InsaneJournal

Penny and Wings: Birth and Death
[OOC: more whippetyplotty things going down at the old mushroom grove. :O
Hollywood (at least in this form) and Memo written by and © to BlueFlyer, Penny and Wings written by and © Shelley "Swift Whippet" L.]

The day was the warmest yet. Penny's jaws were parted, her tongue lolling, not her usual open mouthed canine grin but an uncomfortable grimace that showed only too clearly how much discomfort she felt. Over the past months she had begun to suspect what had happened to her, and now that she knew it to be so, she was terrified. Surely she was too young for this. Her body felt huge and uncomfortably bloated, and it had been swelling more and more by the day. She felt helpless, like a ripe fruit or an overfed rat.

Not that Wings hadn't helped. He had taken pains to be kind and gentle to her, and lately he had been hunting for her as well now that she wasn't as fast as she was. She had appreciated it very much, though it annoyed her a great deal that she couldn't run as fast and as far as she had before. The other dogs, too, had been sympathetic in their own ways, though Penny could have sworn she detected some degree of coldness from Hollywood. But she was too worried to care about that right now.

Now, here she was, lying in the shelter of their den, in her own corner that she had lately been preparing, scratching around in the now-soft earth to make a small hollow for herself. That alone was telling her that her time was near. The pups were moving inside her; she could feel them as they shifted, and was it just her imagination or had their movements become more and more vigorous over the past few days? Penny didn't know anymore. She curled herself around her bloated belly, feeling uncertain and rather scared.

Memo had gotten the message. In fact, after Hollywood had spoken to her in the woods all those months ago she had been rather friendly and extremely submissive to Wings, and after a while she just let him have his space and accepted that she'd dug herself a hole and had put herself on the 'careful to trust' list. The fawn bitch figured it was for her own good, as the whole diabolical plot had been extremely foolish and not very smart in the first place. She didn't want to hurt Wings, things had just gotten out of control.

The fawn whippet now lay on her side, soaking up the sun in a springy patch of clover that smelled divine. She'd spent the whole day chasing after birds and squirrels, and had even discovered a small warren of rabbits and had brought back a very large buck. Hollywood had been with her and had looted several young rabbits and they had left the rabbit den with full bellies to play a bit more in the stream. Now she relaxed happily, a brown and muddy mess amid the shockingly emerald clovers. She had noticed the changes in Penny, and was happy the female wasn't sad about her dog. She did notice how the copper bitch was disgruntled and upset, but given that her belly was swollen with pups, Memo figured this was normal and felt no duty to her gender twin to whip her male into shape. Not that Memo felt any obligation to do so again. If they needed relationship help, they'd have to figure it out themselves.

With that mindset it was no wonder the fawn female was so secluded these days. She skirted contact with both dogs, and was courteous enough to give Penny her space. Hollywood was her only source of acceptable companionship, and even then the dog had his head in other places. Hollywood wasn't a good choice for a companion anyway, since he didn't really enjoy spending time with her, or females, in general. Lonely as she was, Memo was just glad to still be a part of the pack even after her rash behavior.

Hollywood on the other hand was in no such mood. He was not thankful to be a member of the pack at this moment, and in fact often thought of gearing his efforts to finding his master and home. He was tired of being hungry and tired of staring at Wings and Penny, knowing what their union was going to bring forth, knowing he would never have Wings. Sometimes the brindle male admitted that it was an attraction to the male and not true love, but then he'd tell himself that with time he was sure to know love at Wing's side. Penny, the snappy fiesty female loved him, didn't she? He was a lovable dog. So was Hollywood, but he couldn't convince Wings, and had no desire to declare his feelings for the sable male.

With a sigh the male dog continue to his rangey walk along the parameter of the of the territory, stopping here or there to check several trees to make not for Wings when he was to return to the camp sometime that evening.

Penny curled deeper in her hollow, putting her ears back and whining even though there was nobody to see or hear. The pups were bubbling around in there and she hated the sensation of it. Eyes rolling, she lifted her head to peer around the large knot she had settled herself behind, and out into the daylight. Her dark eyes strained and her nostrils quivered as she searched for some sign of the others. No, she didn't really want them right in here with her, but it would certainly help to know they were nearby.

