Swiftcurrent Creek :'(

Bazi departed the den after several unsuccessful attempts to coax Durnehviir away, offering Paarthurnax a consoling smile before she went. The pups were several measures beyond a handful now, and their long-suffering mother looked like she needed a few moments to catch her breath.

With three boys to look after, she didn't rate Scimitar's chances of being able to procure lunch, and headed off on her own to take down a contingency plan.

When she returned several hours later to bring the group to the kill, bright-eyed and still mildly blood-soaked from a successful hunt with several other pack-mates, the others were already at the densite.

But Paarthurnax was conspicuously missing.

And there was.. was that blood?

Bazi's breath caught in her throat. For a moment, all she could hear was the rush of hot blood around her ears and the erratic pounding of her heart somewhere deep inside her chest. And then she moved.

"Kids," she barked, a little too sharply, striding in between the pups and the entrance to their now empty home. Gently, she pushed each one back against Scimitar's sturdy legs, stepping carefully around the evidence. "Should I take them?" she whispered up at him, showing in her eyes what her voice did not betray.