[duckie]

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Rook
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It had been... a while since Rook had ventured back to the den where he grew up. Nestled in a grove, the main hollow lay tucked in the roots of a tree and had been expanded over the moons to account for their growing family. It was too big, now. The underbrush lay heavy in this area once, and it had begun to grow back, but the trees were still charred from the fires and his old home was now more exposed than ever before. Slipping down into the hollow, Rook took a deep breath, shaking as he exhaled. Stale scents hung heavy in the air, some familiar and some not. It was clear nobody had been here in a while. Harrier, he knew he wouldn't find but a small part of him had still been clinging to the idea that perhaps he would come back and find his mother and brother sleeping soundly in the den. It was a fool's hope. Maybe they would run into each other again one day but today wasn't it. Rook settled down in the center of the empty den, in the scattered remains of an old nest, and let the old scents wash over him as he curled into a ball.