Sun Mote Copse But if I can make it to the street
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#1
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Since returning to the Copse with Phox, Niamh had decided against continuing her usual border patrols as she considered herself unfit to do so without the potential of luring in males whose intentions weren't desirable. She informed her son who was very much uncomfortable with the topic and quick to speed off as soon as he could, given that he simply wanted NOTHING to do with his mother, especially not while she was in a fertile state. She chuckled as he sped off, tail tucked, and she knew he would likely stay as far away as possible from her densite as he could, so she decided to make it easier for him to avoid her- and didn't stray far from the area. She wanted some privacy, and even though her hormones screamed at her to go out and find some action, she did her best to avoid temptation. 

She visited a nearby cache and found a frozen rabbit which she carried back to her densite, and grumbling lightly to herself she backed herself into her den so that her hindquarters were shaded and protected by the den's narrow entrance, but she could still warm herself in the little bit of sunshine that filtered down through the trees as she distracted herself with a snack.
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Nellie hadn't been doing much, honestly. She hung out with wolves like Fig and Bronco, made conversation with the adults and spent her time quietly filling up caches with critters. Life was peaceful - that meant it was also boring. Her few moments of feeling fulfilled and happy were with Phox; the guy who didn't break her promise and got so much shit for it, but she didn't know the latter. She knew she could confide in him and trust him with whatever; except the teeny, tiny thing about her feelings for him. She had erased the words "I like you" from her vocabulary whenever he was around, but was doubting her choices more and more.

She made her way through the copse after having finished another successful hunt - she hadn't had one in a while. She wanted to go hunt outside their borders, maybe make a little trip to the coast as she'd never formerly been there, but she knew just up and doing it was a death sentence. She thought about asking Niamh, but hadn't known how to approach her after her return. Should she just go for it then?

Mom? She asked, about a feet away from the den. What was that smell?
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When she looked up, part of her did a double-take seeing something of a glint of a reflection striding towards her from a distance through the trees, and she smiled. Even at just a glance, Nellie could fool even her mother's brain into spazzing out for just long enough for her to realize this wasn't a reflection, this was her daughter. She hoped, though, that this would simply go away, now that Nellie had come home to the pack to stay. She didn't get up, but invted her daughter nearer to her with a welcoming thrum of a growl, and she did her best to pull a good chunk of the rabbit's slowly thawing quarters off, and toss it over to her daughter, inviting her to snack and keep her company. 

"Hey missy," She said, and nodded toward the rabbit. "G'wan. S'not great, but we'll be back to eating venison soon; the herds have returned," She said. "Frosthawks take you out for any big hunts while you were there?" She asked, but her tone was dry of malice, and she pricked her ears. She'd have to get caught up on her daughter's life somehow, and was curious to know exactly what it was they'd been up to while she'd been in their midst.
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Hey ma. Was her somewhat monotone response, still feeling upset and guilty and all that bad stuff despite her mom acting (more) normal now. She didn't know if she was mad because Niamh had been mad, or if she was mad at herself for leaving in the first place even if she did think it had been a great move for her or because of some other weird reason. Maybe the stars weren't aligned or something, she didn't know. There was a foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach where not even rabbit's remains could reach. She scooted a little closer at the invitation, but kept from cuddling or anything that came close to intimacy.

She started nibbling at the rabbit and sniffed it a bit. The strange scent wasn't coming from their meal, so it had to be Niamh. Nellie nodded. Yeah, sometimes. Was her answer, short and to the point. I like huntin' - but there's so little to hunt inside the territory. Perhaps it was a jab at her over protectiveness, perhaps it was just a statement Nellie believed to be true; all she knew was that she wanted Niamh to feel something when she'd said it. She sniffed again. What's that smell? She asked at last.
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Nellie seemed a bit intimidated by Niamh's presence, but she could only assume that her daughter figured she still ought to walk on eggshells, as they hadn't had a chance for her to explain exactly how she felt about Nellie's decision and why, but she was willing to give the girl some peace and simply include her so that she knew that in the very least, Niamh didn't hate her daughter. As she'd told Phox and Towhee- Nellie had still been a kid when she'd made that decision, and kids made foolish, selfish mistakes. Maybe going to the Frosthawks had been good for her, in the end- but how she'd gone about going to them had been the issue. 

