once again it's a contest of speed and strength. Briska slips into a play bow, tail wagging so much that his rump wiggles with it. Okay, we have to factor in Briska's stupidity as well - I mean, he's not even bothering to attack. What's up with that? Dusk's <ewww,> causes him to turn his head her way. <Duuuuh..sk!> he woofs over to her, gesturing for her to join the family. Or is he asking Dusk to join the tussle he's having with Dakota? Since this is Briska, he doesn't elaborate. It also doesn't concern him that Dakota could quite easily attack him while he's not looking at his hyper sister.

The surprise on Aurora's face shows that the idea of making a den "somewhere new" is one that she's not thought of. <Couldn't we just... make the old den bigger?> she asks, and then sighs gustily. <More digging to do...> she mutters, and then shakes her head a little. <Sorry, but I remember how much work making the first den was. Maybe we should wait until the pups are a little older, then we can find a place where all of us can build a den. A really big one, but with you, me and the pups all helping...> Aurora grins a little, and then looks embarrassed. <I'm not lazy, really...> she mutters, and to hide her blush she looks over at Dusk, whose attempt at cloud-like elegance has left her in the mud.

Dusk's ears swivel forward as her brother calls out to her. She spares him a glance, head tilting to the right a moment, and then to the left. She grins faintly but is more concerned with shaking the mud from one of her front paws, first vigorously and then more gently. The mud clings there and the puppy frowns down at the offending brown sludge. With a sigh, Dusk's pink tongue appears from between her lips and she runs it over the splotchy orange and brown fur. Yuck! The little firedog squinches her face in displeasure, tongue still protruding from her mouth as if she wished never to retract it. Snow! The puppy then attempts to run it over the frosty crystals, finally mouthing a gob of the slushy stuff and letting it crunch and slush between her teeth. Ears drooping, the little female lets it slowly dribble out of her mouth, thoroughly disgusted. She swallows hard and then continues to slink to catch up to the others, now hurrying so as to avoid this situation in the future. Yeah, like that will help. She hustles forward, all four paws now gaining muddy coverings. Finally, she slips up next to Peppy and heaves a sigh of relief.

Dakota takes the opportunity given her, and leaps at Briska, intending to end with him pinned to the ground. Unforunately, she seems to have accidentally rolled a little to far, (Or too short?) and is herself the one on the bottom-and right on a pile of snow. She yelps, and tries to leap up, but, what with her brother on top of her, she's stuck to squirm in frozen agony until her brother gets off.

Aurora, again, absorbs all Peppy's attention. <I understand,> he comforts her, his tail waggling back and forth. <If we didn't wait until they were older to get the den up fast, where would we sleep until the den was ready? But... um.> Peppy shifts his eyes to the side here, knowing he should hush up right now and not try to influence Aurora, the obvious brains of the pair. <But... there were so many trainers. And... that hard thing with the really fast things near the den... I like not having to worry about whether or not a trainer will come by when I'm hunting, and there aren't many out here. Maybe we need to go somewhere like that.> It's a shame Peppy's not paying much attention to the battle between Briska and Dusk, as it's actually rather interesting. Flame's little adventure with the ants does, however, attract Peppy's attention, and the Growlithe's eyes widen when the black one... eats... ants? <Flame, those aren't for eating!> Peppy calls to the pup... a little late, unfortunately, because the pup has already started to cough them up. Dusk's little sigh, sadly enough for the poor puppy, goes unnoticed, and Peppy looks at Aurora, then Flame, then Aurora, then Flame. <Um, um, are you okay, Flame?> His stance becomes more erect, as though he could spring off his paws at any moment.

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

Flame smacks his lips and sputters, sticking his tongue out from between pursed lips in a show of puppy disgust. His face contorts into a grimace, and his brows furrow as he scowls at the ants. How dare they taste so rotten! Growling at the vile little creatures, he smashes a few under his paw for revenge. He covers the rest in mud and snow, and watches the helpless creatures drown and die, laughing at their misfortune. Peppy's call attracts his attention, and he takes his gaze away from his miniature scene of mixed carnage and mayhem. <Those are yuck!> he promptly responds to his father's worried inquiry, frowning at the few lucky survivors, and sticking out his tongue one last time. Padding off, he goes to join his father and see what the older male is up to. His pace is brisk as he heads over in Peppy's direction, and he holds his head in his usual aloof manner, temporarily forgetting the wretched insects.

