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

Flame has connected.

Aurora arrives from Vermilion City: East Entrance.
Aurora has arrived.

Everything is grey, veiled by mist. It's chilly and the air feels damp. There is no wind. In the forest, only the nearest tree branches, half-bereft of leaves, show their full color; 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.

What a year for weather! Can the island possibly try and keep the temperature and atmosphere enjoyable for more than two consecutive days without tumbling back into muggy, muffling mist? The only thing to look forward to thus far is snow, which can't be more than a couple months off. To those pour souls out in weather like this, snow almost seems like it'll be a relief compared to the chilling fog out this day. Unfortunately, tummies don't simply stop rumbling when the weather proves undesirable, and hunting is still as much of a necessity as always; needless to say, Peppy's still out hunting for the day. If trends considering the weather hold true, he's going to come back lightly coated with a thin outline of water on the tips of his fur hairs, and his legs and paws will be entirely soaked in thick mud. Not exactly Mr. Huggable, but hey, whachagonado.

And while Peppy's off searching for sustenance for the family, Aurora's once again watching the puppies and worrying about the weather, two things she's had a fair amount of experience with over the last year. The barn has been getting fuller over the past few days, as pokemon living nearby seek refuge from the chilly, foggy weather, and some appear to be preparing to stay the winter. All in all, it's rather more noisy in the barn than usual, despite the fog muffling some of the noise, and certainly more crowded. Still, at least the pups are going to behave themselves - or so Aurora hopes, as she sits and watches them, the weight of Karen's sleeping body against her side preventing her from moving without disturbing the pup.

Briska is belly down on the floor, his head almost touching his paws, his green eyes focused on a goal: Mom. Whenever she looks away from him, Briska sneaks closer to Aurora. Whenever she looks at him he'll stop and put his head down on his paws, staring up at the ceiling, all too innocently. Judging by the half-smile on his muzzle, he feels he's doing a good job sneaking up on her. He doesn't notice that the straw crinkles whenever he moves, or that a fuzzy and almost-adult Growlithe is rather obvious in the dullness of the barn. Nope. Right now the pup feels like he's the cleverest of all sneaks, that mom can never notice his efforts to crawl closer to her even if she was staring at him the whole time! Boy oh boy! If Briska's life had a soundtrack, spy music would be playing right now! ...Actually, it's a good thing his life doesn't have a soundtrack, for Briska would be constantly tilting his head and wondering where the funny noises are coming from.

Nothing seems to last forever, and this saying holds true to the nice summer weather, which is continually interrupted by the mugginess of autumn, as winter draws inevitably closer. Today it's chilly, misty and cold. This is certainly not the kind of weather that can be considered enjoyable, unless you're a Poliwag, or an Squirtle. In Flames opinion, a miserable day like this is better spent inside, and separated from everyone else. Lying in his usual corner is the ill-tempered Shadow Lord, looking evil and devilishly fiendish as per usual. On his creamy belly with his shoulders hunched and his head down, Flame stares at the straw covered floor, an expression of contemplation on his face. Random strands of his silvery mane mask a rather irritated look, and instead of trying to busy himself with one of his siblings, Flame prefers to give the floor beneath him a good glaring. His intimidation of the floor however, is interrupted when Flame spies the "elusive" Briska trying to sneak up on Aurora. Watching his brother move, Flame is struck with an idea. And it's a rather nasty, cruel one at that. However, looking at Briska, he hesitates. Will he really do something mean to his favorite brother?

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

T-tlot! T-tlot! From the outside! The Growlithe's paws ring clear! T-tlot, in the misty silence! Looks like Peppy's finally here. Squishing his fuzzy white cheek against the door, Peppy pushes it open, letting a rather welcome chill into the barn. A few heads perk up - some possibly from his family, perhaps not - but before any can complain, he drops the big and healthy looking Rattata down onto the ground, whirls around, and quickly grabs the door with his mouth, walking it shut. Sure enough, the trend holds true - Peppy is wet and muddy, and worst of all, happy - his tail wiggles and waggles back and forth excitedly, sending a spray of tiny droplets all over any who dare enter his proximity. <It's really cold out there!> he exclaims, *way too loudly*, disrupting the solemn calmness currently settled over the barn. That's our Peppy.

