Hollowheart Keep Look for What's Missing

@Mapplethorpe

If I had to choose again

• NAIRA •

I'd still choose you

She had never been so uncomfortable in her life. Although her swelling sides barely showed after such a harsh winter, she felt as though the lives that grew within her had her stretched to the limit. Radiating pangs seemed to pass down her flanks at random intervals, causing her to pause in her tracks and consider just how far from the hollow under the tree she had chosen as her birthing den was (even if it was a little too early for the pups to be arriving).

Her journey to the Falls probably could have had far better timing but when dealing with the emotions of yearlings, a mother was left little choice. Truthfully, it was probably only her anger at the words that had been slung at her daughter like mud that had fueled her journey home, her out of control hormones causing her to swing from a singular desire to tear the Slayer lad limb from limb, and wanting to curl up in the protective embrace of Mapplethorpe and simply bawl her eyes out. It was to the yearlings advantage that by the time she had returned home, it was her mates scent she passed first, and so she decided to continue her waddling until his familiar tawny form came into view.

A small click of her tongue against her teeth and a heavy, exhausted sigh warned him to remain reclined. He may not think she had noticed the stiffness in his joints but she would not expect him to get up simply so she could lay down. Mindful of where her weight rested she settled next to her love and took a moment to consider her words. “We have a problem.”

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Treating this time-wise, Naira posted at 7:31pm PST and Karpos posted at 6:45pm. Hopefully I won't hold you both up. :x

The grizzled Leader had been heavily preoccupied just over the past hour or so and if it weren't for the gap in his train of thought - something about cubs had derailed his words and brought him back to thinking of little Asphodel and her still unnamed brother - he might have wholly missed the familiar click of his beloved's tongue. Immediately his head turned in her direction and she sighed; he had, by instinct, nearly lifted himself up with his left arm and shoulder, but the sound she had made, the weary, exasperated puff of air, wordlessly told him to settle back down. To his shoulder's relief, he did just that, and with a tail that lightly thumped against the hard soil, he greeted Naira with a rather eager, nasally whine - something that had, just recently, replaced his usual low growl.

His golden eyes searched her face and the contours of her body as his nose attempted to sniff out any irregularity in her scent. Nothing initially stood out and before he could even ask, she gave him an answer that was just as he liked it: succinct and straightforward. "We have a problem." He probably should have had an educational guess as to what was wrong or what had gone awry, but as it stood, he, for once, was still in the dark. He, Mapplethorpe, the once all-knowing, word-wielding Advisor, only knew one side of the story that had yet to fully unfold. Instead of his usual "I know" and "Don't worry, I'll handle it," he parted his lips to relay his own set of words.

"I've just seen the boy," he uttered, his brow furrowing as he allowed his eyes to scrutinize the expression on his beloved's face. "But, what is this problem you speak of?"

If I had to choose again

• NAIRA •

I'd still choose you

The problem she supposed was only if Karpos remained. If Mapplethorpe had already spoken to the boy... well it was best to share what she knew already. “I found Aponi at Bramble Falls. It would seem Karpos told her we ordered the pack to endure her, told her she was obnoxious and arrogant.” While there may have been some truth to the words, she was a pup, it was to be expected. There was always plenty of time to smooth out those kinks once a child grew into the adult ranks and had to prove themselves to everyone. They had been to lenient with the boy, allowed him to imagine he was above his station clearly. “Mercy is gone too, he’s gone to find her no doubt.”

It felt like everything was falling down around her ears. @Eek had left to return to her pack on the other side of the mountain and now all this drama with yearlings running off. She had to wonder if there would be a pack left at all by the time this years young ones were ready to greet them. She was beginning to feel old. “What did the boy have to say for himself?” she finally questioned, knowing that while she was unwilling to tolerate the boy on her lands anymore, perhaps it wasn’t even a concern that she would have to deal with. She knew how fond of her daughters Mapplethorpe was and she couldn’t see him taking such an insult to one of them lightly.

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

He had expected Naira to echo that the problem she had to share had been with the young Slayer, perhaps a scuffle at the borders as a wicked confirmation that he had severed his ties to Hollowheart Keep. What he heard instead was that Aponi had been at the Falls and that the Crowchild, Mercy, had gone off to find her. The sigh that was expelled from his nostrils was uneven, rattled to some degree by worry and concern. Aponi was no longer a cub, but even still he was anxious about what would become of her. As the Advisor and Keeper of Naira's brood he had vowed to himself that he would keep her safe and in learning that she had struck out on her own with possibly only Mercy to keep her company, should the boy successfully recover her again, he felt in his heart that he had ultimately failed his Queen.

