Redtail Rise the happiest day

somewhere, sometime, in the week between the pups' birth and this instant, something changed.

she wakes from a brief nap to stare down upon the trio of @Relic, @Masquerade and Redd, and feels love. real love.

her dreams had been filled with her mother—of her still suckling at Astara's breast, tiny and entirely dependent on the woman. the warmth, the safety she'd felt. and now, she realizes she's responsible for these three in the same way.

everything has come full circle.

Avicus draws her muzzle along their small heads, breathing in their scent. they all bear bits of reddish hue, some more than others. unknown fathers, but no doubt who their mother is.

and she must be to them what Astara had been to her. a rock of constancy; a shelter against the outside world until they are ready to face it.

and they will be ready. warrior blood courses through their veins.

for the first time, she draws them close, and her heart swells bigger than ever before.