Redhawk Caldera mirrored walls

Fox sat quietly at the rendezvous site, hoping that her search party was hard at work finding the missing pup. In the meantime, she kept a close eye on @Ferret, @Whip, and @Gannet. All three were looking underweight, and she knew that she was, too. In fact, just about everybody was looking underweight. That's what a famine was all about, wasn't it. Not only had it taken away her bulk, but it had also taken the vision in her right eye. It no longer hurt, but it sure as hell wasn't pretty. She could see light and dark, and occasionally she could make out a rough figure, but for the most part, her right eye was useless.

She sighed, taking her eyes off the three pups for a moment in hopes that she might see somebody coming back with information. Sitting here was like torture, and she feared for the worst. It was a gut feeling, and probably totally bogus, but she couldn't help herself. It was a tough world out there, and she knew Peter wouldn't survive long on his own. Poor kid was only a few months old, and he was already malnourished.

if someone else joins feel free to skip, but for status purposes ^^ yay for locking databases preventing work? Lmao

Gannet was not faring well in the hard times.  He was a soft child, not one to fight for the right to survive, and hunger had left him despondent and sickly.  His parents ensured he ate when they could, but he grew more and more withdrawn and lackaluster as the lack of food stole the plumpness of youth from him.

He did not understand hardship, nor the phrase 'strength in adversity'.  Maybe when he grew he would be stronger but right now he was simply tired and hungry.

He lay nearby, watching his mother, and remained silent.  He knew something was wrong, but he also knew there was nothing he could do but wait here and see.  It hadnt occurred to him Peter might not return - death wasn't a concept he knew either.

Finley had apparently reached that point in her pregnancy where she was - for all intents and purposes - completely useless. It was infuriating, as she'd also reached the point where she was plagued by only extreme emotions. She had been offended to not be included when Fox had sent out the search party for Peter. And though that anger had disappeared only minutes later, it hadn't been for the realization that she would never have been able to do the search any good - it was because she'd tripped on a stick and proceeded to cry for a good ten minutes because of how clumsy pregnancy had made her.

The beta had been resting near the rendezvous site that day. A dream was plaguing her that eventually caused her to wake with a start, though for the life of her she couldn't remember anything about what had happened in it. Something about otters made of sticks and stars... She was pretty sure she'd awoken because a star had fallen and smashed into her face, but even that memory was swift to escape her as she pulled her fat, pregnant self up and moved to join her nearby packmates. She waddled passively over to Fox, giving an empty glance at the pups as they milled about. Finley plopped onto her haunches next to her best friend, her state of emotions a blank state at that moment until it was pushed one way or the other.

"Hey," she said to her alpha, staring blankly at the tiny slivers of grass blades that were attempting to poke out of the earth before her.

"Hey, buddy," Fox cooed softly to Gannet. He was looking rather somber, though Fox could hardly blame him. Her own heart was wrought with worry that something had happened to Peter, and she had a good feeling that the other three kids had picked up on it. Then again, she was at a loss for words on how to make any of the other three boys feel better about things when she couldn't even bring herself to do it. Until somebody came back with news, she was going to be a nervous wreck.

Finley glided (or waddled, if Fox was being honest) over to her, and Fox shot her an anxious glance. Her bestie was about to pop, and it was difficult to imagine how they were going to feed even more mouths when the current ones were barely able to get enough food. Fox also had an inkling that Finley's pregnancy wasn't going to be a great one simply because of the lack of food while the children were growing. Would they even make it out alive? A harsh thought, but one that had passed her mind on more than one occasion.

"Hey Fin," she replied, booping her snoot against the Blackthorn's shoulder.

Fin felt the nudge against her shoulder, but didn't say much in response. She trained her gaze upon Gannet as he ambled about and thought about the puppies in her own belly. What would they be like? Certainly they would be like her and Elwood, and Eljay for that matter. But where had this random white kid come from with parents like Fox and Peregrine? Since when did black plus red make white? What the fuck, world?

"Hi Fox," Fin replied after a moment, heaving a heavy sigh for a reason yet unknown to her. She was quiet for a while longer, simply watching the newest of Firebirds. She was aware that Peter had gone missing, and yet she had not seen Eljay lately either and so her mind made the obvious connection that the two were somewhere together, not realizing how morbid the reality of it was.

"I think I'd like to vomit," the beta commented idly after a while, not making any movement to do so. She didn't really feel sick exactly. It just seemed like a thing to do that perhaps she ought to act upon. It was a very pregnant thing for her to do, anyway.

Y'all are PPCs, so I'm gonna write this straight to the finish line!

Fin excused herself to vomit, and Fox looked on in mild disgust. Gannet continued to look solemn, but Fox didn't feel like there was much she could do for him considering she felt much the same on the inside. She pulled him close with a front paw and licked his head, which he seemed to enjoy at least to some degree. With a sigh, she released him back to his brothers. Gannet gave her an expression that was half sad, half confusion before she nudged him along.