Mama! Mama! Papa?

"Mama!" One of the twins chimed, only to be echoed by the other. "Mama! Mama! Mama!" They chanted in unison.  Strawberry turned around to face her children as they called for her attention. Her eyes are dead inside and she can't even bother to muster a smile for her kids. They don't seem to mind though as they continue their ritualistic chanting. "What?" She answers, her voice as dead as her eyes. She's not quite sure why she asked what they want, knowing full well what they are about to ask next. "Where's Papa?" Went one twin, "Who's Papa?" Went the other. Strawberry blinks slowly. "I don't know." She turns around and continues to her destination, but, as always, the twins aren't quite satisfied with this answer. They pester her again, "Mama! Mama!" She turns around again and stares at her pups regretting every decision she's ever made. "Papa? Papa?" They speak in unison. She resists the urge to scream at them, but just barely. "No Papa," she mutters and tries again to get back to work. The pair of mini berries continue to follow her calling her name and occasionally poking and tugging at her. She tries her best to ignore them as she works picking cotton from the farm to turn into clothing and bedding. The pups shy away from the plants fearful of the leaves getting stuck in their extra fluffy cheek fur. Strawberry always scolds them when they get stuff stuck in their fur, and it hurts to pick it out! Strawberry sighs to herself, relieved to get away from her pups for a moment. The pups can still be heard at the gate calling for her, not letting distance stop them from their pursuit of knowledge.

"What's up, strawpup?" Salmonberry, her twin brother, pops out from between the cotton plants, startling her. He tilts his head towards her and frowns. "You look stressed." 

"The pups are asking about their father again." Strawberry responds with defeat. "Ooh, yeah, that's rough. Can't say I envy you." 

Strawberry rolls her eyes at him as he says that. "You're so helpful, you know that?" She retorts. 

"I try." He responds smugly. Strawberry goes back to picking cotton, dropping it into her basket. The harvest this year is quite good, there's a lot of cotton available to turn into fabric. Strawberry gets lost in thought thinking about the warm soft bedding she could create with it. "So, what are you going to do about it?" Sal breaks her from her thoughts. She looks at him startled and unsure of what he said. He repeats himself, "How are you going to get the pups to stop asking?" Strawberry sighs and looks around as if she's waiting for the answer to come sauntering into view. "I don't know. What can I do?" 

"Hmm... well, I don't know... maybe, just perhaps, tell them the truth?" 

"You say that as if I know the truth myself..." She trails off in thought. Her voice is laden with a certain sadness.

Sal lowers his gaze in submission, aware that he shouldn't have said that. "I'm sorry, Strawb. I forgot-"

"That's always it with you, isn't it? You always seem to forget." Strawberry snaps at him, cutting him off before he can finish his apology. "Why don't you try remembering just for once, Sal? You know, sometimes I get the feeling you don't even care. I mean, how could you if you can't even be bothered to remember?"

Raspberry flushes red. "I- I... that really hurt, Strawberry." 

"You know what hurts? Having a twin brother that can't even be considerate enough of his sister to understand that maybe, just perhaps, life didnt go as she planned and she got pregnant by someone she can't even remember or even want?" Strawberry continues to berate her brother, "Do you think I enjoy listening to them asking where's daddy, who's daddy, when can we see daddy, all damn day?" 

"I didn't think before-"

"You never think." Strawberry gets the final word and returns to picking cotton, leaving the pair in silence. Salmonberry slinks off to another part of the field, quite hurt by her words. He didn't mean it like that. "Yeah, I was kind of smug and rude a little bit, but... I didn't deserve all that." He thought to himself as he sulked. Truth be told, Strawberry didn't think he deserved that either. Shortly after he left she thought over what had been said, and realised that he was just trying to help, in his own stupid way. She picked up her basket and started grooming through the fields looking for him with an apology now at the forefront of her mind. It doesn't take long before she finds him. He's laid down in the middle of a row, picking apart a bud of cotton he'd plucked from a nearby stalk. 

"Sal.." She cooed softly towards him. He doesn't turn to look at her, instead continuing to pick at his ball of fluff. "Salmonberry, don't ignore me." She says more sternly. This gets his attention and he looks at her. His eyes are watery as if he's holding back tears. He hasn't begun crying just yet, evident by his dry cheeks. Strawberry can't tell if it's from the verbal assault or if he got some cotton fibers in his eyes. It could go either way with Sal, honestly. 