Of course, Peppy's entrance does draw a few muttered comments from other inhabitants of the barn - some of them along the lines of <Welcome back!>, more of them along the lines of <You're letting the cold in...>, and one plaintive query of <Could you please try not to spray too far?> That last one is from Aurora, who's noticed Peppy's arrival but is still powerless to get up, as Karen has wriggled in her sleep and is now lying on her mother's hind paws. And snoring loudly. Briska's deception of his mother also seems to have worked, as she hasn't noticed anything amiss with how every time she looks at what he's doing, he seems to be two feet closer to her than he last was.

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

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

Briska's powers of deception are legendary. The furry pup doesn't change his stance much the closer he gets to Aurora - he just continues scraping along the ground, his chest fur picking up dirt and straw, his head outstretched. Whatever can be said about Briska's intelligence, it must be noted that when he has a simple task to do, he sure concentrates on it. Only Poppa can pull him out of this act, and even then only for a second. He gives dad a glance and a grin, nothing more. Just a little bit further! With a crinkling of straw, the pup is in position. His muscles bunch, his eyes shine, he surges to his feet and...<Mom!> he barks, his deep voice in a higher pitch. He stands to one side of her, his tail taking out some vendetta against the air by lashing at it vigorously. His shouts are joyful, his smile wide. <Hi! Mom! Look - it's Bri--uh..me! Briiiiska!> Because Aurora so often forgets the names of her children. <Briska sneak up on Mom! And Briska is..is..> hmm, what's that word? <Uh...> frown, falter, <Oh!> He's got it! <I!> he barks proudly. Yay! Briska's grammar sure has improved over the months. Maybe Soki's been helping him out.

As if on cue, Flame glances towards the barn door when Peppy makes his rather loud entrance into the barn. When he spies the familiar face of his father, he tilts his head to the side and emits a small groan. Is that disappointment? Annoyance? Or, is a little of both? The young canine lets out a loud sigh, and he fixes his emerald eyes on Peppy for a few moments, before refocusing his attention back on Briska. Today, it seems, Flame is in one of his fouler moods, this is a fact that he announces plain as day, by the way his ears are slicked back against his skull, and his blackish tiers are curled into a frown that's just plain unnerving. With a snort to himself, the Dark Prince rolls his eyes at the older Growlithe, glad that he's too far away from Peppy to get caught in the surprise spray of moisture. In the time he's been paying attention to Peppy, Briska has since snuck up on Aurora. Well, so much for spoiling Briska's fun. Stupid guilt trips, always spoiling his evil genius! At Briska's oh-so-impressive display of intelligence, and improved vocabulary, Flame has to fight a gag that catches itself in his throat. <Briska is me.> Flame nearly hisses through clenched teeth, though when he's through, he wonders why even wasted his time correcting his nitwit brother, who probably will miss the lesson in his words anyway.

Some of the newer and more irritable pokemon in the barn roll their eyes and grumble at the sudden increase in the amount of noise in the barn, but there are just as many of those soft types who awwww at the puppy (especially the larger pokemon, who perceive Briska as small by comparison to themselves) and his rambunctious, youthful exuberance. Peppy is one of the latter; having just closed the door, much to the relief of everybody inside the barn, he watches this entire spectacular with a big and proud grin on his face, a grin that only increases when he sees little Karen nestled into his mate. Needless to say, Peppy's mostly ignoring Flame, though that's probably just his normal oblivious nature, not some intentional shunning of the black furred one. Snatching the purple-furred corpse back into his jaws, the adult male marches over the collection of Briska, Karen, and Aurora, though he waits - still holding the Rattata in his mouth - until Briska is finished making noise and Aurora has directed him to set the dinner down. Who is he to spoil a moment? ... Well, any further than he already has.