 "That's true," She agreed, ignoring Nellie's jab. "Most prey animals get scared off by our border markings. Those that don't, we call them lunch," She said, with a small chuckle. In her own way, it was a means of giving Nellie more freedom, more permission to roam. She knew that Bronco did- but he came back, and if he was going too far, he let her know, beforehand. She opened her mouth to continue and perhaps be more specific, but Nellie had another question for her, and that reminded Niamh- she'd talked to Bronco...But she hadn't had a chance to talk to Nellie. She closed her mouth and cleared her throat. "Well, I'm in heat, which means that my body is ready for me to..." Make? Have? Develop? God, what had she told Bronco? "Get pregnant again, and grow more babies." Not the best way of putting it, but how else was she supposed to say it. "We never had the chance to talk about this kinds of things....Did Raven never tell you anything about this while you were with the Frosthawks?" She asked. While it was generally left to the mother to do so- she also didn't like the idea if knowing that Raven had possibly bypassed telling Nellie about reproductive behavior, even though the time had come months ago for her to be given that information.
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Right - but Nellie didn't want to be a lunch lady. She wanted to be a great hunter - like Phox - and she had had her fun with rabbits and squirrels, but the reward was so small for the effort she put in and she was ready for something new. She wanted to see what else was out there - explore just a little more of the vast wilds around them, if only to boast that she'd done it and brought back a meal for the pack. A 'Jack-of-all-trades' - as Wraen had described her - wasn't meant to be kept in the territory like some kind of pup. Soooo... She started. Does that mean I can join the next huntin' party? She asked with a tiny, hopeful smile.

And then everything got a little panick-y again. She hadn't thought about asking her mom about baby stuff yet, not since Bronco had revealed some world-shattering truths to her. She was a little more interested in having this conversation now, and had had her freak-out about it already so that wasn't an issue this time. She shook her head, embarrassed about how little she knew. Bronco said he wasn't tellin' me shit 'bout it, and I can't figure it out on my own. She was hoping she could've asked Phox, not realizing what an awkward situation that would've become. I don't get it - how do they get in y'ar belly? It doesn't make a lick'o sense.
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Niamh snorted at Nellie's request, and emphatically pulled a chunk of meat off her frozen rabbit, chewing it no more than three times before she swallowed it. She licked her lips and intentionally kept her daughter on edge with a skeptical glance for a moment, one ear turned back, before she spoke. "You'd better be in on the next hunt," She said, as though the thought of Nellie sitting out was ridiculous. And at this point in her life, she was past due for a larger hunting experience. "You don't want your brother to get better at hunting than you, do you?" She asked. 

And once the other topic was introduced, Bronco's name came up again, and Niamh laughed at the thought of Bronco trying to- and refusing to- explain things to Nellie. Apparently she knew enough to know that females carried the puppies, but the rest of it- how they got there- was something that obviously, Bronco wouldn't have had the gall to explain to her. "Well, it starts when a female gets to be two years old, and then they're mature enough to go into heat, conceive, and give birth to puppies." She continued on, and as briefly as she could, which was probably both less than what Nellie needed for a description but more than what she wanted to hear, she described the mating act.

"And then over the next two months," She continued, "The puppies develop inside her. Usually Not more than four puppies, and then when they're ready, the female's muscles tell her it's time to give birth, and the puppies come out, one by one, over a couple hours depending on how many there are," She said, adding in a little detail about anatomy without intentionally trying to scare her daughter. "You probably don't remember much, from being inside me, or from the first few weeks when you were born. But you were born blind and deaf, and completely helpless...All puppies are. And then, I blinked, and you grew up." She said, with a soft smile. "Nell?" She asked, hoping to prompt a reaction.
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This was torture, and Nellie was about to give up on her dreams on ever leaving the copse till the real answer came. Her face lit up a bit and her appetite returned, scoffing at the notion of Bronco getting better at hunting than her. Pff - he may be better at fightin', but he'll never beat me on tha huntin' grounds. He was too broad and bulky for all the tiny things that went into hunting, especially small game. Nellie was, in her perception, quicker and maybe even more agile. Sure, Bronco could sit on her and she wouldn't be able to go anywhere, but prey wasn't gonna allow him to do that.

Two years - heat - conceive. Nellie luckily didn't check any of those boxes and she let out a small sigh of relief. Then panick returned to her, thinking about Niamh checking at least 2 of them. She was older than two and now she was in heat - did that mean she still had to 'conceive'? How did that happen? Would she be getting more annoying siblings, it was hard enough having only Bronco as her rival and partner in discomfort. Nellie assumed that becoming a mother also required a father, and that meant it was a no for the more siblings part because their father was dead and surely Niamh wasn't over Colt yet.

