Sanguine Cove Without you to hold, I'll be freezing [m]

Nash <3

Things had been getting… marginally better. As the winter began to fade, perhaps due to the sunlight that now peaked out between thick clouds… she felt more like herself. It wasn’t perfect, and she wasn’t sure she would ever get back to where she had been before tragedy after tragedy had struck… but perhaps at the very least, she could be a productive member of the pack once more, a productive matriarch to her family…

She had to hope it wasn’t too late for that at the very least. She would make her way to Nash, a soft look in her eyes as she offered him a gentle nudge on the shoulder to greet him. It had been… a bit since they had discussed children, the effects of her heat in full swing as she nipped lightly at his shoulder to follow. “Darling.” She would greet, her voice softer, less burdened than it had been since Aleister’s death.

Perhaps it was her heat making her feel this way… she couldn’t possibly know. All she knew was that she felt how she felt in that moment, and it was better than it had been for some time.

Aquene Slayer

It seemed things were finally settling down after the whole Backwater incident, a thing that still plagued the leader. He'd hoped to foster a friendship with Viorel not unlike the one Aleister had... and now that was ruined. He'd betrayed his ally in the most grave way possible - even if it was a freak accident.

Maybe Chan was right. Maybe they were cursed and the mountain was too dangerous. Only, he'd spent plenty of time up here on his own, when the rest of them had left. They'd had a good year before; they just had a run of bad luck with the drought. It didn't make the mountain hostile to them. Chan was just overreacting because of whatever had happened to him.

And now Chan was gone again, and Nash wasn't sure he'd really ever see his brother again.

Aquene's gentle scent tickled his nose and Nash instantly inhaled deeper, closing his eyes and just enjoying his wife. He followed, paws moving before he even thought about the implications. "My love," he greeted warmly, returning the playful nip to her hip as he caught up.

There had been so much tragedy, some of which Nash had to bear responsibility for… in many ways, she felt she had failed him, trapped in her own misery and unable to be there to support him through his. She still wasn’t the most confident in her own footing… as if she would make a move and it would be the wrong one… as if she would hurt someone else in the process.

And now Chan was gone too… Nash’s brother by blood and by spirit both; it was that which made her pull her head metaphorically out of her ass and out of the depths of her own sorrow over what had happened and what possibly could in the future.

He would return the nip, a soft laugh escaping her maw… perhaps the first genuine one in months. “How have you been?” It always felt like they were catching up to each other just to catch up, little time left in between.

Aquene Slayer

Aquene was... different. Better. Maybe it was her intoxicating smell - he always found her scent intoxicating, but now more than usual, and his brain was still catching up - or maybe it was her laughter, but he couldn't help but feel like his own mind was clearing, that they were stepping into something new and better. That a corner had been turned.

He returned the chortle and bumped his shoulder into hers. "Continuing on, and better now that you're at my side, as always," he hummed, snuffling against her neck to be closer to her and to breathe more of her in.

She recalled a situation just like this, a few years back… coming out of the face of crippling loss, finally managing to find some joy. It had been Nash, and Kateri, and the wolves of the cove who had helped pull her from her mind after she had lost her mother… and it continued to be Nash… it continued to be the wolves of the Cove that saved her time and time again.

He bumped her shoulder and her smile grew just a little more, her neck crooning to run her face along the side of his as he spoke of being at her side. “It feels… different. I feel different.” She felt that statement was obvious enough as it was.

“I haven’t felt this okay in awhile.” She would admit, her eyes softening. She knew he knew it was true as well.

Aquene Slayer

An electric tingle ran down Nash's spine at his wife's touch and he leaned into it as they walked. He took the chance to nibble her ear as she was craned around. He felt his gaze soften as she spoke. "Me too," he said. "I feel a little more alive."

A huge grin split his face at her next words and he even allowed his tongue to loll out the side of his mouth as he paused to simply look at her. There was a light in her gaze that hadn't been there in a long time. "I'm glad to hear it," he said, nuzzling her, but pulled back to meet her gaze when he asked, "Are you feeling better, or is it the heat?" Either way it was valid. If her heat could give her some sort of relief from the darkness that had gobbled her up this past year, Nash would still be happy with the progress.

She was glad to hear that he felt better too… that he felt more alive as he nibbled at her ear. They had gained so much in finding each other; he was the reason she had been able to persevere through what she had. She would have crumbled apart completely without him. There was no doubt in her mind about at least that much.

His gaze met hers, and for a moment her smile faltered with his question, a soft sigh accompanied with a soft frown. “I… don’t know.” She admitted softly as she offered another nudge to his shoulder. “But I don’t want to question it.” She explained further. She didn’t want to know if it would fade when this itching desire faded… when there were possibly pups in her belly.

All she wanted was to feel this moment, and so she would. "We deserve even the smallest sliver of happiness if our minds are offering to give it to us."

Aquene Slayer

He saw the way she paused, how she diminished slightly, and he regretted asking. It quickly passed, however, and she nudged him again. He offered a small smile and rubbed along her side again. "I'll take any bit of happiness you can get," he agreed. Especially when she'd been so devoid of it for so long. Maybe the reason spring heat hit was to bring them into the new summer with hope. They'd had hope last year too, and look how things had happened... but if they were expecting a drought this year, they would handle it better. They'd practice fighting, practice defending against cougars...

Nash brought his thoughts back to his wife. She was here beside him, alive, and very much wanting his attention. He offered her a sly grin. "Are you sure, or is it the heat talking?" he asked again, this time his tone different and implying something else entirely. He needed to her be entirely sure of whether or not she was ready for another litter.

She imagined her own mood had been hard on him as well, on top of everything that had found their way to them. She wished she had been stronger… or that the drought had not happened, or that the tragedies had not befallen them… but all she could do in that moment was try and do better. That was all any of them could do.

He asked if she was sure, or if it was the heat. Her eyes softened and she paused for a moment, giving it honest contemplation as she started to place when her heat started versus when her mind had settled that it had wanted this… and in that moment, she knew. In that moment, the briefest sliver of confidence had found it’s way back.

“It’s the surest I’ve been about anything in awhile.” She would admit without any hesitation in her voice. “You are the only thing I have been sure about as of late.”

Aquene Slayer

Her light didn't diminish again this time, and her answer came sure and without hesitation. Nash's smile grew and he kissed Aquene's face. "Okay," he said gently. His mind turned briefly to their current litter, probably off causing mischief, but very quickly he came back to now.

His desire for confidence satisfied, Nash would follow Aquene wherever she led. He hoped this would last and she was finally out of the depression that had defined their year.