Sex: FemaleA gradual shift had gripped the landscape and forests of the Lore – spring brought the sap pushing green into the limbs of the trees, which in turn was drawing forth prey - finally giving life to the region's inhabitants once more. The change was a painfully gradual one, though – winter seemed to be striking a lingering final blow. The temperatures were still flirting with freezing intermittently; at the moment small flakes of white fell from shrouded sky, adding a few new points of white to Nayeli's dark pelt where they landed. Warm air ringed around her muzzle with each breath as the dark lady made her way up the slope. The low rise presided over one end of the clearing near the heart of the Bend. The breeze toyed with her pelt, but it not nearly as vicious as the cold wind she had grown used to over the winter. Just die already.... she thought at the lingering bleary weather in general. Quite pointless, but nevertheless the thought was cathartic.
A change was occurring within her as well – at first she hadn't been sure, but then she'd begun to sense it, and there was no doubt in her mind now. New life growing within her. She'd probably even begin to show soon... her ears flicked back with the thoughts as she continued to scale the rise.Truth be told, she wasn't exactly sure how to feel yet. Yes, she was hopeful, and whenever her thoughts turned to Triell she could feel …well, warmth spreading through her chest was the best way to describe it. Whatever she called it, it only continued to grow stronger. It hadn't been a whim at all. But Nayeli had her uncertainties, too. Motherhood had always felt like some far off possibility, one of several intangible, murky paths that stretched out before her. Now it was suddenly a reality, or would be very soon. How was she supposed to know what to do? Her own mother had never been around to tell her these things, and the Bend had no healer as far as she knew. A huff escaped her as she reached the crest of the hill. Seating herself at the top of the rise, she looked back over the Bend. The first warm colors of evening were starting to hit it and set it aglow. This is home now.... Something else to be glad of. She hoped it would be a good one for these pups, too. She was willing to fight for it tooth and nail, but that wasn't all it took to nurture the future.
Bright eyes were upon the dull, blue clouds that hung thickly above him. If it was warmer they would have been filled with rain, but there was still an icy hold upon the lands, and white flakes fell down upon him. It wasn't unusual for this time of year to have a snow storm. He would have rather there was no more until the leaves dropped, and maybe even that was too soon. He had never been so tired of snow, and the nipping cold. It was hard not to be disgruntled by its lingering presence. Could they have a nice day, soon? Likely, his reserved mood it was more than that. It was evident they had endured winter, and spring had to come. The Tainn didn't feel any more care free. It wasn't like green grass, and green leaves promised their trials were over. A new chapter couldn't hold only things of light.
He ambled along with his usual march, thinking it was time to stop his scouting when he was drawn to Nayeli's scent. She had came this way, and without question he followed the dark lady's trail. The man became a little curious where she was headed, and how she was feeling. If he had known he would have joyfully ran to catch up to her. It was uncertain, and past doubt that kept his gut in a knot. There was still the little voice that wondered if this was what she wanted. This new life with him.
Eyes fell upon her dark pelt, aglow in the warm light. Triell held back, stealing a few seconds to look upon her, struck by her beauty and strength. Without thought a smile came upon his muzzle, and his gloomy mood was forgotten. She was the most certain thing in his life, and he couldn't explain how he knew this, but it was this in mind he brought himself from hiding. Silently, he brushed his nose to her cheek, and closely sat beside her, looking upon the beautiful view before them.
"How are you?" He began, trying to meet her silver eyes to more surely know.
She had been sitting, but not for so long, studying the canvas of cloudy sunset and landscape in thought when some sense or another alerted her that she was no longer alone. An ear flickered first upon the realization, swiftly followed by her gaze as she turned - seeing Triell, a small smile appeared on her maw, and Nayeli half-rose as he walked toward her, her tail swaying gently in greeting.
She sank onto her haunches again as he sat next to her, leaning inward. The warmth of his form was quite tangible and welcome on an evening like this, when winter seemed to be flexing its muscles one last time. Less tangible, but just as real, was the solidity of that form - the large black wolf had come to mean so much to her in what felt like both a very long and very short stretch of time. And yet when he uttered his question, simple though it was, she had to search for the right words to answer him.
