Lion Head Mesa all i want for christmas is

Disa was drawn by the smell and the nervous shiver in the air that told her something had begun.

She kept her distance. There was nothing she could say or do to ease Serein's pain, and she was not keen on seeing anything larger than acorn exit any orifice, ever.

The day wore on. The process of birth intensified. Disa stayed, chewing in a leathery piece of skin left over from Beau's gifted leg.

It was long dark when she finally approached the whelping den, guided by what moonlight managed to break through the clouds. Mother and babes were mere presences in the dark, pulsating with heat. Except one.

Disa crept closer, nudging the stiff little body. 

"I can take it to the garden," she whispered in the dark. The stillborn would make excellent fertilizer. Perhaps to something tough, and thorny, and dangerous. "Unless you want to eat it."