Foxglove wasn't new to having family. He was blessed with wonderful mothers - both fiercely protective and still insistent that their children could stand on their own. He had siblings he loved even when they butted heads and stepped on each other's tails, as siblings are apt to do. He was blessed. He had experienced a beautiful, loving, supportive family space where he felt comfortable and safe to find himself. So many others were not as lucky.

But somehow in taking River under his wing he'd gone from thinking not only of him as just....a child of Avon but there was a sensation in him where he felt possessive almost. River was not just theirs but his in a sense, and he wanted to find the boy and make sure that he was okay. He needed to be certain. Was that.....was that what his mothers felt? Did they still worry after him even after he'd been here for years now?

That had to be something about being a caregiver. Foxglove didn't know that he'd call himself a father - that wasn't his place to assume, anyway. It depended on River entirely.

When he finally crested a little slope and spotted the figure of a unique looking deer he was dumbfounded. To realize that it was River - the little tiny baby he'd found following him, it just left him breathless. If not for the frantic way his tail wagged to tell his happiness, it might have seemed like Foxglove froze entirely. And then his paws and his brain reconnected, and he was immediately crossing the distance between them. Look at you, His tone was breathy, barely able to keep himself from nuzzling against the boy - he didn't need to lean down now! What happened? Still, he sought to nuzzle against River's soft fur, chuckling gently. You're amazing!

After as far as he'd ranged and roamed he would have understood being rebuffed - it had been too long, and while his search had been valid it didn't make it any less difficult to understand. He'd been unable to find Bee only to have found her as he came to the Blushed Meadows - finding the lot of his pack struggling with their own problems. The winter had brought them a gaggle of puppies, and they were all blessed for their safe arrival and their growth. He had to think of River the same way too. He couldn't look at the time he'd lost since he could do nothing about it, but he could appreciate that River looked healthy and well.