Bumping her forehead against Triell's chest in silence, Nayeli tried to unravel her suddenly tangled thoughts. "I'm doing quite well...." she began, for it was true enough. She had been steadily regaining her health and weight - none of them had escaped the brutal winter unscathed, but nature was resilient, and as soon as the prey had begun to return to their territory, it had brought strength back to the pack. Drawing back once more, she sought his gaze, the warmth of fire meeting the cool of silver ice for a moment. "I have good news."
Discreetly, the dark wolf took in her scent. It was just way to remind his silly heart she was really his, as she took the time to answer his question. It was not something they had done countless times, but something about it made a smile form without effort. He was thinking they would be grey haired and stiff legged and yet they would easily sit together, and he would ask her a question, and she would quietly pause before giving a thoughtful reply. Was that how he knew this, surely was different? Thinking about such a future? He liked to think so.
When the lady shifted against him, his eyes wandered to the orange, and pinks of the thick clouds, perfectly content. In her presence he felt significantly lighter, and less bothered by what if. Neither did he mind when she did not look at him because there seemed to be a way she needed a moment to say what was on her mind.
The leader continued to stare, not much seeing the sky any more. He was looking down upon the top of her head, relieved to hear her words. While she looked healthier in his eyes he liked to know all the same. He was about to simply say, that's good when she got him off guard. She was looking at him now, a report of news....good news. Dark brows raised, and his smile twisted, a question to his orange gaze. Triell had his own suspicions, but he had not quite dared to hope, to simply believe. "Oh?" Was the only thing he managed, because he was still holding back.
I should be back in the game now ;3
With each moment that passed, the play of the light upon the land changed. The shifting was almost imperceptible, and yet the canvas had come alive with fire in the time she had been here. "Oh?" Triell uttered just one word, though his expression betrayed that she had indeed piqued his interest. She felt a small surge of warmth as she fell under Triell's gaze, giving a sidelong but genuine smile that refused to leave her lips as she sought to find the right words.
We're going to have pups,the words tumbled out, and there was no hiding the joy and hope this brought to her, or the fear. The dark lady's voice was drenched with the mix of emotions. The two of them were going to have descendants, and Oak Tree Bend would have new life to bring them together, to bring another generation of future strength to the pack. And yet the memories of winter were still fresh in her mind. Other worries shifted and mingled behind that one like specters. Could the next winter possibly be as harsh as the last one had? Would they have to compete just as fiercely with their neighbors in order to survive? Magnolia Glen had outnumbered them when the packs had clashed, though by luck the wolves of the Bend had prevailed. The confrontation had left an ill taste in her mouth, though, especially upon finding out that Triell's own sister was a leader of the Glen. She had never been fond of fighting, but when the realization that she was going to become a mother had dawned on her, it was as if a switch had been flipped. She would fight anyone, anything, for the life now growing within her, despite that they had not even been born yet. That didn't mean she wanted the lingering tensions between the two packs to escalate, though. The matter had just taken on a new weight for her. And yet, despite all her worries, there was a fire and happiness in her, too. Being with Triell jsut felt right as if there was anyone she could have chosen in all the world, it was him. They were in this together. Nayeli's tail brushed behind her as she studied her mate's face, searching Triell's features for his reaction.
That smile of hers made him wonder if she was going to tease him, prolong this news. No sooner had he thought when she announced what had long been lurking on the edge of his mind. We're going to have pups. With a halted breath, the reality settled in his head. He, Triell Tainn, was going to be a father. They would be his cubs running around this year. With both his ears, and his heart he was hearing the rest: the happiness and worry they both shared. Now, and forever they would be parents. There would be new things to enjoy, and fret over. Their lives changed. Yet, despite all scary things his rapidly working head could invent, these puppies would have Nayeli, him, and the rest of the pack to take care of them. That helped to keep him in the present...mostly.
Why he had a rather large opened mouth smile, he swiftly kissed the side of her cheek, finally speaking. "That's wonderful! Second best news I've ever gotten," softly he admitted with a coy grin. The first had been when she had told him she would be his.
The dark wolf was so he elated he hardly knew his tail was beating the grass behind him. Spring was really going to bring new life to the Bend. There he was picturing little dark bundles exploring the realms of oaks. Unable to contain this excitement, with carefulness not to jostle the dark lady he tipped his head back and proudly sang for all to hear of what was to be. When he finished he let out a low chuckle, and then brushed his nose along his mate's ear in a tickling manner.