Holy shit I was inside you... She said softly after her story, shaking her head to get rid of the third-or-so mindblow this week. But wait - ya go into heat, and then the pups just... happen? What did dad do to become our, well, dad then?
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"Good girl," Niamh purred, proud of her young double, who knew to cater to her own strengths. Bronco had proved himself to be a decent hunter, but Niamh knew that the two of them would have very different roles when it came to a pack hunt, due to the difference in their strengths. Nellie seemed to feel that shewould be a natural, and identified Bronco's physical strength as his advantage- but she seemed dead set on 'beating' him in the field. And so what, if a pack hunt was a team effort- she still liked to add a bit of rivalry into it. It was more fun that way. And she felt that both of them knew that in the end, Nellie would always be the boss of Bronco. 

She laughed softly at Nellie's small comment, and she nodded. "You were smaller then. About the size of my paw," She said. And that had been large enough, of course- but she wasn't about to terrify her daughter with the details about how much it hurt to squeeze out something even just that size. That information she could hang onto until Nellie herself was pregnant, and she'd have at least another year before she'd have to reassure her daughter about all those details. "No, they don't just happen," She said, and after clearing her voice, she reiterated the rest of the process, with reference to Colt though she tried her best not to use his name too much, because then, inevitably, Nellie would picture the process happening with her parents, and that would probably send her off and running, same as it had Bronco. "...And it's...It's something to be shared between wolves who care about each other, especially if it's with the intention of making more babies," She finished.
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Someone stroking her broken ego just a little bit felt really good actually, and made her even more determined to try to become a hero but end up a total failure become irreplaceable. She wanted to mean something, she just hadn't figured out what yet. An advisor, hunter, sovereign... It all seemed just a little far fetched and she had a lot left to figure out. Maybe she wasn't the young adult she thought she was after all, and maybe Niamh had been right in treating her like a kid (but she was never going to admit that to her face, are you mad?)

Silently, she compared their paws - there wasn't much difference now... How'd she grow so fast? She could only barely remember stumbling about on stubby legs. No wonder mothers were so attached to their babies - when they come into the world the size of a paw, of course you'd think they're going to need your protection forever. She listened to the process, replayed it in her head and got a weird visual with all the descriptions.

That sounds like... really gross. She laughed, but her tail was thumping softly on the ground. I care about a lot of y'all, but doing that? Nah thanks... Well, maybe just one of y'all. Ohno, word vomit.
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Nellie, thankfully, seemed to take things better than Bronco, and Niamh was relieved that she could at least talk about it. It was the sort of physical-emotional stuff that females seemed more inclined to discuss anyway- the same way Towhee had felt comfortable telling Niamh about her banging-spree earlier on in the year. Girls could talk about those things. And while she knew it was important to make sure boys did too- Bronco hadn't wanted the conversation, hadn't wanted to stay for it, and certainly hadn't wanted to hear everything Niamh had had to say and had peeled off immediately afterward. He spent a lot of time with Sugar, so at least he was hanging around with girls and learning how to respect them on his own. 

"It...Just don't think about the body parts too much," She said. "It's not about that. You'll get it when you're older," She said, though apparently, it seemed as though someone had piqued Nellie's interest already. "When you're much older," Niamh reiterated, as half of a warning to Nellie, not to grow up too fast. "But if there's a possible someone in your life..." She contemplated telling her daughter that it'd be best to just tell her, or she'd find out on her own. But she'd rather have her daughter feel open, not threatened, into talking to her. "Is he nice to you?"
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Hell yeah someone had - Phox had her practically swooning already, even before she knew of this whole sexy stuff thing. She couldn't really imagine her doing it, with anyone for that matter, but maybe if he did it - it would just be a little less gross? She smiled then - much older - yeah, right. Maybe the desire to do something that weird really did come with age. She certainly never had had the natural instinct to hump,she doubted she would have it now that she knew what it was for and what it could do. Nellie agreed, she was too young for the sex thing, but the caring-about thing wasn't completely out of the picture.

She nodded. Yeah, he's real cool - he's, nah - you're gonna laugh at me. She made a little XD face. She knew about Phox and hers age gap, but it wasn't like she was falling for a grandpa or something. He was just a handsome man, what more could she say?
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Niamh raised her eyebrows at Nellie's confession, but was actually very pleased that Nellie was even teasing her with information. From what she could conclude, whoever it was, theyh had to be someone that she knew. Unfortunately, of course, she probably should have tacked on a bit more information regarding relatives are off-limits which probably would have excluded just about everyone from the pack- but then again, Nellie had spent time with the Frosthawks- leading Niamh to believe, with some assurance, that it had to be one of Raven and Quixote's kids. 