Opening her mouth, she emitted a rather pathetic-sounding "roo" of discomfort and distress, to anybody that would hear her. She would just have to trust that the others were close, and that they hadn't decided to range too far beyond their home camp this particular day.

Miserably, she curled herself back into her ball, licking anxiously at the place beneath her tail, knowing somehow that it would be today, perhaps even the next minute. She felt full to bursting, and all she wanted was to get all that she was carrying out of her. But then, what was she to do after she had done that? It was a worrying question. She didn't have a clue what she was supposed to do.

Where was that useless dog, anyhow?

Memo ignored Hollywood when he walked over top of her. His dirty paws missed her face and neck, just barely, and the bitch wondered if he was trying to get her attention. She didn't supply it and instead stared off into the distance keeping him in her peripheral vision. She noticed him glancing at her slowly before he finally turned and jogged away. Only when he was out of sight did she lift her head and roll onto her elbows, glancing off in the direction he'd left. He certainly wasn't sneaky about asking for attention, and it annoyed her when he did it. She didn't like his actions towards her when he was bored because he always ended up running off right when she was at the height of her fun. He didn't like to play with her, he liked to have attention poured over him, and that simply wouldn't do for Memo. She wasn't one to dote on a companion who wasn't very...companionable.

The sound of an echoing 'roo' caught her attention and with ears uplifted she turned her dark eyes towards the den Penny had been spending a lot of her time in. She'd heard Penny make several noises throughout the pregnancy, but this one sounded different, and Memo subconsciously knew that Penny was ready, or would be very soon. It was a feeling almost as much as it was an odor.

Memo pushed up onto her paws and tracked towards the den, her head held low and tail tucked between her legs. Her bouncing strides slowed when she was about three body lengths from the entrance of the canine made dwelling and she busied herself with sniffling around a pile of fur and bones. She licked her nose when her curiosity for Penny's condition was not sated (as her watching eyes could not pierce the darkness) and timidly she took a few steps towards the entrance. "Penny," she drawled in a quiet and uncertain tone, altogether female and young. "I heard you call out..." the fawn female offered lamely, "I came to see if I could help?"

Penny almost drowned in her relief at the fawn bitch's familiar presence. She wasn't alone now, not anymore, oh, maybe Memo would know what to do. She knew so much about everything. Putting her ears back, she whined and put her head forward, looking up at the other with wide, frightened eyes.

"I'm afraid. I don't know what to do. Please don't go away."

That was when it really began to hit. She yelped once, then began to moan softly, dropping her sleek head back onto the ground and arching her back against the hollow walls of the tree. She felt as if she were being turned inside out. Oh, help, this was worse even than the few times in her short life that she had been in season. She had thought it was hellish then, but she had not known discomfort and pain like this.

She couldn't see or hear Memo very well anymore. Really all that she was aware of was that everything hurt and she really hoped it didn't mean something was wrong. Giving herself up to her instincts, Penny shuddered and strained.

Oh, it was all happening now, that was sure.

Memo moved into the den, but as soon as she did she realized that it was very small. Where it once could have housed three or four dogs now felt like it would be pushing the limit just to hold two. Especially with Penny laid out the way she was. Memo circled slowly as if preparing to lay down beside Penny, and then the copper female writhed and Memo jerked, startled. She backed out of the nest slightly and tilted her head as she dropped to her chest as close to Penny as she dared go. She nosed at the female's back legs, then her belly before she finally looked to her face.

"It'll be worth it..." she promised Penny as she began to lick the other's face and ears, tenderly grooming the copper line of her neck.

She pulled back and looked to Penny's swollen belly and she was suddenly very glad that Hollywood was too daft to enjoy female company, even when she was in season (although instincts did force him to follow her). Worried immensely for Penny, the fawn bitch with the black mask nuzzled the other's belly gently before she pulled back, worried to hurt her. "They'll come soon," she offered before she tilted her head slowly, looking down at Penny's face.

