Red Fern Forest like a bed of roses

She explained the slight change in scent away at first, thinking that perhaps she'd strayed too close to someone, or something and it had somehow gotten tangled up with her, but as time ticked on its obviousness became hard to ignore. Saga had set off to collect her thoughts, and go over her options, not that there were many at this point. She couldn't leave, and she certainly couldn't turn back time. The fates had already spun this web, so there was really only one course of action now...

With a sigh, Saga quietly returned to the Chasm in search of the father-to-be. The woman found a recent trail quickly enough, but she took her time following it. Even if Saga had accepted the fact that she had to tell him, she wasn't at all eager to do so. Every excuse she found along the way to mark a border, or investigate an old burrow, or really take the time to appreciate the scenery was taken, until she'd run out of reasons to stall.

As soon as her bright eyes locked on to his form, she called out. "Hey." But she couldn't look at him, so her gaze strayed to the trees around them as nonchalantly as possible. "Hudson.. We uhh.." She might as well get it over with. "I'm.. I think I'm pregnant." What would he think? Would he be mad? Confused? Her orbs swiveled back to gauge his reaction.

Well if you wanted honesty that's all you had to say

If Saga was determined to ignore the change in scent, Hudson was doubly so. It had been easy to accept Rhaegara’s pregnancy because he hadn’t been the father and he knew they could at least support one litter, but with the silver woman’s sudden change in scent...he wasn’t sure what to think. No, in all reality he didn’t want to think about it. Him? A father? That was a recipe for all kinds of disaster. In the back of his mind he’d known his coupling with her, however incredibly pleasurable it had been, could result in this outcome but he’d blissfully buried his head in the sand. Now there was no denying it.

He was out doing his normal routine of checking borders and idly sniffing about when her voice rang into the air, the salt-and-pepper man nearly jumping out of his skin. Hudson clamped his mouth shut to keep a string of curses from falling from his lips from the start. He turned to look at her, noticing how her pretty pear eyes refused to meet his and he grimaced, knowing what was coming. Then, she said the words, out in the air so they couldn’t be taken back, and he did the only thing he could reasonably do.

He sat down, heavily.

The man felt at a loss for words for a moment, trying to figure out what the right thing to say would be but he found himself failing. “I...guess it’s not like we didn’t know this could happen,” he said, gathering himself slowly. “What do we...uh...what do you…how are you feeling,” he stuttered through before settling on asking her what her thoughts were. Yeah, that would be the safest bet. After all, she was the one carrying them.

Ashbash 2016 - Ian Schneider

Saga was relieved that he didn't seem angry, not that she really thought he would be, but she had certainly planned for the possibility. Better to come prepared than to be caught off guard. Following his cue, the woman shifted to sit. If they were going to talk about things, she might as well make herself comfortable.

Hudson didn't beat around the bush, or try to make excuses, and pass the blame. He had known what they were doing as much as she had. Of course possibilities, percentages, and maybes hadn't really meant much in the moment, but neither of them had been naïve enough to be too surprised now. Then he asked how she was feeling, and honestly, Saga didn't have an answer. She'd spent so much time worrying over this conversation that she hadn't really considered anything beyond it. "Tired, I think. Probably a little unsure, too, but fine. Yeah, I'm fine." She said the last bit with a nod, as though the motion would further cement her fine-ness. "What about you?"