"That's wonderful! Second best news I've ever gotten," Triell said, and for a moment Nayeli was lost somewhere halfway between his words and that grin of his. "Oh?" she asked, echoing him coyly, a smile coming and then going again as the moment drifted by. She found as much worry as joy in the revelation that she was carrying pups. She'd chewed it over until there could be no doubt left at all in her mind before finding this moment to speak to him, quietly holding down the joy and the trepidation, because the whole idea still seemed a little bit alien to her. The two emotions only seemed to grow with each passing day as surely as the pups must be, writhing and sparring within her. This quiet moment shared with Triell should bring her a little more inner peace, shouldn't it? All this happiness should to be able to keep the shadows at bay. And yet the dusk continued to fall around them.
Nudging a little closer to Triell, Nayeli found herself noticing yet again the warmth radiating off her mate. It still felt a little odd to think of him in such official terminology. She felt guilty for not speaking to him sooner. "I'm happy, really. But I'm afraid, too," she went on, feeling pressure bubble up in her chest as she spoke. "I want to do the best by them, by you, but the world doesn't care. It's cruel. It'll eat us all alive if given half a chance..." she paused to draw a breath, and felt a little lighter now that she had aired the dark, lurking thought aloud. Exhaling, Nayeli found she had found a little of the calm she'd been seeking. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to spoil your second-happiest moment ever. It's just... it helps to get everything out, you know?" Somewhere along the way, she had grown used to not sharing her worries and fears with anyone, and until now she'd never even realized how deeply that habit had taken root. She wanted to tear it all out, to uproot what loneliness and loss had nurtured in her heart, but that was easier said than done. She could only try to be open with Triell, try bit by bit to coax out those old habits.
Wrapped in warmth, he almost forgot about the light snow that lingered, failing to cover their contrasting coats. It was easy to get lost in the world where it was only Nayeli and him. The Stormwright made smiling as easy as breathing. With dark threads of their hair entangled he was only reassured again that she was safe with him.
Watching the light fade in degrees, he did not pick up on her anxiety. When it came to things being out of place he was finding she could be very quiet, but she could also simply be thinking. Unknowing which it was, he kept his vocals silent, offering his solid form for comfort. When she began to confide her new fears in him, he listened with both ears and heart. He understood she wasn't just seeing the light, but the shadows that could consume it. That was possibly one of the reasons he loved her. She saw the good in the world, but also the bad. The last thing he wanted to do was to pat her head and tell her there, there. From his experience as an Uncle there were far too many things that could happen to pups.
The Tainn brought his cheek beside hers for as much for his sake as hers. "You couldn't spoil it," he softly began. "Without you, I'm not sure how much joy I would have. -I know what you mean. I'm afraid for them, for you. I wonder what tragedy will be forced upon us next." They had had a hell of a winter, and he while trying to be outwardly optimistic, was not in spirit. While it was different to be speaking his own thoughts that Ice would have referred to as "dark rain clouds" to someone, with her it was giving another piece of himself over.
"Nayeli, I know we'll do the best we can, and it will be right by them. Whatever great moments life decides to give us we will keep, and the rest we will have to try to keep from drowning us."
Sitting there, swathed in the gathering darkness, Nayeli waited for the Tainn man to say something, but the silence was not a bothersome thing, either. Triell moved closer and she licked his cheek lightly, accepting the quiet encouragement and trying to return it a little. She felt that her worries had grown lighter, now that she'd shared them - but she still wondered how they might weigh on her mate, too. Drawing another careful breath, she settled against him, listening as his words began to rumble softly in reply.
It both stung and made her heart swell as he spoke of her bringing him joy, of those fears they were now to share as they brought this new life into the world. How could she not be glad to hear that she made him that happy? But at the same time, she hated to think of him being without joy if something were to happen... she forced that thought away. She would do whatever she could to made sure nothing happened, to her, to their children, to him....
"...and the rest we will have to try to keep from drowning us." that choice of words made Nayeli blink. It hit rather close to home, and she wondered if Triell had chosen that expression on purpose, knowing what it would mean to her. Meeting his gaze, she gave him a firm nod. To keep from drowning... that was something she knew how to do, at least.
Okay. We'll fight all the rest, together.Perhaps they couldn't defeat everything the world had to throw at them, but she felt better having talked about her fears with Triell, to know that they would both give it their all. Though the snows lingered and even now were dusting their pelts, this warmth was stronger than the cold.