"I might," She said, but in a sing-song voice so that Nellie knew she wasn't serious. "Does he....Have green eyes?" She asked, trying her best to remember Owen, one of Raven and Quixote's kids. But Owen was a bit older, and not likely interested in someone of Nellie's age. "Oh- or reddish eyes?" She asked, recalling one of last year's Quiven kids, Orr.
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Phox had been spending some quality time with Towhee, just being there for her in somber silence as they grieved for the inability of her womb. It was Phox's loss too, in a way. When she'd been hopeful for children, he had been hopeful for nieces and nephews (ok, let's be real, daughters and sons). With Raven's diagnosis, however, that wasn't to be. Of course, Phox had other plans now, which boiled down to putting as many babies in Niamh as he possibly could.

Even that plan was thwarted when he arrived at Niamh's den to find Nellie chatting with his new lady beau. Oh, hey Nellie. Phox was oblivious to whatever they'd been talking about, and maybe even more oblivious to the fact that it might be awkward to waltz up to Niamh with her daughter right there. He had at least enough sense not to swoop in and pull Niamh away, although Phox was certainly having a hard time keeping his eyes off her as he raised his eyebrows in a "wanna go again?" look.
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Nellie chuckled. She luckily knew relatives weren't meant to be boyfriends (or girlfriends), so her going after her brother or cousins were a big no-no - as funny as that would've been from our godly perspective. Maybe somewhere on their family tree Phox was related, somehow, but if so it was so distant that it should probably be okay. Even if it wasn't, who could stop feelings that were already there? Just because Phox was maybe family (or maybe her new step-daddy) didn't mean all her stupid feelings for him were just gonna pack their stuff and go.

Hmm... More like, orange-y? But better. She answered, not great at describing him all poetically. Stories? Sure, but Phox was real and she felt awkward describing him as handsome as he really was.

SPEAK OF THE FECKING DEVIL THERE HE WAS. Nellie swallowed awkwardly. H-Hey. She said, nearly puking. WHY NOW AND WHY HERE.
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Orange? Well, she hadn't exactly met Orr, and had only really heard of his existance through others, so she nodded, fairly convinced now that she'd picked out the right boy- or, at least, the right family. And, at least, none of the young males from Finley's litter or Eljay's litter had had orange-ish eyes, though part of her was slightly disappointed that she hadn't taken a fancy in Figment. She'd be happy to marry her kids off to Towhee and Phox's kids...As it was still allowed, even if she and Phox...

...Who happened to show up just then, eliciting a smile from Niamh, who thumped her tail on the ground behind her as she lifted her muzzle to greet him. As much as she wanted him to simply pull her out of the den's mouth right then and there, she was glad he had the tact to not oggle her too much, considering the conversation she'd just had with Nellie. She realized then that if she didn't play this well, that Nellie would find out probably a bit too soon exactly what was going on between her and Phox. 

So both mother and daughter then had to hide their true feelings...For the same man. 

Nellie's nervousness went somewhat unnoticed at first by Niamh, who was now somewhat nervous herself. She'd just told Nellie about...And now she wanted to do those same things with Phox after Nellie left- but she didn't want her daughter picturing it. It wasn't the right way for her to find out- especially since she could then do the math, and figure out that it might mean more siblings. "Hey Phox," She said, hoping to keep things as casual as possible. She wished, in that moment, that she could communicate with him mentally, so she could tell him that she'd just finished giving Nellie the talk and that now wasn't the time. And even though her body screamed for her to simply drive her daughter away so she could fulfill her needs, she instead tried her best to turn that coldness into being casual. "Fff. Come to visit and you don't even bring us dinner?" She asked with a chuckle, giving Nellie a wink. This was so stressful. She was doing well to keep herself together thus far but...
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Whatever nervous tendencies Nellie was putting off were outweighed by Phox's attention on her mother. He smiled dumbly at her when she greeted him and even when she mock-chastised him for not bringing home the bacon. Flicking whatever switch in his head to "casual" mode, Phox slid into the conversation easily. Psh, I thought this young lady here would already have brought you some. She's not a half-bad hunter, you know? Whether she'd learned it from the Frosthawks or picked it up on her own, she'd certainly shown him up by chasing down and killing that rabbit the other day.

