you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

When Inna returned to Hearthwood it had been a little strange at first to be back and the forest empty. She'd easily found her den which after months of being empty needed to be cleaned out. She'd found a few older signs of the coyotes but nothing so recent she felt she needed to worry. The Raven had set about preparing the den, cleaning out the leaves and old bedding. She then checked the old caches and medical den for anything that could be of use to her. She found a little garlic that helped with her immediate nausea.

Slowly things started to come together as she set up caches close to the den so she wouldn't have to go far. She filled them as much as she could hoping that with just her eating from them they would last until her young ones were ready for travel. She gathered the herbs and plants that she would need the closer that she came to the time when she would give birth. Inna had worked quickly wanting to get everything she needed to done before she would no longer be able to.

As time passed and she grew heavier she started staying closer to her den just in case. She had been lucky as well to have not been bothered by the coyotes. She felt it had been a good decision to return to her childhood home and having the forest to herself, the quietness that it gave her. It was the best place for her to bring her children into the world.

She had awoken earlier than usual and had to hurry to reach the outside of the den before she emptied the contents of her stomach. After ward she buried it before returning to the den but remained restless. She laid on her side panting for awhile before she realized what had happened. Inna at the herbs that she would need to help make sure the birth went okay she then settled down to wait at the entrance of the den to watch the sun through the trees as it passed over head.

Hours she waited until it was nearly nightfall, the last vestiges of light were disappearing into the darkness of the sky. That was when the first contraction came, it was time and there was nothing she could do but let her body take over. Once the first contraction subsided she managed to move further back into the den.

Contraction after contraction came and with it the pain that she'd become familiar with the previous year with Oksana. Finally after what seemed forever the first pup was born, she quickly started cleaning him off. He sorted a coat as dark as hers and Immediately he was dubbed Orionis. Inna nudged him to her her abdomen where he quickly latched onto one of her teats. She thought he would he the only one, after all she'd only had Oksana the previous year. She was so very wrong as another round of contractions started. This lasted just as long as the first round, she wasn't expecting what followed.

It was another pup that she quickly cleaned off but this one didn't cry like her son or Oksana. She nudged the little girl with her nose but there was no movement. Inna didn't have to be told what this meant. Tears slid  down her cheeks as she realized that she'd lost one if her children. A little girl colors similar to her father.  Inna chose to name her Lyra and for a long time she cleaned her and looked upon her mourning her. She lay her little girl to rest in the ethos with her parents as soon as Orionis was as sleep and she been she could leave him for a short time.

Until then she concentrated on her living child to make sure that he was doing well. Ince she was sure she laid her head in the den floor to rest for a time after what she'd just been through.

you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

The Raven watched as her son nursed at her side and though the day had been tragic too she was happy that she at least had Orionis. Inna was more than aware she could have lost both her children and maybe that knowledge made it easier to accept that she'd lost little Lyra. She cried for her daughter and planned a proper burial for her but she had learned through past losses that she needed to move on. If not for herself for her son and Oksana.

She looked forward to the rest that would come soon enough after the exertion her body had gone through. The mother was exhausted from giving birth to two pups only moments ago. That rest wouldn't come just yet as sounds outside the den reached her ears. Fiery gaze was in the entrance of the den her nose moving as she sniffed the air, the scent of coyotes was there when it hadn't been before.

Hackles raised as she moved her children to the back of the den placing herself in front of them. The scavengers would have to go through her before they would get her children. A low growl rumbled in her throat as she waited for one of them to stick their noses through the entrance of the den. This she knew was the best place to be if they were going to attack, they couldn't all fit in the den that was only big enough for an adult wolf and a pup. She would take them out as they entered or she would die protecting her children.

A rustling outside the den caused her dark form to tense as she prepared to strike. Her growls became louder, a warning that whoever was out there should think twice before entering. What she wasn't expecting was the pale head that appeared in the entrance. The scent that followed was familiar to her and in a moment she realized who had come. Before she could speak or even think he stated she wasn't staying there.

Like a angel sent from the ancestors Laike had come and Inna felt relief settle over her. Things only got better when she heard the familiar voice of her sister, Risaela. Along with her family the scent of another wolf was on the air, she didn't recognize him but she did recognize the pack scent that he carried. It was like they knew she was in trouble and had come to help. “Laike, Rissy I'm so glad to see you both,” she said moving forward to brush her muzzle against the Artemieva's. She couldn't afford to be territorial over her pups now, “I have a son and a daughter but she didn't make it,” she told Laike, “I can't leave her here for them to take her.” Inna was firm on that, she would be laid to rest in the ethos if she had to die to do it.

They could take care of the Immediate danger and then she would follow Laike wherever he would take her. With the Coyotes no doubt advancing there wasn't time to figure out what would happen after, where she would end up with her son. The problem needed to get dealt with and as much as she wanted to get out and fight alongside her family she knew she couldn't. It would be suicide and it would leave her son without his mother. “Kill them for me, for my son,” they had ruined his birthday after all, “I will stay here a last defense if need be.” She knew she was in no condition to be fighting the scavengers.

you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

Inna had thought she'd been alone in Hearthwood, for the past weeks as she'd prepared for the new life inside her to be born she'd been certain of it. A wave of relief washed over her when first Laike appeared and then Rissy. Despite everything her sister was still there ready to protect her and that was something Inna couldn't ignore. She knew they weren't out of the woods just yet but she couldn't help but feel that things might be okay.

It was clear that Laike had every intentions to make her situation safer. He gave her an order to stay in the den and assure her that Lyra would he taken care of. The tone he used was no nonsense and she wouldn't argue with him. “I understand,” she stated before moving toward the back of the den and tucking her son under her.

Laike left her alone in the den with her stillborn daughter and Orionis. Her eyes were fixed on the entrance ready to attack any coyote that thought it would be a good idea to enter. Though she was exhausted from just giving birth and still in a lot of pain she had to be ready to protect her children if need be.

The sounds of Laike’s barks and then she heard Rissy yelp made her want to go to them and help them but she remained. Waiting silently for a sign that it was all over with.