Cassiopeia's View phone home

Sable was growing into a strapping two month old by the time he realized some things.

Mother had brought them here, ostensibly to see family.

Here was not the cozy den in Epoch.

Father was not coming back. The cozy den wouldn’t be either. Without knowing it, Sable was flailing in this new, uprooted space without the stability he’d known. This place was so high, it made his stomach swim as he peered over the edge.

It swam so much, in fact, that breakfast was heaved onto a nearby patch of ground. Almost guilty, the boy shoved dirt over it in an attempt to hide what had happened. He took several steps away from the overhang, retreating, but not yet going towards the camp his family inhabited. Not yet.

For a moment, he wanted to be alone. He waited a while, then started trotting back.

But slowly. A slow trot.

Towhee dimly remembered when Fennec had broken a rib a couple of years ago. She really wondered if that’s what she was dealing with now. The doe had landed some solid blows and then she’d traveled back and forth right afterward. Now she was in a world of pain and, if memory served, there was jack shit anyone could do about it but give it time to mend.

Breathing shallowly, she milled around the shelf at the top of Cassiopeia’s View, where she and her family had made camp. (Climbing all the way up here had probably not helped matters, either…) Jack had taken the kiddos on a little walkabout earlier, so Towhee had nothing to do but bitch and moan, wince and groan, with every step.

Something caught her eye and she looked up from where she was grimacing at her paws to see Sable walking this way. Towhee halted and raised her head, wondering if Jack and Jr were still together or if all her kids were wandering the peak by themselves.

-Hey, kiddo, you look like you feel the same way I do: like shit. You okay?-

I thought I’d recycle and repurpose my lonely post to keep yours company. :)

Sable’s ears lifted at the gentle beat of paws, his head raising a moment later. Green eyes blinked once, twice, before he licked a stringy bit of saliva off his mouth, trying not to look as guilty as he felt.

-Too high- He made a sweeping indicator towards the vacated cliff, the boy’s stomach churning at the thought of that height.

-Looked off the edge. Everything went..- He thought for a moment, before wiggling his body in an attempt to convey vertigo.

Towhee frowned sympathetically, her child’s pain causing her significantly more grief than her own. She looked around for a moment, then returned her orange eyes to rest on Sable’s face. He would probably get used to the heights, though she would do just about anything to make him feel better.

-“How about we climb back down to the bottom? You can close your eyes and hold onto my tail if you want,”- Towhee offered. -“We could visit the fen, maybe look for some peppermint. It’ll help settle your stomach, plus get rid of that barf breath.”-

She shot him a teasing smile, then nudged his cheek, wondering if he would feel up to the downward climb or if it would only make matters worse. While she waited for Sable’s reaction, she glanced around, once more wondering about Jack’s and Jr’s whereabouts.