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Cato glanced around the cave entrance, looking to see if his wife had woken up early enough to beat the dawn. The cool morning made the dew feel cold against his hooves, contrasting with the warming sun that slowly lit up his wings, his face... then the basket that was wrapped in his shaw, draped around his neck like a cradle. The poor thing had been upturned, leaning against a rock mound that slanted up towards the mountains. He supposed it had fallen quiet some feet, but seemed to be unharmed, if only a little dirty. He had circled the rocky mountain side, searching for its home, or any sign of life but found nothing. Not even a nest, abandoned or not.

With little left to do, other than leave it to be found by something more menacing than he, Cato had decided to take the basket himself, back to his home. Unsure of what to expect from Bernadette, Cato teetered between rousing her, or waiting for her to waken. As he lifted his hoof to step into the cave, though, he felt a spike of anxiety... did the basket just... move ?

Bernadette had woken not long after Cato had left the cave. She hated when he did that because they missed out on lazy morning snuggles and she always got cold when her big brute left so early in the morning. She had resigned herself to giving him the cold shoulder when he got back, until he made up for it, but when she stepped outside to find him all of that flew out of her mind. What on earth..? There he was. With a basket tied around his neck. Naturally, she assumed the worst.

"What the hell is this, Cato?" It even looked like him, just a bit. Enough to make her furious. "So that's why you left? To go pick up your love child? Who is she, Cato? I'll rip her hair out." No one touched her man. "And if you expect me to be okay with this.. this.. betrayal in our cave, you are so wrong."

Cato's expression went from nervousness to deadpan in seconds. He watched her for a few moments, babbling before reaching out and swatting her with his wing. "Bernadette. Shut up." Rolling his eyes dramatically, Cato set the basket gently on the ground. "I found this. Abandoned. A ways out against the mountains." He stared at her with annoyed eyes and pursed lips, waiting for an apology.

"Ow! Hey!" ...Oh. She lowered her head and shrugged up her shoulders with an apologetic smile. "Oops. S-sorry.." Her nose reached out to his, hoping he would return the gesture as a sign of forgiveness. She could have gone on about what else she was supposed to think of this, it DID look like him, but refrained since she was already in trouble. "Poor thing." She nosed the basket a little and it gave a small wiggle in response, her ears perking toward it. "You sure someone isn't looking for it? Baskets don't necessarily just fall from the sky."

Cato sighed through his nose before returning the gesture, looking down at the basket again. "I looked all over for a clue, or a hint of whose it might be and nothing." his eyebrows crinkled with thought, trying to figure out if there was something, anything, he missed. "I tried to track its scent and nothing, like it had just appeared out of no where. Well... fell out of no where. It looked like it had taken a tumble." Cato watched it curiously, trying to catch it move again. He'd been very nervous of bringing it to Bernadette, and end up that it had not survived being on its own. "No telling how long it'd been there."

He peeked a few glances at Bernadette and down to the basket, back and forth. "So... what do we do?"

He'd looked everywhere. How strange. Perhaps someone just hadn't wanted the basket.. but such a terrible thing to throw it away like that. Looking between the basket, Cato and herself, no one would ever know it wasn't theirs. Not that she cared, but the little baby would never know the difference, and that's what mattered. An abandoned foal could grow up knowing it had parents who loved it. Butterflies went through a roller coaster in her belly at the idea, and she was already sold. "Well. Now I have someone to keep me warm when you go galavanting off early in the morning," she beamed at him.

Cato blinked rapidly, his eyebrows rising. "Uh.. wha?" he hadn't expected that of all things. She had rejected Kalidasa like the plaque, and now was gun-ho to take in another baby? His jaw open and shut several times before he was able to respond. "You.. want to keep it?" he blinked several more times, looking at the basket like it was sprouting tentacles.... what if it did sprout tentacles? Oh god. He felt his anxiety sky rocket, his vision blurring just a little. His breath was short and he was sure the ground was moving in ways it shouldn't.

Bernadette tilted her head at him, very perplexed at his reaction. Was this really HER man having a mini panic attack? She moved over to settle herself up against his side. "What's wrong? I mean what else would you expect me to say when you bring home a stray basket? How dare you do that Cato, take it away and leave it on it's own!" She laughed a little. "Come now, I think this was meant to be. Look at it, it really could have been our own child. And now it will be."

Cato still felt slightly disconnected from his body, like he was lighter than usual. What had he gotten himself into? He'd just expected to find a home for it! Or Bernadette know what to do with the thing! He swallowed, but still felt like there was something blocking his windpipe. Still only able to blink, he let Bernadette keep talking. The buzzing in his ears was annoying, anyway, and focusing on her noise was a lot easier than trying to figure out why he felt like he was a little discombobulated. "w-what.. what do we do.. first then?" He felt very unsure of himself, eyeing Bernadette like she was going to skewer him for not knowing what in the hell to do with a baby.

Bernadette laughed again. "I have no idea. I supposed we could start by taking it inside where it's warmer. We'll just have to keep an eye on it for a while to make sure it's okay."

After a few heartbeats hesitation, Cato took a very deep breath before taking the corner of his wrap and pulling the basket into their home, eyeing it like it was going to shoot venom at him at any moment. He paced about in the dimly lit space, feeling a tingle all over his body. He was so grateful that Kali had decided to go exploring for the last few days, but he was sure she'd be back any time now... where was Thane? Maybe he would be able to provide some... well hell, he didn't know either but in the meantime, Cato tried to gather his nerves into a symbalance of calm.