"Their path into the world has to get bigger, big enough for them to come forth from your belly. Your body is making their way bigger, now." She glanced to Penny's tail and her mind was suddenly back a long time ago when she was very young and still with her mother, remembering her aunt's cries and her mother's explanation of what was going on. Her dark eyes found Penny's again and she hoped it would be helpful to the female. "Think of happy things, if you can. Think of..."

Of what? Rabbits, warm nights, Wings? No...these things were not good enough. Water after a hard run, a race, squirrels? Still not enough...

"Think of a lure course," she said, calling the track by the name her owner, Max, gave it. Memo suddenly felt a pang in her chest as she thought of Max; her warm arms, her loving affection, the treats she gave Memo. Fueled by her emotion, Memo continued, her eyes slightly gazed as before her the dark nest in the hallow of a tree became a large field. "Imagine the grass, green as a new toy brought home by your human, and cut short, soft and springy under paw. The smell of the excitement, the feel of it bristling under your fur as the coat is slid over your back and buckled down. See the lure so white in the summer sun as it moved away from you in the grass, your human's hands holding onto the collar around your neck. Hear the sound of your opponent, the one who is yapping and whining and boasting he'll get it before you." She paused a moment, closing her eyes as the rest suddenly became fuzzy as the smell of close earth and wood invaded her senses, bringing her back to reality.

"Then the release," she breathed, "and then you're flying. It's not about the lure, that's just something you're following. All there is in the world is the ground you barely touch anyway and the wind brushing over you. You're free and fast and flying."

Opening her eyes she stretched her neck out and rested her chin on Penny's shoulder delicately, watching her out of the corner of her eyes worriedly.

She remembered, now.

It was funny, really, how she could forget such a thing that had once been her life's chief delight and joy. The howling of the wind through her flattened ears, the joyful reach and pull of her paws against the earth, her mouth wide open to pant and laugh and howl her own exhilaration all at the same time. The feel of flight, nothing like it in the world.

How could she have forgotten? She had not thought of these things for a long time but suddenly, with Memo's words, there they were, fresh as the world at dawn, as if her last course had been but a day ago. Emotion welled in her chest, and she closed her eyes and heaved, whimpering slightly as she felt the weight in her belly start to shift.

Something slid from beneath her tail, and instantly her head whipped around to inspect it, her ears pricked forward in half dread and half excitement, still not sure what to expect but ready to face whatever it was. Before she knew what she was doing, she had seized the gooey sac in her teeth and torn it deftly open. The pup struggled out, bawling, and Penny, wonderingly, began to clean it off, snuffling at its short fine coat and tiny ears and paws, and the tiny pink mouth. It groped its way towards her belly, latched on and began to suckle.

Penny could do nothing but gaze at it for a few moments, just staring in astonishment and wonder. She curled her hindquarters so that they wrapped around the little creature like a wall.

"Memo," she whispered softly. "Look -- look!"

She could feel her belly start to heave once more, and this time she settled herself determinedly and strained.

There would be more to come, and she was ready, now.

Memo lifted her head in surprise when the first puppy came into the world, and within moments it was crying loudly in search of the warmth of its mother's side and belly. She smiled softly as she watched, careful not to get too close even though she wanted to sniffle at it, to lick it as well, to be part of the moment. It wasn't her moment to be had, though, and she knew that and happily set to licking Penny's cheek when the whippet was done licking her offspring.

"A fine and healthy puppy," she said in a pride filled, joyous voice. "Well done, Penny! Just a bit more, now. Shove from the inside, now. Push with all your might, and dont stop breathing." The fawn colored female scooted a little closer so that her front legs tangled with Penny's. She stared at the female's face, her ears slicked back, and the fawn bitch licked her nose. Then she turned her white blazed head to look at Penny's tail.

The anticipation ate at her and she shifted slightly onto her side as a soft whine trickled from her throat, the last few notes quivering. Her tail started wagging, but it was not out of happiness that she was doing so. It was like waking up in the morning back home and knowing that she was going to be taken on a walk some time that afternoon. Something great was about to happen, something wonderful and Memo was going to see it. She felt privileged to be in Penny's company but the waiting between each puppy, watching the straining...that was the hard part for Memo, and Penny too, obviously.

