Spectral Woods Lady Luck Dealt Her Cards

Alright, here we go!
DATED: around May 1st, putting Nalda at 6 weeks pregnant and very visibly showing.

It had been raining on and off for days, turning the forest floor into a mushy mixture of mud and wet leaves. It left dark stains on white paws as they trudged through, dredging up long trails in the mug with every heavy step. The shewolf grunted with the effort, her shoulders sagging and ears flat against her skull in exasperation. Most of all she wanted to stop, to turn around and get out of this rain, and find somewhere to rest her weary body. But she’d been putting this off for too long already, hoping foolishly for a solution to reveal itself to her out of thin air; Or for it to somehow turn out that she was wrong.

But there was no denying it any longer: her belly was visibly swollen, the young lives in there growing to press painfully against everything else, even giving it a kick once in a while, for good measure. She was about to become a mother, and unless she wanted to give birth in the small cavern on the mountain where she’d been hiding out, it was time to head on home and face the consequences of her actions; Damn it all to hell! In one moments weakness, she might very well have squandered away the only good thing she’d ever had in this life. But she wouldn’t give it up without a fight!

So she gritted her teeth and continued her trek through Spectral Woods, stopping only when she finally came upon Oak Tree Bend borders. She didn’t cross them, despite the momentary lapse of judgement that had landed her in this whole mess, she was not stupid. Instead she paused well without the boundaries, raising her head and calling for @Aponi. There would be only one chance to plead her case to the alphess, and it needed to be handled with care. Lowering her tail, head and shoulders, the dark girl waited as patiently as she could for her aunt to answer, and as soon as she saw the hint of silver fur appearing out of the trees, she spoke: “A’ know what’you’ gonna say, bu’ before you chase m’off, I’ve got a prop’sition t’make.”

Word count: 365
"Speech" Thoughts

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2018, 11:23 PM by Nalda.)

Just a note: This takes place approx 3 days before Aponi gives birth 5 days before her due date.

Things had been… tense in the Bend to say the least. At first Serach had avoided her unless he couldn’t help it or the children were around but now he seemed to be warming up. The birth of their new litter, and it was their litter as far as Aponi was concerned, was fast approaching and he had settled into the role of dutiful father. It would still be another week or so the pregnant wolf had figured, her milk only now beginning to flow but it was curious that her hips already felt looser, wider. The Donata was restless, agitated, snapping at almost anyone who came too close unless it was her mate. For him she reserved a kind of quiet acceptance, avoiding his eyes and acting more like a silent house-wife than she was ever meant to be.

Nalda’s continued absence was noticed but not exactly cause for concern or that high up the priority list. She was an adult who could very well fend for herself and the subordinate had been sent out on an extended mission after all. Aponi had hoped she would be back before the pups were born, an extra set of paws on the border but was not wasting her time fretting over it. Not when her family was holding on by a sinew like thread. There was strength in their resolve, but it was thin nonetheless.

When the familiar voice lifted over the misty forest the mother had been laying in the birthing den, uncomfortable but not asleep. Pulling her body from the meticulously dug hole Aponi couldn’t hold back the involuntary groan. There would be no way to cease the agony until the pups arrived and that was a whole new level of hell itself, at least she had mostly managed to keep her stomach contents inside of her this year. The thought had barely cleared her mind when she instantly regretted it, the stench of Nalda’s condition reaching her even before her frame came into view. Suddenly, Aponi felt her stomach clench and roll sickeningly. What had she done?!

Tail raised, hackles sticking straight out the back of her neck the aunt looked over her niece accusingly, her words practically making her choke. Shaking her head the alpha did not allow her to continue, ”You will be making no proposition today. I should just chase you out right now.” But, but? ”But, you are blood and so instead I will give you a choice. You have three options,” They weren’t so desperate for numbers now that the pups were almost yearlings, but Aponi still felt an almost motherly protectiveness over her niece that her sister had so foolishly brought into the world. Serach may have been nicer, but the Donata wasn’t even sure how her mate would react, she wasn’t sure what he was thinking when she used to read him like an open book. ”You can leave now and try to raise those pups on your own and probably be picked clean by the vermin that have infected every inch of these woods,” Talking about the coyotes of course, desperate mangy things that seemed to have lost their damn minds. ”You can kill the pups as soon as they are born and pretend nothing happened, or you can give birth to them and then let them be raised alongside my litter and be a protective cousin to them but never a mother.” Aponi thought that was probably the best option so she sweetened the pot a little, ”They’ll get to live and I’ll keep them as happy and healthy as I can and you can watch over them but they will never know that your blood is stronger in their veins than mine.” But it was probably the only way they’d live.

If possible her ears pressed even flatter, head ducking even lower at the lash of Aponi’s words. A pitiful whine snaked its way through her throat, but she held it back, biting her tongue as the alphess presented her conditions. This was not what she’d expected. Once she’d come to terms with her condition and laid out her options, she’d considered offering her aunt the pups, but ultimately figured she wouldn’t be interested, obviously she had her own litter on the way, why would she want to take on more children that weren’t her own. Blood… It seemed there was no escaping its significance no matter how hard she tried, and now it might just be the thing to save her ass.

