Redhawk Caldera What do you call a French dog that loves potatoes?

The first week of life flew on by and the potatoes cultivated by Towhee couldn't do much aside from sleep a lot, or eat every few hours. He was no different — hungry like the others, oblivious to everything outside of the hobbit hole. 

The warm body of his mother was the greatest comfort. Having stuffed himself with milk until his belly was an orb of loud sloshing and obnoxious gurgles, he was ready for another nap; not much of a to-do list, but what can you do. It would be a while yet before those eyes opened or awareness bestowed understanding to his bodily limits.

The boy rolled haphazardly from beside Towhee and in to the rest of his siblings, murmuring little squeaks and squeals along the way. The bowling ball of his stomach hit one of them in the face, while his sprawling legs kicked out and thrust in to the others. 

As he came to a sudden rest he felt something squish against his bum — someone's wet nose — and when he squealed at the feeling, out of his bum came a wet toot.

Cameo~!

The bundle of turd-colored fur was roused from sleep by the belligerent punch of a paw against the crown of his head. After that came a shuffling as tiny claws pricked at him and scraped him from the floor, sending him rolling backwards. He was slow to respond — lost in a dream where all he saw was the color red, not that he knew what that was. When the back of his head connected with the cavern floor he finally hiccupped and began to cry.

Towhee remembered well the first few days following Meerkat's birth. She had been overwhelmed at first, though mostly overjoyed at her daughter's unexpected arrival. She had soaked up those early days in such giddiness, just the two of them tucked safely inside the cozy log.

Life with four newborns was... different, to say the least. Towhee loved them fiercely, though she'd begun thinking of this place as the Hell Hole. She was so tired, yet she barely slept. A whole litter of hungry puppies demanded so much of her body, she felt utterly depleted even though she ate everything brought to her. There were no breaks, no escape, not even to stretch her legs. She made and cleaned up her own messes along with the pups', in a seemingly endless cycle.

Today, Towhee hit her breaking point. While the foursome bubbled and squeaked, she extricated herself. Feeling like a crusty, dirty, worn-out dishrag, she slumped from the den into the fresh air for the first time since giving birth. She tipped her head into the sunlight and closed her eyes. She just needed to steal a minute or two to breathe.

Fennec hadn't been around much for any of the other kids and this year had decided to kick things off a little differently. She didn't know much about taking care of them but it couldn't be that hard, right? They couldn't go much of anywhere.

Fennec was surprised to find her mom outside when she got there and huffed out a light laugh at the sound of her breathing. She sounded a little overwhelmed.

The hellions need a little sister time? she asked, though her ear twitched when she heard a high-pitched whine from inside. Lovely. I promise to only give them the good magical gifts. Despite how cool I think it would have been if you'd gotten Fig and I cursed as pups. Always talk shit to fairies and witches. That's how you get lives that are interesting.

Skipping babs with permission!

She neither saw nor heard Fennec approaching, though something triggered her to open her eyes and drop her head. Perhaps it was maternal instinct making her hyper-aware of anything coming near her helpless puppies. But her daughter was hardly a threat, which was good because Towhee wasn't entirely sure she would have the strength to fend off any actual danger. Maybe not even the will.

"Hellions," Towhee repeated, finding the word apt. "I need you more than they do," she said in the next breath, the words coming out a bit of a grumble. "I could use some mother/daughter time, actually. It'd be really nice to spend a few minutes with someone who's not tearing off my nips, shitting themselves or both simultaneously." She let out a breath. "Tell me what's going on in your world."

Oh, sure. Fennec had been hoping Towhee might need a break and give her a chance to hang out with the kids, who would ask zero questions, but no dice. She'd left Bronco reluctantly but prepared to take a little time to herself (and allow the poor guy some rest). Hanging out with Towhee wasn't any different except for the part where her mom actually wanted to know what she'd been up to lately.

Uhh, well, Bronco's back? I figured we could use the help, and that it wouldn't be a problem. Not complete bullshit, but it hadn't even crossed her mind until right now that she'd technically accepted Bronco without her mom's okay. As if she didn't have the right, she thought. Her appetite lately seemed to have come accompanied by a new and surprisingly intense haughtiness.

Thankfully she knew better than to mouth off like that to her mom, even with the mess hormones had her in lately. Not much beyond that. I've just been busy with, y'know, herbs and shit. That... that was complete bullshit.

The news about Bronco took her by surprise, albeit in a good way. She didn't even think about the circumstances of his acceptance. Maybe Phox had given him the nod before departing in search of Niamh—did that fit the timeline? What the fuck was time anymore, anyway?—or perhaps Fennec herself had welcomed him. It wasn't like Towhee would have any qualms with allowing him back into the fold, so she said, "That's great. Definitely."

Fennec claimed there was nothing else going on with her aside from herbs and shit, and Towhee gave her a speculative look as an errant thought crossed her mind. She wondered if her daughter knew anything that could drug the pups, put them all to sleep for a little while. She then chided herself for even thinking it. It couldn't possibly be safe to dose such little ones, plus she would never really consider doing something like that. It was just an intrusive thought.

Shaking it off, she said, "I never thanked you, for helping me with the birth. I really appreciated you being there. I hope it was a learning experience." Towhee laughed dryly.

She didn't push it. Fennec was relieved. What they were doing didn't feel wrong... but it was, and she knew that. She was ignoring her better judgment completely, ignoring the possible consequences and questions about the "future", but that didn't mean she was dumb enough to bring it up with her mom directly.

Yeah, sort of. I mean, it was, it just seems like mostly it kind of... happens. And would have whether I was there or not. Fennec replied, smiling slightly at the memory. It sounded like it had sucked, immensely. But it had been cool to be one of the first to really get a good feel for her baby siblings.

Towhee felt another laugh bubbling in her chest when Fennec said it just kind of happened. It really hadn't felt that way for the laboring mother, though she didn't say that. Maybe one day, Fen would get to experience it for herself. Only then would she know what it was like, bringing new lives into the world, beautiful and bloody.

"It meant a lot, having everyone there. Even if I could barely acknowledge any of you at the time. There's a saying: 'it takes a village.' I really want that for these guys, to be raised by everyone." It was a wildly different approach to her take on last year's pup, though the circumstances were so different too. And she desperately needed the help with four over one.

"Speaking of which, I guess I'll share you with them now," Towhee said, definitely thinking of it like that and not the other way around. "Go on in and hang as long as you like. I'm gonna stay out here for a few more minutes. I feel like I need at least that long to air out..."

At the tail end of Towhee's invitation came a sudden apocalyptic wail, summoned from the depths of the hobbit hole or maybe somewhere deeper. 

The boy had recognized a cold spot where his mother was supposed to be and, being a creature of pure basic desire, demanded in the only way he could for the return of his catered lunch. 

Whoever should arrive to fill that void would be met with the knock-kneed stumbling potato, rolling on his pillowed belly, struggling to find the comfortable warmth that had been three minutes before.

That and a nice puddle of runny sand-brown poop sloshing beneath him.

gonna go ahead and wrap this too

Sure. Fennec stepped in as she felt Towhee brush past, wrinkling her nose at the smells immediately. No wonder her mom was so keen on getting out. You really are little shits, literally, aren't you? She murmured affectionately, nosing Caracal away to clean him up and finding the others by touch as well.

She'd round them up and keep them occupied for a while. Messes didn't bother the medic overly much, and as long as she kept them busy, at least they didn't scream quite as loudly. In fact, by the time Towhee returned, she might even be thoroughly enjoying herself.