Blackfeather Woods your soul stained my shoulders

@Tunerk. Other tags for visibility. 

To call the first week a roller coaster would be an understatement. She went from bouts of needing to socializing (to the point @Siarut would get a few words out of her) to neglecting any and all visitors, even @Tahani. Her primary focus each day are the three little bodies she’s meant to keep warm and feed and protect and already, just over a week, she’s failing. Aningan is quiet, more than the other two and it takes a lot of effort to get even a peep out of him, nudging him and grooming him roughly. He eats and sleeps just as much as the other two but…
 
It’s probably nothing. A question she tucks away for later for Tahani, a question among many others that never reach her lips.
 
Carefully, the mother uncurls herself from around the children, awkwardly picking herself up and out of the den to stretch her legs. It’s a rare event that not one of her siblings is nearby and she glances to and fro a few times to confirm it. Being in the den alone with her children isn’t the same knowing someone is just on the other side. She releases a slow breath, lowering her rump to the ground and sitting in the opening to block the den from sight. One ear angles backward for the gentlest of sounds while the rest of her senses focus on her time alone for the first time in… well, she can’t remember.

The sole daughter of Shivali slept soundly and without interruption in her first days of life. As time progressed, her siblings stirring caused Tunerk to rouse, but still she experienced no true discomfort. Tunerk had been utterly soundless with the exception of her noisy feeding. Up until this point the young girl did not have anything to complain about, or fuss over. When her mother left the den to stretch her legs, there was always someone else there to keep her warm—but this day, it was different. A chill crept over her, and Tunerk pressed against her siblings for heat, though they were not enough. The first sound that came from Tunerk was one of worry, as what feeling possessed her did not feel good. It was an unwelcome one, and so a vexed growl came from her, as moving around as she typically did for the answer did not solve it. The noise came unbidden, and it was not something Tunerk knew she had done, though she had felt it, and her head lifted sharply in confoundment with what muscles she could utilize before she settled.

One sensitive ear twitches at the first signs of disruption. Her youngest child makes a sound but the mother does not move yet, not compelled to return and offer comfort. The freedom she feels not being tethered to them is short-lived, however, as there is no one else to offer comfort. Heavy eyes droops and she sighs, standing upon all fours and shaking out her fur. She makes sure to stretch each limb effectively as she spins around, working her way into the hidden den in time to hear the growl, not wanting the puppy to disrupt the other two slumbering children. With reassurance, Shivali licks the back of her head and twists her cramped limbs back into herself, lowering down around the trio and pulling the close, returning the warmth they lacked in her absence.

Something warm pressed against her, and she stilled once more. A low mewl came from her (not that she knew it), though she fell mute again as her mother draped herself around them. Tunerk shifted forward to press against the warmth, and accidentally rolled onto her side; uncomfortable once again, Tunerk attempted to right herself, though her small paw felt the warmth of her mother's belly. Far more cold than she was bothered by her tumble, the disgruntled cub only hoped to return to the warmth as she squirmed and rolled, unable to get to her stomach again.

She knew her life would change when the puppies entered the world but she hadn’t prepared as much as she felt she should have. She’s tethered to the den 99% of the time; the few breaks she gets is to stretch her legs and relieve herself—all which happen within minutes of the den—and so having to return to the crying children doesn’t take a second guess. It is not without a heavy sigh that she settles around them, not quite feeling like she’d shaken all the restless feelings sitting inside her but she is needed. Her life no longer is her own and instead belongs to the three little babies curled up next to her.
 
If asked, she’d never admit to feeling resentment toward them, but her new family isn’t the ideal picture perfect she’d considered. With no father over them, and her siblings often hovering, the weight remains heavy. Slowly, her head lowers to the ground near her only daughter, and bumps gently against her so she knows she’s close.

It was her mothers muzzle that provided her with some sort of leverage to roll better than beforehand, back onto her belly. Tunerk appreciatively sought the source of this with a quiet mewl, though then forgot what she had been doing in the first place. Hunger came once more, as it often would at this stage in her life, and Tunerk sought sustenance and only met her mothers nose. Tunerk suckled, though nothing came of it, and she let out a little squeak of confusion.

The girl rights herself on her own with her help, however little it may be (mostly because the narrator forgot that part), and smiles as she’s back on her belly. Shivali’s tail thumps once, easily, and rumbles something low. Her tongue slips from her muzzle and she licks the side of her face carefully. “One day, you won’t even need me,” she murmurs sadly, curling in just a little tighter around all three babies.