Wheeling Gull Isle [M] hey, Blue: here is a song for you

someday she would know this as sound but in the moment it was new and overwhelming— where there used to be only vibrations, now there was something more. a sensation she didn't know how to interpret, and though she squalled, she had yet to make the connection that she was partially the cause. her cries went untended, and the atmosphere in the den grew tense. her siblings were upset, now, too. as they squirmed, mirroring the distress of their caretakers, what she would someday know as scent changed. not the sweetness of milk, but something more primal and metallic.

but her mother's body calmed after a time, and vesper stopped her crying; it had gone unanswered, anyway. she had no comprehension of what had transpired, only that it was almost back to normal, now— she pressed closer against her siblings for comfort as they all began to relax, pushing against the warmth of their guardian.