All welcome!
...Her hips will seem slightly wider or "fuller" as her pelvic ligaments will relax so that the puppies have enough room to pass through. By instinct, the future mother will seek out a quiet place or her chosen birthing den to make her nest and will seem on edge.
Any day now. On one paw she wanted it all to be over, she couldn't deal with how large and ungainly she was. Nor was she enjoying how drained she felt these days, as though no matter how much she rested it would never be enough. But on the other... it was a whole new chapter of her life, one she was entirely sure if she was ready to face yet. Lenae had come to terms with her condition a while ago, she was no longer in denial-because how could she be? But that didn't mean her fear had dissipated, like early morning mist. It lingered in the forefront of her mind, constant and steady like the beating of her heart in her chest. What if something went wrong? What if Cheedo was right, what if they all died and it was her fault?
Venturing away from the Tarn was foolish, she could hardly move about as she used to and with the birth of her little drawing ever closer it just made sense to stick near her den. But try as she might, no matter how much she paced back and forth outside of her little den she just couldn't settle, her mind would not be put at ease. Once more she trundled over the border and clambered over rocks, she didn't plan to be gone for long, just a little so that she could cast her worries off the mountain top. Or as high as she would dare to get anyway, Lenae wasn't really fit to be a mountaineer these days.
Packs of coyotes still roamed the mountain but Lenae took care to move quickly and quietly-or at least as much as her round form would allow. She wasn't out to question their claim over the mountain- that was someone else's job- she just wanted some fresh air and some time to herself, was that too much to ask for?
Probably.
Clambering over the rock, Lenae's sides heaved as her tongue lolled out the side of her mouth. It was warm out, but not uncomfortably so, maybe she could- her ears flicked back against her skull as the sound of yipping reached her. For a dreadful long moment she feared that they had found her, that in mere moments she would be surrounded by a never ending hoard of coyotes. What would she do? Lenae couldn't fight at the best of times, how was she supposed to fend them off now? She could try to run, but these days it could hardly be called that. More like...thumping? She wasn't too far away from the Tarn, but she knew she wasn't close enough to get back home in one long gallop. She'd have to stop and start at least a handful of times, and with an army of coyotes on her tail that just wasn't going to happen.
Perhaps, she wondered as she shrunk down, trying to blend into the rocks, they hadn't noticed her. Those sounds didn't sound overly aggressive, if anything they were playful, joyous. Slowly, hesitant, she peeked over the rock and-oh. Not coyotes, but foxes, baby ones too. They leapt and bound over the rocky terrain, tails swishing as they charged forward and collided in a pile of fluffy orange, tails wiggling all the while.