Hushed Willows The keeper of this host

She sank to the ground and Tambourine gave an approving grunt, allowing himself to be manhandled away from her breastbone and toward her flank instead. His eyes were bright and merry as they clung to Tavi's face, the small pupils blown wide not just because of the dim light but because of his absolute adoration of her. His tail kept wagging, thumping against her curving rib cage on every other swing, though it stilled absently when she spoke to him.

His ears had only just opened a few days ago, their soft and wrinkled tips still not quite standing upright; they would erect fully in the coming weeks. They twitched and quivered with every syllable that slipped forth from his dam's tongue. He could not understand any of them—nor, sadly, replicate them—but his head cocked charmingly, showing Tavi that the little boy nonetheless loved the sound of his mother's voice as much as everything else about her.

"Oo-ee," he replied in a very crude imitation of the sounds she made, one lip catching on a small and sharp milk tooth as he grinned at her. "Oo-ee-oo-ee."