Memo glanced to the small crying puppy at Penny's side and observed its pink nose and lips, its wet-dark coat and it's tiny transparent claws and very small feet. With maternal instincts pulling at her she looked again to Penny and channeled those instincts onto her friend. "You can do it, Penny," Memo encouraged quietly.

Some time later, Penny couldn't tell quite how long, she had delivered three more pups, and there were four tiny fat bodies snuggled by her side. The bitch was tiring fast, though, and her breath came heavier in her throat and lungs. This was excruciating -- at first she had kept Memo's image in her head, that firm, bright image of a green field and a white frenzied creature flapping its panicked way in front. But as it went on, and on, and on, it was becoming less like a course and more like an endurance race. Whippets weren't meant for long distances, and her fear was starting to return.

Expending every effort, she gathered herself and pushed hard as she felt the next pup come. The little thing rolled out into the world, and Penny, getting used to the process, brought her head around to bring it to life. But the pup never moved. Somehow, possibly in the birth canal, its sac had been broken.

Penny tucked her tail, without thinking, and her ears flattened. Moaning softly, she nosed and licked at the tiny creature, but to no avail. The bitch whined softly in her throat. She turned her face to Memo, not knowing quite how to feel about this but not liking at one bit.

But there was no time to be lost. More pups were on the way, and she could feel them moving. Resigning herself to her own instincts, Penny brought her tail back and away from the entrance and began to push again.

She managed to deliver the next pup and bring it around to join the others, but she was tired, so tired. She was quite sure there wasn't long more to go, perhaps only one more pup to go, but it would take all she had left in her. Breathing hard, she returned to her task at hand.

Memo stared in silence. Death was never part of the deal...should never have been part of the deal. This was birth, there was no place for death here. As a predator, Memo felt odd staring down at the dead puppy. She had seen death before, even dealt it, but it had never made her uncomfortable. Never unsettled her. Seeing this puppy and having no desire to eat it sent discomfort coursing through her.

She could also tell that Penny wasn't fairing well. The labor was taking a long time, and even though Memo thought this was Penny's first birth, it was unsettling to watch it take so long. Whimpering softly, Memo nuzzled Penny's throat, once more invading her space and she once again, for perhaps the millionth time, set to grooming Penny's fur. The squealing of the puppies and the knowledge that one was not joining the chorus of voices pained Memo. How must Penny feel?

Concerned greatly with the female's progress, or lack there of for the time that had passed, Memo felt lost. Her instincts screamed at her, telling her that she shouldn't stay near Penny. Something inside the female told her that one dead puppy was bad and that a long delivery was even worse. Without the help of humans, would Penny survive the hard labor and birth? Would the puppies survive when only three hounds could hunt? What would Penny do if the pups died? Consumed now with dread for her best friend, Memo lurched to stand. She clonked her head on the low ceiling and blinked, dazed, before she shook her head and lowered it, peering down at Penny.

When Memo spoke her voice was high pitched and slightly frantic, her words bathed in worry. "Penny, you must push now!" The shadows of the hovel consumed both bitches and the puppies suckling at their mother's sides, but what light did venture in from small cracks in the hallow tree diced slivers across Memo's muzzle and back, too high to reach Penny. "You mustn't give up just yet. This is like the hunt for the fattest rabbit in the dale, the fleetest, but the biggest. It will run, it can out run you. We were built for swift speed, quick speed. But the rabbit can run long. Dont give up on this race, my dear." The dead pup caught her stare again, and she could only look in utter dismay at the creature laying helpless and lifeless at Penny's hock.

She threw herself down to her breast, then and scooted forward so that she could press her face against Penny's to offer her physical support. Memo was ready for a bite, expected one, but still she pressed her cheek against Penny's and her eyes closed in an emotion filled expression of worry. "Be swift now, Penny. Be swift, and be done with this."

Even if she had wanted to snap, Penny was too far gone even for that. She felt weak, and shivery, and all she wanted was just to curl up and sleep, to drift off into her haze of tired dull pain, to go far away from all of this blood and pain and fear, even the small peeping sounds of her offspring.

