Redhawk Caldera and a happy new year [birth]

Eljay felt emotion swell in his throat and he wished that things'd been different, that he had been here and that he had been able to help. Mommy had almost found the same fate earlier, and now it was aunt Fox that had died. He was worried for the pack's future, because what if mommy wanted more pups too, and what if the same thing would happen to her? Then he felt selfish and guilty for worrying about mommy when he should be grieving for aunt Fox alone. "I know..." he murmured in response to his parents' soothing, but he didn't know, not really; the guilt remained, and he could not yet let go of all of the 'what if's.

Daddy asked him if he wanted to stay with the pups or help with aunt Fox' body. Everything inside of his head screamed to stay with the pups, the living things, instead of face the dead body of his aunt, but he ended up saying: "I'll help bury the body." He didn't have milk, and maybe mommy would be able to better take care of the pups if he and daddy would take care of burying the body. He had nothing to offer them right now.

feel free to pp eljay helping with the body!

Fastforwarding this along a bit :) Hope no one minds I skipped the manual labor!

Her mate agreed and her son offered to help with the burial. Finley glanced back at the den at Raven, trying not to see the dark, unmoving shape just beyond. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she turned back and lead the trio away to where Peregrine was buried - soon to also be his mate's final resting place.

He was not buried far from the whelping den, which was a comfort to Fin that she would not have to go too far from Raven and the newborns. They worked quickly but quietly to make a spot beside Peregrine. Time had lost its meaning for Finley, so she couldn't say how soon it was that they returned to the den for Fox's body. It was fortunate, really, because I can't decide how long it would take three wolves to dig a shallow grave anyway. But moving on...

Finley approached the den first, lowering herself at the entrance to look at her goddaughter. She had decided already while they were digging the grave that she would not be attending the rest of the burial. Fox had been her best friend - probably the only true female friend she could say she'd ever had. But Fox had been Raven's mother. Someone needed to stay with the pups, and Finley knew that it would be her. "Let's move the kids as far to the side as we can," the Blackthorn said gently, "We'll move move Fox out, then I'll stay and watch the kids while you go  say.. While you go help your uncle and cousin."

Her eyes clouded, but Finley took a steadying breath before moving to help Raven with the squirming newborns.

The trio of Blackthorns grimly and efficiently excavated a grave for Fox next to her mate's. There was little conversation throughout the entire ordeal, and while they hadn't dug a particularly big hole, Elwood was mentally and physically tired as they trudged back towards the whelping den. He felt exhaustion deep within his bones and knew was due to the emotional toll of the last few months.

He hovered outside the burrow for a moment as Finley went in. She suggested that Raven assist with Fox's actual burial, so that she could say goodbye to her mother, and he waited patiently for her response. Once the puppies had been moved out of the way and a path had been cleared, he would enter the shelter in order to remove the former Alpha female's body, and he steeled himself for the task by taking a deep breath. He reached out to gently nudge Eljay's neck, comforting himself as much as his son.

I'm doing my own share of >>ing, haha! I think this'll be my last. :)

Finley's suggestion took her by surprise. Raven realized she was already so attached to the needful newborns that she hadn't considered that she could leave them for a few moments to say her final farewells. But nearly as soon as her godmother proposed the idea, the Gamma nodded mutely. Gently, she began nudging the puppies toward Finley and the wall.

Steeling herself, the caregiver rose and moved out of the way so Elwood and Eljay could pull Fox's body out into the open. Once they were all outside, Raven did her best to help support her mother's weight. The three grim pallbearers carried their fallen matriarch in mournful silence. It felt like it took hours for them to reach the freshly dug grave beside Peregrine's plot but, at last, they stood at its edge and lowered the dead Redhawk into the ground.

Raven wished she could think of some eloquent eulogy. She loved Fox, despite her craziness and hot temper, and she would miss her dearly. She regretted that they hadn't made amends prior to Fox's death. The only words she could muster were a quiet, "Bye, mom." The Gamma did her part to help slowly push dirt over her little red body, much as it pained her to watch her dam disappear into the earth.

When the burial was complete, Raven slowly turned away and began padding back to the whelping den. Her mother's life was over but six new lives had only just begun. These new Firebirds were her parents' last legacy and she was crucial to their survival. Her own life only had one focus now: keeping them happy, healthy and thriving.

Eljay didn't even know how much time had to have passed when it was all said and done. He helped support Fox' body, thinking about how he should've helped prepare her better, learned more about birth-giving herbs from Raven, talked to her to prevent this grim fate. He wasn't sure he could've done anything, but he should've done something, as caregiver and aspiring midwife.

Eljay numbly helped dig the hole, wishing he were with the pups all the way, and eventually they were done and were able to bury Fox' body into the ground. He nosed Raven's shoulder when she quietly said good-bye to her mother, offering her a silent show of support while Aunt Fox joined Uncle P underneath the ground for good.

Once it was all said and done, Eljay followed the others back to the puppy den, wondering what this new chapter in their lives would bring — baby siblings, in a way, and way too soon after he had regained his mommy...

Ima close this one up while I cry
Raven agreed to the arrangement. Finley offered her an encouraging smile, but it was still so obviously hiding the broken heart beneath. She went to work then helping to gently shift the newborns to the side while Raven cleared a spot for her to take her place. She settled in and pulled the pups closer to her, making sure they remained out of the way while Fox's body was moved. It was a good distraction from having to watch the actual procedure, but still she could not keep herself from glimpsing Fox's cold, stiff body being pulled past her. She shut her eyes against the tears that began to fall again and reached to turn one of the boys - a dark black and gray pup - back towards her belly, as though he could actually see his mother's dead carcass being moved past him.

She'd anticipated that she would feel more awful at not being there to lay Fox to rest. But somehow, it was more of a comfort to be there in the den, tending to her closest friends' children. These little wolves were the last legacy that Peregrine and Fox would leave to this world. Finley had never imagined a day that she and Elwood would be called upon to perform their duties as godparents. She'd never wanted it to happen. But now that it had, she knew that the Blackthorns would not fail to take care of the world that the Redhawks had created. Not their children, not their pack, not their home. Not their family.