Larksong Grotto Today I Remember

Tapat was anxious. Astik slept soundly beside her but Tapat seemed to squirm, as if he was begging for attention. Jhala knew he was too young to see or hear or-- or really anything, but she didn't understand how that was possible. 

"You're so little," she muttered softly, her head tilting gently to the side as she studied the pale child. She wasn't the best mother, but every mother had some sort of maternal instinct. So she shifted and dipped her nose to the first-born, pressing her nose to his back before lapping gently at the downy fur on his little pink head. His fur was so thin, so velvety, it hadn't fully grown to cover him. Around his mouth and his ears and his tummy and his paws was a baby pink. Astik was darker-- so it was harder to see his soft skin, but on Tapat it was clear as day. "Why do you move so much?" she asked between licks, ears shifting as if she expected an answer from the child.