Given that Aurora hasn't really been paying attention to how close Briska's managed to sneak, when he stops and barks cheerfully at her, her immediate reaction is to yelp loudly in surprise, and try to stand up and back away - though with a sleeping puppy lying on her back feet, the best she manages to do is accidentally kick Karen and send herself sprawling on the ground, while Karen wakes up grumbling, <Ow, that really hurt...> Meanwhile, Aurora turns her head slowly to look at Briska, and says rather wearily, <Hello, Briska. Could you try not to get so close before you bark that loudly?> Peppy and his edible burden don't get noticed for a good few seconds, and even then it takes Aurora a while to lift her head up, turn to look at Peppy, and mumble, <It's okay, you can give them dinner now.>

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

Briska blinks at Aurora's antics, looking between his mother and Karen - to the latter he gives a surprised look. Huh. When did she get there? Despite the reaction he caused, the kid doesn't look ashamed or abashed. He listens to his mother dutifully, nodding a few times. <Okay, Mom,> he says seriously...and immediately goes back to the smiling, tail-wagging fool that he usually is. Aurora will have to judge for herself whether he took in her words or not. At the black furred pup's correction, Briska looks over at Flame, temporarily confused. He grins when comprehension dawns. <Yeah, me is Briska,> he says, with an encouraging nod, as he's praising his brother for speaking properly. Adding to the impression is the cheery <Good speak, Flame!> he sends his brother's way. The pup then looks to his sister. <Hi, Karen!> The tail has not stopped wagging. <Hi, Poppa! Good hunt?> The connection between 'large Rattata' and 'good hunt' hasn't entered Briska's realm of thought yet. Likely that's because the kid hasn't actually brought down a Rattata yet. Surprising harried mothers is one thing; hunting wary rodents who really want to live is another.

Flame eyes the rest of his family, his expression very unpleasant indeed. His lips are drawn into a tight frown, and a flash of anger dances along those emerald orbs. A soft grumble vibrates within his chest, a noise of displeasure but not quite a growl either. The sound of his increasing irritation is quiet, and mostly to himself so it's highly unlikely anyone else in the barn will be able to hear it, unless they're only a few inches away from his face. Glaring harshly at the trio, his gaze remains there a few moments, before his attention drops back to the ground again. A breath of air is sucked into his lungs, and he blows a few strands of his mop-like mane away from his eyes. The tufts of silver have been growing out since his birth, and in the passing months have grown into a rather long style. Flame blinks. Then he blinks again. Instead of becoming enraged at Briska's lack of understanding, the black-furred Growlithe just frowns slightly, his eyes narrowed and features tight with impatience. Despite the fact Flame is still bored, and his anxiety is increasing, he doesn't feel much like plotting against his relatives today. At least, not for a little while anyway. Bright green eyes settle on Briska, and with much grunting and groaning, the troublemaker of the family pads over towards his brother, his short white claws click clacking on the wooden floor as he paces closer. <Briska.> he starts then stops. It really isn't worth his time trying to offer his brother a lesson in sentence structure, given the results of his last attempt.

Briska doesn't seem particularly miffed by Aurora's less-than-chipper reaction, but Peppy, more sensitive and aware towards Aurora than anything else (not like that's saying much), sure is. His happy tail going wag-wag-wag slows to a stop, so that it droops down from the water collected inside it. He watches Aurora blankly, not understanding for a few moments, before blinking, snapping to attention, and placing the Rattata on the ground rather close to his mate, tail wagging once again. So what if she didn't get up and say she's really grateful, as she normally does? Peppy shouldn't expect it *every* time, right? Right? ... So Peppy convinces himself. <Hi, Aurora!> he woofs all-too-happily, beaming proudly before turning to the chirp (if not surprisingly deep - he remembers when all Briska could do was squeak!) at his side. <Very good hunt. Are you hungry?> He nudges his head towards the Rattata in a gesture. Flame's approach causes Peppy to turn and face the black one, but all he'll be able to do is smile before snapping attention to Aurora, supposing she says anything (anything at all, even if it's entirely unrelated to him).

