Blacktail Deer Plateau charcoal smudge

For @Hawkeye and/or @Peregrine and/or Osprey Jr. - hoping to keep it short/quick!
p.s. Kat, your name doesn't get tagged properly. :(

The little smudge of fur spent her time in one of three ways. The first way was eating. She would suckle until her belly was as round as a sphere, milk dribbling down her chin, pushing at her sister all the while. The second way was sleeping. This usually happened shortly after eating (or during, depending on how sleepy and/or hungry Ty was in that moment). Her sleep was not interrupted, save for the shifting of family around her, and she had no dreams. It was the purest of sleep. The third way was writing around while one of her parents attempted to clean her. Ty would squeal and protest, but ultimately enjoyed this bit the most.

Presently, the tiny princess was enjoying her first way of spending time: eating. Warm milk filled her belly, which would help her grow big and strong.

Is it bad that I'm okay with that? :P

It was incredibly difficult for Peregrine to tear himself away from his new family, yet the urge to provide for them eventually overwhelmed his desire to stare at the puppies all day long, so off he went into the woods. He spent several hours tracking, hunting and killing small game. He busily padded the cache nearest the den he shared with Hawkeye and, now, Ty and lil' Osprey, a smile touching his lips whenever he thought of his little girls.

He arrived home around noon, the carcass of a hare swinging in his jaws. Hawkeye appeared to be dozing, so he set the meat beside her very quietly, then dropped onto his haunches behind her. He leaned forward and looked over the curve of her back at the two dark bundles pressed to her belly. Tytonidae was feeding ravenously, while Osprey Jr. lay curled beneath her mother's hind leg, evidently fast asleep.

In his excitement after their birth, he'd addressed the newborns as if they could hear him. Although he was no less excited about them now, he didn't bother speaking aloud when they couldn't even hear his voice, much less understand what he was saying. Instead, he bent over and touched his nose to Ty's back, then swiped his tongue up and over her small, squashed face. And though she couldn't see him either, he nevertheless smiled down at her, his dark face shining.

Hawkeye let out a sigh, letting her mate know that she was awake. It was up to him whether or not to think it was the entire time or that it had just happened (even if it was the former).

Staying still, Hawkeye mumbled, "Leave her alone, Prancer; she's feeding right now." Thinking she sounded to harsh/bitchy, the new mother quickly added: "Come lay behind me. We won't get much time to do things together in a couple of weeks." Her sluggish mind began to race with all of the ideas of the pups growing, and what their personalities would be like. She saw Ty as a fierce and fearless wolf, with a snarky attitude, and Osprey, Jr. as a quiet, reserved, and loving wolf.

The tiny smudge wriggled when her father's tongue touched her, and she squeaked. It was unclear whether or not this squeak was happy or annoyed, but at this point it did not matter. It was an instinctual reaction fueled only by hundreds of thousands of years of evolution.

The touch was followed by the calming vibrations that were sometimes emitted from Ty's mother, and the child used her paws to push at the milk-making machine to further her pursuit of food. The faint smells around her were all familiar ones, and ones that she was comfortable with.

When Hawkeye chastised him, Peregrine's ears fell back a few notches. He looked sideways, a cheeky grin on his maw, but did as he was told and left Ty alone. Sighing contently, he eased onto his belly behind his mate, snuggling his body against hers so that he was the big spoon to her little spoon. He could easily see both girls over her shapely shoulder.

"We made some damn cute babies," he murmured in her ear, nibbling at the soft lobe for a moment. She was right; they wouldn't have much alone time for a while. "Well, you did, mostly," he added, running his nose along her neck and shoulder, lightly massaging the sleek muscles beneath her dark fur.

"We did." Came mumbled out of Hawkeye's mouth. She shot awake everytime one of the puppies moved of squirmed, and she was exhausted. Moving a large paw up, Hawkeye swooped Ty up near her chest and sighed; she had not desire to speak of it, but she was thinking about Pied and Kisu. Her best friend had passed away, leaving her mate with two children. Leaving Hawkeye without her confidant.

Suddenly swiped in another direction, Ty let out another series of whimpers and squeaks, unhappy that she had been swept away from her path. However, she was soon enveloped in the warmth of her mother, and the little smudge did nothing to protest once she was there. In fact, she let out a tiny yawn that shook her body.

Not quite ready to fall back into slumber, she began mouthing her mother's fur, surely making a big ol' wet mess of it. Ty didn't know this, of course, she was simply using her existing senses to feel her way around the world. Without much hearing and no sight, this was the way things were going to be for awhile.

Hawkeye seemed exhausted, which was unsurprising considering everything she'd been through in the past few days. Keeping this in mind, Peregrine continued to use his muzzle to massage her neck and shoulders, giving the occasional kiss or nip as he worked. Even when a crick developed in his neck, he didn't stop, reminding himself that his mate had carried babies in her belly for over two months, then given birth. A little neck soreness was nothing in comparison.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear, wondering if she'd fallen asleep. "You're going to be a wonderful mother. You already are." Peregrine paused just long enough to look down at Ty, who squirmed gently against her mother's breastbone, then resumed his tireless ministrations.

Hawkeye shushed her mate, then told him to lay still. "I'm tired." She said stiffly. The pups kept her up all day and night, and small little naps here or there did not fix the situation. The new mother felt like it was overwhelming and almost too much to handle. Soon, she would break mentally. Maybe when she woke, she could ask Peregrine and Kisu to watch the pups while she got some fresh air (And checked the borders).

She watched Ty as she drifted in and out of sleep. She resembled her side of the family. Hawkeye smiled.

Last post for me. Thanks for the thread!

Ty cooed when the large warm thing vibrated, and it prompted her to release her mother's fur, stretching out her tiny chubby legs and yawning. Now on her back, the pup's round belly was shown to the world as she breathed in and out the air that was her life force.

As she slept, the tiny blob dreamt of warmth, milk, and poop, because that was all that she knew. It was a simple life, but because she knew nothing else, it was the only life. Time would fix all that, but for now, Ty was content in her mother's embrace.

When his mate told him to be still and quiet, Peregrine obeyed immediately. If she'd been short with him or sounded frazzled, he didn't pick up on it; he would do whatever she needed, no questions asked. He shifted slightly to better stretch his body out beside and behind hers, then let his chin rest near her shoulder. Hopefully his massage had helped relax her... and it appeared to be the case when the den filled with four soft but distinct snores.