But Memo was right. She herself could feel that there was not much left to do. Nosing her friend weakly but gratefully, Penny kept her breath even and steady. She had discovered that this helped the rhythm of her pushing. She wasn't straining now so much as trying to ease the mass along, to help it the way it was going anyway. Eventually, after what seemed an eternity, she felt it give.

The little bundle, wrapped in its membrane, was very small, and very still, but when Penny tore a slit in the sac with her teeth, a tiny blunt pink nose quested feebly forward and a tiny pink mouth opened in a silent cry. The whippet bitch guided it gently over to the rest of its siblings, where it latched on to her -- gratefully, it seemed.

Later on she'd get up and leave her protesting babies a while, to wander stiffly around and devour the aftermath of her birth, including the dead pup. To relieve herself, briefly, but for now, all she could think about was sleep. She touched Memo's nose with her own and flicked her tail briefly, before drifting into blessed oblivion.

Memo stayed with Penny as she slept. She had stood up to allow herself a comfortable position along Penny's back and she had wormed her head beneath the other female's so that Penny would rest her head on Memo's neck. It helped Memo feel she was needed.

Pride for her friend eased the worry she still felt for her, and as the female closed her eyes it was with a smile and a soft sight. "Well done," she congratulated Penny's sleeping form, hoping the other would subconsciously get the message. After licking whatever part of Penny she could reach companionably, Memo didn't so much as sleep as close her eyes and tune in to her surroundings with every other sense. The squeaking of the puppies was soft as they fed, their tiny paws scratching at the dirt alerted Memo frequently until she became used to that sound, and their damp, strange smell evaporated when they dried. Their smell was much like Penny, and the smell of milk, too, crossed Memo's path, but after a while it all mingled into the 'safety smell' and all other scents not familiar startled her awake.

A long time passed that way, with Memo keeping Penny warm, who kept her puppies fed and warm. Her mind bounded to memories and dreams of her owner and a place that was happy and warm to her. The only thing missing in these dreams was her newfound friend and her mate, and of course the little ones. She was just drifting into a land with fleeing cats and iron gates when a scent that didn't belong brushed against her nose. Brown eyes flicked open and ears lifted as she shifted her head from under Penny's to look at the looming form of a whippet. The light behind him cast his front in shadow and Memo couldn't make out the canine's coat color or features, but when he stepped forward and the fawn female saw his face, masked half in brindle, half in white she recognized Hollywood. She did not relax, though.

Instead Memo lifted and moved quietly away from the sleeping family and towards Hollywood, who was observing curiously and in utter delicacy the scene. Memo knew he would never hurt them, not a single one. Even though he didn't much like Penny, she knew that Hollywood was probably one of the gentlest dogs she knew. She allowed him a moment to watch before she pointed her nose towards the sunshine and she followed him outside.

"Wings isn't back, yet," he said when they had reached a distance that was far enough that they could talk, but close enough if they had to spring to protect the new mother, their friend Penny. "I think perhaps something has happened to him."

Memo shook her head slowly and groggily. "You worry too much, Hollywood," she said softly, "if he were in any form of danger he could outrun it easily enough to hide here. He is-"

"And risk bringing the danger to Penny who could do nothing but bite until she was overcome?" Hollywood interrupted, panicked. He stared, wide eyed, at Memo and the line of his mouth was tight and his ears were held at an angle that spoke loudly of his fear and worry. She moved forward and licked his cheek and nuzzled his ear. She wanted to comfort him and let him know it would be ok. "Hollywood," she murmured, slicking her own ears back to rub her cheek along the thick crest of his neck.

He pulled quickly away and looked off to the horizon, looking for Wings. Memo watched his profile before she closed her eyes and bowed her head, brow knit with emotion. When she opened her eyes it was to see Hollywood still looking for Wings through the trees. She swallowed and tucked her tail, looking off towards the way Wings had gone that morning. "Go seek him, then." She said softly, emotion choking her and forcing her to whisper.

Hollywood mistook her heart ache for worry over Wings and his ears lifted. "I will find him," he said dutifully and turned, galloping off in the direction Wings had gone.