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

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

Aurora's reply to Peppy's cheerful greeting is a mostly incoherent growl, muffled because her head has flopped back down on the ground and she's now speaking into the straw-strewn floor of the barn. At least she no longer has a heavy puppy lying on her - by now, Karen's yawned widely, got up with a little effort and a mumbled, <Morning, Briska...> to her brother, and is now standing and watching the Rattata that Peppy's just put down, flexing her claws a little as she looks at what's for dinner. Aurora, in contrast with her apparently eager daughter, seems to just look rather tired - now that Peppy is here, with dinner, she's closed her eyes and seems almost prepared to drop off to sleep.

Briska nods a few times, his face totally serious, as Peppy informs him that it was a good hunt. (Briska seems to put on that face a lot when his parents address him, as if he wants to impress them with how well he's understanding them - whether he actually is or not.) <Hungry?> he questions, more to himself than anything, glancing at his dirty front (the closest he can get to looking at his belly). Is he? His contemplation is interrupted Flame; Briska turns to look at his brother, offering him a large smile. <Hi!> That's pretty much how he greets everyone these days. Now, Flame isn't one to join the family often, so Briska's being extra nice today - he steps away from the Rattata carcass and lets Flame have first pick, motioning Flame towards the Rattata with his muzzle - and Karen as well, now that she's awake. The furry pup the plops down on his rump, his position near his mother. Seeing Peppy looking at his mate, Briska decides to look at Aurora as well, though his 'sunshine and flowers' expression is a far cry from his father's face.

Despite the fact that Briska is usually able to wear on his nerves with the greatest speed, he's also able to swiftly mend his wrongs with satisfying shows of kindness, though he takes these offerings of politeness as shows of submission, even if they really aren't. Even though Flame isn't bursting with joy, he looks suitably pleased with Briska's offer, and he shows this by wagging his tail a few times in appreciation. It seems that Briska, (the most annoying to Flame), is somehow the only member of his family that is able to make hum genuinely happy, even if only for a brief moment. While Flame doesn't go so far as to verbally thank his brother for his generosity, he does give his brother a curt nod of his head. Pacing closer to the carcass, Flame sizes up the kill, as if he's deciding whether or not it's good enough for him to eat. Eventually, though only after he takes a minute or so to carefully evaluate the Rattata, Flame digs into the lifeless pokemon with his teeth, tearing out a few chunks of flesh with his curved canines. Mouth still full with Rattata meat, Flame manages to mutter <Hi, Briska.> Before returning to the task of chewing his food.

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

Thanks to Soki, Peppy's mind has been on death quite a lot over this past week; needless to say, poor Peppy's first thought nearly blows his chest up with shock. Rationality (whatever little there is in Peppy's mind) quickly sinks in, thankfully, and instead of panicking, Peppy lowers his head down to Aurora's level. He's not content to just let poor Aurora sleep, apparently. Keeping his voice soft and controlled, Peppy asks his mate, trying to hide the worry in his voice, <... Are you feeling okay, Aurora?> If she doesn't reply after a couple moments, he'll ask, a little louder, if she's feeling sick or just tired, second by second getting more concerned. If Briska speaks too loud (which is, to Peppy, at or above normal voice level) or Flame makes too much noise while he's eating, they'll get a quick bark to serve as a <Shush!> and a follow up that Aurora is sleeping and that they need to be quiet.

<I'm okay, just rather tired...> Aurora mumbles, lifting her head a fraction above the floor so that her words don't come out too mangled. Karen woofs a helpful, <Mum was playing tag with us before I had a nap!> and Aurora adds a comment to her daughter's words that's almost inaudible because her head's resting on the floor again. There's only one part of it that might possibly be understandable, and that's the slightly louder <...just tired out...> that comes about half-way through the comment. Karen glances at her mother, nods, and then heads over to the Rattata to join her brother and sisters - by this time, Dakota and Dusk have also noticed the free meal, and have made their way to the food.