He didn't make any effort to explain why he'd come around, but since they were all of the same pack, Phox decided it probably wasn't even necessary. No sense in making up excuses when he didn't need any. Besides, he and Niamh had been friends for a long time; even longer than Nellie had been alive (yipes!), which meant hanging out with one another wasn't entirely odd or strange. Yes, these were all things he assured himself of, and the more he convinced himself of it, the more confident he was that everything would go smoothly.

His writer, on the other hand, is a lot less sure of that.
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She observed them ever so quietly. Nellie knew they were friends, but her friends certainly didn't come visit her - especially not if she'd been in... heat. Whether that was the reason Phox was here or not, Nellie thought it to be and she started grabbing at puzzle pieces that weren't even there yet. The picture would be complete if they were just friends and nothing more, but why did she get this awkward feeling that that wasn't the case? No way, Niamh wasn't gonna replace Colt with Phox, she thought - especially not if she knew Nellie liked-liked him. Her mouth got dry, was it that rabbit?

She chuckled nervously, the compliment not hitting her like it had done before with just the two of them. I-I can go get some right now, ma, if you're still hungry. She said a little hastily. She needed air and out of this den, but she couldn't get her legs to lift her up. It was like she was waiting on her heart to break, all it would take was the confirmation that what she thought was happening was indeed happening.
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It warmed Niamh's heart to see how casual and appraising Phox was being of Nellie- and it made her just want to squish the two together and see how happy they could all be as a family. Bronco was missing, as were Fennec and Figment, but this, this gave her some hope. When she turned her attention to Nellie, who she'd expected to glow under the praise, she found her daughter somewhat bewildered, and she could only assume that maybe she was just a teenage girl made awkward by compliments. Completely natural. "Nah- and no thanks, Nellie...We just had a snack just before you got here," She explained to Phox, even though she did pause to think that maybe, if she sent her daughter off for a snack, then she and Phox could have some time alone together....

...But it was more important, she told herself, to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit, and an important part of that was having Nellie and Bronco (and by extension, Figment and Fennec) accept Phox (and also, of course, Towhee) into their family. The kids would already have known how much Niamh cared for Phox and Towhee...But this could change things. This was adding a lot, for both families, and not replacing, though she herself even felt and had questioned how right it was to do that. It had been Phox who had made her realize that it was possible and natural. 

"I was just telling Nellie that we all need to go for a pack hunt soon, and track down a deer or something," She said. "Then we can get all the kids in on the action," She said, silently hoping to infer that Fennec and Figment should be a part of it as well, so they could finally get both families all in one big activity together.
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Niamh declined the offer, and Phox continued to give her a dopey smile, unaware that Nellie was giving both of them a look of ~recognition~. As much as Phox always touted to be a "woke" adult who treated kids like they were adults, he'd somehow thought he and Niamh could keep things under wraps (or at least let everybody know on their own terms). Instead, he completely failed to pick up on the fact that Nellie was more observant than she was letting on. Can't win 'em all!

When Niamh suggested a hunt, Phox's tail began to beat steadily behind him, making thump-thump sounds on the ground. He hadn't been on a proper large game hunt in quite some time, and it would do them good to all get together. I spotted some deer droppings up north, he explained, I'm guessing that means the herds are back. If he'd known that Niamh meant to include Fennec, he probably would have given her a bewildered look. No offense, sweet daughter, but she wasn't going to be much help without sight.
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#21
God, how warm was it here? If she had the ability to sweat, she'd be dripping right now. She'd felt fine just moments ago, couldn't they just go back to that - to before Phox showed up and had to make things all weird? Or... was she the one being weird? Was there actually nothing going on between them? She wanted to shoot for the stars with her future lover, and while she thought that guy was Phox, maybe she was just getting everything confused. Yes, yes, confusion was definitely what made this whole thing so darn awkward, not the looming possibility that her crush was banging her mom - cause that couldn't be what was happening.

Well - maybe - hey, Phox, you hungry? She faked a grin, pretty obviously. B-Better sharpen my senses if we're all goin' on that hunt, someday, huhuhu. Finally, her legs listened to her - squeezing out of the den was another challenge. In her rush, she tripped here and there and generally seemed a disjointed mess of a wolf right now. Get it out y'er head Nel - Maybe if she took another trip down that hill, face-down, she could forget all of this had happened it the first place.
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It took a little while for Niamh to realize that Nellie wasn't just being regular teenage girl awkward around Phox, and perhaps the fog of her own hormones clouded her vision a bit as well, since all she could think about was that the moment Nellie left them, she and Phox could...You know...But for all the smootheness Phox thankfully used when speaking to her daughter, the way she responded wasn't exactly your typical teenage girl awkwardness. This was nervousness. For a moment, Niamh didn't quite get it- so she glanced at Phox who, it she remembered just then, had orange-ish eyes.

