Dragoncrest Cliffs It holds me tight, this sorrow

Rosalyn. She wanted to believe that her mother was out there, simply hounding the beast away from the coast- and while Rosalyn was a legend, she was a living legend still. Mortal, and not immune to the smash of jaws or the dashing of claws. Even cliffs, mountains, and forests had their dangers, and while she hated to admit it, she knew that there was a more dangerous threat lying within her mother's own body. She'd seen in her distant stare, the occasional question that didn't make sense, or the way she kept silent even when she normally would have said something. It ate at her, robbing her bit by bit. She wanted to ignore it, and tell herself that there was no way her mother could ever, ever get lost...

She had given Etienne sound advice, and she would always treasure that her children had been brought up with such loving grandmothers. Her eyes sparkled, and she pulled her son close. "Yes, Eti. We can be sad toget'er." Her melody broke with her voice, as she struggled to keep it even and rhythmic. She held him to her, and grunted softly, as she felt first a soft kick, and then a stronger one, deep in her belly. 

Her future brood thrived, in spite of it all. And the time had come where she could be certain that it was not merely an infliction involving her diet or stress. She gestured for Etienne to come closer, so he might press against her side. 

"Come close, Eti. 
Dere be somet'ing I want for you to see." 

She said. For a few moments, there was nothing. A gurgle or two from digestion, and the solid thumping of her heart. But then- a kick, and then another. One of the pups squirmed, and moved. She watched for his expression.