Redhawk Caldera Thirty days in the dungeon!

All the logic in the world couldn't quite make Elwood feel better about what had happened. It was so much worse since it wasn't his own puppy; somehow, he felt like he had let Fox and Peregrine down. He smiled sadly at Finley and Raven as they both reassured him, and he nodded to show his understanding.

There was a long, quiet moment, in which Elwood's gaze strayed back to the remaining five puppies. When Raven spoke, breaking the silence, he looked to her and nodded. She had a point, and there was no reason for him to disagree with her about giving the deceased child a name. When she called her Stoat, Elwood's lips twitched. Naturally, she had gone along with her parents' tradition of naming the puppies after their appearance.

"Okay," he replied quietly as Raven took action to leave the den in order to bury Stoat with Fox and Peregrine. He remained where he was; although Stoat had technically died while under his watch, he couldn't bring himself to leave the other living babies for fear that something else would happen to them. In the meantime, he pressed his nose against Finley's cheek, realizing for the first time what a huge undertaking the three of them had accepted.