Sun Mote Copse Better hit the deck like the card dealer

@Fennec, @Figment, @Nellie or any combination thereof? :x Assuming they're welcome to visit.

Day one continued uneventfully, at least until Alyx learned her first important life lesson: fuck bees.

With the early advent of spring in Sun Mote Copes came certain busy insects, and it just so happened that a honeybee packed with pollen mistakenly wandered into Niamh's den. It buzzed past the dozing mother's nose and moseyed through the air to where the three neonates slept, packed together like round little sardines. Thoroughly confused, the bee landed first on sleeping Primrose, then crawled its way across his creamsicle-coloured flank and onto Alyx's.

Unfortunately, Alyx was awake and didn't take kindly to the uninvited tickler. She squirmed and rolled, carrying the bee with her and squashing it between her side and Quetzal's. The bee, suffocating and panicking now, aimed its tiny yellow rump downward and, knowing it was going to die regardless, released its itty bitty harpoon.

Alyx froze when she was stung, then screamed loudly and began throwing a colossal tantrum. An angry welt started to form where the stinger was still embedded in her flank.

There was something interesting going on in the nearby den. It smelled like Neema and other curious things, though no one would let her near it, least of all Towhee. This disappointed Meerkat on some level, though she was too happy-go-lucky to let it bother her for long. Happy just to be out on this little field trip, she occupied herself by zooming around the open space, chasing bugs, rolling in the grass and nibbling on any- and everything.

She had begun digging a hole in a patch of dry, dusty dirt for no good reason whatsoever when she felt something bump lightly against her upright, waving tail. Meerkat popped up and looked around, noticing the bee that bumbled away toward the den. She considered going after it, though she glanced at Towhee and decided against it. She resumed her tilling instead.

No more than a minute or two passed before a wretched noise issued from the nearby den. A very dusty Meerkat prairie-dogged again, blinking at the dim little foyer, then over at Towhee again. Her mother seemed utterly unperturbed and coolly returned her gaze. When Meerkat continued to stare at her quizzically, the Regent shrugged and signed, -What?-

The pup gazed toward the den again, then at Towhee, back and forth several times. Didn't she hear that awful sound? Abandoning the hole, Meerkat trotted over to her mother, slinking into her shadow and popping her head between her forelegs to squint at the inexplicably noisy sett, right ear twitching. But if her mama wasn't worried, then she wasn't either.

This can be a cameo! :D

Niamh must've been really conked out, because she didn't so much as stir yet in response to Alyx's screeching. It was only a matter of time before she had to wake up, and in the meantime, Alyx was left without the comfort she craved. She shrieked and rolled side-to-side and kicked her tiny legs out, striking both of her siblings in equal measure. The bee, still alive for now but fading fast, detached from its own stinger, fell to the ground, and was promptly crushed beneath the flailing newborn's rocking body.

The teeny tiny black barb of the stinger, which was embedded in Alyx's skin, was gradually swallowed up by the swelling around it.

If no one else joins or if you'd prefer to remain just a cameo, I'll PP Niamh waking up and close this thread with my next post!

While for months, Niamh had basically been a baby incubator, her task had now become milk-producer, which still took a fair amount of energy. While she relied on her other family members to feed her, she fed the children herself, at least until Towhee and Meerkat moved in. And so, exhausted but still hard at work producing nutrition for her babies, Niamh didn't really notice the first bout of Alyx's cries simply because puppies cried practically all the time. But there was something different about her tone- this wasn't an angry cry, a hungry cry, or a cry used just to exercise her lungs. This was shrill- this was pain.

Niamh startled awake as soon as her brain recognized that her daughter's voice was fraught with anguish. "Hey, hey, hey, Quetzal, easy, it's OK," She said, but herown voice became tense and began to leech fear as her daughter continued to wail, twinge and writhe. She licked her daughter to soothe her, and it was then that she noticed the swelling mass on Alyx's side. Given the fact that the stinger had now been hidden by the swelling, and the evidence (the dying/near death bee) was hidden underneath Alyx's belly, Niamh had absolutely no idea why Alyx was suddenly swelling up. "No, no no," She said, her voice hoarse and loud. "Phox? Phox!" She called out, hoping that he was in the vicinity, or that anyone was. "Hello? Anyone? Please!" She called out. She thought she could smell Towhee, and maybe Meerkat nearby. "Towhee? Someone!" She called out again. Her heart thudded frantically in her chest as she licked Alyx's swelling flank, fretting over her child and the unknown cause of this sudden injury.

