Nomads Pass Daughters

Pack welcome to lurk outside the den but expect to be bitten if you go sticking your nose in!

I know a girl

• NAIRA AQUILA •

she puts the colour inside of my world

She had left the pack in the capable paws of her advisor and now all that was to be done was to try her best to get comfortable in the confines of the den she had chosen. She found herself a short distance from the stream and cache, but far enough that it would be out of the way for the pack to intrude, with enough distance between herself and the water to minimise the chances of flooding. The incident at Swift River still stuck out clearly in her mind - a reminder of the power even the calmest stream could hold. She would respect it, and keep the children that were to be as safe as possible were the stony banks to break. Although with the light snow falling outside and showing no signs of letting up, she hardly felt flooding was a risk this far up the Pass.

Another contraction wracked her body as she pulled herself upright again, taking several paces before turning and lowering herself back down to lay on her other side. Inside she could feel the little lives that would be stirring, fighting and strong - finally ready to be met by the one who had carried them these last months. Her heart fluttered for a moment to think what this litter may look like - would they have eyes like Rhysis? Would their coats be dashed with hues of gold like Datura? Would there be a pale one like last year? Her breathing became more rapid and she knew it was time.

The first to appear was a dark child, as large as Datura had been when he was born. A proud smile crossed her face as she bent around to clean the surprisingly quiet squirming bundle. Her heart caught in her throat as she spied the dash of white against the tiny girls chest. A coincidence, surely?

Another ripple of pain shot down her flanks as she prepared for the next, quickly moving the first to suckle at her breast. This one was much noisier than the first. Her peeps and squeaks demanding to be heard. A relieved chuckle passed the mother's lips as she turned, this one was as small as Lily but showed a lot more fight. Dark as her sister, she was quickly cleaned and nudged beside her sister, who she promptly pushed aside. A small whine was heard from the larger before she moved to accommodate her smaller sibling, already taking the path of least resistance.

Patiently she waited for the next ripple to come. But it didn't - and she couldn't help but to release a small sigh of relief. While a small part of her was saddened that this year she would raise no sons, she was also filled with an immense feeling of relief. She had two daughters to raise, shape and mould - both strong and dark, as most of her line were. There was no frustration at Rhysis's absence, no anxiety or anger for now.

Already it was clear, the Pass would never be the same again.

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(This post was last modified: May 03, 2013, 10:51 PM by Ice.)

there is no such thing as royal blood

• DATURA AQUILA •

I believe we are what we make ourselves

He was going to be a brother. A big brother.

Since he had returned home he had thought of little else besides these impending cubs and his mate. He was going to be a big brother. Not the kind of brother he had been to Adonis and Belladonna in the sense that he was a "big brother" merely because he was the biggest of the bunch and the first to emerge into the world. No. These new arrivals would be a whole year young than him. He could truly protect them and guide them in a way that he had been unable to do with Adonis and Belladonna when they were all young and stupid. Now he was older, wiser, and ready to impart all of his knowledge onto the young siblings waiting for him in his mother's stomach. He could make sure they didn't turn out weird, that they didn't have any wrongness or weakness in them in the same way that Adonis did. Sure, he loved his darker brother with everything he had, and Datura would love these new siblings just as much if they turned out like him... but he would rather they did not. They didn't have to. There was no excuse.

Datura was however, still very confused about this whole "pregnancy" business. Adonis had not been around to explain it to him and there was no way he was capable of wrapping his head around it without any help. How did one get pregnant? Datura knew little of daddies, and therefor did not necessarily assume that it took two to tango. Were some females just randomly bestowed with child after some period of time? Was it like some parasite they got when they ate a certain food and it just kind of grew in their body? The golden boy's face scrunched up with distaste. He hoped that was not the case.

Though such a large part of the young boy was excited, he was also partly upset. These newborns would shove him out of the limelight, he was certain of it. No longer would Datura and Adonis be all that his mother had... Now he was going to have to share the spotlight with four rather than one and a half — because we all know that Adonis didn't really count, the little weirdo. Why was his mother doing this to him, to her first born son? Was this because she didn't think he was coming home? Had she gotten pregnant to replace him? None of it made any sense. If his mother really loved him she wouldn't have decided to dilute her love between four offspring.

But as deeply confused and upset as he was, Datura picked up on the changes when they hit his mother. She became more irritable, and he watched with curiosity as pain marred her face. What was this? Was she sick? The young prince had only briefly learned of pregnancy. No one had yet bothered to tell him about labor, the scariest endeavor. If they had, however, the boy would have thrown up and put every effort towards keeping those damned fetuses inside of her, so it was probably for the best that he was kept in the dark for a little longer.