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, it was uncalled for." 

"Yeah. Just a bit," Sal agrees, "but I'm also sorry. I should've been more sensitive to your situation. I can't imagine how tough it really is raising them like that."

Strawberry can't help but smile at the sentiment. "It's ok. You've always been a carefree goofball with no social skills, how could I expect any less?"

Sal puts his cotton down and sits up, smiling and wiping away tears from each of his eyes one by one. He looks up at the sky, the sun beginning to set, casting the clouds into an orange purple hue. Strawberry follows suit, staring up at the sky, watching as the stars slowly begin to emerge.

"Strawberry?" Sal breaks the silence after some time.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember mom?"

Strawberry pauses to think for a moment. "I...not really. We lost her when we were so young."

"Yeah, I didn't really think you would..."

"Do you remember much about her?"

"I remember her cheeks. They were big and fluffy, just like ours and Velv and Yule."

Strawberry sighs as she reminisces, trying to think about her mother. She struggles to come up with anything meaningful though. "Why do you bring her up?" 

"No reason, just... thinking.... you know, Strawb, we never knew our father either."

"No, we didn't. Barely even knew our mother."

"We turned out pretty alright, don't you think?"

Strawberry pauses to think about his question. "Did we turn out ok?" She questions in her head. After some thought, she opts not to answer, unsure of how to really. She didn't really have an answer. "I think it's about time I get back to the pups." She says after a few minutes.

"Oh, definitely. It was nice talking to you though. It's been a while since we've just sat and talked."

"Maybe we can do it again sometime." Strawberry gets up and dusts herself off, grabbing her basket and walking back to the gate, leaving Sal sitting alone in the fields. Walking back to the gate she notices her kids are right where she left them. "Well, if nothing else at least they don't wander," she thinks to herself. She flashes a wide smile to her and motions them to follow as she takes her cotton haul home to process. As she's walking she takes note of the unusual silence from the twins. Instead of questioning it as she probably should she takes the moment and savours it, exhausted from the countless hours of them asking for their father. It's not until she reaches her home until she really feels concerned by the pups sudden change of attitude. Strawberry opens her door and heads inside, holding the door open for the pups. They walk inside somberly as if they've just had some great let down or something of those sorts. Strawberry sets her basket down and shuts the door, afterwards turning her attention back to her children. 

"What's wrong with you guys? You seem upset." 

Neither of the pups answer, and she sets her tactics to asking each pup individually instead. She looks to Yule first, who is sitting on a cushion parting the hairs on his tail. "Yule..." She says to him. It results in questionable efficacy as he does nothing more than lift his head to look up at her, but it's still clear that he's not exactly the most willing to talk. Despite this, Strawberry makes an effort anyway. "Yule, talk to your mother now. What's wrong?, she asks softly. He continues to stare at her for a moment before looking back down to his tail and once more playing with the fur growing on it. Strawberry holds back a sigh of frustration, not wanting to make the situation any worse. It's clear that somethings bothering them. She turns her attention to her other son, Red Velvet. He is also sitting on a cushion on the floor, pushing a toy duck back and forth. He tries to avoid eye contact, something that Strawberry takes notice of. "Red, if something had you sad you need to tell me. I can't fix it if I don't know." She kneels down to his level and props up his chin with her hand so that he looks at her. 

"Do you and Uncle Sal hate each other?" He says quietly and softly. His voice staggers as if he's on the verge of tears. Strawberry looks to her other son to see that his eyes are getting watery as well. Looking back to Red she responds to his question with a question of her own, "Why do you think we hate each other?" 

"Me and Yule heard you two fighting in the field..."

"It's Yule and I, sweetie."

Red looked at his mother with confusion and further upset, not understanding why his mother is teaching him about proper grammar instead of answering the question. She sits down next to Red and begins speaking again, "But besides that, Yule," she gestures to the young pup, "Come sit next to me." The pup stops playing with his tail and shuffles over to his mother, ready to hear what she has to say. Strawberry wraps her arms around both of her pups and pulls them close to her. "Toskals fight sometimes, but it doesn't mean we hate each other," she begins to explain. "Sal is my brother, and siblings fight, right? I've seen you two bicker and yell, but that doesn't mean you hate each other, right?" 

