Redhawk Caldera The monsters are here.

Anyone’s still welcome to post a cameo. This’ll be my last, then I’ll archive in a week or so.

Hotah returned from his grave task, informing her that Marmot now rested beneath the tree as she’d asked. Her orange eyes tracked upward to the ceiling, wondering if it was morbid to be glad their child was “watching over them” in a sense. It was probably also terrible of her that she was a little relieved to pare the litter down to three. Worst of all, she wouldn’t mourn too deeply if the runt perished in the night, though she would do everything in her power to prevent that.

She didn’t really have any words just now, so she just gave Hotah a long look before returning her attention to the newborns. The two girls wriggled quite a bit more than their remaining brother, though they didn’t fuss much… for now. Towhee smiled at them, then decided to move the runt a little closer to her head and her most anterior teat.

-Let’s name them tomorrow. I’m going to rest my eyes,- she told their father and anybody else who might be looking her way.

After making sure her tiny son was latched, Towhee let her head drift down over him, creating a pocket of protective warmth. She let her heavy eyelids fall, shutting out the world and leaving her with only one easily reachable sense: touch. She reveled in the tactility of her three newest children against her aging, weary body as she drifted off to sleep.