As usual, it takes Briska some time to react to whatever Dakota does. The pup does go crashing to the ground with his sister - it's how he winds up A) on top of her, and B) with her in the snow that confuses him ever so terribly. "Grow?" he asks, peering down at his sister. His head tilts to one side. What's that funny expression on her face? ..Pain? In tussles in earlier days, Briska hurt a pup or two unwittingly, so he knows the expression. He gives his energetic sibling a warm smile, moving in to lick her cheek. No, he's definitely not understanding the 'water hurts Growlithe' concept yet. However, he does slip off of his sister, all four of his paws landing...in a patch of snow. Briska blinks, before looking down at his feet. For some reason rolling over a patch of snow is a lot different than standing in the frozen water. "Rrrr, lithe," Briska mutters, more annoyed than hurting, for now.

<You're right,> Aurora replies to Peppy's words, nodding but looking a little sad. <That's why we came here before they were born, wasn't it? But...> She blushes a little, clears her throat, opens her mouth... and discovers that Peppy's attention has been diverted by Flame's ant-eating antics. Grinning a little sheepishly, she bows her head and murmurs, <It's nothing,> then hears a non-Peppy-like noise from near Peppy. Peering round her mate's back, she spots Dusk and grins, woofing a cheerful greeting of, <How are you, Dusk?>

Dusk blinks and looks about, pale eyes shifting from Aurora to Peppy, then suddenly to Flame. Oh no, here he comes. The little female flattens her ears slightly and sidles a little closer to her father. Here, so close to both of her parents, the black-furred bully couldn't bother her. This idea pleases her and she begins to wag her plume of a tail, lips curling ever so slightly into a mischievous smile. The sounds of her other siblings playing catches her attention for a moment and she fixes her eyes on Dakota for a moment. The puppy begins to pondering, always having to consider things carefully. Should she play? Or perhaps she should stay closer to her parents so as to keep in one piece. The small female lifts a paw as she stands there, undecided. Mom? Dusk blinks as she is addressed, then wags happily and makes her decision. The puppy trots to her mother, bowing gracefully and swinging her tail in windwills of happiness. <M'okay,> she almost whispers.

Getting up, Dakota shakes all the snow out of her fur. She barks angrily at the fluffy stuff, but quickly forgets and decides to do something different. She never quite finished sniffing everything, so she darts over to a nearby tree, to sniff at the bark, and the grass around it. Such fantastic new smells! She scratches at the bark and soil too. Ooh. The dirt is nice and moist, and is easily taken out of the ground. She starts flinging dirt and mud everywhere.

Peppy, as though vaguely aware of the fact that Aurora is speaking to him, shifts his eyes off of Flame for a second to settle them back on Aurora. Perhaps feeling guilty for ignoring her, Peppy peers up at Aurora, grins uneasily, and, should she let him, gives her a quick slurp on the cheek and a quick, <We'll talk later.> Aww. Peppy now steps out of his stance and peers around. Setting his sights upon Flame, he bounds a couple steps towards the puppy, slamming his paws down into the mud and perhaps splashing a little onto anybody near him. When he finally gets near Flame, he'll lower himself to the ground, his eyes worried, his body probably blocking Flame's view of all the other Growlithes. <Are you okay, Flame?> he asks softly, his voice genuinely concerned. Now, Peppy is a Growlithe that once spent a night engaged in a mud-eating contest and walked out fine, so perhaps he's exaggerating a bit. <You spit them all out, right? Didn't eat any?> The adult Growlithe gives the anthill a glare and a slight growl, as though threatening it, as he waits for Flame's reply.

The overgrown pup looks to his father as he paces towards him, and he stiffens where he stands. Uh oh. He's in trouble again. Dad's going to put him in time out for drowning all those ants. When Peppy asks if he is all right, the pup's stomach grumbles in protest, and he curls up his nose in discomfort. <Bleh.> is the pup's response, and he bends his head to spit a few of the remaining bugs onto the ground. <Yeah> Flame finally responds sitting on the ground and eyeing the ants with an angry vengeance. He wipes his nose with the end of his paw, and sets it back on the ground, regarding his father levelly. Pointing to the clouds his dad and the other pups were looking at earlier he asks, <What?> he inquires, gesturing towards the cloud, and canting his head to the side in a questioning manner. Apparently, he missed the whole cloud lecture Peppy gave a few minutes earlier. He doesn't paw at the cloud though; he knows that they are too far for him to reach.

