I hadn't heard him come up from behind me - even though I had been waiting for him, my ears were not trained well enough for such a task. He was quiet whether he intended to be so or not, and I was only made aware of his presence when he moved along side me. I did not flinch, however, for my entire life had simply been my siblings and parents. At such a point, I had not been told of any supposed dangers, particularly those that lurked in our very home. Instead, I lean into him, allowing our pelts to brush to press against one another as I waved my tail, pulling my face up into a smug smirk. It was a good feeling to stand there seemingly above the entire world with my brother beside me - he was like me. We were both strong, apparently too strong willed to merely wilt away in the confines of the den. Ah, I could only hope that Vesper would come to join us. I... I wanted all my siblings to feel as I did in that moment.

"Look at it - the blue. It's so big out here."

I finally replied to him, twisting to face him as I nodded solemnly. I couldn't help but watch his features for some moments, hoping to see some kind of flicker of defiance... maybe he would be the catalyst to push us down from the dunes and into the wide bay of the beach. Really, I wouldn't have minded if he did. Why not? The sands were ours, too. It was all going to be ours, I was sure of it! I smiled contentedly as I went back to watching my paws flex in the sand, driving the fine grains between my paws.

"Want to explore it all?"

I had just spoken when she came - I had heard her, though, for her paws were louder and more confident. At first, I had thought it to be my father and I had turned to face her with a slightly puffed chest and erect ears. Why cower? We were brave for coming out so far. But no, it hadn't been him and I was forced back some steps, body falling rigged beside my brother. It was confusing to watch her, for she smelt of mother and looked of her and yet... she wasn't quite mother or father. A stranger and yet hardly stranger. Maradona. Sister. I knew the name and the apparent relation - she was also one of us, simply born sooner than we. I narrowed my eyes, looking to my brother for a brief moment of reassurance before I stepped forward with a cocked head.

"Why haven't we met you before?"

She was quite a bit larger than the two of us and I was hesitant to jump into confrontation immediately. Well, I would learn to understand that my particular method of playing could be considered confrontation - for now, I was content merely lining up where it was I might wish to bite and claw at. After all, if she was indeed our sister then surely that meant she wished to play and to explore with us, right? I was willing to wag my tail at her once, slowly approaching with long, tentative steps as I sniffed at her. The concept of an elder sibling was a strange one at that point. Why hadn't she lived with us inside the den? It didn't make sense, but I would get to the bottom of it. Just like I'd get to the bottom of that dune soon enough.