Hushed Willows Nourishment for all

ooc: c'mere puppies! @Silas @Pippin @Larkspur @Tambourine

Shikoba had returned successful from a small fishing trip, holding in her mouth a large fish. It was dead already, though freshly killed. Although she was hungry herself, what mattered what getting the young fed. With that in mind, Shikoba trotted towards the area where the kids where.

chuffing loudly, Shikoba made her way close to see all three of them, though one she didn't recognize. She did remember meeting Tambourine, though not fully acquainted with. Still, he was family and needed nourishment like the other Ostregas.

smiling, the native dropped the fish to the ground and nudged it to the kids paws. "Eat" she said, taking a few steps back before settling down.

Spur drowsed, drawing deep, slow breaths of the early summer air. She sensed her brothers nearby and felt safe, though she refused to let herself fall deeper into sleep. It was just that she truly didn't have much energy left these days. Ever since the second trek to Horizon Ridge, Larkspur was running on fumes. And though she herself didn't realize it, an older, wiser wolf might see the signs for what they were: Spur was starting to succumb to extended starvation.

When the powerful smell of fish wafted into her nose, an internal battle commenced. On one hand, she just didn't have the energy to sit up and eat. On the other, it was food! Larkspur's wide blue eyes slowly fluttered and opened, then she pushed herself upright. She blinked at the familiar face of Shikoba, then down at the fish between her paws, and whined.

Larkspur looked worst than Shikoba imagined. No child should be forced to partake in the famine, for it was cruel and traumatizing to them. Larkspur was weaker than expected, whining at the fish as if she was asking for it to come closer. Was she too weak to move? The native picked up the vibes and quickly snatched the fish up, soon moving close enough to Lark to set it at her paws. Tearing off small bits and pieces, Shikoba made the fish fairly easy to consume. Hopefully this would entice Larkspur to eat and hopefully gain her weight back.

Making a mental note in her head, Shikoba would devote herself to checking on Larkspur every now and then to make sure she was eating and getting enough nourishment. With Harlyn working with the rest of the pack, she was most likely too busy to focus on each and every pup she had. Shikoba leaned down to Larkspur and planted a sloppy kiss on her forehead, hoping to comfort her.

Perhaps sensing her distress, Shikoba moved the fish closer and tore off little chunks. Larkspur hesitated, then bent forward to draw one into her mouth. She chewed slowly, swallowed, then went for another. Although she flinched ever so slightly, she did not protest the female's affectionate gesture. She looked up at her, gratitude shining in her big blue eyes, and continued eating in silence.

Despite her hunger and weakness, Spur couldn't bring herself to eat more than half a dozen of the fishy chunks. Besides, wasn't some of it meant for her brothers? And Tambourine? Spur didn't care about the latter—she really didn't care for Tavi's noisy son at all, truth be told—but she wanted to make sure Silas and Pippin both got a bite to eat too.

Lark started to take the food gently whilst Shikoba gazed at her calmly. The scarred wolf couldn't imagine the pain it was for the little girl, but only feared the worst. She soon wondered about the three boys, how were they holding up in the famine? Before se could go deeper into thought, her eyes wandered back to Lark and saw that only a little bit of the food was taken (to Shikoba's perspective). Now the native was no glutton by any means, but knew very well that food = life. She could always hunt for more anyways, so one fish for just one pup wasn't going to hurt.

Settling down into a laying position, Shikoba give Spur a reassuring smile. "Shikoba can hunt more. Lark can eat more." Slowly her words were forming somewhat complete ideas and sentences, mostly from hearing others speak and paying close attention to their pronunciation and such. Nudging a few more pieces towards Larkspur with her nose, the druid hoped that they would grow up healthy and normal. With all her heart she prayed that the children weren't too affected by the famine, though it looked like the gods disowned her.

Editing to conclude...

Shikoba reassured her that she could hunt more. Larkspur frowned thoughtfully. "But what about the famine?" she questioned quietly before adding, with sudden vehemence, "Pip needs this more than me. We need to find him and make sure he eats." And suddenly her spine went rigid as she sat up straighter, over-sized blue eyes scanning around for any sign of either brother but especially the one who couldn't even find the energy to speak, or stand, or even sit up, these days...

Unfortunately, there was no sign of Pippin, Silas or anyone else. She wanted to wait them out but the scent of the leftover fish overruled her willpower. Besides, it would be a crying shame to let food go to waste at a time like this. Guiltily, Larkspur bolted down the rest of the scraps. Afterward, she very quietly thanked Shikoba then slunk off a little shamefully to digest the scanty meal someplace else.