Briska looks at Dakota as she barks, startled. Is she barking at him? Seeing as there's no follow up, and that Dakota leaves, Briska decides she was just barking, and turns his green eyes to the snow. "The," he says decisively, before stepping back onto the muddy ground. He sends another glance down to his large paws and slowly begins shaking each paw out, small clumps of snow dropping from in between his paw pads. Mud soon takes the place of snow on his paws, but Briska doesn't mind that as much. The little puppy then looks over at his family. Dusk with mom, Karen nearby, daddy and Flame together, but Dakota...why, she's all alone! Briska quickly toddles after his sister, wanting to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't run off. Even Briska knows that Dakota likes to explore.

As Dusk trots up to her, Aurora's smile becomes more gentle, and she wags her tail happily in reply to Dusk, then lowers herself so she's lying on her forepaws, her head a bit closer to Dusk's level. <Are you having fun out here? It's muddy, I know, but...> Aurora points a paw in the direction of one of the trees, and says, <Look, that's a tree. There's lots of them out here. And in the sky, that big blue thing up there...> Another indication, this time with her nose. <The big white things are clouds. There's so much outside that we don't see in the barn, you see.> She grins, and then looks up into the clouds again. <Up there... don't you think that one of those looks like a Growlithe?>

Dusk tilts her head to the side, still wriggling under her mother's gaze and obediently follows the pointing with curious eyes. She takes in the trees for a moment and then ponders the cloud. <No,> she states matter-of-factly after a moments thought, quite certain that it doesn't look like a Growlithe. <White,> she states simply, indicating her reasoning for not seeing it as a Growlithe. The little firedog then looks back to her mother, waiting to see what she has to say about this, ready to learn anything that the older, wiser canine might have to say.

At first Dakota doesn't notice Briska, and probably covers him in mud, but once she decides to try a different place... Well, there's her sibling. She "Liithe"s a greeting at him, and motions an invitation to join her. She then moves over to a bush, where she starts digging again. ... Unfortunately, this particular bush was the home to a family of Rattatas who come running out, scolding her-not to mention scaring her away from that particular bush.

When Peppy is reasonably certain that Flame is not going to start coughing up blood or mutate thanks to the ants that he ate, he exhales through his nose, something of a sigh. <What's what?> Peppy asks the smaller Growlithe quietly, following Flame's glare up at the sky. He squints and peers for a second, before his eyes widen with the realization. <Oh!> His head snaps back to Flame, whizzes up to the sky, shoots back down to the black pup. <I don't remember very much about my dad,> Peppy woofs to Flame, keeping his tone little more quiet. None of the other pokemon, unless they should be actively listening, would be able to hear it. <But this is one of the things we used to do when I was a puppy. See up there?> He gestures to the exact same cloud as Aurora. By now parts of the white puffball have separated, and the Growlithe, though still recognizable, is becoming less and less organized. He keeps his muzzle directed toward the cloud, but he still glances at Flame out of the sides of his eyes. <That one right there? It looks like a Growlithe. Like you, or me, or mommy, or any of your sisters or brother.> Now, peering back at the cloud, Peppy actually has to squint to recognize it. Well... it was a Growlithe.

Looking at the sky, he peers at the cloud, trying to see the Growlithe that his father is pointing out to him. Unfortunately, whether or not it resembled a Growlithe at one time or another, or still does look like one now, Peppy is unable to see it. No matter how long he stares at it, or what direction he turns his head in, the poor puppy cannot see anything in the cloud. He mutters impatiently, and glowers at the cloud, watching as it continues to break apart. <See noth'in.> he promptly informs his father, casting his gaze to the ground in disappointment. Eventually, he lifts his head again, and refocuses his attention on the clouds. <Rattata!> he woofs, pointing to a cloud up above that resembles the long whiskered rodent, and wagging his tail with glee. Turning to his dad, he asks his question again. <Hunt?> he wriggles, and peers up at his father with pleading emeralds. After all, they're outside! He must be allowed to hunt now!

