Redhawk Caldera pupsicles

Fast forwarding a smidgen :D

The carriers picked up their burdens without complaint and the burdens were picked up by the carriers with similar quiet. Finley took a breath and steeled herself for the cold before stepping forward out of the den.

It was worse than Finley had anticipated. The cold was one thing, but it was the wind that made her feel sick with anxiety. It struck her immediately that this was a terrible idea and she should never have listened to a child - one that by all accounts was an adult, but Fin being Fin simply couldn't see it. She wanted to move quickly, but instead they found themselves moving slowly and awkwardly all bundled together with part of the pack circling them like guppies bouncing along the wall of an aquarium. Fin did her best to tuck her chin against her chest and tilt her head towards her shoulder. It was an awkward position and her neck was quick to begin aching, but it was all she could do to try and shield Oriole further from Winter's claws.

But, in spite of the alpha's misgivings, a near spill when Finley stumbled over Liffey when she'd gotten a bit too shieldy was the only incident. She'd had to fight her instincts and remain with the pack when she'd spotted the cave in the distance. As desperate as she was to get her cargo safely in the warmth, she couldn't just bolt and leave the rest of them unprotected. So it was only once she ducked under the roof of the cave that she picked up her pace and trotted straight to the back of the shelter and dropped to the floor, setting Oriole down against her side and curling around him while he trembled fiercely.

Her heart was pounding as she licked his face and back to try and warm him, terrified that even now she might lose him. Even as the pack entered around her, her own pup was all she could consider for the moment. Once he had settled, the adoptive mother could panic about the rest of her kids.