Aurora Heights midas is king and holds me so tight.

Open to one or two.  Late morning, partly cloudy.  42F/6C
For visual reference, see here.

It was to Kyna’s great relief that the weather finally seemed to be getting warmer. The urge to breed was not dependent on temperature, it seemed, and the woman was beginning to fear that her pups would be born before the snow melted and spring arrived. Thankfully, Mother Nature seemed only to be playing a joke and did not mean to torture them for much longer. With the sun peeking out from the clouds, the snow was finally melting away, leaving the alpha with muddy paws as she trekked along the line of white fir trees. Perhaps she’d delayed too long – but what was she supposed to do, dig out a nest through snow and ice?

The woman snorted as she drew to a halt, fire-bright eyes scoping out large roots. There was a small divot underneath…a good start, she supposed, but hardly a den for her future pups. She would need to dig it out. In a moment. After she rested her aching her paws.

With a large huff, she sat, eying the tiny hole. There was no way she’d fit her bulk through there. Kyna twisted, eying her growing rig cage. “You better appreciate this,” she sighed, slithering forward to begin the process of carving the earth away.

It sure isn’t easy.

Ember was the happiest she had felt in very long time. Their pack was small, humble and unassuming. The wolves all were friendly and collected, none of them wired or aggressive. None of them gave her doubts the way she'd always felt. There was nothing to worry about, no cause to stress the nights away and the things that once haunted her days were tucked neatly away in the unseen corners of her mind where they belonged. For the thousandth time, as she tipped her head upward to regard the risen sun and take in its sparse warmth, the peace thrumming throughout her body affirmed that she was home.

A voice and a scent both drifted to her, disturbing her only as much as a droplet does the surface of a much larger body of water. Ears cupping forward, she impulsively directed herself toward the source, and was greatly pleased to discover it to be Kyna. There had been so much work to do in setting up the pack, that the two hadn't been able to have a proper discussion yet. Could that change this morning?

The moment the newly-crowned alphess was in view, Ember could only guess at what she was doing. Never having witnessed a pregnancy and the work it involved before, she was a bit clueless beyond what common sense suggested. By now, the strawberry blonde was a bit deep for a cache. Was this another den? It was easy to imagine the mother-to-be would want her privacy, though it did sadden Ember a bit to think that her nights curled up against her friend were coming to an end.

"Would you like some help?" she offered as she padded up to Kyna's side, gold eyes bright.

“Oh!”

Kyna’s head popped up from the small opening, dirt spraying sideways as she jumped.  She hadn’t heard her friend approach over the sound of her own claws.  Offering the other female a small smile, she retreated from the fledging den and settled back on her haunches.  Oh, the rest did feel nice.  Digging did her poor paws no favors.

Curling her tail around her haunches, she regarded Ember curiously.  “I certainly wouldn’t mind the help,” she decided after a minute, arranging herself a bit awkwardly to accommodate the spread of her hips.  (Adulthood was gross.  And painful.)  The redhead regarded the hole and the cool dirt, not yet large enough to fit a whole wolf, much less a wolf and puppies.  Maybe two wolves, and puppies.

Glancing back over at Ember, she tipped her head to one side. “You aren’t obligated, though, by any means.  I just thought I had better get started, now that the weather seems nice.”  The queen’s smile grew a bit as she bobbed her head. “How have you been?  With the new pack, and all.”  As far as Kyna was concerned, things had been running fairly smoothly – but she wasn’t hunting right now, not as heavy as she was, and she hadn’t been as social as she would have wanted, having briefly gone to visit other packs.

A wild dissertation appears!

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Ember met the other woman's surprise with a broad grin, her tail picking up to give a few bouncing wags. The following cautions, however, we shrugged off as the pale wolf moved forward to pick up where Kyna had left off. It made her happy to help out, especially when the sunset-hued girl was the one in need of assistance.

The ground was difficult to work, but certainly not impossible. She drew up great clods of it with her wide paws, and her soft eyes bored down upon her work even as her ears swiveled to catch more words from Kyna.

"Wonderful," she was quick to assure her friend, sparing a moment to toss her another hearty grin. "I love it here. I don't think you could've picked a more perfect spot if you scoured the earth."

As grandiose as her praise may have been, it was all very much genuine. She continued her work for a moment, before pausing only briefly to turn her head toward Kyna, limbs still splayed forward as she asked, "I missed quite a lot, didn't I?"

“I didn’t have to. We’re so close to where I was born – I knew I wanted to come back.”

Come back to the place her father had once ruled – but she did not want to resurrect Silent Moon Plateau any more than she wanted to resurrect the Argyris’ ghost. They were so close, but this was her new home. To offer respect and memory, but to be something new as well. Something entirely her own, something to grow and build with her mate. With the family she build from loyal friends and clever wolves, as well as the lives growing inside of her.

A particularly fierce kick inside her got earned a wheeze just then, and Kyna’s ears flipped backwards as she gave her side an accusing stare. Hadn’t she done everything she could to keep them fed? What more could they want from her at this point?

“I, ah-- Oh. A bit, I suppose. I’ve been busy since we last met. Looking for like-minded others. Finally took Greer as a mate – been a long time coming, I suspect, but discussion isn’t really his thing.” The woman hummed softly, her glanced falling back to her friend. “I have no idea what I’m doing. Going to make it work, all the same. I must.”

A wild dissertation appears!