Since Flame doesn't verbally respond to his brother, Briska doesn't catch Flame's nod, so busy is with looking at his mom. ..Even though that's really not that interesting. It just looks like she wants to sleep, right? Nothing very entrancing there. When Flame offers two words to him, Briska whips his head around, eager for a distraction. <Good?> he asks at a normal volume - and is promptly shushed by Poppa. Briska sends a confused glance to his dad and takes a few steps away from Aurora and Peppy, closer to his anti-social brother. <...Is..ihhhh..t, good, Flame?> he finishes in a lower voice, his tail giving two large swoops at his ability to master sentences that every other pup mastered long ago. As Dakota and Dusk trundle over, Briska makes way for them as well. Briska then sits down and watches his family eat. Sometimes he'll look over at his father and mother, not in a hurt or curious way, simply to note that they're still where they were a few seconds before.

Flame watches Peppy and Aurora blankly for a minute or two, continuing to chew on his food. He's obviously taken aback by his father's <Shush!>, and it's this reprimand that flicks a switch inside of him, pushing his indifference into misbehaving overdrive. Without speaking a word to Peppy or to anyone else, Flame chews loudly, smacking his lips together as he puts forth as much exaggeration into his eating as physically possible. The tip of his tongue drags against the roof of his mouth, creating a slick suction sound every time his bottom jaw rises and falls. Little particles of food, along with droplets of foaming saliva sneak out the corners of his mouth, giving him a rather piggish appearance. Flame doesn't seem to care though; he's having too much fun blatantly defying his father. Apparently, his lack of interest in his mother suggests that he really could care less about her, even if she was writing in pain, dying of some horrible disease. <I've had better.> Flame replies to Briska, though his eyes are on Peppy when he says this, looking to insult his father's hunting. Eyes widening at Dusk's approach, (the Evil One) Flame swallows down the rest of his food, turns to face his sister and growls at her with a hatred that comes from deep within his gut. <Get away from me.> Before Dusk has a chance to respond, he beats her to the task and retreats from the female pup, eyes burning like hot coals, the hackles on his shoulders and back bristling defensively.

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

Peppy still continues to frown even after he hears that all that is wrong - according to Karen and Aurora, at least - is that poor Aurora's tuckered out. <Thanks, Karen,> the pup's father woofs gently, offering her the traces of a slight smile before gesturing to the Rattata - an unnecessary action, since Karen's already up and making her way there, groggy as she may still be. And then the Sounds of Chewing ensue. All that quiet, soft sensitivity Peppy has magically vanishes into the air, being replaced by a cold and very, *very* angry glare. <Flame!> Peppy snaps, none too pleased. So much for being quiet. His tail has stiffened slightly, and though he still remains on his haunches, he straightens his back, looking as tall as he can. <Didn't you just hear what I told Briska? Your mother is trying to sleep.> Flame probably knows by now that Peppy usually has way more patience than this, giving any naughty puppy three, four, five or even more chances to be good before finally getting angry. How peculiar.

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

Aurora doesn't seem to be too distracted, either by the noise Flame is making to spite his father, or by the noise Peppy's now making to tell him off. Her eyes are closed, her head resting on the floor, and pretty much the only sigh of movement is the occasional flicking of her ears and the steady rise and fall of her chest. Meanwhile, two of the female pups continue their steady devouring of the Rattata corpse, though Flame's command makes Dusk hesitate for some time before she takes another bite.