When she finally moved away from the pack, Datura followed in her wake at a distance. Curiosity drew him towards her. Besides, he had to make sure she was okay. It wasn't safe to go walking around on the mountain alone, at least, this is what he thought because a small part of him was still afraid of zombies. But no harm seemed to come to her as she wound her way through the pass and finally slipped in to what looked like a den chosen at random. Datura hesitated. Maybe he wouldn't follow her in. Something held him back. There was something darkly foreboding about this area now, and it was as if a barrier had loomed up in front of him. No, he would stay put. With a sigh, the golden boy hunkered down against a rock, his ears perked with curiosity.

- - -

He hadn't remembered dozing off, but there was no other explanation for why he suddenly came to the light in the sky was fading, and the colors were much darker than he remembered them. How long he had slept, he didn't know. It could have been ten minutes or a few hours. Drowsily he stretched, standing up and leaning forward in a rather feline pose.

He heard a noise.

"Mother?" he queried faintly. But that noise he heard hadn't been mother. It didn't sound like mother at all. "Mother, can I come in?"

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There are ghosts everywhere

Mapplethorpe

We carry them with us wherever we go

Like a shadow cast upon the cliff faces of their valley, Mapplethorpe - consuasor, judge, and acting head of his Queen's Guard - stalked along Naira's path step by step. With the anticipation of the imminent birth so close at hand, he was determined to be there to guard her should the wolves of the Pass decide that they were going to be a major part of this private event. It wasn't until he realized that Datura had joined his mother did the Advisor's attentive gaze pull away from the ground and forest around him. Taking up a more dutiful stride, he hurried along the path, hanging back just enough as not to make Datura aware of his looming presence.

When they came upon one of Naira's dens, he stopped behind the sun-bleached trunk of a Scrub Pine tree, watching as the golden youth seemed to size up an invisible fence. Don't go in, he told Datura from inside his skull. No, don't... Stay outside... there you go. The young prince settled down after some time, propped up against a boulder while trying to assess the advancing situation. Mapplethorpe did the same, seating himself as he stared and observed the area immediately outside the opening of the den. When it seemed like Datura had grown too still, the grizzled man stood up and prowled forward.

Vivid saffron eyes scanned the area for the presence of others but eventually fell upon the sleeping figure of Naira's first-born. A smile tugged at his face and he silently bestowed upon the youth an approving nod. In Rhysis' absence, Datura had done well in seeing that his mother was closely looked after. For some time, the Advisor merely listened to the steady breathing that came from the depths of the den, his eyes staring unseeingly towards the creek while he tried to distinguish his Queen's breathing from those of her newborn children.

Minutes passed effortlessly without even a sound of complaint. Keeping himself from peering inside, he stared into the shadowy depths, placing to memory the squeaks and whines that came from the newborn children of Nomads Pass. He breathed out a sigh of relief and slowly edged away from the den entrance, quietly tiptoeing around Datura and settling atop of the stone the prince had fallen asleep against. For hours he watched and waited, both of his ears cupped forward as he maintained a statuesque resting position, ready to spring into action if need be. When the prince finally awoke, he held still aside from curiously tilting his head to one side. His eyebrows rose briefly before falling back down to their usual positions above his eyes. At least Datura had procured the courtesy to ask if he could come inside instead of inviting himself in.

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But she's just like a maze

• NAIRA AQUILA •

where all of the walls all continually change

The faint request came to her ears as the two small bundles of fur squirmed restlessly against her stomach. For a moment she considered the request. It would have been considered unusual, but Rhysis had seen the children last year and no disaster had befallen them at his jaws. Her body was already angled to shelter the children from any breeze that might blow through the entrance, and her bulk took up the majority of the space. There wasn’t room for him to enter entirely but if he stood at the entrance, he should be able to crane his head in to land his eyes on his two little sisters.

As she turned to look over her shoulder at her son, her eyes fell on @Mapplethorpe and she couldn’t help but smile. Of course he would be the one to stand vigil outside her den and an appreciative smile could be seen through the dim light as she acknowledged his presence with an awkward over the shoulder dip of her muzzle. Her voice was ragged, tired and hushed but she beckoned her oldest son forwards. “Its a bit squashed so you’ll just have to look for now. They’ll be out and tugging on your tail before you know it, then you’ll wish for the days they were too small to leave.” she teased her son lightly. Although natural instinct was there, she managed to dampen it for her son, knowing that should he do anything he shouldn’t she was well positioned to stop him in any case.

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