She rested her cheek on Towhee's ankle bone, happy to just splat for a moment, when some more sounds issued from the den. Meerkat perked up immediately, her one functioning ear quivering as she heard her Neema's familiar voice. The tone was strange, pitched higher and louder than usual. The puppy squinted again, squeezing her body all the way through her mother's forelegs and plopping on her haunches to gaze up at her.

-"MAMA!"- she chirped while simultaneously making the sign. As with everything the half-deaf pup said, it came out overly loudly, not that Towhee could tell. -"MAMA!"- she repeated, then dropped the signing as she added, "WUH DAH?" She pointed her little snout toward the den again, body language hopefully filling in any remaining gaps in communication.

Of course, Towhee could scarcely read the child's clumsy lips, though she'd finally picked up on the way Meerkat kept looking over at the den, one ear twitching. The Regent swept onto all fours, nudging the child's cheek, then loped over to the doorway. She hesitated, hovering about a foot outside as she called, -"Hey, is everything okay in there?"-

Meerkat trailed after her mother, sidling up alongside her and winding through her forelegs again, much like a kitten. When she peeked into the den too, she made out Neema's familiar golden figure, accompanied by three squirming bundles: two dark, one pale. The pup gasped and repeated, "WUH DAH?!" One of the darker blobs was much twitchier than the other and it seemed to be the source of the strange noises.

Phox had been dozing just outside the den, trying to soak up a few rays of sunshine and relax. He knew from raising Figment and Fennec (and now Meerkat as well), that dozing was about all he was allowed to get before he would be called to do something else. When Niamh's voice came bellowing from the interior, Phox blinked his eyes awake, pivoted as quickly as he could, and ducked into the den, only to find that Towhee and Meerkat were already there.

What's wrong? he asked, stopping to check Meerkat first for any signs of distress or injury. Boy, it was getting crowded in here.

One of the twins (he sure didn't know which was which just yet) was writhing and screaming bloody murder, so Phox swept in and observed her more closely. What happened? he asked Niamh.

Alyx kept right on screaming until finally, someone noticed. She felt Niamh startle awake, though to her, it felt a bit more like an earthquake, and that gave her pause for just a second before her burning flank robbed her attention again and she blubbered helplessly. Even Niamh's soothing tongue wasn't able to calm her the way it normally did. Ordinarily, she'd have melted into a puppy puddle by now, but little Alyx was inconsolable.

She didn't know that she had an audience outside or that Niamh was worried—she felt vibrations through her body as Niamh mumbled and then hollered for Phox, and she felt the thump-thump-thump of his approaching paws right in her bones. All of this stimulation served to quiet her crying so that soon she was merely whimpering and sniffling, although it still really hurt.

A keen pair of eyes might be able to pick out a smear of bug guts on her swelling flank or a clump of bright yellow honeybee fuzz intermingled with her black hairs.

Niamh's heart thudded against her chest as she investigated her daughter's form, only to find that there was a very noticeable, painful swollen spot along her flank, and when she looked up, she saw Towhee's form at the entrance of the den, accompanied by the curious little Meerkat, but within an instant, Phox swept in. She was still out of her mind with worry, and nudged Alyx to show Phox her flank, which was swollen. The child had quieted somewhat, but this only made Niamh worry that she was weakening. 

"I don't know," She said, and realized she ought to sign as well. -I don't know. I was sleeping, and all a sudden, I woke up and she was screaming, and she has this....Lump on her side, near her hip- there's no way, is there no way- it's not broken, is it?- She asked with a haunted voice, horrified at the thought that she might have potentially moved in her sleep and put pressure on Alyx's hip. -I don't know what to do- I'm so sorry, baby- She pleaded, tearfully begging her child's forgiveness for whatever it was that was causing her so much pain.

A little gasp of surprise escaped Meerkat when her father swooped past, ducking inside the den. She wanted to follow him and get a closer look at those small, squishy blobs nestled in beside Neema. But she felt Towhee gently tug on her scruff. The Regent didn't lift her, though it certainly snared the youngster's attention. Her lower lip popped out in a slight pout when her mother motioned for her to move away from the den, though she complied.

The two of them retreated a few yards, though both continued staring at the den's mouth. Meerkat began to fidget after a few moments as the sounds inside continued. They were so intriguing! But the occasional stolen glance up at Towhee told her she needed to sit still. At the very least, she mustn't get in the way by invading the den, so the pup eventually decided to entertain herself by slithering to her dam's backside and gnawing on her tail.

