until the dynamite gives in

@Chan - Backdated March 16th, 2021 right after claiming thread. Her scent would have started changing 2 days prior

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

It had become undeniable, her scent changing. She didn’t know how to feel about it, but one thing that was overwhelming in her chest was the terrifying fear. Why had she done it? Why did she think that she could do this? Hell, she just didn’t know anymore. She was afraid of what Spring would yield. She was hardly more than a child herself what did she know about any of this? Now more than ever she craved her mother’s guidance… and never before had the loss stung so much. After the pack had been brought together and claimed officially, she had quickly dismissed herself to continue working on a den to store herbs to shelter them from less than ideal weather.

Plants and medicine were her sanctuary. They had never failed her. Despite what was going on in her life, she could count on them to be there. She could count on her own knowledge and her Uncle Lachesis’ steadfast advice that she carried around with her. She sighed softly, paws scrapping at the half frozen dirt as if he would make a difference. It was still just a little too cold for her to realistically make any headway, but the menial tasks kept her mind busy. She’d just been trying to keep her mind busy this entire time.

As March progressed, scents continued to change. When Aquene's was among them, and she remained a mysterious presence he'd yet to meet, Chan had needed a moment to think about what it meant. The surprise was in her age, barely out of childhood herself and now to be a mother in a matter of months. While there was no need to think it a terribly awful thing, it certainly wasn't what was best. Her life was changed forever now, and her children would be impacted throughout their lives as well.

She needed them to make it clear that she was supported here, no matter how difficult things got. Chan certainly needed to do his part before taking off on his scouting trip. So after the meeting, as he crossed paths with her scent trail, he decided he'd finally properly meet the young woman.

"Aquene?" he called out as he neared the herb cache and associated den, remembering her having introduced herself just an hour or so before.

"You got a moment to talk?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 15, 2021, 07:13 PM by Chan.)

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

She was surprised to hear her name, much less from an otherwise unfamiliar voice. She turned her head, eyes softening a little when he realized it was one of her packmates. She paused, nodding though he was still characteristically quiet before she realized that she should probably say something because it would be rude not to, right? “I… uh, yes. I do… come in, please.” She had at that point paused from the hopeless task of making any headway. It was a little tighter for two wolves, which she realized because she had not been working on it for too long. “Actually, let me come out there.” She clarified before making her way out, giving her pelt a quick shake as she looked at him with a head tilted to the side.

She had no idea why anyone wanted to talk to her, and admittedly given her current predicament it made her a little anxious. “I… is there something you need? Are you injured?” She instantly sniffed, starting to look him over thinking that perhaps that was why he had sought her out because surely that was really the only reason someone would seek the healer out, right?

(This post was last modified: Apr 15, 2021, 07:49 PM by Aquene.)

At her invitation, he was about to lay down on his stomach and poke his head into the den, having a conversation without crowding her space or getting in the way of whatever she'd been working on. When she changed her mind, he stepped back instead, allowing her ample room to exit. Given that she was pregnant, even though newly so, he wanted to be sure to be mindful of her personal space. She certainly wasn't the first woman of her condition that he'd interacted with before.

"Nah, I'm fine," he assured her with an easy-going smile. "Just wanted to meet ya proper. I'm Chan, Moon n' Nash are my mom and brother. You've been busy, huh?"

His eyes left her dial to travel toward the infirmary's entrance. The light that shone in allowed him to see that it was well worn in structure, and already stocked to some degree.

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

Aquene appreciated the space he provided even before she had insisted on coming out of the den, but especially after. She offered only a nervous smile in return when he insisted he was fine because she really wasn’t sure what else could have brought him to her stoop. She just had this gnawing sensation in her gut that made her increasingly uneasy… she was just some floozy, and she was certain that was how she appeared to everyone else, even if that wasn’t truly the case.

He introduced himself and she relaxed just a little. Wanting to meet her? It sounded a little odd, but she nodded, a proud smile beaming off of her. “I have… I’ve been doing all I can up here for now. Soon I’ll have to make a venture down the mountain to collect things, but I’ve been putting it off because I wanted to be close for when Aleister called the claiming.” So instead she had simply worked. “I really should make the trip down soon, maybe even today or tomorrow. If someone comes down with an illness now I feel ill-prepared.” Not to mention, soon she likely wouldn’t want to make the trip down. She needed to be as productive as possible before her productivity came to a halt.

His ears lifted just a touch as Chan's smile expanded, happily surprised at the amount of enthusiasm that flooded into the other wolf as her handiwork was pointed out. No wonder @Aleister had brought her on with such an important role in mind. A good choice, he already felt.

"Feel free to let me know and I'll help ya out," he offered, certain that at the least he could be useful by doubling the carrying capacity back up the mountain. And of course, the further along into her pregnancy Aquene got, the more Chan would want to absorb her burdens. At least, for as long as he was around.

Her showing up had blurred the lines, and in the near future when he caught on that @Kip was pregnant as well, they would become completely indistinguishable.

"You already have a lot of experience doctorin', huh?"

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

She was passionate about few things. She cared deeply, but healing had always had a place in her heart solely because she was a healer, and a fixer. It came natural to her, like breathing. She smiled thankfully as he offered to help and nodded. “I’ll have to take you up on that.” She agreed eagerly, because having an extra set of paws to help move things around could be incredibly useful. She had always quite enjoyed joint herb ventures.

The question fell and she hummed softly, nodding again. “I do. My father’s uncle, Lachesis… I trained under him from when I was less than a full year old all the way until I left my birth pack. I’ve delivered many litters and healed many sick and injured wolves. It turns out that Aleister actually knows him, just… not super well.” She explained, recalling when the man let her in on the secret that he had known Lachesis from the clashing between Vigils Keep and Driftwood Surge. Still, it hadn’t been held against him.

Lachesis? That name definitely rung a bell, sticking out in his mind not just because of how relatively recent the originating conversation had been but also because it was unique to Chan's ears. His eyes lit up, but he stayed tuned into the rest of what she had to say before bringing up the small connection.

"Wow," the expression was earnest, impressed at how much life she seemed to have already lived. Maybe that was at least partly why she was in her current predicament, hell maybe it was normal to have children your first heat wherever she and her family were from. Or maybe, she'd just been forced to grow up fast, and now it had snowballed out of control.

"That doesn't surprise me," he then spoke in regards to Al also knowing about this Lachesis; after all, the Vuesain had been around longer than Chan and seemed just as well-traveled.

"Actually, I just met one'a yer cousins not too long ago. Landen. He came up here for winter berries. Must be a pretty big family, that's gotta be pretty awesome."

A young Bull Elk has gotten separated from its herd. Hunt opportunity! +10 Health

But I put it out of my mind Long enough to call it courage To live without a lifeline

Aquene didn’t feel like she had lived. She had grown up. She loved healing, of course, but ultimately she hadn’t done anything other than dive into her studies. Her eyes widened at the mention of Landen. She knew that he had left home, because he had left before she had, but the fact that he had made it here shocked her. “Landen’s here?” Her tail wagged eagerly at that news. “We are… we’re not all related though.” She admitted before taking a deep breath and going on to explain.

“My dad was an orphan… his father died when he was still a pup and Lachesis was the pack healer. He had grown up calling him uncle despite not being actually related and it just stuck. When my Uncle Lach and Aunt Lilya left here, they settled down close to where my mom and dad had settled down seasons before, and we just grew closer. We’re not directly related, but they are definitely my family, you know?” She could talk his ears off as well.