There was no doubt now, she was pregnant once again, her belly now visibly swollen. Still, she remained as pragmatic as possible, in an effort to spare herself future grief, should it come to that. Her days were spent firmly within the Falls’ borders, as promised, but she kept plenty busy, doing all she could for her pack mates. Finley too was showing, and her boys were dealing with that each in their own way; I remember what that was like… She’d felt overwhelmed enough with her age-mates, the idea of more siblings not sitting right with her at all – and that was without the added complication of different fathers to deal with. Hopefully though, they’d come to love their younger siblings, much as she had hers.

Until then, the rest of the pack was extra busy, down two hunters, both of whom were eating more than usual. Flair would do all she could to lighten their burden elsewhere, as well as keeping her own mind occupied. Today though, she had allowed herself some small amount of expectation: a den would need to be dug, before she grew much larger – as comfortable as the caves were, she needed somewhere safer – and so she had set out in search for the right spot, not too far from the falls, yet secluded.

But her plans were about to take a harsh turn as she spotted the blonde girl up ahead. Surprised to see her back, Flair paused in her step, indecisive. Unlike her brother, Marigold had taken very differently to finding her father and his new life, and Flair was not at all sure how she felt about being in the middle of that. Yet, she could not avoid the girl either, and she was eager to hear news from Sanguine Cove, so she took a deep breath and stepped forwards, calling out cordially: “Welcome home! How was yer trip?”

She hadn’t known what to expect from the girl, but it certainly wasn’t this. From what she knew, Marigold was assertive, and not afraid to tell anyone to back off if she didn’t feel like talking. But instead she seemed absent, grasping for words while her eyes appeared to stare right through the older wolf in front of her.

Before Flair could ask if Marigold was feeling alright however, the tears appeared, followed by the sobbing outburst. Eyes widening in shock, the mother-to-be took an instinctive step closer, wanting to reach out but hesitating. “Mari what…” She swallowed, dread rising from the pit her stomach; “What happened? Where is yer brother?”