Redhawk Caldera Thirty days in the dungeon!

"Crap." Now that Elwood had thoroughly expressed his disapproval of the situation, he closed his eyes briefly to try to gather his thoughts. Of course, that was next to impossible since Titmouse had resumed his ear-splitting shrieking, and even Towhee joined in with a little squeak of her own. Thankfully, the other puppies were relatively quiet -- though he quickly admonished himself for that thought, because one of them was too quiet.

"Okay. Okay, hang on, guys," he said, reaching out past the screaming Titmouse and flailing Towhee. He took Stoat gently in his mouth and moved her away from the puppy pile, placing her body near the entrance of the den for now. She would be buried with her parents, he decided; and while he dreaded the reactions of Finley and Raven, he knew there was no sense in hiding what had happened. Nature had taken its course. Turning back towards the living, breathing, squawking puppies, he gave them his full attention.

Towhee was closest, so he began to bathe her. When he was pleased with her cleanliness, he pulled Titmouse towards him, his ears folding back against the sound of the boy's relentless crying. He, too, was given a quick and efficient bath. Elwood's goal was just to keep the remaining five puppies happy and alive until Raven and Finley returned; then, he would take care of the pup that had passed away.