Hushed Willows Shaking hands with the dark parts of my thoughts

Open to anyone in the Crook, but be warned Tavi might be snappy. All her MK threads are open to @Tambourine. Maybe someone found him all alone and kept him warm since she was just outside being totally irresponsible? :D

After taking a break from her responsibilities and stretching her legs, Tavi returned with great haste and shot through the cave like a bat returned to roost. She clipped someone on her way in but held her tongue, too busy navigating the cave system to bother apologizing. When she came upon the cave where Tambourine had been born, she tripped up on something laying across the entrance and thought hastily, oh shit was that him?

When she turned to inspect the bulbous thing, she saw it was the head of the other child which had gone uneaten. His face was distorted by the early stages of rot, and a few flies buzzed from the soft inner sanctum where his ears sat curled. Tavi grimaced, and then tossed the remains aside with a cuff of her paw. She tried to find any sign of her son within the cave and felt the stirrings of anxiety when she couldn't — he wasn't here. He wasn't here and all she could smell was death and rot and — then she heard a chirp, and poked her head out from the corridor that joined the whelping cave to the Crook.

Nova's time to shine <3 (Btw I wasn't sure how old he was and if he was big enough to wander, and Tavi was already back in the den. T_T No choice but to take him.... Lemme know if I should change or not.)

Faint squeaks and the such had drawn Nova closer to the whelping den, who'd been just unable to keep herself any longer. At first, she didn't so much as come within a foot of the entrance. The golden female had no wishes to piss off the newest alpha and mother, but puppies were just so damn cute. When nothing happened, the elder let out a low and friendly chuff.... Still nothing? Well shoot, now she HAD to go in. What if something had happened? She had experience in healing, it was perfectly acceptable for her to be worried. Keeping herself low despite the painful protests of her joints, Nova Rose crept in until she realized the den was empty. Wait, that wasn't right, she could HEAR the puppy, and smell him, but Octavia was nowhere to be seen. Her ghostly eyes peered closer in the dim light, and THERE was the little grey male. She trotted closer, and bent down to sniff him; it was then that she realized he was losing body heat. Where was Tavi, and why had she left her son alone? The elder is fully aware that if she were to come in and see another female curled around her pup, it might mean trouble.... But surely she wouldn't attack when her son was right there? Perhaps she should go looking for the stormy female?
In the end, Nova eventually carried him out of the den. Not far: her own little spot was not far, and it was consiterably warmer than the whelping den. She curled her warm golden body around the tiny little thing, hoping for the millionth time that mama wouldnt be mad that she was caring for the puppy. On the other hand, maybe she would see that Nova was a trustable wolf who really wanted to cuddle puppies? One can only hope.

Three days or thereabouts!

 He's like three days old and she really should not have left him but her mind was elsewhere. She had only wanted to stretch her legs a little. The cave may have been spacious, but Tavi had been feeling restricted nonetheless, and her desire to move about trumped anything her newborn son may have needed. But she was here now, and her senses were alerted to his murmurs, setting her biology against anyone that came between her and the babe. When her gaze fell upon the coiled form of the old woman, Tavi let out a low growl — yet on her approach, she saw that her little boy was safe and secure within her grasp.

Tavi did not know how to react. At first she arched like a queen, defiant and agitated, with her tail lashing at her hocks; then she was feeling suddenly spotlighted by her thoughts, ruminating over how content the boy looked in his sleep. Safe there, even if it was with a stranger. She paced just outside of Nova's range and seemed frutrated, not knowing how to approach the situation. In the end she huffed and sank low beside her. Is he alright? She whispered hastily, and thrust her nose towards the bundle of gray among the gold.