Briska doesn't appear too bothered by Flame's eating habits - he thinks <Shush!> only means "don't talk", not "don't make noise". Besides, who wouldn't slurp a little when eating such a..very yummy Rattata? Briska's stomach gives a little rumble. Briska happily moves in to snatch whatever of the Rattata is left, when Flame growls and storms off. The furry one's eyes widen. Woah! Woah! Woah. Conflict bad. He clears his throat, ignoring his father's instructions. At least Briska's doing this for the greater good, rather than to just be annoying. Ears and tail go up as he looks to his brother. <Flame,> he woofs sternly, mustering all the stoney 'older brother' authority that he can into that one word - and Briska is surprisingly good at this. <No be mean. And Dusk...> Briska's voice softens and tail lowers as he turns to her, both because his sister wasn't doing anything wrong and because he can't think of what to say next. He gives a contemplative <Hmmm..>, ended by a <Oh! Dusk no hear Flame when Flame is mean. Okay?> The pup looks at her, eager to please, though he sends Flame a glance to see how he takes the reaction.

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

Once he's a far enough distance away from Dusk so that his urge to kill is stationary instead of rising, Flame turns his attention back to his father just in time to see him get very, *very* angry. This abrupt change in Peppy's behavior comes as a bit of an unexpected surprise, given his father's usual level of seemingly unending patience. Hmmm. How does Flame react to Peppy's angered reaction? He laughs. Boy, he's getting good at this! He can get his dad mad in just one try. It's a new record! If Flame had hands, he'd be grinning and cracking his knuckles right now, like some punk kid that's just done some stupid stunt that he's proud of in front of his buddies. As it is, Flame lacks those human appendages, so he just grins in Peppy's face, seemingly unafraid of the older Growlithe's punishment. Currently Flame has the "What's he gonna do, send me to my room?" mentality. What's this? Briskais.being.stern.to him? Forgetting Dusk entirely, Flame whirls around to face his brother. He's going to lay down the Law, he'll teach that brat to raise his voice at him!!!...he'll...aw...it's his brother...His face, once grossly distorted with rage, softens a bit as Briska tries to mend the situation. <Sure,> he woofs, trying his best to keep from exploding, <Whatever.> His promise may not be sincere, but perhaps it will be enough to get his brother off his back without any bloodshed.

Gah! So much noise! Poor Aurora! And poor Peppy, at that. The adult Growlithe's head snaps to his larger son, his eyes losing that stern and angry tint, instead taking on an almost mourning one, disappointed that he has to discipline Briska, too! Peppy inhales to speak, frowns, exhales, inhales once more, frowns, exhales, and shakes his head briskly, not sure of what to do. He pops up to all fours, takes a step towards Flame, pauses, and takes a step backwards. Slowly (but not too slowly, since he kind of is in a hurry to close Flame's trap) he leans over, gives Aurora a light nuzzle with a wurf of affection, and straightens back up. He watches her sleeping form for just a moment more before he turns to Flame, no longer looking vehement, but he's definitely still cross. Once more he takes that step towards the black one, and once more, he pauses. Instead of interfering, he instead turns his head back to Briska, watching to see his son's (hopefully vewwy vewwy quiet) reaction.

Briska gives Flame a kind grin at his brother's reaction to his words (he just looked confused and vaguely apprehensive when Flame laughed at Poppa). But when Flame relaxes, Briska knows he got through to his brother. Unlike with Peppy, to Briska it is an unprecedented success. <Thanks, Flame,> he says, his tone matching his smile. Briska's basic premise that everyone in his family is good and right wins out in the furry kid's mind. When Peppy looks to him, Briska gives his dad a dazzling, hopeful smile. See how nice everything is now? <Poppa wanna go sleep?> he offers. The fact that Peppy just stood up doesn't mean much to the pup. <Briskaaaa..er..me watch brothersisters.> Wait. Is that how you say it? He glances up at the ceiling as he thinks. <Hmm. Me watch?> Head tilt to the left. <I watch?> Head tilt to the right. <Me watch?> Tilt. <I watch?> He continues to do this, looking like a bizzare wind up toy - but at least he's being quiet. At around the eighth time he eventually gives up. <Er, Briska watch brothersisters.> Such a helpful guy...though he does send a glance or two at the Rattata.

