[html] He was getting used to this powdery snow stuff that coated the ground, fallen flakes from the sky. But even more than that, he was growing accustomed to the warmth of home and hearth. Love was a foreign concept to him, at least in the way that Phoenix and his family showed it, and Glider - despite having only been around for a scarce few days - was already warming in its glow. His heart was aflutter with the feeling of happiness that jumped through him, jittery and sweet and innocent. His life was starting anew and he couldn't recall a time that he had felt more delighted in himself. No one had called him a runt, a useless heap, or anything else that might imply that he should just go off himself. Not that he had ever considered doing so, but certainly they would not have been disgruntled by such a thing if he had, back home.
Glider was not with them right now, but he still knew that Phoenix, his kids, and his mate would all gladly protect him if he needed it. That meant more than anything ever had in his life. He reached up a hindpaw to scratch his ear, reveling in this feeling of warmth, before looking up at the sky. Head tilted back, silver-blue eyes aglow, he smiled. For the first time in his life, perhaps, he truly smiled. Looking forward again, he hopped forward in the snow, woofing and snapping playfully at the stuff as it flew around his charcoal-colored body. His tail was wagging up a fury of happiness, his body was constantly in gleeful motion as he played and skipped about in the snow. He was the picturesque winter-lovin' puppy.
Life was good.[/html]
[html]  It was a curious thing, how one day a pup would suddenly show up and then they were a new brother or sister. It had been a confusing thing at first, though because of Sun and Moon, she was beginning to understand. Some of her brothers and sisters were just that because they had lost their own parents and, because her parents were so nice, they decided to be the new mommy and daddy. Ember could understand that, especially since it meant new pups to play with. Glider had been a part of their family for just a few days now and already Ember was enthralled with him, especially since he was smaller than she, which was something she'd yet to see before.
She'd just awoken from a short nap when she'd decided to find her new brother, following his scent quickly from the entrance of the den and out into the open. She knew that her mother and father would likely not let him wander far. Bright green eyes spotted him just ahead and a slow grin formed on her muzzle. The dark colored girl, much the same hue as her new brother, when scrambling forward, tossing up snow as she went. "Gliiiiiiiiider!" She called out in and excited wail, rushing forward and slamming her paws down suddenly, skidding to a stop just short of running right into him.
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[html] Glider looked up when he heard Moon coming, but it was already too late for what he thought was going to be a collision. The boy braced himself, ears flat and eyes wide as he watched her skid closer, saying his name in a drawn out drawl. She stopped short of hitting him, though, and the anticipated entangling of limbs and wrestling that he would lose never came. He perked his ears again, tilting his head to the side a bit in an exaggerated expression of surprised curiosity. "Huwwoooo Mooon!" Out of all of his new denmates, hers was the easiest name to pronounce for him.
He wagged his tail eagerly, playfully batting at the snow, tentatively sending it toward her. Because already he grew bold in this happy state. Back home, he'd never dare do something like that to a bigger sibling, it would result in a pounding. "Whaz'oo up'ta?" He then inquired, a garbled form of a question that she might or might not be able to interpret.[/html]
[html] It was exciting, really, how small Glider was when compared to the rest of them. She hadn't known that pups could get much smaller than she and her brothers had been, of course, she hadn't even known just how small they had been in the first place. A short time after she'd managed to stop, she ducked her head down, eying him from a height that would more near his own than hers, and when he spoke Ember laughed. "You silly. I'm Ember!" There was no offense there, an easy mistake for someone so small. How could he be expected to remember so many names in such a short time. Besides, she'd even had trouble saying her own name when she was smaller.
"Just comin' to see what you're doin'." She answered with a smile, giving a quick wag of her tail where she crouched. "Didja wanna play a game of somethin'?" Ember, sadly, hadn't always been the best at coming up with ideas for playing, but she supposed the best course of action was to do what Glider wanted to. Despite her young age, Ember understood that there were certain things, such as particular games, that her new sibling wouldn't be able to play because of his size and age.
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[html] Glider lowered his head in shame as the girl told him he was wrong about her name. Which one was Moon, then? He remembered the name flying around and he had thought it was a dark wolf, like himself, like Ember, but he had been wrong. "I sowwy, Embew!" The boy said, dejectedly kicking at snow with one forepaw. Although she had not yelled at him or been unkind in the slightest, he had wanted to impress them all. Had wanted to be the perfect little puppy so they didn't abandon him too. What if this meant Phoenix decided he would leave? Oh, he couldn't stand the thought of being left again! Especially not by nice Phoenix and his family.
But it seemed that Ember was not unhappy with him, as she wanted to play games, and she had come to see what he was doing. She had ... looked for him? Usually if he wandered off, nobody even cared, they would just wait for him to come back and scold him. Often for "worrying them sick" even when he knew that he really hadn't, because they hadn't even known. Not until he told about doing something and got in trouble for it. "Joo ... wan' pway game wiff me?" He asked, incredulously, as if he had never heard of such a crazy thing. Which was true. No one ever invited him to play unless he became the target of ridicule. "Ohs. Wha' bou' pway fowwow da weadew?" That was one he had liked, at least somewhat. Although his bigger siblings had always done things that were hard for him to follow, they usually begrudgingly gave him leader time, too, and that was his favorite.[/html]
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