Redhawk Caldera everything is by design

By the time Raven reached the mouth of the cave, her nose ached, her toes stung and the tips of her ears were well past numb. She ducked inside, awkwardly maneuvering through the tunnel with the giant slab of frozen moose meat clutched in her jaws. When she reached the belly of the underground cavern, she dropped it with a loud thunk. She then fell to her haunches and began licking her toes and rubbing them over her throbbing nose.

When she was rid of her frostnip, Raven bent over the hunk of meat, closed her jaws around it and began dragging it across the floor toward where the pups wobbled around on their new sea legs. The Gamma released her grip again and smiled down at the five adorable youngsters, tail waving as she wondered if they would show any interest in the the frozen tallow.

Just wanted to make one post with El!

It had taken a handful of trips to carry the majority of the frozen moose meat back to the cavern. By the time Elwood was satisfied, his jaws and neck ached from the effort. The weather hadn't cooperated, which only made the task more difficult. Snow was encrusted in a frosty layer on his pelt, and he had lost the feeling in his extremities. He returned to the cave just after Raven, a hefty leg bone in his mouth.

He smiled at his niece around the meat, then deposited it in the pile. He retreated to the far side of the shelter and curled up, licking his toes in a manner similar to Raven as he watched one of the puppies -- the black and white female -- toddle towards her.

The movement of some of the adults around the shelter woke Orca from a nap, and she stirred lazily. One eye popped open, then the other, as she watched Elwood and Raven studiously. She focused her attention on her sister, who approached with something large in her mouth -- a present? Getting to her feet, she crept unsteadily towards Raven, her gaze shifting from Raven's face to the meat and back again.

She stopped a few inches from the meat, eyeing it suspiciously. Then she reached out to touch it with the tip of her nose. She recoiled at the cold sensation, then looked at Raven again, an unspoken question in her baby blue eyes.

She shot Elwood a cursory glance and smile, then refocused her attention on the pups, specifically the one waddling toward her. Although she was still fairly certain they couldn't hear yet, Raven found herself talking to them out loud anyway ever since their eyes began to open. They could see her face and mouth now, after all. "Hi there," she cooed at her adorable little sister, whose endearing eye patches seemed to glow in the dark down here.

The killer whale lookalike pressed her nose against the chunk of meat, then looked at her questioningly. "Believe it or not, it's food," Raven explained, speaking not only as if the pup could hear but also understand. "Want a taste?" she wondered, leaning down and wrinkling her lips away from her teeth so she could gnaw a piece off the slab of frozen moose venison. Her sharp teeth managed to break off a small chunk, more of a flake really.

When it fell to the floor, she nudged it toward her little sister to see what she would make of it.

With big eyes, Orca watched Raven's every move, despite the fact that she couldn't hear what her sister was saying. Even if her ears had been functioning, she likely wouldn't have understood everything; but none of that stopped her from moving her own lips, copying the way Raven's facial muscles shifted and moved. Her mimicry ended abruptly, however, with her mouth opening in an awed "o" shape as Raven pulled off a small bit of the mystery meat and presented it to her.

Unsure of what to do with the unexpected gift, Orca reached out and pawed it gently. She waited for a reaction, but the thing didn't move. She blinked, then her instincts prompted her to take it in her mouth, the way Raven had. She gummed it sloppily, then let it fall back onto the ground with a wet plop, gazing back up at her older sister as though waiting for further instructions.

She mouthed the meat, then let it plop back onto the cave floor with a few wags of her tongue. Raven smiled at her little sister, then bent down and took the small hunk of meat into her own mouth. She chewed it into a warm, pulpy mush, then spat it at the pup's feet. She knew the puppies' milk teeth had started coming in—she could feel them while nursing—and this would be one of the little girl's very first tastes of pre-chewed meat.

"Go on," she said, tail waving encouragingly as she nosed the slop toward the would-be Orca.

Orca watched rapturously as Raven briefly made the meat disappear. She peered at her sister's mouth, watching as her jaw worked. She wriggled her nose, sniffing the air fervently; she could still smell the food, but she couldn't see it. A few seconds later, she was rewarded when Raven dropped it once more, and this time it was more appetizing to the pup.

She stretched out her neck and took a small bite, rolling the soft, gooey mess around her mouth. She made some particularly unappealing smacking sounds with her lips, then tried to swallow -- and gagged. Unceremoniously, she spat the meat back out, wrinkling her muzzle with distaste.

Raven felt as if her heart stopped at the choking sound the little Sigma made. She immediately swooped in, prepared to thwack her on the back or even pry her mouth open and try to manually clear the pup's airway. Fortunately, none of that was necessary; she spit up the meat onto the floor, complete with a wrinkled nose.

The Gamma laughed, mostly in relief. "Not a fan, huh?" At some point, the puppies wouldn't have a choice. It was still very early in the game, so Raven opted not to push it. "How about some good ole milk instead?" she offered, plopping to the floor and stretching out so put the movable feast on display.

Orca blinked up at Raven as she spoke, ignoring the small pile of re-regurgitated meat between them. When Raven positioned herself on her side, the black and white puppy knew immediately what she was supposed to do. She gave a little peep! of excitement and gratitude and skirted around the rejected food, burrowing up against Raven's stomach happily.

She began to nurse, kneading her paws against her caregiver's tummy and making little purrs of pleasure, stump of a tail wriggling nonstop behind her.

Seemed like a good place to wrap up! :D

"We'll try again later," Raven murmured, mostly to herself, as Orca flopped down beside her and began to nurse. Although she could feel their emergent teeth poking her (and it definitely didn't feel good), it would be a lie to say she wouldn't miss this in some way. When she fed the pups, it was certainly an intimate bonding experience.

She passed her tongue over the top of the baby girl's crown, smoothing down some stray furs there, then stretched out and let her cheek sink to the floor. A sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes, drifting off even as other pups scuttled and joined their sister at the milk bar.