Willow Ridge The Winter Sea

@Sven Backdated to 3/20.

not looking for some fairytale bliss

She hadn't known for sure when she'd talked to Ravenna but as the days passed and her heat disappeared she was sure. In a couple of months she would be a first time mother. When it first had hit her, that she really was pregnant and not just speculation she had been rather stunned. Then came the uncertainty, the question of what she was supposed to do now. Was she supposed to go about things as normal? She felt rather unprepared and that maybe she should speak to Ravenna.

There was something that she had been worried about since speaking to Ravenna about the den and how they would be sharing. For the first three weeks they would have their own dens, she needed to find one. Leotie also knew she would have to tell Sven if he hadn't already figured it out. He needed to know he was going to be a father.

First things first though she wanted to find her den site and get that done. It would take some if the pressure she was feeling if she knew she didn't have to worry about it. The Agouti woman went in search of Enoki's old birthing den, it was where she would start her search. When she found it she began looking in the area that was close by. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but felt she would know it when she found it. She headed away from the den walking at a slow pace not wanting to miss anything that could make for a nice denning spot.

i want something just like this

the devil is & always will

Sven was returned from a quick hunt in the fields. It wasn't often, anymore, that he left the pack's territory, for he was far too protective over the three eldest women in the pack to risk taking his eyes off of them for too long. It was both instinct and sentiment that drove this, as well as his own personality; the Archer, as much as his father, was a jealous wolf.

When the kill had been deposited near the communal den, he set out to find Leotie for his first check in with her of the day. When she was found he was quick to approach her, nosing her flank and shoulders to take in her scent. It had been changing these past few suns, and he was equal parts excited and worried about it. From Hecate he could guess that this meant Leotie was with child now, but damned if that wasn't as frightening as it was glorious.

His muzzle found her face, and planted a few kisses upon her cheek.

"What're you up to?"

be a gentleman.

not looking for some fairytale bliss

Now that she knew for sure that she was going to be having puppies and not just any puppies, Sven’s pups. She was still in some disbelief about it since for a long time it seemed that this day would never come. None of that mattered now because it was happening and everything had to he perfect. Leotie didn't want to leave anything until last minute, she wanted to be prepared so that all she had to do was wait for their children to arrive.

That was why she was now looking for the perfect densite for her to have her pups in. She wasn't expecting Sven to show up since she hadn't been able to find him earlier. Ad it turned out he found her placing kisses on her cheek after nosing her flank and shoulder. Leotie smiled as his touch, she kissed his cheek in greeting. “I'm so glad you're here. I thought since you and I are going to be parents soon that I should probably find a place for our children to be born. Would you like to help me with that?”

It wasn't exactly how she pictured telling him but she liked the way it had happened so much better than how she'd imagined it going.

i want something just like this

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

the devil is & always will

Her words confirmed what instinct told him, but he couldn't be sure if she was assuming as well that nature had worked as intended or if she could sense the lives growing within her with complete certainty. Regardless, the words caused a smile that was uncommonly even in its curvature. Sven was known for his smirks, the small quirks of either corner of his mouth to tell others that he as amused or happy. This, however, was more clearly genuine, more bright. A sight that hadn't truly been seen since he was a child.

"Of course I would," he agreed, eager to sign away an afternoon if it meant providing for what would swiftly become his family. Not his father and those many half-siblings, not the far reaching branches of the Archer family tree, as dear as they all could be to him; this would be his, crafted by his own diligent four-paws. In a way, it felt more right to him than even leadership.

"Do you... know?" he asked, inquiring into her knowledge of what was happening within her abdomen.

be a gentleman.

not looking for some fairytale bliss

Leotie knew Sven was busy but she had hope this was something they could do together. Making a home for their children’s first three weeks was something she was looking forward to. Leotie hadn't come out and told Sven he was going to be a father but the hint left nothing to be questioned. She'd spent enough time thinking about how she wanted to tell him.

Her tail wagged happily as she nuzzled his cheek when he agreed to help her. “I'm looking for a place near Enoki’s old den so Rav and I can be close to each other,” she informed her lover. It was what Leotie and the silver woman had agreed to. She also knew she would feel better being close to Ravenna in case something went wrong. Mostly there was just a certain level of comfort knowing her friend was close by.

