Soon, was all Namid could think of lately. Soon, many things would be happening. The coming of spring being the biggest event. It meant the melting of snow, the return of prey, and most importantly the possibilities of children.@Neha , @Aleister , and@Cernan were so close to becoming yearlings by now, only a few months out from the big moment and time seemed to have flown by. She remembered when they had first come, the pure joy she felt when she’d seen their small forms and looked into the eyes of Vespertio. She had never felt so complete, so utterly content and she longed for that moment again. They had raised their first litter with great success, keeping them all in line and accounted for. They were all she could have hoped for them to be, and she had no doubt they could guide younger siblings into that same good nature. Spring also meant the possibility of a rank challenge, and she needed to be prepared. She would need to assert herself further over the other females…or rather, it suddenly occurred to her, the other female. Pharika had disappeared as well, leaving them with numbers that were alarmingly low. She had no doubt more would come with the spring, as had happened before, but she still needed to be prepared.

These were the reasons that she went to search out her husband. They had important matter to discuss, and even though things had been a bit…on edge with them these past months she had chalked it up to the death of their beloved second Anthem. Her heart clenched painfully at the memory of his decaying body and the pain her lover had endured during this time, the pain they had all felt like a blow to the cheek. But, it was time for them to continue. It was time for them to do what Anthem would have wanted them to do, to move on and better the pack. He wouldn’t have wanted them to ruin their lives with his passing, he would have wanted more. “Vespertio!” she called as she moved, tail curling over her back and chin up. She needed to keep her appearance of dominance starting now, needed to make sure that the other woman knew her place and what was the Queen’s. These lands, these wolves, this man, was hers.

Her multicolored gaze was sharp as she looked around, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of the lake patriarch. The thundering of heavy paws against snow covered earth alerted her to the presence of someone approaching, and a quick scenting of the air proved it to be the one she sought after. He emitted a few barks of greeting, in which she responded with a chuff. Her auds swiveled forward to catch his calling of her name, the syllables sweet coming from his mouth and she drank them in like she hadn’t had water for days. In reality, it was something similar though not as extreme. She missed the time she had spent with Vespertio, when they had been practically inseparable and totally in love. The affection still remained, but it was quite obvious that their honeymoon phase had ended. However, she would take what she could get.

“Darling,” she said. Namid moved forward, eyeing the look he expressed and a smile spread across her maw. “Oh, somebody likes what they see,” she teased, moving forward to press her maw to his cheek. The pale queen sighed at the contact, extending her neck forward to slide her muzzle down his neck and across his shoulders in a hug before playfully nipping at his scruff. The hormones of mating season had not yet set in, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t have a little fun with the man she loved.

Her breath fell from her chest in a woosh as he nibbled his way along her neck, her heart pounding against her ribcage. She loved it, breathed in the youth that suddenly flooded her bones. When he lavished her she always felt like a yearling again, felt the wide-eyed spectacle of first love that inflamed her cheeks and pressed her into him. "I missed you." he whispered, and her heart skipped a beat. “And I you,” she replied in an airy tone, her legs locking to keep her from falling to the floor as he gave the base of her ear a nip. Then, he stepped away and she had to restrain herself from rushing forward to regain that warmth again.

"What do I owe the pleasure of this encounter?" he inquired, and she blinked in confusion for a moment. She had wanted something before? Ah, of course she had she’d been the one searching for him after all. Namid cleared her throat, her mismatched gaze which had previously been dropping lustfully widened into awareness. She regained her previous posture, though it was more relaxed and her tail waved idly behind her frame. “Is a queen not allowed to see her king?” she mused, the corners of her mouth turning up, but she progressed forward. “I think the children have grown wonderfully, do you not agree? I cannot believe that they will be a year old soon, it makes me feel old,” she chuckled, gaze crinkling affectionately. “I also think…that they would be fine older siblings. It would keep them busy looking after a new litter,” the pale queen said lightly, raising a brow suggestively at the man.

”Of course she is,” he chuckled, his deep baritone causing her tail to wave a little faster behind her sleek frame. She suppressed a laugh of her own at the utterly confused look on his face, the fact that he didn’t quite understand her subtle hint. But, her love was not an idiot. She waited with a sultry smirk when finally the glint of familiar understanding swept across his expression, and she swore she was blinded for a moment at the joy she saw. The queen’s heart stuttered, and her own smirk widened with his. This was the man she loved, the excitable and loving wolf that she’d fallen in love with. The side of him that no others saw besides herself, the one that had laid by her when she’d badly hurt herself falling down the mountain side and practically right into his waiting paws. Right into her future.

”I am so glad to hear that, my love.” she said, sweeping forward once more to press her muzzle against the soft fur of his neck. Raising a family here, staying in these lands, it had been the best and most fateful decision she had made in her life and never once had she regretted it. Not even when she had discovered Rook again had she regretted her decision. When that thought crossed her mind she suddenly remembered a promise she had made, and a meeting that was a long time coming.

Pulling out of his embrace, she looked up at him. “You remember me mentioning my brother, Veho, correct? How he is staying with our allies in Grizzly Hollow? I think that it is high time we pay them a visit with the children so they may meet their uncle, and you your brother-in-law. Perhaps before I will be due with the next litter, hopefully. What do you think?” she inquired, cocking her head to the side. The corners of her gaze crinkled affectionately at the thought of seeing her brother with his niece and nephews, something he’d seemed so excited about when she’d mentioned it. Family was certainly important, and she wanted them all to know each other.

Namid watched her mate contemplate anxiously, her tail swaying a bit faster behind her. She very much wanted to see how her brother was doing, to sit down and actually have a conversation with him and catch up a bit more on what he had been doing between their separation and then. She wanted to see Rook too, of course, but the need was not quite as strong. No, she had a specific image swimming in her mind. The image of Veho, Vespertio, and herself side by side with Neha, Cernan, and Aleister around them. It was sad that it had taken her losing her family to really begin to appreciate it, but perhaps that also came with age.

"I would like to meet this brother of yours, but if we are to travel as a family I'd want it to happen before you are too far along with our next batch of children." he finally agreed with her, and nudging the base of her ear with a playful growl. A large grin split her maw and suddenly she was moving forward, using her smaller stature to slip herself beneath her husband. Then, with a quick breath and an upwards motion she made to tip him over. Swiftly twisting around, she was over him in a flash covering his chest and neck in kisses. “Thank you my love, thank you,” she said, her tail wagging a mile a minute. Energy rushed through her veins, excitement pulsing through her. Everything in her life was falling into place.