Blackfeather Woods It's not over until we're dead and the birds are eating our eyes, eh?

@Kove

She wondered what they would be like as they moved inside her. If she laid still, on her side, she could see them moving. Not even kicks, but simply their squirming. That was how close she was. She held her breath for a moment, and then a paw pushed out of the darkness of her womb into the world. A smile crossed her face, then she returned to her work.

Fetishes. They were pockets of power, used for different things, and now she used them to give her children strength as they came into the world. The days were cold, and the nights even colder. They needed warmth, strength. She charmed herself and the den around them. Nemesis' children were old enough to survive the winter, but she granted them that benefit regardless. She did not understand the Silencer's Dark Master's hatred for her, but it was not reciprocated. With every completed fetish she murmured over them, completing their spell.

Since having fallen pregnant, even less of his time than usual had been spent around the witch. He’d felt it to be his duty to ensure with everything that he could that they remained safe, if not for the future of the pack then for Meldresi. Though she hadn’t been around for a great length of time now, not a day had gone by in which he’d felt any less devoted to her, which influenced his desire to watch over both her children and her children’s children. He’d often done so by patrolling the borders, resulting in the unintentional neglect of his duties as a Conjurer. That day, however, he’d steered away from the lands beyond the pack’s claim and focused his attention inwards, trailing through the woods. His legs had carried him towards the glen, the area having become familiar to him thanks to the births of his children. There he’d found Potema, whose stomach had become considerably round, no doubt filled with plenty of life.

Rather than announcing himself, Kove had kept quiet. His gaze pursued her as she continued with what she was doing, ears perked in an attempt to catch the words falling from her lips. There he’d stood, and there he would stay until she had finished. He knew not why he had gone there, but felt more inclined to stay and watch than to leave.

She did not miss Kove's presence, but he did not disturb her, so she continued with her task. The words shifted with each new fetish, each to perform a different task for her pups. One of them kicked, the limb visible in her side. Oof, She winced, pausing in the midst of her spell. Her attention broken, she turned to Kove, smiling wearily. Hello, She yawned, licking at her stomach.

Silent yet attentive, he’d followed her every movement with his gaze. He’d not seen the shift of her stomach, having been focused on her facial region, but the wince had been caught with ease. Concerned, he’d moved towards her, only to have been brought to a stop by her greeting no more than a moment later. “Hello,” the man had returned, taking another step forward as he’d spoken. It was far from his first time being around a pregnant female, but he’d still executed caution, not wanting to do anything that might set her off. So, instead of questioning her about how she was feeling, he’d asked, “Are you excited?” To be a mother, of course. It seemed like a silly question, for what reason might she have to not be interested in her own children? Yet, even after realizing that, he’d rolled with it.

She constantly wondered what they would be like. She had wondered once if genetics contributed to character traits, and that theory still held, especially now that she harbored the result of many different traits clashing together. It would be hard to truly see it, since she knew little of their fathers (other than Charon), but she suspected she would know when she saw it. Meloniis had a certain dourness about them that she found no where else.

She naturally answered, Yes, with a smile. While she had loathed the first few weeks, her anticipation only grew with her womb, to see what her children would turn out to be like.

Kove, may I ask you something?, She ventured, tenative, unsure if he even knew of his mate's inner thoughts. Is Nemesis...threatened by me...well, She gestured to her stomach, Them?

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It seemed that, for the first litter at least, parents shared the same excitement over the approaching births of their children. Kove could recall, even then, exactly how he felt when he had first learned of Scarlett’s pregnancy. The thought made him smile, which he directed towards Potema a beat later. “That excitement alone shows that you’ll be a great mother,” he commented. Though, in all honesty, he suspected that she would do good by her children no matter the circumstances; her excitement only added onto his belief, it had not been the cause of its creation.

The Inuk nodded, allowing her to ask her question. The words made him frown, brows knitting together as he considered the possibilities. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “We haven’t spent enough of time with one another lately for me to give a definite answer.” His tone turned impassive, seeming to care little—or perhaps not at all—about the lessening of moments spent with his wife. “Has she done anything to become a threat?” he asked, concerned for the safety of the unborn. If it came to it, he knew that he would protect them rather than side with his wife; he felt her to be irrational at times, and could not throw away his loyalty to Meldresi in order to support her insecurities.

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