Swiftcurrent Creek Women and Children First

Familiar paths led Tuwawi back to her den following Bazi's pack gathering, though her pace slowed just outside the den. Here is was quiet... serene... placid. The burrow laid undisturbed, the puppies napping for now. Quickly they were growing, and already they had begun to walk around independently on wobbly legs, still fighting for their place at her side. But soon they would be on solid food, though the mother wished for their infancy to never end.

Her eyes softened. What was the pack to do? Fox was missing. Was she injured? Dead in a ditch somewhere? Her constant provocation of Sunspire was an agitation to the Sveijarn, who wished only to protect her young. Tuwawi thought of Bazi, her comrades, and Njal. What was to become of all of this?

Slowly, she reclined in the mouth of their home beneath the young beech trees to await Danica's arrival. The caches nearby were full and the shrubbery was dense, providing perfect cover for those who needed a place to recuperate. Yet the silence was not to last.