Broken Antler Fen And I'm so sick of crying, yeah

Eljay wasn't entirely sure how much such young children would notice, with having more pups in the den right now. He hoped that it wouldn't make Hymnal or Sylvie uneasy, but he could tell that they were a little more fussy than normal. Then again, they were so young; perhaps he was just trying to find problems where there were none. Eljay smiled at Maia as she started the story, but soon his attention was taken by Hymnal squeaking. What's wrong, baby girl? he asked softly and quietly as he leaned down and nuzzled her face lovingly.

The story he followed only halfway, because there were Sylvie and Hymnal to worry about. Besides that, @Diantha seemed to be blatantly disinterested in the story. Not in a 'I'm doing something else right now' way, but in that she turned her back to the others and Maia actively with a mopy frown on her face. Eljay wanted to ask her to join in, but he was afraid of the backlash. Then again, he couldn't keep avoiding this forever, right? He hoped that Ibis would return soon, but he was worried that she might not; and anyway, he wouldn't be a very good puppysitter if he just totally ignored these troubles to let their mother deal with them.

Eljay could tell that Maia was getting nervous, though he wasn't sure why. She was doing great so far, even if the pups who were listening weren't the best audience; but then, young pups rarely were, as they were easily distracted. @Roswell looked mopy and bored, though he was at least facing Maia through it all, and he didn't respond to her question. Diantha just let out a loud unimpressed hmph as she rolled her eyes. Eljay frowned and he hesitated to say anything, but the behaviour was just on the edge where it wasn't so bad he needed to do something right now, but it was clearly bothering Maia. But what could he do? Eljay lifted his nose from Hymnal's face and said, The fish came to rescue her? in hopes of encouraging the others to say something, or at the very least, offer Maia a continuation of the story.