"Got your ear!"

Quiet Ocean let out a growl as she felt her brother's tiny teeth nip gently down onto her gray ear. She spun around and pushed the white wolf off of her, before she was tackled from behind by her sister, Daffodil Bloom.

"No fair! You can't team up on me just because I'm the smallest!" Quiet Ocean complained.

"Come and get us," Daffodil Bloom teased.

Quiet Ocean sunk down and leapt into the air, landing on top of her golden-furred sister. The two often looked more like young pups playing than siblings, since Daffodil Bloom's markings looked so different from her and Snow Fall, their brother.

The three pups were rambunctiously tumbling around the den, feeling energized after a long night's sleep. Perhaps if the day were nice enough, their mother would take them out to play in the meadow again, like they had done the day before. Quiet Ocean liked the way the warm air felt on her fur compared to the cold environment of the den.

Quiet Ocean gasped as she pushed Snow Fall a little too hard and watched him tumble into Shining River, a pregnant she-wolf sharing the den with them. Quiet Ocean barely remembered a time in which the gray she-wolf had not been in the den, and she was looking forward to the time when she wouldn't have to be in her company anymore.

Shining River was always the nuisance, yelling at the pups to quit their rampant playing so she could rest and be pampered by her doting family and mate, Feather Wings, who oftentimes seemed like the last place he wanted to be was in the den with his mate. 

Quiet Ocean had asked her mother about why the two seemed to get along so strangely, but her mother had simply just laughed and said that their father probably suffered the same fate when she was heavily pregnant.

"Watch where you're going!" Shining River snapped at the pups. "I can never get an ounce of sleep around here..."

"Pups, come back over here!" came the sweet voice of their mother. Quiet Ocean turned, running toward Small Fox. Their mother was one of the sweetest wolves Quiet Ocean knew, though perhaps she didn't know too many. Still, with that sweet voice and soft eyes, Quiet Ocean always felt comforted in the presence of her mother. She loved curling up close to her mother's soft fur at night and laughed at the way Daffodil Bloom seemed to blend into Small Fox's fur.

"Stay a bit near me while playing. Don't get too rough," Small Fox told the pups. She was never one to raise her voice at the pups. In fact, any time Quiet Ocean got a lecture from her mother, it was always spoken so quietly and softly that Quiet Ocean often felt an immense amount of guilt.

"When is Shining River giving birth?" Snow Fall complained. "I'm sick of her complaining!"

"Keep your voice down," Small Fox murmured. "Any day now she'll give birth, and then maybe you'll have some new playmates!"

"Good. I was getting tired of them," Daffodil Bloom teased.

"Be nice to your siblings," Small Fox said. "You'll miss these moments when you're older."

Quiet Ocean was quick to remember that her mother had lost her two brothers in a battle that had occurred before the pups were born. Her mother didn't speak about it much, though Shining River liked to bring it up every once in a while when the two were in an argument. There were moments when Small Fox was often a bit more distant and quiet, and Quiet Ocean knew in these moments she was thinking about her lost family. Quiet Ocean couldn't even consider losing her siblings. They were her best friends and constant companions. 

"Hey, anyone in there?" someone called from outside the den.

Quiet Ocean recognized the voice immediately. "Daddy!" she called as she ran out the den.

Their father, Golden Sun, was equally as kind as Small Fox. His fur was a bit darker, but still a lovely brown that seemed to glow gold in the sunlight. As the pups greeted them, he spent an especially long time greeting Daffodil Bloom.

"Kiss-up," Snow Fall murmured. Daffodil Bloom did seem to be a favorite of her father sometimes, but Quiet Ocean knew her parents loved all three of them equally.

"Daddy, can we join you in your den? Shining River is being annoying!" Daffodil Bloom complained.

Golden Sun chuckled. "I'm afraid you're not able to. Pups have to stay with their mother in this den. But soon when you're big and older, you'll be in a different den."

Quiet Ocean smiled at this thought. She couldn't wait for the day that she got to hunt with the other members of the pack and explore the forest on her own. Being cooped up in a den inside all day was annoying, especially when her mother told them again and again that the forest was dangerous right now, and it wasn't safe for the pups to wander too freely outside. 

Hearing footsteps, Quiet Ocean turned her head to see Small Fox padding out of the den. 

"Come to play with the pups?" she asked her mate.

"You know it!" Golden Sun replied before crouching down and beginning to tumble with Snow Fall. Quiet Ocean smiled, just before her father lightly batted her on the side. She tumbled over from the weight of his paw and fell on her back, laughing.

It was these moments she treasured most as she stared up at the cloud-dotted sky. Her family was precious to her. She couldn't imagine life without them. Though her siblings were often a pain and mother would chastise her from time to time, she wouldn't trade these memories for anything in the world.

A loud cry of pain suddenly echoed from inside the den they had just exited.

"What's going on?" Daffodil Bloom asked, suddenly halting her play-fighting with her father.

"It looks like Shining River is finally giving birth," Small Fox said. "We'll stay out here for a little bit, pups."

"I should probably head off," Golden Sun said.

"Aw, already?" Quiet Ocean complained.

"Your father has a hunt to go on. He'll be back later," Small Fox explained. "For now, let's sit outside and enjoy the weather."

It was hard to do so as Quiet Ocean listened to Shining River's cries of pain and watched many wolves go to and from the den. After many hours it seemed, Quiet Ocean had dozed off and was awoken by her mother's paw.

"We'll be allowed to go in soon. Come on," she said.

They waited outside the den, as Feather Wings was still inside with his mate. Curious to see the new pups, Quiet Ocean peeked her head forward slightly, along with her siblings.

Shining River and Feather Wings were gently talking to each other while two pups suckled at the she-wolf's belly. One was a dark gray wolf, and the other, light gray.

"It's a shame none of them have the mark," Shining River complained to her mate.

Quiet Ocean wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, but she continued listening anyway.

Feather Wings didn't seem to pay attention to Shining River's comment. He looked quite pained, actually, but Quiet Ocean supposed he was just happy to finally meet his new pups.

"Should we name them, then?" Feather Wings asked.

"Well, they need some proper names. These may be the future alphas of the pack after all," Shining River stated. Even in her tired state, she still seemed to be rather pompous, Quiet Ocean thought.

Quiet Ocean patiently waited as they named the dark gray male wolf Strong Boulder and the lighter she-wolf Tall Willow. It seemed like the two were finally wrapping their conversation up, so Small Fox began leading her pups back into the den.

Daffodil Bloom was already approaching Shining River with curiosity, but the she-wolf growled at the young pup. "Stay away from these pups. They're not your playmates."

Quiet Ocean frowned. She figured the days were going to grow quite interesting as Shining River's pups grew.