Aurora has disconnected.

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

The black furred Growlithe is looking thoroughly pissed with the whole situation, though he can't really point out one thing in particular that has his mop of a tail tied into a knot - well maybe he can name a few things. Dusk is within his line of sight, Peppy is continually trying to boss him around, (forget the fact that Peppy is his father, and he's supposed to listen to him), and Briska's ignorance is sapping Flame's will to remain patient with him. Flame's ears flatten against his head in annoyance, and he growls under his breath. Continuing to watch his brother stumble about as he attempts to speak, the Shadow Lord gulps down a swallow of saliva, getting angrier and angrier as the seconds tick by. As Peppy draws closer to Flame, who is by now thoroughly agitated to the point where his right eye twitches spasmodically, Flame decides it's time to retreat back to his corner. He's had enough of this family bonding for one day - enough to make him vomit really. Eyes following Briska's gaze to the Rattata, Flame grumbles something unintelligible to himself before saying, <Go eat Briska.> Geez. That brother of his is helpless without his guidance. Turning about face, Flame pads over to his corner and plops down onto his belly with a grunt.

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

"Go eat Briska" is not exactly the kind of response Peppy wants (or even expects) to hear, and that very phrase causes Peppy to rear back slightly, peering at Flame pointlessly long enough for the black furred pup to make his retreat. By the time Peppy recovers and struggles to think up something to say, Flame has already stuck himself into his corner, and... well, at least that solves the problem of being loud, eh? Peppy sighs softly, squeezes his eyes shut for a second, and shakes his head roughly before turning back around to Briska. <It's all right,> he assures his son with that normal fatherly affection, although it lacks Peppy's normal enthusiasm. Boy, it's not like watching your mate practically faint from exhaustion and having your son treat you with complete and total disrespect is *that* bad, eh? <Go get some food, I'll watch your siblings for now.> It's not exactly an order... more like a suggestion.

Actually, Briska was just waiting for his dad's answer before he started chowing down. He gives Flame a bit of a look as he digests the order, but can't think of anything to say in reply. He turns to Poppa, ears perked, and nods ever so seriously at the suggestion. While he does notice the change in Peppy's tone, for once he's more interested in the words than how they're said. <Okay!> he woofs at normal volume, though a glance at his mother causes him to ammend it to a quieter <Okay.> He looks over at his sisters, favouring them all with large smiles - though as he looks at the rapidly shrinking Rattata his smile droops. "Row," he wuffs worriedly, stepping forward and ripping a hunk of meat from the haunch. He chews rapidly, but isn't so starved that he can't look around at anything that might be interesting.

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

Rattata snatching things away, save the base without delay! (Saving)

Flame doesn't respond to his brother while he watches him eat, or to Peppy, who seems to have given up on punishing him for chewing loud and creating a ruckus while his mother was trying to sleep. Rolling onto his side, he lays his head down on a pile of straw, curls up into a ball, and works on getting more comfortable. A worker of evil such as himself needs his beauty sleep, in order to properly wreck havoc on all those that are unsuspecting of his mastermind at work! As Briska looks around, he'll probably find Flame less and less interesting as he becomes less and less animated, his breathing slow as sleep starts creeping up on him. A fly lands on his ear, and it flicks in response, and that's about as active as the Dark Prince gets.

How can somebody possibly resist something so cute? Peppy sure can't, and even despite the sudden weight of stress plopped onto his shoulders, he finds it in him to smile even further at Briska's blithe enthusiasm. The thought 'he is so like me' never once crosses Peppy's mind, but it really ought to. This warm smile unfortunately wears off by the time the adult Growlithe's eyes have lead him off of Briska and the rest of his children and over to Aurora's deeply sleeping form. Marching over to the wall (though keeping his distance from Flame's little corner of the world, intentionally not even looking directly at the black pup), Peppy slowly turns around, falls onto his haunches, and begins a more-solemn-than-usual guarding of the family.