Willow Ridge Cover for me

@Scully Morning, sunny, cold.

Now that spring was upon them Avella knew what was coming for her personally. She knew her time would be upon her very soon and she didn't believe it would be a good idea for her to be within the Ridge when it hit her. She had already made it clear how she felt on the matter with her packmates. That left it up to her to bring the ridges first litter of puppies into the world.

She knew this would be something she would have to do upon starting her own pack. However, with her pack made up mostly of men she felt it best not to remain. So it was time that she speak to Scully to inform him of her intentions.

Avella chose the Willow near the creek before calling for her brother. Once she'd finished she sat back in her haunches looking out over the water.

Scully couldn't help but feel apprehensive upon hearing Avella's summons. He knew that if ever he was going to do the wrong thing, it would be during the heat. Avoiding his new situation wasn't the answer, however, and he did not hesitate to push himself up onto his paws and follow after his sibling's call.

When he spotted her, she didn't look to be at ease. He frowned as he approached, head canting to the side with sympathetic curiosity. Was something wrong? Maybe he was just projecting...

"Yeah?"

She sat quietly by the creek waiting for Scully to meet her. She had something important to speak to him about and she couldn't waste time. Still she took that moment to think about the Willows and what it would look like in spring. The months ahead held promise for the pack especially if all went well on her journey that she wanted to take.

Her brothers voice behind her drew her attention away from the water. Avella turned to face him. "I need you to do something for me Scully please. It might be a lot to ask but can you please look after the pack for me?"

Scully raised an eyebrow at her words.

"Oh? It's no problem sis, but why?"

He didn't mind standing in here and there, it was actually kind of the perk of his position. He got to play the boss when it suited him and defer to Avella when it didn't, with half the responsibility expected of him by any of the others. Pretty sweet deal, if you asked him.

But what was she leaving for this time? Her phrasing had him worried it was for a longer stretch. She wasn't... getting cold paws, right?

She was relieved when he said he would look after things. As expected he wanted to know why she would be leaving. She sighed, in a way she'd been dreading that question since she hadn't exactly known how to explain it but she gave it a try.

"Its my time Scully, I'm going to be coming into heat very soon. I can already feel the changes starting and I don't think its wise I be in the Ridge during it. I don't want to hurt any anyone or be unfair to them."

She hoped he could understand her reasoning. There were three males that she could easily go to to accomplish what she wanted but what would happen if she picked one over the other. Would jealous fights break out? Would one of them leave because they were upset she hadn't picked then? She didn't want to hurt any of them and she felt that picking one over the other would do just that.

"Its best this way. I hope you can understand?"

Oh. Scully's ears swept back as Avella brought up the month that seemed to always pull them apart, and he certainly was on his own an active part of that. It occurred to him then that they had never discussed whether or not Avella would want the pack to have a litter of little Archers to care for. He'd more or less assumed she was the type to wait until she'd committed herself to one wolf in particular.

"Yeah," he answered her, not at all upset or irritated with her choices; simply surprised.

"You're really gonna be a mom then, huh?"

Splitting up for flings was one thing (if she'd even participated, the siblings maintaining a healthy 'don't ask, don't tell' policy when it came to March shenanigans), but children were a whole other matter. Permanent, inescapable. Avella would be a good mother, he just hoped the rest of the pack could live up to what was needed of them.

It was a little strange bringing up her intentions with Scully. It wasn't something they normally talked about. Around this time of the year they woukd just part ways and meet back up when it was over. For the most part Avella had always been careful not wanting puppies before she was ready. Now she didn't think she had much of a choice in the matter, the pack needed them and it was her job to provide them.

She wasn't sure if it was surprise that Scully showed when he finally spoke or something else. "Yeah," she said looking at her paws until he spoke again.

"I guess so," she admitted quietly. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready to be a mom."

It wasn't often that Avella spoke sheepishly, but her averted gaze and abated voice spoke of her uncertainties just as clearly as her words. Scully's ears pressed forward while his dusky lips pulled downward into a sympathetic frown. As far as he was concerned, his sister only needed to do what she wanted to, nothing less and nothing more. Even their own father hadn't sired a litter until a year into his leadership, though of course at that time Willow Ridge had been well established and children had still been conceived...

Scully shook his head. Even if it did cost them the Ridge, his sibling deserved her freedom. And who said it had to?

"Than you don't gotta be," he spoke softly, trying to be encouraging.

"It's your choice alone, El. The packs what we want it to be, remember?"

Avella was uncertain about becoming a mother for the first time. It was a risk and a large responsibility. She knew that the pack needed her to have pups it just felt like that was what she needed to do. Unfortunately her worries weren't calmed by that knowledge. It seemed that her brother had picked up in her uncertainty. She offered him an appreciative smile. "Thank you Scully. I know that you are right. I don't have to become a mother this year. You are also right that we are going to run the Ridge the way we want. I don't know I just feel like this is what the pack needs and as the matriarch it's my job to provide it. After all I worry that if the others don't see the pack grow with pups than they might worry about how well we are actually doing." She really hoped that made sense.

Scully listened to his sister, and came to understand that even if she had her reservations, she did not feel this was forced upon her; she earnestly thought it was what was best, however. He remained on the fence, unsure of whether or not to try and sway Avella away from this decision. He felt she needed to be more ready, to prioritize having the family she wanted over what she thought was best for them all as a group. However, they were both adults, long grown and more knowledgeable of themselves than any outsider could be; it would be presumptuous of him to think that Avella had not already considered each and every aspect of her options.

"... as long as you're happy, I've got your back," he relented at last.

"That's all I want."