Memo watched him go sadly and sighed heavily. Wings would be excited to see his offspring and mate hale. Penny had survived the ordeal and had only lost one puppy. She smiled lightly despite the receding stab of pain in her heart.

Today was a happy day.

The sun was slanting its beams through the trees, casting gold shafts of light through the branches that shone so brightly, Wings had to squint his eyes as he trotted back through the treeline towards the meadow, the plump body of a rabbit clamped in his jaws. It had been a long but a satisfying day. The rabbits, clearly in the grip of what was called the spring fever, had been ridiculously easy to catch, and he had eaten his fill with great gusto, delighting in the abundance of food. He had saved this one for Penny, though, knowing she enjoyed dismembering her food on her own, and now he would bring it back to her. The thought of her made his pulse quicken a notch. She had become more and more pensive and fearful as the days went by, and he couldn't help but feel on edge himself. At least, he would until-

A flash of brown and white appeared in his vision. Startling, Wings stopped abruptly in his tracks, tense and ready to flee or fight, until he realised that it was Hollywood, running hard, looking fretful. But where could he be going, looking like that? Had something happened? Moving a step or two towards the approaching form, he let out a soft "I'm here" bark through clenched teeth, unable to manage anything more eloquent than that for his sudden worry.

He wouldn't mention the puppies. That's what Hollywood had told himself before he had left Memo's side to search out Wings. No doubt the dog was thinking about them, but he didn't want to make Wings think about them if he could help it. 'Not that I know much about them anyway...just that Penny is still alive and there are some puppies,' he mentally reminded himself.

As he ran, Hollywood felt the worry ride his shoulders like a persistent itch. Not until there was a bark and Hollywood saw slivers of white through the trees did the feeling of discomfort wash wholly away. There Wings stood at the breast of a sunbeam and Hollywood stumbled to a stop. He was breathless, and not from his run. His heart was pounding furiously in his chest, beating against the inside of his ribcage as if trying to escape and he knew that it wasn't the run that made it still throb so wildly. He took a moment to run his eyes over the long front legs and tucked belly of his companion before he met the others eyes and then he quickly trotted forward.

The brindle male greeted Wings with a friendly nose bump, and his tail twitched in a staccato of wags. He nuzzled at the rabbit briefly in curiosity rather than want, need, or thoughts of theft. To emphasize the latter Hollywood took up a position beside Wings, slowly trotting towards the campsite. He glanced over his shoulder once to make sure the other whippet was following. Then he decided to explain his mad dash.

"I was worried for you," Hollywood admitted unashamed. "You had been gone for a while and I didn't know if something had happened." He refused to say that he was lonely with the two bitches spending the entirety of the morning together. "I saw several hounds, trackers, from afar with their masters while I was walking the edge of the woods," he proceeded to inform Wings, "I made to approach, but an awful scent made me rethink going to them. The hounds found that fox den across the meadow and fell upon the vixen and her kits with savage hunger. They did not wait for their human. He scolded them savagely, then." He knew that Wings would know what a savage scolding was, was more than sure he'd seen another dog get punished. Hollywood himself had only seen it once, at a backyard party when he'd strayed a little too far into the house.

"Do not fear," he assured him, glancing sidelong at Wings, "That was very early this morning after you had just left. They are long since gone. Everyone," he specifically did not include Penny's name, even though that was who he meant, "is alright and safe. His ears flicked forward then as another scent finally registered and Hollywood nearly stumbled as he craned his neck to look at Wings.

He stared for a long time as he trotted forward, and when they finally came to the small clearing where Memo stood sniffling around the outside of the hollow tree, Hollywood squarely faced Wings. "Who...?" he asked curiously, quietly, his head cocked to one side and ears uplifted.

Wings trotted along beside his male packmate, his awkward burden still clutched in his jaws. He was only listening to Hollywood's account of his day with one ear -- a sudden worry was niggling at him inside, making him only half-concentrate. A fox and hounds, right. Lucky that their paths hadn't crossed; confrontation was better avoided. He grunted softly in acknowledgement of the story before returning to his growing, inexorable pool of worry. He couldn't believe that it had merely been his own absence that had made the brindle so anxious. What was going on back at the den?