Y'all can skip me for the rest of the thread.

Phox was no medic, but he had seen a bee sting before. And he was pretty sure Alyx would be in a lot more pain if her leg was broken. He stepped in even closer, eyeballing his daughter's hip and sniffing at it. He caught a glimpse of the insect carcass on the ground, and he pulled back. He couldn't remember if they were sharp even when they were dead. Pretty sure I found the culprit, he muttered, pawing gingerly at the dead bee so he could sweep it out of the den.

She'll be fine, but she'll probably be a little sore for the day. Phox returned his attention to the little injured nugget, pressing a tongue to her head to hopefully soothe her a bit more.

Even an injured child would eventually exhaust themselves just by crying. This was true of little Alyx as well. Although there was no way she could hear her mother's pleading voice, much less respond to it, the chubby cub began to coincidentally hush down the moment Niamh started apologizing. Her voice rose in a brief crescendo when Phox began sniffing around her sore flank, only to fade into trilling whines as she began growing tired of her own tantrum.

Thankfully, her parents figured out the cause of all the kerfuffle quickly, because it wasn't long before Alyx slipped into a fitful doze. Without a doubt, she would wake multiple times only to remember that her side was hurting and start crying, but before long the swelling would go down and the stinger would work its own way out.

With shame and concern, she watched as Phox touched the area that had somehow been injured, but had looked past Alyx's gold-dappled side to the ground, where he found the remnants of a crushed bee, and Niamh gasped in relief. "Oh thank grapes," She whispered, still shaking slightly as she fussed over Alyx. Phox carefully used his foot to sweep the bee away from both of them, leaving Niamh to feel wildly stupid and inexperienced. She was disappointed in herself. She'd had kids before- but that didn't mean that the scares were any less scary. 

Alyx settled in near her side, and seemed to grow quieter, and rest. Niamh shook her head. "I hate the fear of not knowing," She admitted softly.

Something about Niamh's tone made Phox feel bad for her. I feel ya. I only knew about this one because... well, I don't remember when exactly I learned about bee stings. Maybe Elwood had taught him when he was younger, or Finley or Elwood had mentioned it at one point. With such a big family, it was easy to forget who had taught him what. I'm sure things will pop up that you know and I don't, Phox assured her. Parenting was all about teamwork (Towhee had taught him teamwork), so nobody was expected to know everything.

And hey, now you know one more thing, he suggested softly, licking Niamh's muzzle before he turned back to watch Quetzal Alyx doze off. Satisfied that their little cub would survive this round, he turned back to Niamh. What was something you learned last year? he asked. Maybe we can expand our brains a bit.

Wasn't sure if you were waiting on me! Skip Alyx from here on out!

Her parents talked softly over her back. Once or twice, Alyx stirred, roused briefly by the vibrations of their voices, but she was quick to slip back into slumber. The bee's venom was non-fatal, but still had an effect on her burgeoning immune system that exhausted her. It wasn't long before she was sleeping deeply, paws twitching now and again with the promise that she was dreaming.

WOAH lookit all the post icons! Sorry b'ys- I've been a bit slow the past few days <3

Niamh's ears fell back against her head as Phox reassured her. She still couldn't say that she was the mother that she wanted to be for her kids- but she was grateful that for the second time in her life, she didn't have to be 100% the best Mom- because she had a partner who was both willing and able to make up for her shortcomings. She gazed at Phox with a softness in her eyes, with Alyx now tucked safely at her side, sleeping. She smiled when he suggested they should trade parenting experiences- and she shook her head with a chuckle. 

"I can't even think of anything right now. I'm just glad she's OK," She said, visibly struggling with the attempt to keep herself from getting too emotional. "But as soon as this bout of 'baby brain' wears off," She said, reaching over to kiss her mate's cheek, "I'll think of something."

We can probably archive here. :)

It'll come to ya, I'm sure, he said, once again assuring her that whatever one of them didn't have, the other one would. Or they'd tackle new challenges together, never on their own. I'm not crying, you're crying. Phox grinned stupidly at the kiss, happy to just be... happy. The three little ones seemed comfortable enough, and Phox felt himself relax now that everybody was cozy and asleep. He wasn't quite ready to nod off just yet, but instead let himself enjoy the rare moment of peace and quiet.