Heron Lake Plateau let's bring out the guillotines carefully this time.

@Camilla <3 Also tagging Cinder even though I know you're PPC - just want you to know that mommy loves you and still visits regularly!!

Lagan. Lucy. Tegan. Fiadh. Lucca. Tywyll.

Finley held their names in her heart as she made her way to the borders of the Redhawks, her emotions in turmoil. She and Elwood had made their decision to go down this road once more and bring a new batch of kids into the world - kids who would not replace the ones they'd lost track of and who had the potential to be lost themselves. They had deemed the heartache worth it, and now here she was again - pregnant and excited for the future while still very, very burdened by the past.

You'd think by now she'd learned to live with her losses. But she never would. Mothers don't forget their children, even when those children forget them. And Finley could regret losing them, but she would never regret having them.

At the end of the day, there was nothing to do but hold onto the ones she did have. Which is what brought her paws to a stop at the borders of her former home, tilting her head back and calling for @Cinder to come say hello. She knew her youngest son had stayed behind to be with Tywyll, who she'd learned was now missing. She wanted to make sure he was alright and still happy here with Phox and Towhee, who she also counted as hers and wanted to look in on.

Gonna... set this pre-birth for Camilla because post-birth she's nonresponsive at best.

Her hunger had abated somewhat in the past day or so and instead of the burning need to consume, she felt as if she was taking up too much space. Like her rotund figure was a burden rather than the vessel of new life. She'd tried to work her way through it by waddling around the pack's claim (finding that activity quelled much of her nausea) and was near the eastern edge of the plateau when she heard a distinct call; a voice calling for someone specific. She wasn't that person, but she was (uncharacteristically) curious; it helped to have a destination in mind for a change. Camilla worked her way across the plateau until her path wound through some trees with rock-hewn stoil, and by then her paws were too sore anyway, so she plopped down on her rear and looked around a bit — spotting Finley not far off with her son. She paused to pant for a minute before closing her mouth and offering a polite little smile to the pair of them — idly wondering if that's what she would be expecting once her own babies came. It looked... Nice.

Fin smiled broadly when her son was the first to respond. She greeted him with a mom-snuggle and proceeded to chat with him for a bit about how he was progressing with his hopping skills - which he was delightfully happy to show off for her. They fell into regular conversation then, which only paused when Finley happened to look up and spot Mrs. Phox (she couldn't remember the girl's actual name) approaching. With a nudge of farewell, her son bounced off to hunt, leaving Fin to turn her attention to the apparently very pregnant woman.

"Hey! Who knocked you up?" she asked good-naturedly as she trotted over to the woman who would soon be dead (not that she knew this fact). She was hopeful to hear that it was Phox, mostly because she was hopeful to see how smug Towhee would be over correctly predicting these events.