Redhawk Caldera Overture: JCS

It wasn't until she truly melted into him that he really noticed it. The telltale signs that pointed to the very thing that was causing them so much grief in this moment. Children. And yet, hadn't all of his children brought him happiness? Even Primrose, now gone, provoked more happy moments than sad ones, even if the final memory was hard to shake and sometimes seemed to push all the others out of the way. This time, when she pulled him in, Phox relented, allowing himself to push the grief to the back of his mind and let the sensation of Niamh numb him.

He returned the gesture, plucking at a loose tuft of hair on her neck and pulling it free from her blond scruff. He tossed it aside and went for another, and he continued detangling her fur as he went around her neck. It was soothing, and Phox said nothing as he worked.