Redhawk Caldera and a happy new year [birth]

I'm doing my own share of >>ing, haha! I think this'll be my last. :)

Finley's suggestion took her by surprise. Raven realized she was already so attached to the needful newborns that she hadn't considered that she could leave them for a few moments to say her final farewells. But nearly as soon as her godmother proposed the idea, the Gamma nodded mutely. Gently, she began nudging the puppies toward Finley and the wall.

Steeling herself, the caregiver rose and moved out of the way so Elwood and Eljay could pull Fox's body out into the open. Once they were all outside, Raven did her best to help support her mother's weight. The three grim pallbearers carried their fallen matriarch in mournful silence. It felt like it took hours for them to reach the freshly dug grave beside Peregrine's plot but, at last, they stood at its edge and lowered the dead Redhawk into the ground.

Raven wished she could think of some eloquent eulogy. She loved Fox, despite her craziness and hot temper, and she would miss her dearly. She regretted that they hadn't made amends prior to Fox's death. The only words she could muster were a quiet, "Bye, mom." The Gamma did her part to help slowly push dirt over her little red body, much as it pained her to watch her dam disappear into the earth.

When the burial was complete, Raven slowly turned away and began padding back to the whelping den. Her mother's life was over but six new lives had only just begun. These new Firebirds were her parents' last legacy and she was crucial to their survival. Her own life only had one focus now: keeping them happy, healthy and thriving.