Sun Mote Copse I saw the constellations reveal themselves one star at a time

Phox smiled contentedly as Niamh spoke, listening as she praised their abilities of putting out good, pretty children. He wondered if she forgot "smart" as one of the qualities, but he didn't make any effort to correct her, because soon enough she was talking about next year's kids, and he got the warm fuzzies. Next year's kids, yeah, he replied in a dreamy voice.

But there was something else to consider. You think Towhee will try and have more kids? he asked. She'd thought she was barren before, but Meerkat had proven them all wrong in that assumption. Phox wondered if she wanted more, or if she would be happy to cling to her one and only. Phox knew that he would always welcome more sons and daughters into his life.

Then again, maybe she would reign in her usual slut-fest (no shame) so that she didn't end up with more kids.

It's so hard to watch kids go when they grow up... I have a sneaking suspicion that not all four of ours will stay around forever, based on last year's numbers. I just hope they give us a little bit of notice. When Fennec left... I don't know; it felt like it came out of nowhere.