Quaking Vale let me down gently

@Draven hihihihi sorry sorry pls continue !!! sahlie is gunna leave in her next post i'm just settin' the stage now

She wanted to ask what about Fallen Tree Cove made the two expecting parents concerned that they would not be welcomed or treated like family. Was it Draven that had those concerns, or Neha? Her lower lip rolled around under her teeth. It could easily be either or both of them. And who had been concerned the first time around that Quaking Vale wouldn't be the place they could be family or welcomed? Maybe this would be something that would come out later, but nothing she could ask now. Instead, she was left to wonder how much the bad blood between her and Draven had effected the back and forth between the valley and the mountain.

"Well, I'll help you pick out a nice place to dig where no one will bother you." Even if they wanted to all be family she was sure that the new mother, when she was a new mother would like some space to herself and wouldn't want wolves like @Larkspur sniffing up her tree. Inwardly she groaned, wondering what his thoughts on all this would be when he returned. Spieden, Naira, and Aponi had all settled into dens well away from each other in the pack lands, and no one had gotten too close without clear approval from the mother. Being a mother could make a wolf very paranoid, apparently, and Neha already seemed pretty rattled. Sahalie didn't want to push her. "C'mon," she motioned with her muzzle towards the heart of the territory.

@Neha

The man listened politely as Neha and Castel spoke about the state of the pups growing within the former's stomach. Draven's own stomach was full of nerves  as they waited the few moments before their verdict was sealed. If they were rejected he was not sure what they would do, they couldn't possibly raise the pups as loners could they? He had had a hard enough time to hunting for the pair of them the last few weeks but how could he do it when there was more mouths to feed?

Thankfully the words that graced them were not that of a rejection but of acceptance. As much as Draven did not trust Sahalie and thought that she was selfish when it came to her relationship with his brother he was thankful for her at this moment. His children would not be on the brink of starvation at any given moment, and they would have the safety in numbers that they needed. Whoever wanted to peek their head in and see the pups was welcome as far as he was concerned.

He watched as Sahalie and Neha went off the dig the den, as much as he thought he should be the one aiding in this task he was not in the place to complain at this moment. Instead he looked to Castel, "Have you been taking your herbs? I'll come see you later to check on you okay?" Then he looked to his platinum brother before picking up the gift that they had brought, gesturing with his muzzle he moved to follow Alastor to deposit them in the appropriate caches.

"I certainly feel like that will be the case." She replied, albeit still a little shyly to Castel. Each of these wolves, including the small blue eyed female, she would get to know personally. Even with the challenges of raising children, Neha would make time. Had she been her normal, observant self, she would have noticed that Castel was not your typical, healthy wolf. That something was off...that there was some mystery illness running rampant through her system. But with Draven working as a healer as well, and with possibly more knowledge than she, Neha needn't fret. She had to focus on parenthood now.

Alastor finally spoke after she had said her piece, and even with a grin on his maw. The words she heard warmed her heart, threatened to make her eyes water. She was family to them now. And not just because she was carrying his brothers children. She had sensed a connection with these wolves from day one, of the sort that ran deeper than what she had with her blood relatives. She would always love her mom and dad dearly, for her relationship with them was special. But she had grown distant with her old family, and here she could form new ties. Feeling her body begin to relax, she smiled up at the silver man gratefully. "You don't know how much this means to me...thank you." A soft chuckle slipped in between her lips. "I think a little annoyance is a small price to pay if it means my pups will be in the spotlight." Ah, there...some of her old humor was still alive after all.  Sahalie pitched in with a generous offering. Bonding time alone, whilst seeking out a safe spot to make her den. Soft brown eyes glimmered, the edges of anxiety slowly eating away. "That sounds great, thank you..." They could catch up on news on the way, digging into the details of her journey since she left. Sparing Draven a warm, relieved glance, she turned and followed Sahalie, her new leader and friend, off amongst the trees.

Exit

 
 

 

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

Guess who forgot it was her turn to post. That's right. This derp.

As she'd expected, Alastor and Sahalie both were welcoming to the young parents. Castel wagged her tail at the young couple, then snorted at Sahalie's suggestion at finding a place where no one would bother Neha. "I will make no such promises! I've always been good at sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, and I refuse to stop now!" she proclaimed, but smiled to show that she was only joking. It was even better because the mother-to-be had made a joke of her own, and Cas was always willing to play along. "One thing is for sure - there will be no shortage of spotlight for the pups. Everyone around here will be loitering around and waiting for the day you decide to share them with all of us."

Draven asked if she'd been taking her herbs, to which she gave a lighthearted smile. "Yeah, they've really been helping me." He told her that he'd come check on her later, and she offered him a laugh in return. "Take your time! There's no reason to hurry - get settled in first." Then, all of them headed off in their respective directions, and Castel was left to pick her own way to go. She definitely didn't want to intrude on any of their bonding time, and so she decided to go off and check the borders again, as she'd been doing before.

If she wasn't on top of the world before, she definitely was now. Their pack was growing - thriving, even, and she had amazing friends here. No, she corrected herself; as Alastor had stated before, they were a family here, and the thought made Cas' paws feel light and her chest bubble with excitement. She'd never had a family before, and she loved the feeling it provided.

It gave her hope for the future.

{ exit }

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

Everyone was offering the pair back with open hearts and the man was glad for it. He was excited to be able to see his family grow and to have the possibility for them to stitch their lives back together again. It would never be the same of course, but they could try and make it as close as possible. Neha spoke and his auds swiveled forward to give her his attention. A grin spread further across his maw at her meek but accepting words. “Their uncle’ll make sure they get all the attention they need,” he chuckled. He wanted to be in their lives. It seemed likely to him that he would never himself be able to have pups, not that he cared much. He couldn’t even imagine the kind of hellspawn that would come from him. No, the world would be better off without little silver tykes causing a mess. He could leave the spreading of the Leigh genes to Draven and, up north, perhaps even Ari. He wondered if she’d also settled down in the spring, found herself a nice wolf. They’d better be nice, or he would have something to say about it.

The mother-to-be certainly seemed tired and the women seemed to notice as well. They were eager to pull her away and give her some comfort and Alastor was more than willing to let them go. His topaz gaze caught with Draven’s and he moved to steer him to the nearest cache. They had some talking to do.

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume