Redhawk Caldera I'll always keep you with me

He shifted to sign something, Towhee as ever appreciative of the effort he always made to communicate effectively with her. She acknowledged his words with a nod, ears pricking when Bronco cut off abruptly. He must've heard something from within the den, going by his body language. A moment later, he let her know that Fennec was inviting them inside.

Her heart leaped as Bronco moved further inside the whelping den, clearing the threshold to enter. Towhee stuck her head inside but didn't go very far, assuming the same position Bronco had before and blocking the entrance. Her eyes found Fen's face and then dropped lower, to her flank, where a single puppy curled against his pale mother.

Towhee stared at him, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dim to make out details. He was dark and so, so pudgy. He looked perfect, an assessment Bronco articulated but which Towhee missed. Nonetheless, she found herself unwittingly concurring with him as she breathed, "He's perfect, Fen." She was officially a mother and that meant Towhee was officially a grandmother.

Her orange gaze drifted back to Fennec's blind face. "Do you know what you'll call him?" Towhee wondered, glancing over at Bronco to include him in the question. "He looks a bit like me, so if you wanna call him Towhee Jr, I just want you to know I'm cool with that," she was unable to resist jesting, breaking into a happy chortle.