Clenching her jaw, the lower wolf glanced up at her superior, never quite meeting the icy blue eyes. She was balancing on the finest of lines here, and she knew it, every move required thorough calculations. Nalda had no intention of damning herself over the lives of her unborn pups, even without the sudden influx of rival scavengers around the lore, trying to foster cubs all on her own was as good as suicide. But then; kill them as soon as they are born and pretend nothing happened? This was not so for from the deal she had intended to propose herself, and surely more than she could have ever hoped for. Go back to the status quo and try to regain her aunts favor? Yet she felt a stirring in her breast at the thought, a strange flash of the emotions that had begun to awaken in the expectant mother, despite her best efforts. She wanted more!

Finally, breathing deeply and knowing that she was challenging fate, the dark woman spoke again, her voice carefully meek; “Le’me keep’on’.” She pleaded, and she hated herself for it, but despite all her hardness, the former Zamora had grown to care for her unborn offspring. In Aponi’s care, all her children might get a chance at life, and a good one too, but she was selfish, she wanted the kid, all to herself. The queen promised to love them as her own, but to the girl who had grown up abandoned by both her parents, it still felt like a desertion. She might not have wanted this in the first place, she might curse herself over and over for her stupidity and fret at the thought of becoming a mother, but she would not leave a child to her same fate; So damn it! With her every fiber she wanted to make sure that the pup did not grow up unloved and unwanted, that it would always know how much she treasured it. “Jus’ th’one. I’ll raise’t alone or’elp nurse yours, whichever y’want, bu’t’ll be mine.”

Word count: 466
"Speech" Thoughts

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Aponi wished she took no pleasure in seeing the way her niece’s ears pressed back against her skull as she lashed out with a strict tone. But, she was a wolf who enjoyed power and while she didn’t relish in dealing it out on her loved ones - for she did love Nalda - a small part of her felt a thrill of excitement. It was the same part of her that had been out for blood when Maeve had wandered into the territory, she could have let her go with a few bruises but she had been so tempted to end her life then and there.

The gold eyes flicked upwards but never quite met the alpha’s, her niece may have been stupid enough to get herself knocked up but she clearly was not suicidal. Not suicidal, but given the plea Aponi thought her even more stupid. The queen’s mind flashed briefly to her own childhood, Nova and Mercy - the child Sagacity had found and been allowed to raise and the tense relationship that they had all shared. Maybe if Aponi had not had her own young heart broken by Mercy’s desertion the thoughts would have softened her.

Instead, they strengthened her resolve.

Blue eyes turned hard and the silver hackles along her spine straightened to a point. ”That was not an option Nalda. You will keep none of them no matter what you choose and you know it, but one option leaves them alive.” The words were practically a snarl, her niece was very close to pushing her too far.

 

She ducked down again, stomach now scraping the ground as she yielded to her leader’s anger. She’d known it was a long shot, and Aponi’s enraged voice made it clear that she was using up her remaining favor very quickly. Yet she had hoped it would be enough, that she would be able to sway her aunt without resorting to bargaining, putting extra strain on their already shaky relationship. Still, she would do what was necessary to achieve her wishes; She wasn’t ready to settle just yet.

Taking a shaking breath, preparing for the backlash that might come, she dared a look into her queen’s icy eyes. Ever so brief, but enough to put the weight behind what she was about to say; “A’ got th’infomation y’wanted.” The statement was made in that same unchallenging tone, but there was no mistaking the point behind it; What’s it worth to you..? It was her only remaining option, a chance to buy the amnesty of just one of her pups, despite the cost it might be to her credibility. She hadn’t wanted it to come to this, but cowering here, before Aponi’s wrath, she suddenly felt an overriding need to fight for her children - The very puppies she so dreaded to birth, that she had wished away for weeks, were now the most important thing in her life.

So, just to emphasize her offer, and validate the intel she was offering, she added: “A’found y’ mystery’man, an’he ain’t in Willo’ridge ‘nymore.”

Word count: 250
"Speech" Thoughts

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

If Nalda had been close to pushing Aponi too far before she had now flung herself well over and above the line. This time there were no words and only a snarl, the silver tail slashing behind her violently. She was heavily pregnant sure but it was clear that her niece valued the lives of her pup more than she valued her position in the pack and that was enough. Aponi had fought pregnant before and this time she had the entire pack just a single call away. On second thought, she had Lila just a call away and the pups were almost yearlings now and Chamomile - but she wasn’t sure if she would have Serach’s blessing.

That thought and that thought alone was the only thing that stopped the alpha from lashing out and physically assaulting Nalda. Hackles straight in the air her teeth barred in the dim lighting of the mist, ”You have the nerve to try and use the information I asked you to collect against me?” The woman was fuming now and the words were barely forming in her mind before leaving her jaws. ”I took you and all of your friends in on good will, I gave you a home and let you into my family. I send you out on a simple task and you get yourself knocked up by a stranger and you have the audacity to believe that the whereabouts of Skoll is worth more to me than the health and safety of my unborn children?” Blunt claws dug into the ground underneath her, staking her to the spot when her muscles screamed to lunge.

The rage cooled slightly and where anger had once laid on her muzzle her expression showed only disgust. ”You’re more ungrateful than your mother, and I’m disappointed to say you might even be more stupid than she was when she got pregnant with you.” The blue eyes looked her over, resolve clear and cold within their depths, ”Get out, you’re not welcome here.” Only that wasn’t good enough, ”If you come back again I’ll kill you myself.”