"No, I could never hate Yule!" Red chimes in quickly, which elicits a smile from Yule.

"See? Just because we fight sometimes doesn't mean anything. Yule, what happens after you and Red fight?"

"We are mad at each other for a while but then he does something stupid and we laugh and we're not mad anymore!" Yule says gleefully. "Red, remember when we were fighting over something and we were mad but then you tripped and fell in the mud? That was funny."

Red leans forward to look past Strawberry and at his brother. "That wasn't funny." He says seriously.

Yule copies the stance and looks at his brother as well, Strawberry sitting awkwardly in the middle watching as another argument is prime to break out. "Admit it was at least a little funny."

Red breaks out into a small giggle. "Ok, maybe it was a liiiittle funny. What were we even fighting over?"

Yule scratches his head as he thinks, but is unable to come up with anything. "I can't remember, Red... Hey, Mama, why were you and Uncle Sal fighting?"

Strawberry is slightly caught off guard by this question and tenses up. Swiftly though she regains her composure and tries her best to answer in a way that her kids will understand. "Uncle Sal was being a little mean to me, but he didn't realise he was being mean."

"How was he being mean?" Red questions again.

"He... he wasn't very nice about how he said something."

"What did he say?" Red continues to grill her as if she's beiang interrogated for a crime.

Strawberry shifts uncomfortably. "Does it really matter?"

"Yes." Yule says with conviction, determined to hear the end of this story. 

"Well..." Strawberry considers her options. She could tell the pups the truth, that she has no idea who their father is, or she could lie and say she doesn't remember... Sal's words from early reverberate in her head. "We were discussing your father, and Sal told me to tell you guys the truth about him."

In unison the twins eyes light up and sparkle. "Papa?!" They shout excitedly.

Strawberry sighs knowing that the time has come to tell them. She's always known she'd have to eventually, she just was never ready to. She's beginning to realise now though that she'll never be ready. "I don't know who your Papa is."

The pups stare at her with large empty eyes. "What do you mean you don't know who Papa is?" Yule asks flatly.

"I don't know. I don't know anything about him. I don't know how I met him, where I met him, who he was, nothing."

The twins continue to stare. Strawberry can't tell if they're staring in disbelief, confusion, annoyance, upset, or all of the above. The trio sit in silence for a moment before Red speaks up again. "So we'll never meet Papa..." his voice is laced with sorrow that rips at Strawberry's heart. Red's eyes start to tear up and so Yule follows suit. She quickly springs into action to try to salvage the situation and dry those eyes. "Have you guys ever met Grandpa?"

Yule looks up at his mother, tears streaming down his face and getting lost in his fluffy cheeks. "No?"

Strawberry smiles warmly. "Grandpa was my father. You didn't meet him because I didn't know my Papa either."

Yule begins to cry harder and Red comments, "Was that supposed to make us feel better?!"

"Well, that was the hope." Strawberry mutters under her breath. She pulls her pups in close for a hug, but Yule pulls away. "Yule!" Strawberry scolds her young pup, but he doesn't respond. He continues to sit next to her sulking and crying, wrapping his tail around himself as a self soothing gesture. She quietly sits with her pups on each side of her letting them cry it out. Eventually she falls asleep, each of her pups also falling asleep, using her legs as pillows.

Strawberry's eyelids flutter as she begins to awaken. She looks to each side of her to find her pups still slumbering on the floor. With careful movements as to not disturb the little toskals she stands up and makes her way for the door. She stops just short and looks back to see her pups again. They are curled up in tight balls. Yule is snoring lightly. A smile creeps up on her face as she observes the cute little balls of fluff. A wave of sadness washes over her and she remembers the way they cried upon learning of their father's reasoning for absence. "I'll make it up to you guys.." She thinks to herself before heading outside.

