Hushed Willows The Krusty Krab is unfair, Mr. Krabs is in there!

There was no competition between the three pups as to loudness--Lana won, hands down. The girl was a chatterbox just like her mother; Lily wondered whether she had been this vocal as a baby. It wouldn't surprise her in the least. The boys were definitely quieter, taking after their stoic father. They were an absolutely perfect trio.

But they were a handful.

The latest catastrophe was Lana wandering a little too far away from what she knew of the world (i.e. her mom's belly and nipples and her siblings). The girl screamed, and Lily's ears folded back instinctively, her stomach tightening at the sound. Goodness, she was loud!

Oh, Lana, hush, she murmured, chuckling bemusedly under her breath. She reached over and took the tiny babe in her mouth, placing her next to her brothers again and hoping that suckling would silence her (for at least a while). There--isn't that better? You can't go exploring quite yet, little lady; you can't even see where you're going!