Cedarwood Forest Bear with me here

special mention for @Rook if he wants to drop in, otherwise all welcome!

Feeling as if her time was drawing near, Amaryllis knew what she had to do and as she studied the bear den before her, seeing the scattering scraps of pelts, mostly of rabbits and deer that she had collected over her time in the Hollow, wondered if it had been too daring of her to assign the bear den as her birthing den.  The communal den, she knew was further north and she had kept note of where both Oula's and Pip's were, just in case. So she knew she wouldn't be intruding on their space when it came to to the birth of her own cubs. But still, something wiggled in the back of her mind.

Deep down, something, perhaps it was worry, reminded her of what had happened with Oula's last birth. It told her should be digging her own den somewhere much safer, like in the bluffs. After all, if a storm did touch down like it did back then, she wouldn't have to worry about being blown away in the stones.

Besides, what if the bear came back to reclaim its old home? The little voice niggles in the back of her mind. What would happen then, especially if it came back during the crucial time when her children were about to come into the world? She wouldn't be able to defend herself very well would she?  

But Amaryllis pushed those thoughts from her mind. After helping Pip dig her den, she honestly didn't feel like digging another den, even for herself. And she highly doubted that the bear would ever come back, given how long it had been since she had even last scented one. No, this den would be fine. It should be fine.

But part of her did worry about what had happened with Oula last year, being caught out like she had been and having to give birth under a old fallen tree. Though the bear den was sturdy and large, more then enough to fit herself, the pups and Rook with more then enough space to spare, the niggling feeling she should build her den somewhere built surrounded by stone was becoming more and more tempting as the longer the thought clung to her.

(This post was last modified: May 16, 2017, 12:36 AM by Amaryllis.)

Just like he had done with Quil, Rook had spent most of his time, during the last leg of @Amaryllis' pregnancy, keeping his nose to the ground and his eyes to the surrounding forest. As a Leader, he might not have minded her scent so much, seeing as his musk would have been intermixed with it; but, as Veho's Second, he carried the anxiety he reserved for only the most stressing of situations. There was something about these cubs that made him nervous. As much as he trusted Veho, trusted the other women to not take them as their own (seeing as Amaryllis was Leader and they had their own broods to take care of...), he couldn't be sure about anything else beyond those factors. That Amaryllis had chosen the old bear den had made Rook even more tense. It wasn't for fear of the bear that had initially built it (that bear, or so it seemed, had truly moved on since Borden and Jaysyek had inhabited the area), but for the memories it held. His parents had established their very family here - and, now, it was his turn.

Rook's stroll gradually brought him to the southern borders before he fully realized just where he was following his mate. Several times over his mismatched eyes blinked and his nose twitched, then all too soon he was off at a ground-eating pace.

He sprinted between the trees, overshooting the general space where the burrow opening actually was before he called out to her, wondering if it was time. "Amaryllis?!"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

At first, Amaryllis didn’t hear Rook coming as she was still caught up in her own thoughts. It wasn’t until he called her name that it jerked her attention to him.

Though the worry was clear in his tone, the way he had overshot the entrance to the den made the woman laugh at the sight of him as she poked out of the den. “I’m fine and so are they! They're not here yet!” She reassured him kindly, stepping towards him and offering a kiss to his cheek, her tail sweeping behind her contently. “I was just checking up and adding a few things to my collection.” Turning her head towards the den, she tilted her head towards it. “Do you want to check it out? I’ve put in a few furs and that, to keep the cubs comfortable and everything.”

Which was true, furs lined the ground and Amaryllis was somewhat proud at how well kept all the furs were. Some were a little worn and torn but she knew that was because of the use they had had in her own den before being transferred over to here. And the pups wouldn’t mind so much. They'd probably use them as chew things more often than not anyway.