Sun Mote Copse I'll be resting my eyes

The past days had been hell. Eljay had changed considerably; he, too, had started to eat less and though he hadn't lost as much weight as Wiffle had, it was clear from everything he hadn't taken care of himself well. All that kept him going were the pups, and he made sure that they had food and tried to keep their moods high. Elfie seemed to have less trouble with this -- being very food-focussed and just happy to be fed and napping -- than Weejay, who'd been a handful. But there seemed nothing he could do to help her out, just as there was nothing he could do to help himself out; just as there was nothing he could do to help Wiffle out.

Apart from tending to the pups his days were filled with tears and heartache, and worrying and fussing over Wiffle; keeping her fed -- whatever he could get in there was the win of the day -- supporting her to the stream so she could drink while she still could, making sure that she was warm enough... He had no time for anything but his family these days, and while that should've been an amazing thing that he should have shared with Wiffle, instead it was a dreadful, terrifying thing that he wanted to escape from. A horrible nightmare. Eljay rarely slept these days, and when he did it was often because he simply fell over from exhaustion rather than because he chose to sleep. Many nights were spent staring at Wiffle as she slept.

He'd fallen over not that long ago from exhaustion and was sleeping fitfully until he heard Wiffle's voice. The fact her whispers woke him up were an indication of how poorly he slept when he did, always alert and ready to take care of her. There was something to her voice that tore his heart apart, though he couldn't quite place it yet himself. W-wiffle? His voice trembled as he came closer. Eljay hadn't quite come to terms with the nearing end yet; he still wanted to believe that his mate would get better, somehow, some way.