The sun is starting to set, dipping the land in an orange wash. Shadows cast from in between he trees, causing darkness to take reign. This doesn't bother Strawberry though as she wanders around her village, looking at the other houses and structures. She spots Dio sitting by a tree with his bondmate, Meelo. Strawberry trots up to them, armed with a question. "Hey, have either of you guys seen Salmonberry? I need to talk to him." Dio shakes his head lazily. The smell of alcohol radiates off of him. "He's up in one of those trees, I think..." Meelo slurs as she points to the forest. She's also drunk. Great. "These two don't know anything," Strawberry thinks to herself. Its so unlike Sal to climb trees, much less be in the heavy forest. She ignores Meelo's advice and heads in the opposite direction of where she pointed, towards the fields, where Strawberry last saw her twin brother. 

She searches the cotton fields for some time, calling his name but to no avail. He's not here. It is kind of early for him to head home but.. maybe he's there? She leaves the fields and trots to his house looking for him. She knocks on his door but nobody answers. The door creaks open slightly and Strawberry peers inside. It's dark and appears undisturbed. Slightly worried, she pushes the door open slightly more and steps inside. Flickers of light pass through the window and illuminate the home slightly, just enough for Strawberry to make out shapes and objects. She calls softly, "Sal? Sal, are you here?" There is nothing more but the response of silence. 

She steps out of the home and thinks about where else he may be. Sal doesn't really wander outside of his usual places, his home, the fields, Strawberry's house, and occasionally out for a walk,  but thats usually earlier in the day. Maybe he is in the forest... She jogs back to the forest where Meelo had pointed earlier, now becoming slightly concerned. "Sal? Please answer! I'm getting worried!" She shouts from the ground as she walks between the trees. A rustle from above catches her attention. She scurries up the tree with branches and twins snapping under her weight. Leaves dance below her as they float their way to the ground. "Saaaal?" She calls out again. Quickly in response a sharp hiss can be heard from her left. Her head darts to the side as she searches for the source of the sound. On a particularly thick branch sits her brother, Sal. His eyes are intently focused on something in front of him. Strawberry tries to follow his gaze but can't make out what he's looking at. She crawls closer to him and sits down, rustling the branch again slightly. "What are you watching?" She asks him. 

"Shh! Be quite! You're going to scare them!" Sal whispers at her. He points to a clearing in the branches ahead. In the crook of a branch sits a bird nest with young chicks and a singular bird sitting guard. "It's a family... three kids, a mom, and a dad..." He whispers once more. Strawberry shivers as a cold rush overtakes her. "Where's the father?" She whispers back. 

"He's away getting food. They've been taking turns since I got here."

The pair watch in silence for a while until Strawbrrry breaks the silence once more. "About earlier, I'm sorry," she whispers.

"You already apologized," Sal whispers back, a soft cushioned tone laces his words. 

"I know, but I still feel bad."

"What's done is done, Strawberry. I've forgiven you."

Strawberry stares through the trees, past the birds, past the branches. "Earlier, the kids were asking if we hate each other." 

"Why would they ask that?"

"They heard us fighting in the fields."

"How did you handle that?"

"I told them that siblings fight sometimes. But it doesn't mean we hate each other."

"Is that what made you want to apologise again?"

"Yeah..." Strawberry's voice trails off as she's lost as to what to say next. Communication never has been her strong suit.

Sal makes up for her silence by asking another question. "Did you talk to Red and Yule about their father yet?"

"Yeah, it didn't go so well. They're both really upset," Strawberry says with a hefty sigh.

"Do you think maybe they'd do well with a father? Even if it's not their biological one." 

Strawberry breaks her hypnotic gaze into the forest to look at her brother, startled by his question. "What do you mean? They have you, Apollo... well, that's it. I hope they don't see Dio as a father. You guys are father figures to them, no?" 

Sal chuckles at her comment about Dio. "Hey, he may be a drunken fool but he's a great dad to that kid of his. Anyway, as I was saying. Are we really father figures though? I'm their uncle, and Apollo is the tribe leader. We're authority and to be respected, but we're not their father."

Strawberry thinks deeply about what Sal has said to her, taking quite a few minutes to be able to muster up any kind of respond. "Maybe it'd be good for them, but there isn't really anything I can do about it, Sal." She says with a shrug, dismissing him and his suggestion, "It's not like new men are walking into this tribe every day ya know."

