Broken Antler Fen What. . .? You wanna eat cat food with Kevin?

Mama had gotten fat lately. And Lilitu didn't think that in a mean way—it was merely an observation. Her mother's usual trim, svelte figure had grown. . .well, not so, and she didn't know why. @Ibis had also been a lot more withdrawn, even more than when Papa and Arielle had disappeared.

She had to get to the bottom of this, stat.

The girl gave a soft call for her mother, meandering 'round the fen, close to where they made their den. If she didn't find her here, Lord knew where she was. They had been a little distant from each other since returning from the mountain, each, presumably, wallowing in their own troubles, occupied with their own goings-on.

Except Ibis was surely more busy than she. Lilitu kept herself occupied with more childish things, like catching the toads that had begun to emerge again with the warmer weather.

Mama? she beckoned, ears pricked, yellow eyes piercing through the gloaming.

Unlike her last pregnancy that had her bloat all the way up to corpulent porpoise level of round, this time Ibis felt portly but not in an entirely demeaning way; she could still roam around a little bit and felt stronger for the lives that grew in her belly rather than awkward or weak. The instinct to protect what she harbored was stronger than all of her other ones, thus the hunt for a den had taken her away from her remaining family and the wolves of the fen.

When she finally resurfaced it was to the sound of her daughter calling for her. Ibis had found a small hovel among the fenwood; a criss-crossing of trunks and a network of thick roots forming a steepled roof as they descended in to the mire. It had taken some preparation to rework the flow of the water, but the resulting den was shored up against the mud and humid, stagnating water as much as possible.

It was difficult for her to squeeze out of the den mouth but she managed, scrambling towards where her daughter's scent was dominant from downwind of Lilitu's position. Ibis did not have time to pretty herself up; there was mud streaked across her round belly and up her legs in a manner which resembled stockings.

Worrying immediately that something was wrong with Lilitu, Ibis did not waste time upon spotting her - she cantered over and began a sniffly inspection, only easing off when it was clear nothing was physically amiss. Lilitu. You called? There was a warmth to her tone while that worry remained gleaming in Ibis' eyes, on the drawn and hungry face that pregnancy had molded of her. She was breathing heavily and soon withdrew from harassing her daughter for information, settling with her belly in the mud where Ibis chose to wallow and cool down.