She was surprised by the thought and immediately brushed it off- but when Nellie practically tripped over herself getting out of the den, she considered the possibility again. Of course, she was well aware that at her age, Nellie would be having one hell of a time on the legs she'd inherited, and while some females were graceful from the get go...Nellie wasn't exactly one of those girls. She tripped, she fell, she got stuck- you name it. So her clumsiness was somewhat normal, but her sudden nervousness wasn't. 

And Niamh couldn't exactly figure out if Nellie meant for them- or, rather, just her and Phox- to go looking for deer right that moment, and that was why she was so eager to get out of the den, but Niamh stood and withdrew from the den's mouth, and stretched. She cast a quick glance to Phox, half inviting him to oggle her as she arched her back, but her side-eye would have been hardly noticeable. "You can go on if you want, Nellie," Niamh said, politely declining even though she wasn't invited, "But I think I'm due for a nap soon," She said...But then realized that it might seem kind of strange for her to then invite Phox to join her. Dangit. She couldn't, not while Nellie was there- and not when she'd literally just finished explaining sex to her. "Gonna get rid of that frozen rabbit taste though, first. Anyone else thirsty?" She asked. She couldn't exclude her daughter...But at least it was an opportunity for them to split up without her outright asking for it. It took her a second to realize that using the word 'thirsty' probably still applied to Phox, and that thought tickled her so much that she snorted, which she turn turned into a cough, trying to hide her mirth and pass it off as a dry throat, as she flicked her tongue over her teeth and lips, as though to indicate that yes, she really needed a drink.
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#23
Well, this was an awkward place to be in. Nellie was asking him to go hunt, and Niamh was asking him to go have a drink. Phox licked his lips, suddenly feeling like his throat was dry, and that made his decision for him. A drink sounds great, he said, relieved to have that as an option. Then I might go check in on Fig and Fenn. It was something he needed to do anyway, and it was an easy reason to stick around for Niamh while Nellie went off. Besides, it wasn't like he was lying exactly. He would go check in on the kids.

He hadn't caught on to Niamh's dirty joke, though later he would probably catch the double meaning of it and laugh about it with Towhee. For now, though, he continued to give Niamh a dopey, grinning look, ready to follow her (and perhaps Nellie, too) toward the nearest source of water.
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Ooc — Meebee
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#24
Though her question had been more of an excuse for her to get the hell out of here and not an invitation for anyone, she did almost kinda hope that Phox would be up for a little hunt together soon. She kept that wide grin on her face, her cheek muscles beginning to get a little painful but her facade had to be perfect. She wasn't a great liar, nor one to cope with a stressful situation in the best way possible, so yeah this was all pretty in character for her. She wanted to run away from the two, but didn't - Damn it, why didn't she run?

Because you don't want those two to be alone together. The realization hit her like a hamster with two flashlights - also known as a truck - and dying right on the spot seemed more and more alluring. She couldn't let them go have a drink together with Niamh in the weird state she was in - she was not gonna let Phox be the baby daddy of her siblings and she wasn't gonna let Niamh be a slut so soon after her real father's death.

Yeah - now that you brought it up, my mouth is kinda dry, eheh. No one was getting pregnant on Nellie's jungle gym.
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Ooc — Jess
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#25
Niamh glanced to Phox when he offered to go with her and...Naturally, an overprotective Nellie did as well. Now, did the girl see, what it felt like to not want someone they loved to do something that instinct told them to do? But she couldn't bring that up now. She didn't want to drive her daughter away (though, yes, she did) but she wasn't impressed with the way Nellie almost fiercly decided to come to the stream for the drink as well. 

It wouldn't work out for her, in the end, Niamh knew- as Phox had already made it clear that he wasn't going to be staying with Niamh, but Niamh simply knew that that meant they would just have to catch up later. She kept an eye on her daughter just to see exactly how much she was eyeing up Phox, because if her suspicion from earlier was correct...Things could be much more difficult than she'd expected. And why should they be easy? Nothing was ever easy. 

So she walked toward the stream that was only moments away anyway. "I think Bronco's been spending some time with Fennec," She said to Phox, and she chuckled.