Briska does have some mud fly at his face - but his instincts are quite useful here, as he jerks aside. The mud splatters over his back, true, but now Briska approaches Dakota more warily, keeping out of range of her mud-slinging paws. The fluffy puppy is wary about joining Dakota; perhaps he suspects more mud to be thrown at him? However, those Rattatas bursting out of the bush? That provokes something from the fuzzy doggy. His ears flatten and his tail jerks upward, and he begins to bark. It's not the deep baying of an older Growlithe, and his voice is too high-pitched for him to be truly fearsome. "Row! Row! Row!" However, fearsome voice or not, the Rattatas are soon gone, their little footsteps fading as their purple forms become no more than dots in the distance. (Hey, maybe some of them recognize Peppy as the guy who's been killing their kind all winter!) Briska growls softly, eyeing the bush with deep suspicion. When it doesn't move for a few seconds, Briska looks around for his sister, giving her a 'come back!' wuff.

Looking back up at the cloud, Aurora stares at it for a while, and then nods. <Maybe if someone made a pretend Growlithe out of snow - that's the white slushy stuff on the ground - it would look like that. Or maybe not...> She turns back to Dusk, and nods. <But you're right, real Growlithes like us don't look like that. We're a different colour from that, aren't we?> She gives another encouraging grin to Dusk. <That's very smart of you, Dusk. Do you know-> Whatever Aurora was going to say is broken off as Briska's barking, and the fleeing Rattatas, catch her attention, and she woofs at him, <Briska, what are you doing? And Dakota...>

Dusk grins happily. She was right! Her tail continues to wag briskly, and then something steals her mom's attention, Dakota's yapping. The little female attempts to sit up on her hind legs, trying to get a clear idea of what all the fuss is about. <What's happening?> she asks, unsure what the commotion is. She had wanted to ask if all Growlithe's were either black or orange, but now the question is lost. The tiny female prances nervously, panting slightly in concern. Uh oh... "Waaaachooo!" Dusk sneezes.

Dakota blinks, and looks back towards the last bush she had been at. What's Briska yellin' at her for? She jogs over there and barks back, her head tilted questioningly to the side. When she notices that there are no little Rattatas nearby anymore, the little light goes off in her head. Oh. He scared them off! She grins happily, and yips a small 'Thanks.'

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

Fair weather clouds sail across the blue sky, propelled by light breezes from the west. It's warm in the sun, cool in the shade, and the air is clear and dry.

Peppy peers down at his son quizically when he announces the name of the purple pokemon, and, suddenly realizing how hungry he is, turns to peer at the door to the barn, now wide open to let the cooped-up musty air out and let the fresh Spring air in. Peppy didn't realize how... how... ... hungry he is. <Um.> He sniffs at the air once or twice, as if trying to get at something, before turning back to Flame. He glances up at the sky, noticing exactly the cloud Flame is referring to. And his perception of a Rattata is far more accurate than Peppy's perception of a haystack. <No...> Peppy woofs softly, bringing his eyes back down to Flame. <No, no hunting yet. I...> His ear pricks up as Aurora speaks, and he turns away from Flame just in time to see Rattatas scampering off at full speed. Did Briska do that? Or Dakota? <Aurora,> Peppy woofs, taking a step or two towards her, apparently ignoring poor Flame. His voice drops a bit. <... What happened? Did one of the puppies scare them off?>

Briska finds his active sister and grins broadly at her, tongue exposed to the wind as it tumbles from his open mouth. And then she smiles at him, and tells him in a language that he can understand just how grateful she is. "Liii..." he murmurs meaninglessly, but there's a clear note of contentment to his tone, and he raises his head. He could get used to being a protector. He thrusts his chest outward and widens his stance, looking like such a macho little puppydog. What's that? Mom called Dakota's name? Briska doesn't even notice. In fact, he trundles over to his sister and licks her on the cheek. Just think, she might've been hurt by that exploding bush. At the thought, Briska looks over his shoulder at the large piece of plant matter but..no, it's not ripping itself out by the roots about to start a bloody rampage. The pup then turns back to his sister, comforted that she's safe and grinning mindlessly.

