It'd been a somewhat chaotic few weeks. Merry hadn't been expecting her clutch with Consume to be quite so big, but wound up being the biggest thus far. Six babies. It's been easy when they'd been in their sacs, but once they'd emerged, needy and helpless, whatever calm had settled over their den was gone.

Thankfully they were now past that very early stage of barely open eyes and wobbly legs. The babes had grown quick and strong and were big enough now they didn't need that constant care an protection.

Merry enjoyed this time. Sure, they foals got up to trouble around this age, but this was also when personalities started to shine through, and she loved to watch her children blossom into their own kin.

She was watching two now, a wide-mawed doe tugging almost relentlessly at the ear of a dark pelted buck. He yelped a protest, kicking at her with pointing hooves, but after letting go she merely readjusted and went for his tail instead. Merry chuckled to herself.

prolixity wrote:

baneful wrote:

rexcorvus wrote:

Consume had expected chaos, certainly. Perhaps, though, he hadn't expected quite this much chaos. But he'd adjusted, and the initial nerves had worn off as the routine of caring for the foals settled into place and as the little ones had grown out of the wobbly stage. They were steadier now, getting used to themselves, the differences in their personalities starting to assert themselves. He'd been around foals previously, but living with one's own was a very different experience, and he liked to watch them discovering the world. He ducked into the entrance of the den, carrying a branch heavy with fruit, and paused to watch the activity within.

A rather petite and dark-furred doe had been watching as her sister chewed her brother's ear and inching slowly closer to the pair. Once she got close enough, she darted her head forward to snap small teeth closed onto her sister's tail.

A little female with flame-colored fur sneezed herself awake abruptly, rolling half onto her back and flailing her hooves in the air. Once she regained her equilibrium, she picked herself up and shook her head sharply, large ears flopping. Then she spotted Consume at the mouth of the den, chirped a wordless note, and trotted over to investigate what he'd brought.

Beejoux wrote:

baneful wrote:

rexcorvus wrote: