Dragoncrest Cliffs In my blood

A bout of heartburn and accompanying nausea roused Wildfire in the wee hours of the morning. She had spent the night alone in the hollow tree and stepped out into the dark stillness of dawn with a mild grimace. She didn't feel like she was going to be sick, yet she could really use a drink. Maybe she should eat as well. The Bandrona began to walk slowly, moving toward the distant cliffs. Some fresh ocean air sounded good too.

Long before she reached the coast, Wildfire felt a flutter in her middle. Her mouth began to water simultaneously and she had to swallow several times and take deep breaths to stave off the sudden urge to vomit. She slowly lowered herself to her hindquarters as a strange sensation gradually built inside her. It took her a minute to put her finger on what it was and why it was so familiar; it was the feeling of having the wind knocked out of her.

Thankfully, it went away after another moment. Wildfire climbed back onto her feet but stilled at another movement in her abdomen. It felt a little like her stomach was bubbling, though now the she-wolf recognized it for what it was (most likely): the puppies were on the move. Her lips parted, though she barely realized what was happening before she was suddenly forced to squat again to answer an intensely demanding urge to urinate.

She peed noisily with a smile on her face.

Although it was never easy to part ways with the warmth curled next to Portia, he'd risen early -- well before dawn, and set to work beneath the growing light of the morning.

With each day that passed, winter was easing itself away more and more. Or so it seemed to him. Maybe a piece of this belief came from what he anticipated, and how intrinsically woven into the springtime the notion was: pups. His mate's flanks were widening by the day (much to her dismay), and quickly too, leaving him with no doubts that they'd be having a litter. Knowing this with the certainty that he now did, he wished for the warm, green days to return to them quickly.. and in the meantime, he knew very well to keep busy if these puppies were to have a cushioned early-life.

It was peaceful between the trees as he'd trekked over the borders and crossed pathways with several others doing the same once the morning got into true swing. Only when he had thoroughly assured himself that was all secured, maintained, and well-watched, he drifted inward towards the coast when he reached the edge of the woods.. although it felt somewhat outside his routine to have this much afternoon left, he noted as he trotted on towards the beach. There, when he came upon Wildfire. He approached rather casually despite the probable invasion of her potty-time privacy as he walked on up to her with nostrils flared and a low rumble-whuff of greeting; lately he'd noticed her keeping away, likely to herself somewhere, and figured it was all her way of sorting through the processes involved in her first pregnancy.

So he wondered what she was out doing, if anything particular, and voiced it with a simple "Hey." Then a nod. "How're things?" Dio quietly clipped his jaw shut afterward. There were a lot of other, far more eloquent things he could ask of their leading ambassador, heda's mate, and expecting mother. Since he had no real business here with her right here, and he was uncertain of her overall mood (receptiveness to company like his included) yet, he'd check himself to err on the more cautious side from here on out--not that he intended to bug her for long.

It was one of the most satisfying pees of her life, Wildfire noted with a quiet snort. As she righted herself and idly kicked some soil over the puddle, she looked up to see Dio approaching. Her ears immediately splayed, head ducking slightly and black tail wagging. Although she didn't mind company these days and wouldn't have turned anyone away from approaching, the Wocha was particularly welcome. She hesitated to think of him as her baby daddy (even mentally) but, well, there was an undeniable and unbreakable biological bond between them now.

"Hey," she replied in kind, bumping her smudged snout under his paler muzzle. "Guess what," Wildfire said in the very next breath. In the ensuing pause, she wondered if she shouldn't tell Dio about the quickening. Shouldn't Thuringethil be the first to know? But the commander was out on business and the Bandrona desperately wanted to share this with someone. Other than Portia, the Wocha was the most eligible candidate.

It was a potentially delicate matter here, so he knew well enough to play it safe and not go nosing around too habitually. He didn't want to overstep in any way that he could help, not with so much else going on, as per usual. Yet even with this all at stake and in mind, Wildfire's puppies were certainly ranking loftily among his interests. It was hard not to be, and not only because he'd sired both litters. New blood for Drageda's next generation was impending, and frighteningly fast, how could he not anticipate it when it was the first to come in their new home? He was eager to see his sons and daughters grow--flourish, even--here in the name of the commander's claim.

While perhaps arrogant of him to think so, the future as it concerned Drageda seemed well-lit from here.

He let his ears flick forward from their outward splay when she invited him to guess, of all things. Although, he was glad the mood seemed light enough so far. Her greeting suggested so, anyway. "What?" he asked back, the swish of his tail slowing with a measure of caution. "A good thing, I hope?" He fished for details with a tilt to his head, eyeing her with interest.

He didn't bother trying to guess, though his voice was laced with concern when he questioned her right back. "Yes," Wildfire replied right away, tail swishing. She bit her lip for a moment, then burst out with, "The puppies are kicking. It's the first time I've felt them." She wished there was some way to share the sensation with someone else. Perhaps soon, the movement might be felt from the outside. For now, it was only the smallest stirring deep within her.

In the meantime, the Bandrona paused and licked her lips thoughtfully, brow knitting a little as she tried to come up with a way to describe it to him. "I thought it was gas at first," she admitted with a chuckle before it dawned on her to ask, "Has Portia felt hers move yet?"