He still had Nova, that was for sure, and, of course, the children that he and Naira were going to welcome sometime in the next few weeks, but Aponi... he had fashioned her into the headstrong, relentless whirlwind of a woman who would take over for her mother when the time came. Maybe it was for the best, he tried to reason with himself. His ears came down and he shifted his weight from one elbow to the other as he realized that what had come to fruition was nothing unlike what Taima had done. For a few moments of silence, the Leader blinked and thought back to what plans he would have to put into action if he wanted to prevent history from happening again to his own children. His beloved brought him back to the present and he gazed back at her.

"Nothing noble," Mapplethorpe revealed, the words practically tumbling off his tongue. "He told me he ratted Aponi out for her insolent behavior. He was out of line." The corners of his mouth turned downward in disappointment, "I've sent him away. If he knows what's good for him, he won't come back."

If I had to choose again

• NAIRA •

I'd still choose you

Gone. Well there was some relief to be had. She felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she settled deeper into the ground beneath her weary body. “A small blessing perhaps, although I could have done with a snack...” she muttered under her breath, the final laced with the threat of a growl. Truly there was so little to the boy he would no doubt make a poor meal and would no doubt give her a belly ache but the sentiment she felt needed to be voiced all the same.

“She has said she won’t come back, although to be honest there are more foolish times of year to strike out alone. The deer will dropping their fawns soon and @Mercy is a capable young lad...” she attempted to justify the children’s actions to herself, to ease some of her own anxiety. She wouldn’t show it to the rest but the truth was she was fearful of what would become of her children. She had no idea about the fates of @Adonis or @Datura, and she could only assume both Lily and Belladonna were long in the ground. She had a poor track record as a parent and it seemed the next lot around would be no better off.

A sigh left her lips as she lowered her creamy jaw to rest against the pale brown of her forepaw. “Am I such a terrible mother that all my children must leave me as soon as they are old enough?” She finally questioned in barely a whisper. A strong kick was offered to her flank in response but it went unheeded. Would these children wind up as cursed as the last?

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Her sudden question about being a terrible mother struck a chord and reminded him of who he was to Naira. Somehow, the idea of being simply her mate and lover had eclipsed all that he had once been to her. Was he not her friend and most trusted? Had he not been her Advisor and voice of reason not so long ago? The man's face fell in its entirety, his brows coming down to match the angles of his downward-turned mouth. Even his ears lowered further so that they also swept back along the tawny ruff on the back of his neck.

"Don't even think of such a thing," the Consul within him crooned, hoping Naira would hear him out, until his more intimate side emerged, full-fledged and ready to deliver her from her woes. "All children leave their mothers, their fathers... their parents..." His brows came together for a short moment as he remembered what he had done himself all those years ago when he had been young, a rebel in his own right, just like Aponi and had been. "I abandoned mine," he revealed, crawling on his elbows to turn around so that he could fully face her. "I hadn't even seen my second summer and I believed myself capable of fending for myself. I left them, just like that... the only wolves I've ever known." The left side of his mouth twitched upward, a pained expression forming on his masked face as he stared into her eyes, wanting her to look up to meet his own gaze. They were, had been, equals for so long now; and, it perturbed him to see her in such a state that she averted her eyes and lowered her voice into a whisper.

"It is how we gain our independence, Love," he reasoned with her, his tone as gentle as the sound of a babbling brook in the stillness of night. "And you are not--" he paused to cant his head to one side, to call her attention, "--are you listening to me, Naira? You are not a terrible mother." He craned his neck towards her to plant a kiss along the bridge of her muzzle. "If you had been such a careless being, I would have taken those girls for myself... Raised them into the likes of my sisters, given them the world to call their own." Despite the seriousness of his tone, a hint of a smile had been recovered by the depth of his words.

"You, my dear, have done that... for Adonis, for Datura, for the wards you have taken in and cared for as your own, the daughters of yesteryear, and even the inkling of souls you harbor in your womb." He tenderly pressed his temple to hers, closing his eyes as he let loose a small sigh. "Nomads Pass might not be yours or ours anymore, but you had created and provided it for them, made it so that they had a safe haven to explore as they pleased." His thoughts wandered back to his own mother who, compared to Naira, was far more heartless and ignorant, to her unwanted son, "No mother who called herself 'terrible' would have given them that much."