<blockquote>Things sure were quiet on the homefront these days. Aside from Kinis' untimely and mysterious disappearance, which had left the pack utterly broken, the shewolf had come to notice that the Secluded Spring was increasingly empty. Beside Ruiko's signature and Nina's, virtually every other scent she'd come to know had grown stale or faded completely. What was going on around here? Apathetically letting go of a melodramatic sigh, Aeylen rolled to her side. Wasn't pregnancy supposed to be a wonderful, and challenging, thing? Yes, she would often lay around for hours poking at her now very round belly, talking to the kids when there was no one else around, or just to see if she could get a rise out of them. But what felt like a huge part of her was just...<i>missing</i>. She'd always been healthy, happy, and full of life, but lately she wasn't feeling quite like herself. Was it the air here, which was muggier than it had been in the winter months due to the rise in temperature? Was it the fact that she'd never really been anywhere, aside from the Secluded Spring, save Bramble Falls, where she'd found her other half? Was it the fact the the territory had grown empty and quiet? All of these things, she considered, were a source of utter depression. She was listless as she spent more recent days sun bathing and eating - ferociously, quite like a monster. It was no surprise that her appitite was now ridiculous, but sometimes she swore Ruiko had impregnated her with a horde of giant wolf pigs, each with a bottomless pit as a stomach. It had been only hours since she'd woken to find a fresh meal at the mouth of the den, as there usually was - Ruiko was relentless about supplying her breakfast, maybe because he <i>knew</i> he'd given her wolf-pig babies - but the rumbling in her tummy soon prevailed. <i>Just shut up!</i> she would yell at it when no one was around - like a true psycho. Nonetheless, she wanted her children strong and healthy, so with a deep breath the woman would rise to her feet from her chosen, shady place at the densite. Though afternoon was coming to a close there was plenty of daylight to burn, which was good, because she hated tripping and stumbling her fat way to the cache in the dark (which she did most nights when it was time for a midnight snack). Stopping by the creek on her way to lap up some water, the disgruntled leadess followed the obvious, worn path to the store. <b>"What'll it be today, fatty?"</b> she mused to herself as though she weren't losing all of her marbles. Quail, half of a recently slain boar, a few deer legs...Mmmm, it all sounded really good...Perhaps she could have a nice liver appetizer before dragging out something bigger. And so she did shamelessly, licking the dirt and grease from her lips with satisfaction. Mustering the strength she hadn't devoted to consuming her first round, she drug the half boar back to what she considered the living room outside the cavernous pack outcrop. With a final heave she left the dirtied remains right there, plopping on her butt as her hind legs stuck out awkwardly from her round belly. <b>"Any time now..."</b> she continued to talk to herself, knowing that at any moment one of her family members would magically appear from the beautiful emptiness of the Spring or neighboring wood. Butttt...no one came. Where in the hell were they all? Probably out working or patrolling like she should be. And then it hit her - another wave of self-pity and sorrow as she sky gradually faded from blue to pink. She didn't want to eat alone; she didn't want to be alone (although she wolf-pigs were wonderful company). She held her breath until it felt like her chest would explode as tears streamed down her face. How much more could she take? It made her feel guilty that she was selfish enough to allow herself to react in such a manner, but damn it! her heart just hurt. With a quivering bottom lip, she sucked up her pride (or weakness), rose from her huge, round ass and lifted her muzzle to the sky, calling out for anyone who might hear. The alto tone would rise and fall a few times as she sang her sorrows and sorries away, hoping that they would all gather round for a family dinner she wasn't about to consume by her lonesome. Not again.
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(This post was last modified: May 05, 2012, 03:49 AM by Aeylen.)