Blacktail Deer Plateau spring brings life into the darkness

dauntless's gaze, irises more green today than they are brown, follow the movement of her head as she nods her confirmation of his own assessment. he makes a small hum in the back of his throat when she offers that she's been accepted into the pack as midwife for the season after her name. though he wonders how catori will feel about a relative stranger being midwife — though perhaps there was plenty of time for the two women to get to know one another between now and whenever ( the details of heat and pregnancy and all that are hazy to dauntless but mostly because he's at the stage of his life were it's all kind of awkward ) — it inevitably makes sense. his ears perk forth and then swivel to the side before they move to rest at half mast atop his skull at her question regarding his parents. "grayday's my dad and pema and catori are my mothers." their situation is unique and likely unorthodox and dauntless abruptly feels the need to explain lest his companion jumps to wild conclusions about it due to dauntless' fact stating vagueness. it is normal to him and he thinks he's better for having both pema and catori as stable maternal figures in his life.

"catori is my dad's new mate, but her and pema fill the role that khoe, the woman who gave birth to me and my sisters —" he doesn't call her mother, doesn't dare. she is not worthy of that title to him. it belongs to the two women who have been more of (a) mother(s) to him than the one who gave him life. "— left in her wake." he offers in sheepish explanation, assuming that if he left it as vague as he first spoke it that the inquiry would pop up eventually. dauntless accepts her compliment with a slight warm to his cheeks and a dip of his head but uses it to humble himself. "ah, i have my days," there is something that is both charming and bit beguiling about his grin. "but thank you. i'm sure my parents would be happy to hear it." he says with a light laugh.