Heron Lake Plateau Purpose.

Dating this for April 5th; tags for reference.

Camilla hadn't roused from her stupor immediately. The trauma of the birthing had shut her down, although her lungs still shifted to accomodate air and her heart still beat, her existence had shifted from something animate to in absentia; her body was here and the chldren fed from it, but the rest of her seemed to be locked away.

@Towhee kept watch, and @Phox was often present. They spoke about her with caution and had she been more present, she might've heard the exhaustive fear in her husband's voice. The babes mewled and slept. Everything went on around her without any involvement. But on the fifth day, perhaps roused by her body's need for sustenance of its own, she woke. Her eyes had been half-lidded and glassy up until this point, and when she blinked awake she noticed that they felt sore. They were red-rimmed and blank.

The kicking of @Fig by her abdomen was noticed next. She barely moved her head to observe the child, and saw him nestled next to @Fennec. The girl-child was so small and fragile that Camilla almost didn't see her, and in her shifting would've crushed her beneath her rotund belly. She felt them nipping at her and suckling, and knew that her place was here — to give herself over to them until there was nothing left.

He left only briefly to catch more food for Camilla. It seemed things had stabilized, and he was thankful for that. The new father wasn't sure any of them could handle much more trauma at this point. Towhee was often around, and when he got back, she was still nearby (of course). Phox couldn't coherently count the days since they had been born, but they were getting a little bit stronger, and he felt like they might be able to move them now. Not that he was going to make that decision himself.

The small squirrel would have to do for Camilla's breakfast. He set it down at her feet, nudging it toward her. He took a step back, then looked at the two tiny creatures clawing at her. They had certainly inherited her appetite.

Do you think we can move them to the den today? The risk of being out here was great, and he didn't want to stay out in the open like this forever.

There was a crunching noise that came drifting to her ears, louder and louder, then a squirrel was dropped by her paws. She saw it but didn't reach for it. Just beyond the disposed creature was Phox, and he looked concerned. She knew she should feel the same way, but... Camilla was empty, her emotions having fled her.

When her husband spoke she redirected her attention - what little there was - to his face, but couldn't look at him for long. It hurt her eyes; everything was aching. Perhaps it would never go away. Do you think we can move them to the den today? He asked, and for a moment Camilla didn't know what he was talking about.

Weren't they all dead?
One of the babes kicked at her, and she remembered. But she didn't move either, leaving her chin in the grass while she looked whistfully, sorrowfully, at nothing at all.

Towhee kept vigil as the parents settled into their new roles. When Phox returned from a hunt and offered food to Camilla, the new mother seemed more responsive than previously. The Beta watched the two for a moment, then redirected her attention to their surroundings. She felt so exposed out here, by proxy, and twitched at every movement.

All was rather still today, so the mercenary slid onto her haunches. As she did so, she felt a peculiar sensation between her legs, almost as if she'd wet herself. Towhee's face scrunched and she spread her legs where she sat to duck her head and inspect her crotch. A powerful smell hit her nose even as she saw the slight smear of blood oozing onto the grass beneath her.

In comically slow motion, her eyes drifted upward to the nearby family and looked at them like...

In spite of what Fig's regularly kicks may have suggested, he was actually fairly content laying there, snuggled against his sister and the belly. His kicks were just attempts at getting nearer to them both. And okay yeah, sometimes just because he was a kicker, but mostly it was done for happy reasons, not angry ones.

That being said, when the big things surrounding him - of which he was generally unaware, of course - spoke of moving he and his sister into a den, Fig chose that moment to randomly lift his head and give a little mewl of approval. It was actually just as likely that he was mewling because he misplaced the nearest nipple, but we'll let the big things interpret as they would. So long as they got him to a nipple soon.

I'm 100% skippable for the next like four weeks - I just like to baby cameo with this lil dude

you can't beat me D<
But also yes same

Fennec was too small to make much noise or even have the energy to make much noise.  She didn't move a whole lot either, but when she wanted a place, she was goin there.  Hell or high water.  

Right now, she wanted the space her brother occupied.  So her kicking, which had been concentrated on mom, turned to prodding him instead.  Incessant, annoying, and utterly adorable.  He should probably get used to it now.

She didn't exactly... respond, and Phox frowned with concern laced in his features. He wasn't sure what to do about that. Camilla had always been a bit reserved and sometimes distant, but usually she would at least give him something. She was doing him a concern, that was for sure. One of the kids made a noise, and Phox nosed Figment gently. At some point, they'd been named... probably. The girl, Fenton, was squirming around as well, but neither one of them were making any sort of sounds that seemed alarming.

