Redhawk Caldera strawberry

Lyric had returned from a glen a day or so earlier. It had been a good experience for learning and he was grateful for it, but felt long overdue for a rest in his own den by the time he got home - though in the end he had made the choice to sleep outside. He wasn't yet a fan of young pups.

He was tired, it was doomed to be a lazy day. The moment he laid on his side on the sandy caldera floor he knew that he wouldn't be moving until his next meal.

Whether the others had returned home yet he wasn't quite sure. He hadn't been paying much attention. Before he saw them again he would need to think up some new stories - that was the main reason he had wanted to go to the glen after all.

Weaning was off to a promising start, though the pups still nursed quite frequently—and aggressively, especially in Peregrine’s case. Towhee sometimes couldn’t bear the pain anymore. Today, she pried the pups off like leeches and gently deposited them on the den’s floor before marching toward the door. Deaf to their cries of protest, she walked outside without a backward glance and didn’t stop until she was close to the lake.

Ricky! she blurted when she spotted her great grandson lounging, his name coming out particularly garbled. Towhee’s tongue had healed for the most part, though her speech was worse than ever, so she switched to signing as she said, -Welcome back! How was the hunt? Is the rest of your fam-bam back too?-