Nova had missed her entrance to the cave, having only taken her eyes away long enough to readjust him a little. She sure as hell didn't miss Tavi coming OUT of the den, however, and it took seconds for her to find her child. She approached with no hesitation, closing in rapidly, raising herself up though clearly unsure of what to do; she stayed just out of range of touch for Nova, which didnt mean that she wouldnt lash out, but that Tavi was thinking. Nova wouldn't ever hurt one of her own, even if that meant getting herself hurt in the process. The golden elder stayed silent, her ears wilting down and lowering her head. Her calm spectral eyes, however, stayed on the conflicted mother. Worry danced in their depths, but the most dangerous moment had been diffused... Right? Tavi was, obviously, pretty agitated, but her sons needs seemed to have gotten her past it. Eventually the new mother came closer, placing herself close to both the elder and, more importantly, the newborn. Nova relaxed, ears perking and a smile spreading across her lips.
        "He was pretty cold and fussy when I came to check on you, and I thought he might warm up faster away from the edges of the stone. I apologize, I wasn't sure how long you had been or would be gone. He is otherwise alright, it seems."
She didn't press the mother on her whereabouts. Nova herself knew how it felt to be confined to one tiny area with little to no movement, caring for helpless little pups just like this one.

While it was beyond helpful for Nova to be here caring for the boy, Tavi heard her words and took them negatively. The answer she was looking for had been a yes or a no and yet, she was given a mouthful. It felt like she was being judged, and without thinking the woman responded, I wasn't gone for long at all, you didn't have to intervene, her tone was sharp, urgently repremanding the other woman although Nova probably knew far more than she did about caring for children.

Here, just — suddenly she was reaching around Nova, half-stepping on the woman to get closer to the boy, and trying to grab at him. But as soon as her teeth grazed through his sparse fur, she had a flashback to the other son. Like the moment with the rabbit only hours ago, she flinched back. Give him to me. He's my son, I'm -- I'm his mother, you don't need to be doing this, Tavi was petulant and afraid, and she lashed out while pacing beside Nova. Her eyes remained on the boy the entire time, but she didn't move to grab him again. It felt like the elder was keeping her son from her, and Octavia wouldn't allow that.

Nova had in no way meant to judge the female, she'd only been worried for Tamborine, but she could tell that was how the stormy female felt. The alpha lashed out, and Nova visibly flinched. She'd done nothing wrong other than take him, even Octavia couldn't deny he was okay, and her ghostly eyes reflected her pain. This was the SECOND time Tavi seemed to deem her as useless, and had she not been the alpha the female likely wouldn't have held back the bitter comments running though her mind. The elder tried speaking, calmly, to Tavi, but she was stepping on her tail and legs now, hidden in her thick golden and cream fur.
      "Tavi-I don't mind, really. Ow... Hes fine, just, ow!"
She was actually TRYING to get up, but between making sure the pup didnt fall or get hurt and trying to avoid getting stepped on was taking up her attention. Tavi tried taking him, but flinched back as if he'd tasted bad or something. When she finally backed off, Nova gazed up at her with a throughly confused look wrote on her face.
                   "Octavia, I'm not keeping him hostage, you can take him anytime. I don't mind helping if you need it, that's sort of my job here...."
The elder sighed, turning her face away and waiting for the alphas reaction with obvious sense of betrayal. Warbone said they would be like a family, but so far only a few seemed to want such a thing. She wouldn't get up and leave the pup to the cold stone floor, but she was leaning herself away from him to make it obvious that he was open for the taking.

This time when she reached for the boy, she squeezed her eyes shut and told herself, I'm not eating him, I'm saving him. I'm not eating him - and soon enough she had him to herself. The little cub was hanging by the scruff from her teeth (probably pinched a bit too hard), and then Tavi abandoned the elder woman, stumbling over her again as she headed for the dark corridor. Once the two of them were sequestered in the offshoot that served as the den she hunkered down and plopped the boy between her paws, where she held him carefully. While he sat there, she studied him for any imperfection, not trusting that Nova meant well - or that anyone in this place, aside Warbone, really cared for the child.

Just like that, both the weight of the puppy against her and the irritated alpha were gone. She growled low in her chest as they vanished into the den, and her silver eyes were glossy and sad. She hadn't done anything wrong, and yet she felt severely punished. She could have saved him from god knows what, and none the less she'd literally only carried him to a warmer place within SIGHT of his den. A place in which they were surrounded by rock and packmates that would likely kill for that little bundle of fur.... And if not, if even faced with a mothers wrath, they would certainly bow to Warbones. To not would mean to risk death yourself, and certain expulsion from the pack if you survived. Nova tucked her face under her fluffy tail and lied there in silence for a good few hours, if she were to be left alone. 

Ill just archive it here! Poor old lady xD One day, ONE day, she will befriend Tavi!