Phox turned to Towhee to maybe see if somehow she could help get Camilla to respond, but instead she was giving him a rather strange look. Something wr— and then the smell hit him square upside the head. Oh. Huh.

When Phox's attention was divided, the plump woman shifted her weight. She stood up abruptly and didn't seem to notice the tiny bodies flailing beside her, or the little boy that was still desperately clining to her teats for a few moments. She took a lethargic step, swayed a bit in place like she was inebriated or something, and then another step, and another, until Figment lost their grip and plopped down in to the compressed greenery where she had previously been laying. Maybe she had heard Phox and was moving towards a den, but it was more like she was in a daze, roaming like a zombie, not thinking about the little children she needed to keep warm. She just didn't feel anything.

"Oh," he said even as she realized what must be happening. Apparently, her sexual maturity had chosen this very moment to arrive to the party. Towhee frowned, thinking it was a very unwelcome guest right now. She shifted uncomfortably, closing her legs and drawing all four together as if to hide the fact somehow. At least she didn't feel any differently. She certainly didn't plan on doing anything about it, so maybe it would be, at most, a minor inconvenience.

In any case, Camilla was suddenly stumbling around like an extra from "Dawn of the Dead." "Hey," Towhee said to nobody in particular, simply trying to draw attention away from herself and toward the new mom. "You..." She wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to say. But the Beta instinctively rose to her feet, prepared to step forth and offer literal support if that's what Camilla (and Phox) needed her to do.

Camilla rose up, and one of the babes tried so hard to stay attached. Oof.

Phox tried to make the situation a little better by coming over to Camilla's left side, and he motioned for Towhee to get on the other side. Maybe they could sort of guide her toward a safer location. And then, of course, there was the matter of the now-squalling children on the ground. Hastily, but gently, Phox picked up Fenton in his jaws. -Can you get the other one?- he tried to sign, but it was difficult with everything else that he was trying to do. If only he'd had thumbs!

Well this was some serious shit. Here Fig was, actually behaving himself, and these flippin' WOMEN decide to ruin it. And thus begins the story of his damn life.

First Fenn began her squirming - a clear declaration of war and likely the first territory dispute he would ever experience outside of the womb (inside, it was all out war 24/7). That was annoying enough, but he jostled her back and managed to find a nipple in the process, which he latched onto as though it were the victory trophy he held up high over his head. And then, his world went all... Well, not upside. But certainly very much not right as he was suddenly lifted into the air by his proverbial trophy, only to lose his grip after a few seconds and fall unceremoniously back onto the ground.

And that about did it for Fig. With a shriek, the newborn began to screech as loud as his lungs permitted in an effort to let the entire universe know that he was done with women. They were a bunch of bitches, and he would like to just return to the womb now thank you very much.

She moved like she was sleep-walking; whether an adult or a child tried to close the distance she'd stagger away from them, managing to stay on her feet even though she looked like she should've stayed on the ground. Showing little to no interest in the world around herself, Camilla continued to stride dejectedly away from the group. Her mind was blank, still reeling from the events of the birth and the death that had, for a time, been laid across the grass around her.

Her brother needed her to help support Camilla, so Towhee closed in on her other side. But then the woman began to stagger away and Phox just barely managed to sign another request to her. Could she pick up the pup? Sure thing... but that left her to peer helplessly at her catatonic sister-in-law as she wandered further away.

But Camilla could fend for herself, for the moment. Oblivious to the pup's squalling, Towhee plucked up tiny Fig. She didn't know what she was supposed to do with him, so she tried to catch Phox's eye and await further instruction.

Meanwhile, her own scent really began to flood her nostrils and Towhee felt a subtle itch beneath her skin. She suppressed it the best she could, focusing on the task at hand.

It was then that Figment Redhawk learned  that screaming your head off got people to do things for you. Sweet! Score one for knowledge gains! 

The boy fell silent at this new sensation of being lifted into the air, which was quite unlike the one he’d just had. Whatever was doing this to him was a new scent and had a different feel to him, but there was something about it all that just felt confident and safe (and not like he was going to suddenly plummet back down to the ground), so he behaved himself like a good boy and only propellored his little arms because it was helping his aunt carry him (I’m sure).

I am gonna wrap this one up (and hopefully other pre-death threads soon, too).

Phox did his best to guide Camilla back toward the group, and he would continue to do so until the trio (plus the pups) made it to the den. It was slow going, and the pups weren't happy about it, but it was for the best. Once they were all settled in, Phox promptly situated himself for a nice, long nap. He would wake in time and go off to hunt for the three of the adults while Towhee presumably stood guard and Camilla continued to be aloof.