Aurora turns her head to listen to Peppy's question, and sighs quietly. <I think so... I don't know what happened, though. I heard Briska bark, and then I think I saw one of them run into the bush...> She turns to look at the pair of puppies beside the bush, and asks, <Briska? Dakota? Did you scare the Rattatas away?> She tries her best to make her voice sound merely curious, but there's the tiniest hint of reproach in the way she says it.

Dusk adjusts her stance, mimicking her mother's movements and facial expressions. Obviously the little pup wants to learn as much as she can and shadowing mom is a good way of doing that. Her lips begin to curl slightly as she tries to take in the situation. Are her siblings going to get in trouble? The idea seems to please her and she steps forward, watching and waiting to see if her parents really are upset and why they would be. <Rattata,> she whispers to herself, thoroughly pleased. Dusk's black ears dance on her head happily as she listens to her family and the outdoor sounds with relish. Here is where she belongs, even if there is mud. The puppy sticks her tongue out as the thought of the goo returns.

Dusk has disconnected.

Dakota frowns when Mom talks. Oh no, she did do something wrong! What was it? This isn't a no digging zone, is it? Or maybe she got too far away from everyone else? She doesn't know, but she's sure going to try and make for... Uh, whatever it was! She dashes over to mom, and lies down belly-up in submission.

Briska's ears perk when his mother speaks his name, but Dakota reacts before he does. She...turns on her belly in submission? Huh? Briska stares after his sister, plainly confuzzled. What's going on now? Is it the bush? Briska whirls and stares at the plant life with narrowed eyes. Stare. Stare. Oh, wait, it's shifting! Ears go back, tail high, teeth bared. "Grrr...!" ... Wait, it's just shifting in the breeze. Of course, it takes half a minute for that information to work its way through Briska's little brain. Briska slowly moves away from the bush, trotting to his mother's side. "Row," he greets his mama, rather cheerfully for someone who just chased dinner away. But, hey, Briska's got a particularly young version of his father's brain - is it fair to chastize him for doing something wrong when he did so entirely by accident?

Aurora sighs a little as Briska investigates the bush once more, apparently thinking the inhabitants have come back after their scare. Dakota's actions get a little grin, and a nod, along with, <It's okay, Dakota. Your dad and I were trying to find out where to hunt for everyone's lunch, and...> She smiles wryly. <I suppose we can't really look in that bush now.> Aurora leans down towards Dakota, nudging her belly with her nose in an effort to tickle the pup. <It's okay,> she says, though her voice is a little muffled from the angle she's at.

Flame has disconnected.

A sigh of relief comes from the pup that is on the ground at the moment, followed by some giggling. Phew! It wasn't her. It must've been Briska then! She hops up, as soon as Mom lets up a little, and glares at the accused, in a cute puppy way. She ruffs somewhat gruffly, before getting bored of that too, forgetting the whole incident, and deciding to go see how that white stuff tastes. She apparently forgot pretty quickly about dangers of snow, but this is to her advantage, as it tastes much better then it feels.

Aurora might be disapproving in her speech, but Peppy, on the other hand, takes the other view altogether. He's waited patiently for Aurora to speak, perhaps so as to not interrupt, but now that she's nuzzling against Dakota, the Growlithe woofs, <... You really scared them, Briska?> He takes a step or two towards the little pup. Uh oh. Is he going to scold Briska? Or get mad? Or be disappointed? <... A whole family of them, running away because you growled at them?> No, Peppy certainly doesn't have all the details to this circumstance, but let him interpret this as he may... It's not like Briska can agree or not. He looks down at the little puppy, a slow smile spreading onto his face. The adult Growlithe's voice is proud and booming as he barks, <Briska, that's great! They must have been so frightened of you! You must have growled really well! Ha!> So what if his hunting job today or tomorrow is that much harder? His son's a little tough guy, and to Peppy, that's the part that matters most!

Dakota has disconnected.

Once Dakota's managed to escape from her mother's "punishment", and has been distracted by the snow on the ground, Aurora looks over to Briska, to see how Peppy's handling him... and Peppy's words make her stare, her mouth half open, for a few seconds, before closing her jaws and grinning to herself softly. <I never thought of it like that,> she murmurs quietly, and looks at Briska with new pride in her eyes. It looks like everyone's learnt something from today's expedition - Flame learning what ants taste like, Dusk finding out about mud, and Briska learning about how loud he can growl - and their parents have learnt, too.