He didn't even notice when Hollywood's demeanour changed until they got back to the den site, and the other dog whirled around and posed the simple question to his face.

"Who...?"

Taken aback, Wings was about to reply that he hadn't the faintest idea who, when he remembered that both he and the rabbit must still carry traces of the bitch Rebel's scent. Muddy water or no, that wouldn't wash off quite so easily. He set the rabbit down for a moment and relaxed his own ears and tail. After all, the encounter hadn't really been anything of importance; he had about clean forgotten it by now.

"An odd speckled bitch I met whilst taking a rest from my hunt," he replied simply, "one of those huge fluffy coarsely-raised creatures with no sense of personal space." He snorted in some annoyance, remembering. "But she wasn't really a bad sort, I don't think. Good-natured in her own way."

He pulled his head up, abruptly, and gazed at the den with nervousness. There was an odd tingling in the air all the sudden, that vibrated to the roots of his fur. Licking his nose, he shook his head and sneezed.

"Memo," he said hoarsely, having observed the fawn out of the corner of his eye. Then he swept his gaze back to the brindle, including him in the query. "What is going on?"

At that moment a tiny chorus of peeps emanated from inside the hollow tree, and Wings started, amazed. Unsure of quite what to do or think, or indeed say, he dithered helplessly in the entrance, gazing at first one dog and then the other for reassurance.

Memo tilted her head to the side when Wings came trotting into the area near the tree. Her gaze shifted from one dog to the next and finally she returned her gaze to the father just in time to see him glancing between her and Hollywood and slowly she made her way towards them to stand just on the outside of the comfort zone. The fawn bitch waited for Hollywood to answer Wings' question, but when it came to her attention that he wouldn't she snorted softly and turned kind and beaming eyes on Wings.

"Your family awaits you," she said in a anticlimactic manner. Glancing over her shoulder at the hollow and where the tiny voices were calling she smiled softly before looking back to him. "There are...six. And Penny did well." She didn't say anything further about Penny because she didn't know how the female was doing. She hadn't been back in the den since she left after a brief nap at her side and she just now realized that she hadn't seen Penny for some time. "Go on and say hello."

Hollywood held no such cheer but felt shock slip through him at the mention of six puppies being born, he hadn't noticed six. He glanced to Wings and watched him with his ears laid back. Then he took a step towards the other and froze. One slim foreleg was lifted to his chest as he perked his ears up slowly and he stared off in the distance as the distant sound of rustling. The appearance of a squirrel made his frame relax a bit, though.

He looked again to Wings and smiled before motioning to the hovel. "Go look at them, and make sure she is well," he said through the pain it took to say it.

Glancing at each of them in turn with wondering eyes, Wings picked up the rabbit once again and entered the den. He was too astonished to notice the hurt in Hollywood's voice and manner. Ears flat, head down, tail tucked, he tried to look as non-threatening as possible. There was no telling how Penny would react -- she had been unpredictable and ferocious enough during her heat. How, now that she had the puppies themselves?

The masked bitch was curled right at the back of the hollow. The pups had quieted; as his eyes got used to the darkness he could see them, tiny shapes squirming and mewling softly, tucked within the curve of her body. As he neared Penny lifted one of her ears, and her eyes rolled to take him in. She blinked a couple of times before smacking her jaws a couple of times and raising her head to regard him impassively.

At least she wasn't growling at him. Gently, Wings set the rabbit down and nudged it toward her with his nose. "Here, eat," he told her gently, albeit abruptly glancing briefly at her before turning his face to the wall. "I will provide for you while you're here. For you and them."

There was the gentle thump of a tail against earth, and then a gentle, soft whimper. "Come 'ere, y' silly. Look at them."

Still slow, still hesitant, still trying to look unthreatening, Wings walked slowly over to where Penny lay, and settled himself on the ground beside her, just in case she felt apprehensive at him towering over her. He gazed incredulously at the tiny fat bodies as they groped and clambered over each other.

"These... are ours," he said slowly, as Penny rested her head across his withers and laid her ears back, closing her eyes contentedly.

"Yes, love. Now stay 'ere a while. I want to sleep some more before I get to that nice bunny you brought me."