Redhawk Caldera and a happy new year [birth]

He clamped down on one of her teats, which was a strange enough sensation, but he didn't latch. Raven frowned thoughtfully, though before she could attempt to remedy the situation, Finley made to depart and the yearling's attention shifted upward. "Okay," she murmured, already feeling slightly overwhelmed at the notion of being left alone to tend the six puppies. They won't be far, she reminded herself as Finley turned and padded outside.

She tucked the recently-bathed pup under the crook of her foreleg, smiling ever so faintly when she managed to find a teat and begin sucking. Raven returned her attention to the beige boy, the screamer. He was still fussing against her belly. She tried to gently guide him, though it was almost literally a case of the blind leading the blind. Hoping he would figure it out for himself, the Gamma began to arrange the other four puppies against her breast, feeling a grim satisfaction when most of them managed to start nursing.

Soon, the Blackthorns—the new Alphas of the caldera, she dimly realized—would come for Fox's body. With the puppies more or less settled for the moment, Raven found her yellow eyes trailing over the former queen's still body. It didn't really look like her, having sunken into the cold grip of rigor mortis. Without Fox's fiery spirit, the corpse was just a shell. The caregiver's lips pursed, eyes shimmering a little. She took one last, long look, said her silent goodbyes, then let her gaze drift back down to the new life tucked beside her.