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When the rain did stop, we were all eager to keep moving, and set out straight away. With all three younglets hatched, we decided to divide their time between riding in the basket and in the carrying pouches. I didn't want to squish their limbs too much in the pouches. Thus, we would rotate who walked in the front and who pulled the sled. The one walking in front would carry one of the younglet in the pouch, and was responsible for circling back every now and then to feed all three. It didn't slow us down too terribly, and we resumed our normal traveling schedule. We saw the occasional seagull group, but they stayed away from us. If any strayed too close, the combined shrieks of three adult and three baby yinglets was enough to scare them off. When not screaming at the tops of our lungs, our discussions focused mainly on the younglets and our hopes for their futures. Both males seemed dubious when I said I was going to teach the babies to read, but I assured them it was possible. I really hoped it was. If there was some sort of biological quirk that prevented the males from reading, I was going to look like a god-damn idiot.

The rest of the fourth day and night passed without anything particularly notable happening. While Bekki and Nurln seemed content enough, I was worried that they would lose faith in me if we didn't find a place to live soon. I had no idea what I was looking for, and was starting to worry that I was leading them on a quest that would end with our corpse husks rotting on the beach. The only thing I knew was that we would know it when we saw it. There had to be something on this beach, some cave or break in the cliffs leading up to a magnificent field of clams and carrots or something. We had investigated a few dark shadows on the cliffside, but they proved to be nothing more than slight indents or overhangs. While they did for temporary shelters and resting spots, I wanted something good, something permanent. After a sleep, we woke to the sunrise of the fifth day, and I called my males to council while our younglets played in the center.

"Ok, boys. Is no good so far. But we still got-a hope, yah. Bekki, you said is dis many days until big-cliff, yes?" I held up eight fingers, and he nodded. "Ok-ok, so we will get dere and see if we can go over da cliff part in da ocean. We see what is on-a da odder side. In case we get-a disappoint, I wanna hear idea. Bod of you, now." Both of them tilted their heads at opposite angles, and I watched Bekki's eyes slowly drift in opposite directions.

Nurln was the first to come up with an idea. "Uhm...maybe...if it is no good on zhe ozzer side, we can live zhere anyway? I heard zhat some enclaves dig a small river to get foods from. We could do zhat, and make dens from zhe driftwood we find." I chewed a claw as I reflected on it, slowly nodding. If we had to settle down, that wasn't a bad idea.

"You know how to get da stream goin'?" I had no idea how to engineer a man-made...yinglet-made...stream. Nurln shook his head, but said he could probably figure it out. Bekki, who had plucked Betti and started to pet him to help him think, piped up.

"How 'bout a boat? We could go over zhe sea!" I felt bad about having to shoot him down, but had to when it was revealed that none of us had the slightest idea how to build a raft, let alone a sea-faring vessel. We also had no idea how to engage in deep sea fishing, so a boat was out. I turned my troubled gaze on the younglets, hoping that their baby antics would provide a solution. They didn't, but it helped me think. There was the possibility of being a nomadic clan. I knew from conversations with my males that beasts of burden existed. If we could get a few and a cart, we could start traveling and trading the random junk we found. It would probably speed our travels, too. Perhaps we could even find another enclave to join. My instincts were split on that idea. On one hand, my body quivered with excitement at the thought of having many more of my kind to interact with. On the other, aggression flooded me at the thought of having to surrender my 'authority' over my group. I tried to squash the second instinct. I was some human wearing the skin of a yinglet in a world she didn't understand. I had to think about what was best for my group.

The thought of another enclave posed a question that I had been avoiding. There was no way we could start a proper enclave with three yinglets. The inbreeding would be out of control. Even if we found a home, we would need to eventually leave to find more yinglets to join. Given how the humans at Saltden reacted to yinglets, I doubted that it would be as simple as raiding a human farm and releasing the captive yinglets there. Well, first things first. If we didn't find a place to call home, we could hardly call ourselves an enclave.

A few more ideas were proposed. Scaling the cliffs and heading north was an option, assuming that we could find a way to get the younglets up. The idea of going further east still was viable enough, but I worried that morale would get lower the longer we went without a home. Plus, once the younglings mastered walking, it would make traveling that much harder and slower. By the time we packed up to go, I wasn't thrilled with our prospects. I crossed my clawed fingers and hoped beyond hope that there would be a suitable place to live ahead of us. I volunteered to take a turn in the sled, with Bekki being the other puller. Nurln walked in front with Electronic Marcus.

"Maybeee I can toss zhe bones next time we stop. Zhen we can know if we get a home soon!" Bekki motioned throwing an object, and Nurln sighed heavily.

"Zhat's fake, Bekki. Patriarch Fluffyface called it a Super Isshen. Zhat means it's fake." Being the great and wise female that I was, I kept silent when Nurln spoke. I was not going to get involved in this.

Bekki gave a gasp of disbelief, and his short muzzle crinkled in frustration. "Is so true! Patriarch Beej toss zhe bones all zhe time! And zhey is always right!"

"How can bones know anyzhing? Zhey are dead!" Point to Nurln.

"Is 'cause they got dead! Dead zhings know more!" Er...point to Bekki, I supposed. Maybe creatures in this world had an afterlife. Curious to see what else I might learn, I continued holding my tongue. Unfortunately, things devolved into a series of 'Is so!' and 'Is so not!' between the two males. Eventually, Bekki got huffy enough to throw out a threat. "I will toss your bones!"