Good things, truly, and the building tension he'd just begun to have diffused immediately in exchange for more reminders that these puppies were going to be here soon. "Oh. Good. Really? For the first time?" he eyed her sides for a second, wholly unable to imagine how such sensations must play out beyond her saying it could almost be mistaken for gas. At least now their kicks could not pack too much power yet, and Wildfire seemed blissfully aglow in a serenity he'd not seen before this so he doubted she was perturbed by their new motion much. "Isn't it nice to hear from them like that finally? Even if kicking their mom is not so sweet," he chuffed. Thinking about it too extensively was treading into territory he didn't want to touch but his tail waved a slow, happy little beat to imagine that they were well, meeting their growth milestones, and whatever else they needed to be doing in there in the cozy comfort of her womb. "A little bit, yeah. She's said they seem to be growing fast lately.." And accordingly, Portia took her issues with her expanding girth and Dio worried along in his proud sort of way that fast-approaching fatherhood seemed to instill onto him.

Wildfire bit her lip, eyes shining as she nodded. "It feels funny," she admitted, "but it doesn't hurt or anything. It is nice, having this solid evidence that they're really in there, alive and growing." Her smile broadened, escaping the pin of her tooth. She was happy to hear that Portia was experiencing the very same things. She would have to seek out the Fisa so they could marvel together over these queer sensations.

Again, she found herself wishing Thuringwethil was here. Wildfire was suddenly very impatient for her mate to return. But she was glad to involve Dio in this latest pregnancy milestone. On that note, the she-wolf said, "I was wondering... what would you think if we named one in your honor? I was thinking that Dio would make a good middle name. I haven't talked to Thur about it yet, I figured I'd pass it by you first..."

He understood these matters of gestation went differently for many females, but it was a welcome relief to see it all going relatively smoothly for Wildfire and Portia both. While he knew this could change at a moment's notice, he wasn't going to jinx it by dwelling on the maybes and what ifs. Instead, there was much else to be happy (and in truth, excited..) about and a lot to prepare for in the meantime, so there was no shortage of better places to focus. Wildfire's insight to the inner workings was.. bizarre to him, but vaguely fascinating as he nodded with a firm look on, unable to quite picture what the pups may be like but quickly consumed by thought of them as an entire whole. 

"My honor?" he snickered through a quick grin; he was placated plenty by his genetic ties to them, no matter the distance he may have to keep between himself and  them sometimes. Wildfire didn't worry him much in that regard, Thuringwethil did a little bit, but there was no telling until the puppies got here, both litters, and grew among the pack as a whole. His tail switched slow and steady while his eyes narrowed in consideration. "I wouldn't mind any, but don't feel like you have to for my sake. Only if it seems to fit, like it flows just right," he said, thinking with a name's aesthetic in mind first and foremost. He had his handful of offspring with Viviana sporting an -io in their title — which was a similar vein, he thought, so he wouldn't turn down making just absolutely sure his influence ran deep within the nomenclature of others if it had a good rhythm about it.

"I'm guessing you have thought about first names and all that, yeah? Since I'm not too sure if they will have them, we haven't really planned for middle names, yet.. for ours, just some rough ideas tossed around for the firsts," he detailed, referencing some idle chit-chat on the topic between him and Portia that was hardly more than a bunch of scattered this and that. Neither him nor his mate came from strong family traditions when it came to names, so he was finding the open expanse of possibilities quite wide — and almost daunting, especially with a ticking time limit on it.

Dio seemed pleased but humbled by the suggestion and Wildfire couldn't help cracking a smile and even laughing a little bit as he joked about the flow. She wondered if Thuringwethil would mind if Wildfire shared some of her ideas with the Wocha before they had even really discussed or decided on anything yet. He pretty much read her mind simultaneously, earning an amused twitch of the Bandrona's tail. If anyone deserved to be let it on this sort of thing, it would be their cherished donor. With that said, there wasn't much to tell at this point.

"Yes, we've thrown around a few ideas. Some of them will pair very well with your name, I think. But we haven't nailed down anything yet." She smirked playfully, black tail swinging softly to and fro now. "What about you and Portia?" Realizing he had already answered that question, she clarified, "I mean, what are some of your ideas? If you don't mind sharing."

Names were a weighty subject, and he wished to find the ones neatly between simplicity and distinction for his and Portia's litter. "We haven't exactly set anything in stone either," he nodded, glad to hear they were on the same page as this. He also appreciated her note on them pairing well, but since he didn't really want to go and spoil it too badly, he didn't try to find out a whole lot more about what she meant by that. "Considering Portia's.. vast knowledge on the matter," he smirked, unable to even remember it all himself because there was just so very much of it. "We were thinking something plant-life-inspired may be nice. Flowers, anything that isn't too blatant or bland, but still sweet somehow.." In homage to their mother, and some of them were actually quite pretty. Knowing his mate's middle name was a flower, too, further inspired him to keep this idea around.

He attempted to recite a few of the flowers Portia had told him about, although maybe a few here and there bled together, but the backbones of the plan were definitely in place. Despite not having names entirely picked out, or knowing exactly what would become of their little families once these puppies came, he was still excited. The days were numbered, and sooner than he would realize it, they would be here. A good long look at Wildfire was just another reminder, and while his boundaries with her were far different than with Portia, he still would make sure she was comfortable, and with anything she'd need (short of bringing the commander out of the wilds back to her side of course) before parting ways for now.

since i need to clean out oldies, you can pp him to wrap this up more if you would like or let it be <3