Remember this moment with me.

Almost a month had passed since the arrival of Shiroshika's royal cubs, and much had changed in that short space of time. In three short weeks, Filavandrel and his siblings had experienced the discovery of new senses of sight and hearing. Most recently, however, was the most exciting of all: finding their feet. The snowy child, awake far more often since the discovery of his strength, toddled the den until his little legs tired. A power nap would recharge his batteries, and the moment his stormy gaze cracked open again he was wobbling over his parents' limbs with renewed curiosity.

“Buh buh buh,” the boy babbled uselessly to the Emperor, both forepaws pressed to his silvery shoulder to support his disruption of rest.


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“Alright, alright,” the silverwhite smiled, and lifted his head to affectionately poke his snout against his little son's crown, “I hear you.” Quicksilver looked at him, silver-blue eyes glistening with love and pride. They'd grown so quickly over the past few weeks and he was overjoyed to have been around to witness each milestone, and it seemed Filavandrel in particular was prepared to pursue the next.

Quicksilver made to exchange a glance with @Reiko then looked around the den, sure to catch sight of the other two, @Vienne and @Yaevinn. “You wanna go outside?” With evening upon them and dusk fast approaching, the temperatures were significantly milder. They'd be able to enjoy some play time among the grass and rocks, free of the harshness of a high Summertime sun.


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"You wanna go outside?” Quicksilver asked. Yaevinn lifted his head and yawned. He had woken up from a nap five minutes ago, and he was still slowly coming-to. Still, despite his lingering drowsiness, he was interested in his father's offer. 

"Urf?" he asked, not fully understanding what "going outside" meant.

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“Rroo?” Filavandrel cocked his head, unable to make sense of his father's suggestion. "Outside" meant nothing to him, but he was intrigued all the same. The boy wagged his scruffy little tail and smiled brightly into the druid's face, eager to mimic the expression he saw there. He stumbled backward, landing on his bottom, and blinked up in expectation of what might follow.


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Filavandrel smiled up at him and Yaevinn, fresh from one of the day's many naps, blinked up sleepily at the suggestion of something new. Quicksilver leaned in to bump the bridge of his nose to the pale child's shoulder in gentle encouragement, then collected himself up onto his paws. “Let's go,” he chirped, white-tipped tail swaying with enthusiasm as he shifted to step very carefully over his little sons, cautious of accidentally trodding on toes.

He glanced toward @Vienne and @Reiko, curious if the girls would join them on an outing to the clearing just beyond the mouth of their den. Quicksilver ducked his head and stepped over the threshold, excited to see how the boys would react to the world beyond their family's little hollow


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Yaevinn chirped, leaning into his father’s embrace. The encouragement was enough to motivate the pale child onto his paws and towards the den’s entryway. He hesitated when he reached the mouth of the cave and he looked to Quicksilver with curiosity in his eyes. They had never been allowed outside of the den, and it felt wrong to suddenly be allowed.

”Awwo?” he asked, knitting his brows.

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Eager to be first, Filavandrel bounded enthusiastically toward his father as the druid moved to lead the cubs away. He moved toward the light, the bright world just beyond the whelping chamber where he and his siblings had been confined throughout the duration of their short lives - always there, but just out of reach. The boy did not pause at the threshold to take it all in, but instead padded after the Emperor with confidence and right out into the evening sunlight.

Not at all phased by the great wide world around him, the pale boy took it all in his stride. He lingered close to his sire, knowing that the adult would not be pleased should he wander off, and he knew he was safe with him. “Arf!” Filavandrel barked up at Dad, his scraggly white tail swishing cheerfully as he averted his eyes toward the rugged landscape of his family's home.


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Once Filavandrel had left Yaevinn followed him outside. It was bright outside—almost to the point that made his eyes hurt—and he strode towards his family members with squinted eyes. They would adjust in time, but it'd be uncomfortable for a bit longer while the sun continued to set. 

Yaevinn sat next to Filavandrel; his brother's excitement was contagious. "Yah!" he wuffed and wagged his tail, feeling suddenly better despite their unfamiliar and vast surroundings. He looked to Quicksilver then, still smiling as he waited for whatever else their father had in store for them.

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Quicksilver paused and looked over a slim shoulder to observe his little sons as they pursued him into the open, stepping boldly into the evening sunlight for the first time. Filavandrel padded close to him, though he certainly seemed eager to take in his surroundings. Yaevinn quickly grew accustomed to the sunshine and moved in to be nearer to his brother, and the druid beamed down at the duo with pride.

“Here,” he strode a few feet away, sure that the boys would follow. A short distance away, Quicksilver settled himself among the grass and poked his nose at a large flower with bright orange petals; it smelled particularly sweet. “Come and see the pretty colours,” he encouraged, and lifted his muzzle to sweep his gaze over the wildflowers that grew among the clearing. “This one is yellow,” he said, hovering above another plant, “it is a daffodil.”


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Filavandrel took in the rock, the dirt, the grass, the plants. He drank deep the sights with his tufted ears sprung high atop his head, as though he might return to the whelping hollow and never see the world again. He needed to take it all in and breathed in, filling his young lungs with fresh, cool mountain air. He loved what he saw, until his father's voice drew his attention toward him once again. 

“Oooo,” the boy toddled forward after the sterling adult, close at his heels, and stepped boldly over his pale forepaws to investigate the sunshine yellow of the flower he encouraged the cubs to look toward. Filavandrel poked his nose to the green stalk much like the druid had, then sniffed enthusiastically at the vivid petals which made him sneeze.


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To see them take in the world around them was a beautiful thing, and Quicksilver felt pride swell within his chest. He flitted his pale eyes between both of his boys, eager to see their response to the bright flora he presented to them. “There are many useful things that the earth can offer us,” he informed them, gaze shifting to linger on the daffodil. He admired its vivid, sunshine shades; “but some can be dangerous. This one, though beautiful, can make you very sick.”

They had vomited on a number of occasions, as was to be expected of such small children, but he wondered if they understood what it meant to be ill. “You must only look at some flowers, and not touch. Yes?”

His sons were very young, but he needed them to understand that the world could be as dangerous as it was lovely. Quicksilver wanted them to explore and learn, in the safest way possible. When the lesson was over, he watched them roam and take everything in until they tired and needed to be herded back into the den.


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