"That is true, but what if you were to return on your rite? You settled down so quickly, as soon as you found out you were pregnant. You can explore, meet new toskals, maybe even find yourself a bit. Your entire identity right now is the single mom with twins. Don't you want to be more than that?" 

"That stings a bit, Sal. But maybe it only stings because it's true. I'm not sure if returning to my rite would be the right thing for me. I have the kids to take care of and my cotton fields. I don't know how Apollo would feel about me abandoning my responsibilities to go gallavanting on some grand adventure." 

"Well, I can watch the kids-"

"You'd really do that for me?" Strawberry's eyes light up as she interrupts her brother.

"Yeah, of course, Strawb. Why wouldn't I? They're my nephews, I'd love to spend some extra quality time with them. Maybe even practice for becoming a father myself one of these days. As for Apollo and your duties, just talk to him. He's quiet and stern, but he's also got a good heart. I can't imagine he wouldn't let you return to your rite. It's every toskal's right to go on their rite!"

"I may be gone for a while, and what if I die out there? Are you prepared to take on the responsibility of my pups forever? And my god... if they lose their mother..."

"Try not to think about that. I'm prepared to take them on as long as is needed, I love those kids as if they were my own."

Strawberry forces a laugh as she makes a nervous joke, "You're not just trying to get me killed so you can take my kids, right?" 

"Strawberry, what the hell. You know me, you know I'd never do that to you or them. I know you're just joking but that hurts, a lot. Why would you even think something like that?" Sal responds with despondency. 

"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry." Strawberry tries to salvage the soured mood with a return to the hopeful conversation, "So I'll talk to Apollo tomorrow about setting off soon then?" 

Her attempts at salvation fall on deaf ears however as Sal answers coldly, clearly upset by her so called joke. "Yeah, you do that, Strawberry. I'll start preparing to house and take care of the twins."

Sal climbs down from the tree and heads home, wishing to escape the awkward and sour atmosphere. Strawberry sits on the branch watching the birds Sal had come up here for in the first place, regretting what she had said. "Why do I say things like that? Why do I think things like that? What is wrong with me?" She grumbles to herself. Time passes quickly in the guise of self loathing, and before she knows it the sun has fallen over the horizon and world has grown dark. She carefully scoots down the tree, nails dug deeply into the bark. Strawberry never was one for climbing, or more accurately, descending post climb. A small sigh of relief escapes her lips as she feels her feet touch the grass once more, and she lets go of the tree she had mauled going down.

Upon returning to her home she notices the children still fast asleep on the floor. Curled up against each other. A yawn erupts from her as she realises how exhausted she is and she curls up alongside her children. The warmth of their bodies radiate unto her. She savours the feeling, keenly aware that if things go to plan, she won't be feeling this again for some time. 

The next morning comes quickly. "Mama, mama!" Strawberry's children bounce up and down next to her trying to wake her up. She groans as her eyes creep open. Yule is standing over her, staring. "What's wrong, Yule?" She mumbles to her son. "We're hungryyyyy," The young toskal whines. Oh, yes, right, food. Strawberry has been so exhausted lately she hasn't even thought about eating. She pushes herself to stand up and amble over to the kitchen, two children right on her heels. She yawns as she scratches her back and looks around for what she could cook for her children. "What do you guys want?" She asks them, unsure of what the picky little ones might be after. They both stare at her with blank thoughtless expressions, expecting her to come up with something for them. "Hmm... How do pancakes sound?" She suggests. The twins excitedly bounce up and down, "That sounds great, Mama!"

Strawberry smiles at her kids as she motions them to sit and wait patiently. Tinder sets alight as Strawberry strikes flint together to spark. Atop the fire sits a metal rack and a small flat pan of iron. She mixes together the ingredients for the food, flour, water, sugar, and a dash of mashed fruits. A splash of butter hits the pan before she pours on the mix and starts frying the breakfast. She looks over to see Yule and Red watching fervently with wide eyes, seemingly eager to learn. She steps aside to allow them a better view and they take in the sight eagerly. Before long the sweet quick cooling bread circles are finished, and Strawberry places them on wooden plates for her children to enjoy. "Remember, they're hot!" She warns them before setting them in front of the kids.

