White Fir Notch Your heart on my chest

OOC: For @Sylva - Backdated to 4/25

4/25/2016
Weather:
43° F, 6° C
Partly cloudy
12:41 PM

This whole thing was beyond surreal. She had a den now. A nursery for the lives that made themselves felt more and more each day. They were rambunctious even, depending on the moment. When she had felt their first stirrings it had been quite the experience, and still she was awed by their progress. They'd grown so very big already; hardly leaving room for anything else. They'd outgrow this den, even, and it felt like the pups would even outgrow her any time. The Queen now waddled instead of walking; easily exhausted by even that much. Fatigue and hunger were near constant, but even those discomforts could be excused the second her thoughts drifted to the little ones. 

It would be worth it, wouldn't it? Her biggest fears thus far revolved around the birth; around whether or not everything would go smoothly. Considering the grave possibilities too long became downright terrifying, and Raela had to continuously try not to dwell on it. Everything was out of her control now; the worrying would do nothing. Still, what an undertaking. It couldn't be long until they arrived, right? There were other stressors of course, with Moraxia's sudden departure and the loss of one of their strongest. When anxiety threatened to consume her, Raela took her restless self on a walk, usually by the water, but returned always to the whelping den. Already it had become her new home. 

It was irritating to be rendered so useless, but even like this she was still contributing. Puppies were essential to a pack; the very glue that held it together... family. She was risking herself to provide it; though there were much more personal reasons behind the decision. She quenched her thirst in the chill spring water before making her way back into the trees. She had managed to learn the quickest routes to and from the site in only a few days time. Her mind focused instead on the warmth of the season; at last the snow had melted, the plants were really growing and the earth began anew. It always took its sweet time getting here, didn't it?

A broad smile moved across the Queen's face as she came upon the den; her nose filled with the scent of herbs. How touched she had been to find that her dutiful mate had lined the entire room with medicine. It was adorable. Pineapple weed and sweet grass; she had hardly to lift a paw to find a cure for whatever could go wrong. It was obviously a ridiculous amount, but it charmed her all the same. @Gent had to be just as scared as she was; a concept quite bizarre when compared to what she knew of the black king. Instead of shuffling and squirming her way inside of the little shelter, she instead opted to flop down near the entrance. Her ears rotated about; picking up various birdsongs as her muzzle settled between two creamy paws. A sigh drifted into the spring air. It was always so nice to get off of her feet. 

(This post was last modified: May 02, 2016, 07:17 PM by Raela.)

            

The small black wolf’s swayed gently as she crept through the undergrowth, there was a small but plump hare swinging from her ebony muzzle. The young wolf had plans for the meal, but not for herself. It was for the agouti alpha that was becoming particularly plump.  That, and Sylva had an idea to help @Raela whenever it came time to for her to deliver, though the yearling’s contempt of how birth worked was a little….unusual.

Sylva’s brown gaze shone as she picked up the scent of Raela , drifting up from just over the small hill between the two of them. Her brown fringed tail wagged as she moved closer, though she avoided stepping on any twigs or debris, she wouldn’t want to wake the queen up if she was slumbering. Arriving at the top of the mossy rocks, Sylva glanced down, just below her, the plump agouti laid. A smile tugged at the young healer in training’s lips as she watched Raela for a moment. Glancing around, she saw a rough path down the rocks and began to make her way down, as quietly as she could.

Though, she was not destined to remain quiet for long, her left fore paw slipped on a  particularly thick clump of moss and a surprised squeak escaped Sylva as she started to tumble down the small slope, the hare flying from her jaw and soaring toward Raela as Sylva landed with a soft  thump on the soft grass, nothing hurt but her pride as a dazed groan escaped the young wolf.

She blinked open her eyes and found herself staring at Raela… “Why are you upside down?” She inquired, unaware that it was she who was upside down. Her tail thumped against the ground as she quickly added “I didn’t fall, the rocks tripped me…”

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(This post was last modified: May 03, 2016, 03:12 PM by Sylva.)

The more time she spent here the more convinced she was that this was a very good place to have her babies. She could feel the sheltering presence of the trees above; how they shielded her from prying eyes and filtered the light down in warm, glowing ribbons. If there was a place to soothe her frayed nerves, this was it. The nagging worries never truly faded away, but at least they were somewhat controlled, for now. The Alphess felt her eyes sliding shut. The spring winds were much gentler down in the woods; they passed by soothing and cool. Even the puppies seemed to settle down. 

She was always so tired, so when sleep crept up on her Raela submitted willingly. However, it was not the only thing sneaking around the vicinity. Her notched ear flicked backward, registering the sound before the woman's brain was awake enough to really react to it. The footsteps began to drag her back to the real world, and perhaps her waking would have been gentle had the girl not performed one of her signature acrobatics. The combined tumble-and-yelp made the Queen jolt; her gaze flashing open to fixate on whatever the hell was happening. 

Raela almost recoiled from the thing that had lunged at her; only to discover that it was already dead. Equally startling was the crumpled form that lay only a few feet to her side, which her tired brain finally determined to be Sylva, of course. The baffled and shocked expression on the matriarch's face slowly melted into amusement. “Why are you upside down?” A chuckle made its way past her throat. The mother-to-be responded with a few happy wags of her own. Perhaps Sylva was more child-like than most at her age, but that was just fine. 

Raela quirked a brow at the second statement, recognizing the humor immediately. "Oh?" She replied sarcastically, holding back more laughter. "I hear they can be pretty rude." A broad smile lit her face at the reference to Sylva's own words. Once more the leader's eyes fell upon the dead thing, now obviously a rabbit. It smelled pretty fresh, so it was unlikely that the creature had been dug up from a cache somewhere. Sylva had caught this herself. Now that the fog of sleep was clearing, the pregnant wolf's stomach came to life. Food. She was instantly hungry, and it was with gratitude she turned her gaze back to the yearling. "Thank you," Raela added, reaching out to grasp one leg and drag the prize close enough to devour. "They're always so hungry," the older woman jeered, glancing at her rounded sides. The excitement had destroyed all hope of sleep, as the little ones now squirmed and kicked – perhaps upset by the sudden awakening. She was so far along that now the movements were sometimes sightly visible, if one was watching. 

(This post was last modified: May 05, 2016, 03:36 PM by Raela.)

            

Sylva nodded with a small grin as she rolled over and stood, by this time the hare had made it’s final voyage and was within Raela’s hungry death grips while the ebony girl was eying Raela intently. Her brown gaze soon turned into slits as she could have sworn that she saw something ripple along Raela’s side. Her ears pricked at the alpha’s comments and she nodded “Yea..”

Sylva had something she wanted to ask, after her encounter with Karina, and a few nights of thinking, She had a plan, something that she hoped could help not just White Fir Notch. “So um..” She paused for a moment, unsure how to phrase the question so after a few moments of silence she finally spoke “I was wondering...what’s a healer’s job besides caring for injured wolves..and..and does it have to just be the wolves of their own pack?”

The young wolf was trying to not act suspicious, though it may have been hard with how quickly her demeanor had changed, she kept glancing down at the ground instead of looking directly at Raela, though, her gaze drifted back toward Raela’s sides in curiosity as she tried to watch, to see if Raela’s side rippled again, it was..interesting.

ThoughtDialogue