The threat, along with the ridiculousness of the argument, had me laughing in no time. Both of them looked confused, so I motioned for Nurln to cover Electronic Marcus's ears and then informed them of the peril of such threats. "Toss his bones makes it sound like ya gonna hump. Wait until we get-a home, boys." Both of them stared at me, and Bekki's little round ears folded back. He looked about ready to cry.

"We...really cannot do a hump? Until we find a home?" Well, toss my bones and call me Richard. As far as I knew, no one had engaged in risque activities while we had been traveling, and I assumed that it wasn't a problem to wait until we found a new home. Even Nurln looked crushed, and I scrunched my neck back into my shoulders.

"Uh, no, it was da joke. But...uh, is no good do dat 'round da babies. If ya gonna do it, go somewhere dey can no see." Watching the relief spread across the males' faces would have been hilarious if I didn't feel so bad for frightening them. At least the argument had been dispelled. We stopped to change positions, and I took the chance to stretch my muscles after pulling the sled. I noticed a dark line on the eastern horizon, and tugged Bekki's tail until he turned to look. "Is dat storm?"

Bekki squinted and learned forward, then said no. "Zhat's zhe big cliff! Zhe one zhat goes into zhe sea." It was blurry and indistinct at this distance, but I thought we'd reach it by the end of our sixth day of travel. I looked at it for a moment more, then went to feed the babies and put Pot Pie in the traveling pouch. It seemed to me like all three babies were gaining weight at an impressive rate, and Pot Pie's coat had already thickened so that his skin couldn't be seen through it. Betti was starting to challenge Pot Pie over scraps, but so far, Pot Pie was using his slight weight advantage to win. Electronic Marcus would eat everything we gave to him, but he wouldn't challenge his siblings for extra scraps, so he tended to be the recipient of extra treats when he was being carried. I picked Pot Pie up, and when he saw the pouch, he began to squirm, trying to get out of my hand.

"Ey, you, baby! Become calm." He disobeyed a direct order, and went to bite my fingers. I opened my mouth at him, and the sight of a much larger set of teeth stopped him in his tracks. As soon as I shut my mouth, he opened his, so I opened mine again. We were stuck in a standoff until I closed my mouth and quickly dropped him into the pouch while his guard was down. He looked up at me with an expression of betrayal. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he mirrored my gesture. I rubbed his head and gave him an extra bit of clam for learning. Stuffed full of food, he settled down, and we kept going. I kept my eyes on the horizon. The sight of our landmark filled me with anxiety, but also hope. I had a good feeling about it. The males decided to sing songs, and I joined in on the ones I knew. When they had both gone through their repertoire, we went through the songs I had taught them. We ran out of those quickly, and I decided to teach them a few new ones. "Dree-six-nine, damn, she fine.."

If only we had a guitar, our cover of Get Low would have been perfect. We practiced and eventually settled into roles. Bekki provided the main vocals, I was backup vocals, and Nurln hummed the tune. We even started to get into a choreography routine. It slowed us down, but we were all having so much fun that no one noticed. When we all sang the chorus together, it was one of the most magical experiences in my life. The males had unhooked themselves from the sled, and we all spun and danced in our jittery little yinglet steps. It felt like we were all one creature, joined in the joy of music about ass and titties. It was enough to bring a tear to my eye, and when we eventually collapsed into a satisfied pile, I sniffled.

"Ah, danks, boys. Dat was...good in my heart. My heart is happy." Pot Pie grunted, making us laugh. He apparently did not appreciate the dancing as much as the rest of us, and I let him out of the pouch to nest with his siblings. The basket was wedged securely between two rocks, and Nurln had invented a stick that the leashes could attach to so the babies could crawl around in their harnesses next to the basket.

"My heart is zhe most happy! I am all happy." Bekki squirmed along on his back, feet in the air. He climbed onto the rocks, dipping his hands into the water of the tidepool we were stopped by.

"We gotta stop 'n sing more often. Happy hearts are 'portant." I moved to put my hands in the water, but rolled too far and ended up in the tidepool. The cold water was a bit of a shock, but I wriggled upright and put my ratty little elbows on the rocks.

Nurln joined me in the pool, sighing in relief. "Ah, zhat's good. I'm getting too old to dance zhat good." Bekki giggled, and I asked Nurln how old he was. "Oh? It was just a joke, My Matriarch. I have seen four years." A crab could have bitten me on the tail in that moment, and I would have let it eat my entire tail poof.

"When will you be old for real-real, den?" I projected a tone of teasing in my voice.

"Ah, if I make it to twenty-five years, zhen I won't dance anymore. Please forgive me." To prevent them from seeing my surprise, I dunked my face in the water. As a human, I had been twenty-four. Yet, I didn't seem ready to drop dead as a yinglet. No joint pain, thinning fur, or any other signs of aging. Maybe whatever had transformed me into this had put me at the equivalent age for a yinglet? Or, perhaps I was a young adult, or whatever age was considered prime for yinglets. Was my lifespan shortened? As Bekki scrabbled off trying to catch a crab and Nurln continued relaxing, I attempted math. If I was twenty-four as a human, and yinglets lived until 25...I held up my fingers, ears folded with concentration. The concentration was broken by Bekki doing a cannonball into the tidepool to show us his crabs. I tried to pick up on my train of thought, and concluded that I hadn't really lost any time, because my human age plus my yinglet age equaled 100. Probably. There were crabs to eat, and eating was much more fun than thinking about math.
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Tacci has the math ability of a drunk toddler in both human and yinglet form.

The version of Get Low that Tacci teaches her boys -> https://youtu.be/i2HJRMl2k_8

Check out the origin of the yinglets  valsalia !