The kids, as kids tend to do, ignore her warning and grab the food and burn their mouths almost immediately. Strawberry immediately is concerned for her pups, but after realising theyre ok she struggles to stifle her laughter as she thinks "I told you so." Between bites Red asks his mother "Why aren't you eating, Mama?"

"I have a lot on my mind right now, I'm just not very hungry right now. I'll eat later." She smiles warmly as she says that, contradicting the stressful words with a happy expression. Red accepts the answer without any further questioning and finishes his meal. Strawberry grabs the plates and places them in the sink to wash later. "Hey, how about we go see Uncle Sal?" She cheerfully suggests. Both Red and Yule chitter excitedly, they love hanging out with their uncle! Strawberry gets them ready to head out and eventually makes her way out the door with pups in tow. 

Arriving at her brother's door, she knocks heavily. After a moment the door opens with a tired looking Sal standing behind it. The pups rush inside and grab onto him, engulfing him in a hug. He looks down at the little ones wrapping themselves around him in joyful surprise. "What a nice surprise! What are you guys doing here?" He asks as he ruffles Red's freshly brushed mane, messing it up, much to Strawberry's dismay. She answers for them, "Could you watch them today while I talk to Apollo about that thing we discussed last night? I know this is out of nowhere, so don't feel pressured to say yes. You don't have to!"

"Feel pressured? I'm always eager to watch my favourite nephews!" Sal responds energetically. 

"Favourite nephews? We're your only nephews!" Yule chips in.

"What's Mama talking to Apollo about?" Red questions with great curiosity. 

Salmonberry looks to Strawberry for an answer, unsure what she wants him to be telling her pups. She shrugs and lets him answer, giving him his first encounter with navigating possibly difficult situations that may arise when taking care of her pups for her. He looks back down to the pups. "Your mother is going to talk about uh... going on an adventure!" He stammers slightly.

"What kind of adventure?" Yule follows up.

Sal looks back to Strawberry again begging for help already, but she does not reciprocate and shrugs again. "An adventure to uhh..  uh.. find treasure!"

"Treasure?! What kind of treasure?! Can we come?" 

"No, it's a dangerous adventure and you might get hurt. Your mother can't concentrate on finding the treasure if she has to worry about you guys!" Salmonberry becomes more confident in his answer as he slowly begins to develop the story that he's going to be telling the pups.

"But Uncle Sal, we want to go on a treas-" The conversation gets cut off to Strawberry as she shuts the door, leaving her twin brother to watch her children, and heads off to find Apollo. He is found exactly where she expects to find him: outside his home varnishing a new bow he had recently made. "Apollo!" She trots up to him, calling his name to let him know shes there. He gently puts his bow down and turns his attention to Strawberry. "Can we talk about something? Or is now a bad time?" She asks, making sure to respect his time. 

"Now is fine. What is it that you would like to talk about?" He asks in a flat monotone voice. 

Strawberry averts her gaze and fumbles with her hands. "So, I was wanting to ask if you would allow me to leave to return to my rite?" 

Apollo breaths in deeply and lets said breath out quickly, chilling Strawberry. "Ah, straight to the point, I see. I appreciate it. Anyone is free to come and go as they please, we do not hold anyone hostage here."

Strawberry begins to thank him enthusiastically but is stopped as he continues.

"However, there is the matter of your duties here on the cotton farm. Who is to look after it while you are gone? That cotton has taken years to grow so luxurious, I would hate to see it wither away. We as a tribe rely on your cotton for warm clothing and bedding as well. You are needed here, leaving on such short notice will surely cause us issue. Have you made any plans for this?" 

Strawberry lets out a breath she had been holding the entire time he was talking. "I have already talked to my brother Sal about it! He said he would watch the farm for me!"

"And I presume he will be watching your children as well? Surely you would not be bringing them with you out in the wilds. That is a lot for one toskal. I hope he is prepared for the workload you are putting on him."

Strawberry's joyful look quickly fades. "He is the one that brought it up and offered, I feel like he's thought about it, right?"

"We can only hope. Either way, you have my blessing. Please let me know before you depart. Stay safe and return home." With those final words Apollo returns to working on his bow, dismissing Strawberry. She walks off with both joy and dread, thinking about Apollo's words about Sal possibly underestimating what he may have put on himself. 

