Charred Ash Draw The taste of adversity

Overcast, rain and storms. RE: Winter makes a comeback. For @Maera.

glitter & gold

Naira

Naira lay in the den, the lingering warmth of bodies that had chosen to take their leave in this god forsaken cold snap enough to take the edge off the ache in her spine and hips, but only just. Even Treyah was out there somewhere, hopefully with either @Zerxes or Reiko, (not that her mother really saw her with anyone else these days). The combination of sudden warmth then cold, and now rain had not only killed off all the plants but it would make the ice rather trecherous, both over waterways and under the snow. She could only hope they would all avoid injury, as the draw wolves had no supplies to take from.

She turned towards Maera with a smile and a sigh, her own swollen sides heaving with each short breath, a wince touching the edge of her eyes in a squint for each sharp toed paw that dug into her lungs, or stomach or kidneys. "How have you been fairing so far? Any nausea?" She hadn't experienced it herself too often, but knew others to suffer from it horrendously. The usual remedy was sweet grass but with all plants in such short supply there wasn't much to suggest beyond eating snow. It wouldn't be long now until the Draw would be filled with the high whines of puppies, and she wanted the other mother in the pack to feel at ease, for all the weather was against them this year.

Maera felt a little taken off guard by the surprising lack of everything she felt. She didn’t feel hungry, ever, and often times she had to force herself to eat which had just made her feel nauseated and ill. She didn’t have the energy to move, ever… she knew that pregnancy wasn’t going to be pretty or glamorous, life hardly ever was, but she also didn’t know it was going to make her this lethargic… the weather certainly wasn’t helping her foul mood… bless Kerb’s heart for being able to put up with her when she was like this, honestly.

Apart from that, the life inside her wasn’t helping, as it’d made a habit of pouncing on her insides like they were a rabbit. Part of her worried about what would happen if this awful weather carried into the next month, when they’d have children running around, vulnerable to the world around them… She shifted uncomfortably with every movement and every thought, and she wished that it were time for her to deliver already. Naira’s voice drew her from her silence as her head snapped over to glance at the other expecting mother. “I’ve definitely been better…” She mused, answering the second question in her explanation. “Only after I eat… my appetite hasn’t existed for a month now.”

glitter & gold

Naira

A gentle smile was offered to her companion at her admission of nausea, "Usually we'd be able to at least find a few strands of grass but this winter just doesn't want to let up..." but if she hadn't been eating, well that in itself could pose problems for her young. "Sometimes, you develop a preference, maybe fish or fowl would sit more gently than rabbits and deer?" She herself wouldn't pass up a big, muddy catfish despite otherwise being preferential to animals that made their home on the ground.

Something within her rolled and she grimaced, wondering just how many were in there. She hadn't felt this full in a long, long time. "This will be my fifth litter, though I can't say it gets easier each time. I don't remember my back giving me nearly this much trouble with the first... and there were four of them! They seem to come in twos since..." and she silently hoped for the same this year, if only for the sake of her aching joints. While she loved each and every one of her children dearly, they did tend to inherit her iron will and an uncanny thirst for adventure that she wasn't quite sure she could keep up with anymore. "At least we're not on a damn mountain this time..."