Wheeling Gull Isle if I tell you why I must stay,

Her nerves, pulled taut with tension swiftly eased as Hua greeted her with nothing short of warmth and a smile. She wasn't exactly the picture of a typical mother, snapping at any who so much as peered into the den. Still, Tzila remained on guard, shuffling only inches closer, on her belly now. The faint line of a smile played at her own lips, silver eyes meeting aqua. 

"Nonsense. I understand that motherhood is a full-time job. So I've heard." How ironic it was that such a phrase would come round full circle, landing squarely on her own shoulders in a few short months. She tried to peer back past the Empress, to catch a hopeful glimpse of the tiny bodies. The scent of new life and milk flooded her senses from the den’s interior. "I've been managing. I just take it one day at a time, since it's been so long that I've lived by the seaside." She replied honestly. But enough about her welfare. Her expression was soft but riddled with well-meaning concern - an odd look on her chiseled, dark face. "What of you? How are...they?"