Willow Ridge the lovers

Random Event: Niamh, There are signs of a bobcat having been here recently; they might still be around.

She had never been so...round. Sides distended like she had bloated unnaturally. Oh and how it all exhausted her to such extremes! Yet still instinct nagged her out to find that perfect little place to root herself in when the time came. She had no intentions of leaving @Hagar out of the whole affair, but she must first find the spot.

Somewhere sheltered, private from the eyes of the rest of the Ridge when the time came.

She would have only two there and only they would be told of the location of her room.

Yet it was in her various searching that she discovered a scent too fresh for her liking. One that smacked her brain distinctly with warning. Feline. Bold enough to come into their home, into their sanctuary. It all proved enough for her to forget the notion of privacy in finding a place.

A concerned call was raised for someone to come see the signs left behind.

Hagar was rarely far from her, and so his answer to her call was swift. He went to her side, touched his nose reassuringly to her cheek and then lowered his maw to the ground, breathing in the scent still wafting from the round prints. His muzzle crinkled and he let the air back out harshly, scattering some of the earth. Lifting his head, he called for the wolves he considered to be his pack, expecting each of them, children included.

This would be a crucial lesson for the soon-to-be yearlings, hunting down and exterminating a rival predator.

As he waited, he preened the fur around Niamh's head and face lovingly, while his ears remained alert for anyone, or anything, approaching.

Hagar is calling for the group to help hunt down the bobcat! He expects everyone to show, so please lmk if you're unable to fit this thread in. <3
@Avella @Kaeruka @Rashina & Nineve @Daegal @Iseldir

Distance was what she felt she needed during this time. She needed to heal from the disappointments that had happened over the last months. She of course still made herself Available to her children when they needed her but they were nearing a year. Soon enough they wouldn't need her as much as they grew into themselves. This of course saddened her as it left her with a sense of not knowing what to do next or if she was even needed sometimes.

She walked through the trees of the Ridge Avella was trying not to let the thoughts that often dominated her life now enter. Her ears perked at the sounds of Hagars call. It was one that gave the sense of urgency. The masked woman hurried to where the call had come from. The scent that greeted her was a familiar one that couldn't be ignored.

"I'm here," she said announcing her presence as she approached the pair. Her tail was held high over her back a clear sign of her dominance.

Sunlight warmed the tawny woman's fur as she unceremoniously plopped her frame onto the ground beneath the weeping branches of a willow tree, salmon tinted tongue lolling from parted jaws as she opted to take a small breather after burying her latest haul into the pack's caches. Over the past couple of weeks the otherwise petite Niamh had started to become rather swollen along her sides as the life she bore within grew larger with each passing day, as a result the stored caches were given extra attention to ensure the expecting mother never went without whenever hunger struck her.

Speaking of the woman, ebony tinged ears immediately pivoted forward to a more alert position as the very woman's voice rang out in a concerned tone that was shortly followed by a more demanding call from the silent guardian who was never far from her side. A threat had dared to disturb the peace those that called this place home fought hard to keep.

Despite the aches that filled her muscles Ruka was quick to rise back to her paws and race toward the summons, slowing only once the silhouettes of those already gathered came into a clearer view. "M'here." She panted while taking note that she had only been a tails length behind Avella's own arrival.

Eve came, but not without reluctance. After their little family meeting (vague) Eve had been unsettled, not quite sure what to make of the whole new situation that was her father's new mate.

She followed her mother's trail. One weighed heavily by sorrow. Eve could feel it in her gut as much as she could see it in her mother's eyes. But it had not all been on Hagar, had it? Avella had never loved him. Had never taken him as mate.

When Nineve arrives, it is close to her mother's side, her tail out and rigid behind her. Eve's head lifts, seeing the protectiveness, the closeness he had with Niamh. In all the times her mother and father were together, they never looked at one another like that. Her gut twisted and she said nothing as she waited instruction.

Ra comes, slowly, but surely, to the demand of Hagar which beckons all of Willow Ridge to him. She does not know what had happened, but the call was one of great urgency. Prior to his own, was Naimh's, which honestly is what drew Ra more so to come to the call.

Soon enough, she smells and hears those gathered. Ra is likely last. She moves closer, with stepa that are akin to a baby deer, high and feet pawing the earth first to try to avoid stumbles and trips. Still, her chin is bloodied, having once stumbled in her urgency to get here and having bit into her tongue.

Ra seeks out the scent of Niamh and comes to silently step to her side, Hagar detected just near too. She noses her friend's scruff and waits. The scent of cat is dominant here, but Ra was no fighter. She would have been best at her den to prepare for any that might be injured.

                                                                                                   ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆                                                              
"Moon Mother,
bring us your light, for the night is dark and full of terrors." 

Clouse thought first of Ra when he heard others calling out, warning in their tones. Unfortunately he was not able to locate her swiftly enough to escort her; in fact he ended up scurrying in after her entirely, a deep frown on his dark lips and brows pinched like an agitated mother. Immediately he fussed up to her side, checking her over briefly before focusing on the blood that adorned her chin. That they were all so linked, like a chain rather than a proper web, escaped his notice and he did not pay leader the sort of attention he likely should.

Instead, he cleaned the scrape along her thin jawbone and then set about preening her, restoring the other-worldly grace from the tousling of her haste and worry. Only then would he shake out his own pelt and set his eyes upon the others, assessing whatever had them so perturbed.

Hagar heard the parting of brush and grasses along with the steady, familiar stride that told him Avella was the first to answer. Pleased, he greeted his partner with sweeping wags of his tail and moved to speak with her. He thought to confer with her promptly, rather than keeping her waiting until the others had joined.

"Cat, small. I think the kids are big enough for the experience, what about you?"

If she thought the danger great, he would not press her to allow them. They meant just as much, if not more, to the wolf who'd birthed them and she had every right to request more time, more lessons before they were purposefully introduced to a rival predator.

Kaeruka was not far behind, along with their daughter. Hagar looked to both and gave them a smile, confident that together they had this border breach well-handled. With enough jaws, bobcats were easy enough to tear into pieces swiftly and efficiently before it even stood a chance, at least in his experience with his natal pack.

When Ra came too, Clouse hot on her wintry tail, the bear-shaped wolf felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't meant to alarm her so, and certainly hadn't expected her to harm herself to meet his call. Perhaps he would need to vocalize as much to her, but it would have to be at a later time. If they dallied too long, they gave the small carnivore the chance to elude them. He approached to give a gentle lick to the seer's muzzle in silent appreciation, then moved to be able to address the group as a whole. The boys had not yet come, and while he did not want them to miss out, it was more important to exterminate this pest.

"We move together, and attack as one. The quicker we kill it, the less damage it can do."