Blue eyes turned on the pale figure when he asked his question. "Small things feel different but mostly I've noticed the change in my scent. I think it's too soon for any big changes,” she explained.

i want something just like this

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

& it's only you, no substitutes

@Enoki's old den? He was only slightly surprised that Ravenna would either take it over or want to build her own near it. As close as Sven had grown to the piebald women, she was infinitely more endeared to his cousin. Perhaps even a second-tier role model, after her mother.

"Is that where she's setting up camp?" he asked, because why wonder when he could just ask?

He listened as well to her answer, meant for his previous question. It was all relatively minor information, and yet he eagerly committed it all to memory.

"Well, keep me posted, alright?" he asked of her, nudging her cheek with his muzzle affectionately, "I want to know everything."

who can renew this soul again

not looking for some fairytale bliss

It was such exciting news to be sharing with him that Leotie could hardly contain herself. She'd wanted to become a mother for some time now and even more than that the father was Sven who she cared deeply for. It was starting to feel like everything was finally coming together for her and that she could finally let herself be happy.

Leotie nodded at his question, “She felt it was the best place for her and I felt that it was important for me to select my own place.” She'd wanted to go through all the steps since it would be her first litter.

His question about changes had get thinking about what might feel different and she didn't feel very different at all. Like she’d told him there were some small things but it was hard to put those into words. The change in her scent had been her biggest clue and the fact that her heat hadn't seemed to last as long as the previous year.

“Of course, you will be the first one I tell.” Unless of course it was something bad and then she’d go to Ravenna. Leotie didn't foresee anything like that happening though. She smiled when he nuzzled her and she licked his nose in return, “And I want you to know everything. Starting with the fact I want our children to have the best place to be raised in for the first three weeks of their lives.”

i want something just like this

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

& it's only you, no substitutes

"Of course," he agreed to her answer, paws beginning the peruse the ground once again as his eyes and nose started their search. Sven would leave the final choice to Leotie, but he could assist her by finding options and pointing them out until she was happy with a spot.

"They'll have the best of everything," he went on to assure her with another one of those uncommonly even smiles, pale eyes flicking back to her face briefly. It wasn't just that they were Archers, and that they wouldn't be born the bastards he had been, thus earning the full care of the pack; he personally would move heaven and earth to ensure that they had all they could ever want. Once born, his children would be his entire world, trumping everything he had ever held close to his heart in his whole life.

who can renew this soul again

not looking for some fairytale bliss

She smiled when Sven agreed with what she'd said regarding their children. He was their father and if he wanted to know everything that happened with them she would tell him. Leotie wanted him to a big part of their lives and she felt that he wanted the same. As he moved to start looking for a place she started looking along with him.

This was her first litter so she didn't really know what she was looking for in a birthing den but she did know about finding a den for herself. She remembered the lessons that she'd learned upon first arriving in the lore and felt they would help her now.

She lifted her head as Sven spoke again declaring their children would have the best of everything. Leotie wasn't even sure what that meant when it came to the wolves of the lore. To her it meant something very different. “I want them to have what I didn't have. Most of all I want them to be happy and have a family that there is no doubt in their mind loves them.” There were other things too but that would come in time as they grew amongst the pack. She grew quiet for a moment looking across the area, one thing had been bothering her. “Sven, do you think any of them will go missing like other pups have?”

i want something just like this

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you

& it's only you, no substitutes

A family that loves him. Really, if he had to cut right down to the bone of it, that was all he wanted for his children too. To have something whole, stable, reliable in ways that his own upbringing very much hadn't been. His family, both nuclear and extended, was always fracturing and distending. The only one of them he truly put any faith in was Ravenna, and that there would be a large difference from how his father raised him. Perhaps, that would be a difference that matter, for the better.

"Even if everything else falls apart, we'll always love them," he agreed, and hoped too that they would always love each other as well; be the siblings he and Attica used to be, but without such a sudden and confusing end.

Then she asked him the one question he didn't want to think about. Of course it had crossed his mind, and he'd tried to untangle it the mess, really sit and think about what he would have to do to keep his family whole if the world tried to take one from them, but it had all been so difficult and heart wrenching that he'd had to abandon it every time.

"I don't know," was all he murmured. He wanted to say no, but so many times in life it had been proven to him that the only thing he could control was himself.

who can renew this soul again