As the snow blew violently across the frozen landscape of the planet Hoth, two large figures made their way effortlessly over a rise. They were bigger than men, much bigger than men. Wampas. The larger, a female called Murmr, scented the wound, head whirling in the direction of an unfamiliar scent. She moves towards a sheltered place in the snow, a sound coming to her ears.
The smaller, younger one, Murmr's secondborn, Tak, followed in confusion, slowly turning to excitement as he too smelled it - flesh, a living thing. Being young, it didn't occur to him that perhaps this wasn't food.
His mother dug in the snow every few feet, seeking out the noise. After a few minutes, she located it - a wailing, furless thing, hidden from the wind in a small ice cave. Getting on all fours, she poked her head in for a better look, still sniffing. It wasn't completely furless - it possessed long, downy silver-white hair on it's head. It stopped the noises for a second, looking at the big creature with deep aquamarine eyes. Sniffling, the tiny thing looked at Murmr, just looked.
Behind her, Tak was eager for the kill, and began bashing the area above the cave violently.
Murmr just barely got it out of there before it collapsed. It was crying again. She swiped ferociously at her son, who backed off on all fours. This wasn't food, Murmr signaled to him, holding it close in one arm. Turning her attention back to the little thing, she gently ran big, bloodstained claws through it's hair. Tak peered curiously at it, though for only a few seconds before Murmr moved off in the direction of home; the little thing held closely to her chest.
She'd recently miscarried a fifth cub, and this was a tiny, defenseless thing, to be cared for, fed, kept warm, raised, and loved.
The rest of her family at the homecave had been expecting the pair to return with food; the whole point of the outing had been to catch something, teaching Tak something in the process. So everyone was curious when they returned instead with what looked like a very odd ice scrabbler. More curious than hungrily, since the three oldest males had felled one adult Tauntaun apiece, plus four youngsters. Murmr didn't let them get too close regardless, growling and roaring to ward off the others, even her oldest's expectant mate. No, for now - and reluctantly, then - she approached the oldest male in the family - Miij, he who knew more than any of them. She placed the little bundle, wrapped in a material foreign to her, in front of the old, grey male. He scented it, then gently untucked the material covering it a little. Though teary-eyed, it had settled down a lot.
Murmr gave him a questioning look, tensing when he moved the blanket, starting forward a bit, unconsciously, when he picked it up and held it. What is it? she asked using physical and verbal language known only to their kind.
Don't fear, child, he told her, examining the infant creature. Yes, he certainly knew what it was, though he'd encountered only a few of them before, and only adults. This was a human, he informed her, a nearly bare creature that spoke a strange language and tended to be violent. He gave a wheezy chuckle when she almost made to grab for the child at that, to protect it, he knew. No, this one is a just-born, not a danger. He carefully, almost tenderly, touched the thing's face with a yellowed claw, giving a grunt of amusement when it took hold of it with a miniscule hand.
He gave the little creature back to the big female, knowing it was special, different.
Show the others, he said, smiling a bit as he watched it bury itself in her fur.
Murmr's mate, J'ura, was the first she showed, naturally. He knew of her grief, he shared it, and agreed to take in this little thing to fill the gap.
Her son Shu's mate, Ya'are, was especially interested in the baby. She touched it gently with both claws and fingers, hoping it would grab it as Murmr had told her had happened with Miij. It didn't whimper, didn't cry, but just stared at her with it's large eyes. Ya'are chuckled, telling Murmr that it preferred the older female to her. Her youngest two, a female; Iika, and a male; Miij (he was named for the ancient male, as he had been born not long after Miij had informed them that his time was soon) were calm for once; Miij wanting to touch the tiny creature despite his mother's frequent reprimands.
Though the family group generally accepted Murmr's new foundling just-born, there was still a few issues to be sorted out, such as what it fed on. The Old One had seen humans eat before, though they ate Tauntaun, having the teeth to do so. But like a Wampa cub, this young human had only soft pink gums for feeding. Murmr, feeling assured enough to leave the infant in her and her mate's bed for a few seconds, scouted around the cave for something. Miij the younger attempted to feed it a small piece of Tauntaun meat, a bit puzzled when it only suckled on it before spitting it out, refusing to take it again. He scurried away just before his mother returned; and she held the tiny thing, further inspecting it. It's skin was delicate, and just as soft as the fur on it's head. After some time, though, it began to cry again, catching the attention of a few family members, J'ura being the first to come see what was wrong.
Milk, Murmr thought, it needs milk... She held the little thing to her breast, hoping that her milk, possibly still good, would continue flowing