Out into the bright big world (Qanik pups)

Her recovery had been slow, but Gossamir's intervention as she lay unconscious had saved her from bleeding out and leaving her children to starve. The younger wolf had even hunted for her for a while, though now that the pups were getting older Qanik was able to hunt for herself, even insisted on it to allow Gossamir to move on with her life, though even a month was not quite long enough for her to have fully recovered from the difficult birth. Gossamir had broken the news to her that the damage done to her body was great enough that this would be the only litter she would bear, but since she had long ago resigned herself to never having even the one litter the news was not as bad as it could have been. Miksa and Shtiya were growing well, her two beautiful children, and they were all that mattered to her. She did sometimes have strange, confused dreams of a little girl crying out to her, being born away from her by some pale monster, but believing them to be a product of the fever dreams while she was first recovering, she'd never spoken of them to Gossamir or anyone.

Sticking her nose from the den, she sampled the air. Warm, clear, and no scent of predator or scavenger tainted the air to cause worry. It was a good day for the pups to get their first trip outside of the den. "Miksa, Shtiya," she murmured, nuzzling the pups awake. "Come with me." With a smile she beckoned to them with her tail before slipping from the den.



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