Strawberry raps on Sals door once again, coming to announce the news and confirm with him that what he said was true. Laughter from all three of them could be heard from inside. When Sal doesn't answer the door quickly enough, Strawberry knocks again, harder this time. Sal opens the door and Strawberry is greeted. Some form of dye stains his face with silly shapes. Upon further inspection, the dye is also found on his hands and fingers. Yule pops his head out next to Sal and Strawberry discovers he also has face paint on. "What have you guys been up to?" She asks them amusedly. 

"Oh, just boy things." He answers smugly.

"Uh huh. Anyway, could you step outside for a moment?" She requests.

"Sure, can do!" He answers cheerfully, stepping out the door. Yule tries to follow but Strawberry stops him and sends him back inside. "I need to talk to your Uncle about some adult things, ok?" Yule nods and shuts the door behind him.

"What's up, Strawpup?" 

"Apollo has given me his blessing to leave, but he's concerned that you may not have thought of the workload that it'd require. Between the pups and the cotton fields, on top of your own work, it really is a lot. Are you sure you're ready for all that?"

Sal answers nonchalantly, as if he's already got everything figured out, "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't think I could do it."

"I just want to make sure you've thought it all through."

"As much as I can. When are you planning to leave?" 

"As soon as I can. Maybe tomorrow morning, or the day after."

Sal nods. "Alright. I suppose we should tell the kiddos then, yeah?" 

Strawberry nods in response as well, and opens the door only to have two pups with their ears pressed up against the wood stumble forward. "What were you two doing?" She asks as if it wasn't obvious they were eavesdropping. Their faces flush red as they were caught doing something they weren't supposed to. "N-nothing!" Red stutters. 

"So, how much did you two hear?" Strawberry inquires. 

"Everything, I think. You're leaving, Mama?" Yule fesses up without any pressure.

"Yes, I'm leaving for a while. But you shouldn't worry because Uncle Sal is going to be watching you two! Think of it as an awesome vacation to stay with your epic uncle!" Strawberry says excitedly, hyping up her departure to make the pups feel better.

"We're going to miss you, Mama." Red whimpers. 

She grabs her pups and pulls them in for a hug. "Oh, I know. I'm going to miss you guys too! But I have to go. I'm going to bring you guys home something awesome!" 

As the trio embraces in a tight family hug, Sal suggests, "How about a special farewell dinner tonight? We'll make it a memorable evening before Strawberry sets off on her adventure."

Excitement lights up the pups' eyes, and they eagerly agree. Strawberry dawns a bittersweet smile as well and holds back a tear at the thoughtful action. Despite all she's done and said to him he's always so good to her. They spend the rest of the day playing games and cooking a grand feast. The pups make colourful drawings of their family and talk about how much fun they're going to have spending time with their uncle. 

The aroma of a delicious dinner wafts through the house, creating an atmosphere of warmth and togetherness. During dinner, they share stories and reminisce about fond memories, creating a tapestry of moments that will linger in the pups' hearts. As the night draws near the pups grow increasingly tired. Strawberry takes notice of this and takes them to bed, letting them sleep at Salmonberry's house for the night. Yule fights sleep as he talks to his brother, "give it to her!" He demands sleepily. Strawberry looks at Red surprised. "Give what to me?" Slowly he pulls his hand out from under the blanket and presents it to his mother. On the palm of his hand sits a necklace adorned with an abandoned snail shell and flowers. "Oh, it's beautiful!" Strawberry exclaims as she puts it on. "Thank you both!" She plants a kiss on each of the pups' foreheads. "Goodnight, I love you." She says to both of her pups before getting up and heading back outside to Sal, leaving the youngsters alone to sleep in peace. 

Strawberry sits down next to her brother as they look out to the night sky, as they have done in recent times. "Strawberry?" Sal breaks the silence.

"Yes?"

"Promise me you will come home safe."

"I promise, I will."

Sal gets up and dusts himself off. "I'm headed to bed. You should hit the hay soon too, we both have a lot ahead of us tomorrow."

"I will soon, just give me a bit." 

"Alright. Goodnight, Strawpup. I love you.

"Goodnight, Sal. I love you too."