Sun Mote Copse (M) Some things Change

I welcome the others to barge in anytime if they want!

Best housewarming gift ever, Towhee insisted, still panting slightly.

She slung herself to the ground then, drawing the newborn close against her chest and taking a good look at him. The black and orange streaks along his tiny spine were familiar, though as she nosed him onto his back, she blinked down at a surprisingly pale underside. It was as if she’d printed another carbon copy, only the printer had run out of ink halfway through.

Fuckin’ turd, she murmured, affection thickening her voice despite everything.

She glanced at her own flank, staring at the fleshy pink cord still trailing from unmentionable places. Just as Towhee wondered if there might be other pups, her back seized and she screamed her way through delivering the placenta. The sight of it reminded her of her recent miscarriages, so she tossed it away with a grunt.

Facing forward, she shifted her weight with a grimace, glancing down at her newborn son before looking up at Reyson. The late August heat pressed down on them, the dying grass brittle beneath her weight. She knew she should grab the child and get him to The Taigh or to some other shady spot, at the very least.

But, I need a minute. She licked her lips. Fucking dammit, I was not expecting that. I’m so old. Eyes cutting down to the little bundle of joy—his arrival a bittersweet echo of the daughter who’d just departed—she lovingly seethed, You hear that, you little buttshit?