Stone Circle i wanna shine on

Being vague about travel timeline and the fact that Red has told Valette about the trip already, if that's cool.

Red had been wandering the territory that day, having recently returned from her trip to Sunspire and filed her report to Valette, but now, once again, she was restless. She’d been home for a few days now and had taken to doing border patrol and hunting small animals to pass the time. Recently, a question had come to her mind, and she’d been trying to tamp it down, stamp it out, but it had crawled up inside her brain like a worm and wouldn’t let go of her thoughts. It was stupid. She didn’t even have a mate, didn’t know anyone here that well yet, and breeding season had passed some time ago. But what about next year? Or the year after that? No… she couldn’t shake this feeling.

She sighed, steeled herself, and howled for @Valette. She needed to know for sure before she got her hopes up. If there was a strict breeding policy here, then she wouldn’t push it. Being a part of the pack would be enough. She didn’t need pups (though she couldn’t deny that she wanted them, some day). She just hoped Valette would take it well and wouldn’t assume anything negative about Red, who would remain loyal to Easthollow probably until the day she died, unless something insane happened.

Valette perked her ears up when she heard Red's howl. The female had been outside of the den with her children and was rather reluctant to leave them. The female howled back to her to come and visit her by her den. This way she could keep her watch over the kids and chat about what Red wanted to ask of her.

The female hummed softly as she nosed over her little ones. They were getting teeth already which were hurting her but she couldn't blame them. She would give them sticks and other things to chew on instead of her teats. She was always amazed how quick pups grew.

Shit post :'D sorry

“Oh. Right,” Red said to herself, shaking her head and grinning. How could she have forgotten that Valette wasn’t going to want to move from the den so soon after pregnancy? She chuckled to herself as she moved through the trees, giving another low howl to let her Alpha know that she was coming. Soon, in a break in the trees, she came across the den and gave a chuff of greeting. “Hey, Valette,” she said easily, tail wagging. “Sorry, I’m dumb and forgot you couldn’t leave the pups. Duh.” She sat down and steeled herself for the conversation she was about to have.

“Can I ask you about something?” Despite herself, Red was feeling nervous about this, even though she generally wasn’t nervous about anything. “I, uh… I wanted to ask about your policy on other members of the pack having pups — not that I… want pups right now. But… but maybe one day…” She had sort of rambled, which was her usual, but she didn’t want Valette to think she wanted pups right now. She certainly hadn’t been part of Easthollow to earn that right, no matter what Valette’s policy might be. She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked up into Valette’s eyes for a moment before letting her gaze drift away again.

Valette perked up her head when Red arrived at the den. The mother offered her a friendly smile. "No worries. Sometimes Stark will watch them," she chuckled and then pushed herself into a sitting position. She wondered what the female wanted to ask her. "Of course," she agreed and dipped her head invitingly. Valette didn't expect the female to ask about breeding rights as she didn't have a mate, nor it was even close to the breeding season yet.

"Oh, well. We had some problems with female getting pregnant before so only leadership is allowed to breed. That is the policy," she spoke. 'However, if by the time you are still in Easthollow and you have found a mate then I might approve of it," she offered. She liked that Red was a hard working female. "And there are some requirements that I would want to see as well," she spoke slightly stricter. "Like, you will have to be able to stay in the territory for at least a month. I hope you realize that. And I would only approve of it if you have a mate to raise them with," she explained a few of her conditions but she could think of many more.

Sorry she's rambling. If Valette wants to interrupt her or whatever, that's fine by me.

Well, it wasn’t all bad, it seemed. Honestly, Red had expected an out-and-out no, so even the chance of a yes was good enough for her, for the time being. And Valette’s restrictions did make sense. The part about staying in the territory for at least a month made sense, for if she were to have pups, she would have to be able to stay within Easthollow for a lot longer than that. New mothers couldn’t simply up and leave their pups to fend for themselves. They needed constant looking after, and milk, and love. Red nodded in understanding.

But this… this thing about a mate… Mm. Red thought maybe it would be a good time to explain to Valette about… that. “Uhh, yeah, that all makes sense,” she said, keeping her voice light and nodding. “I totally get all that. But uhh, I should tell you, since not everyone knows about stuff like this. I’m not… into guys. I mean…” She hesitated. “I guess that’s not entirely true. If it came to having pups, I would, you know, be okay with mating for the sake of getting pregnant, but I don’t find males attractive. I’m… into females.” She pushed on quickly, not wanting to give the wrong impression. “I would definitely do some kind of co-parenting thing, if the guy was into it. Like, if he wanted to raise the pups with me, that’s fine. He would be their father, whoever he is; I wouldn’t deny him the right to raise his kids or whatever. I just… wouldn’t be with him in a romantic sense.” She stopped there, ears splayed on either side of her head as she waited to see her alpha’s reaction. Honestly, she’d gotten some weird and sometimes mean reactions from this before, so if that was the case, then whatever. But she liked Valette and was hoping her alpha would take it well…

Valette watched the female as she seemed to ramble through her words. The female frowned lightly when the other told her that she was not into guys. Well, how was she going to get pups then? She didn't need to ask because Red already told the alpha female her plan. Valette had used a donor herself once and hadn't been really that convinced that things worked like that. She would want for Red to have someone beside her, even if it was a female or male. "If the male doesn't want to be a parent I would want you to have a female mate to help you," she returned. "Plus, I wouldn't want a random mating with any male. He would have to become part of the pack and approved by me," she stated. "Which is all an if not a when," she spoke.

She would have to discuss things with Stark and how things would go with their current three youngsters. Valette wouldn't mind getting more pups next spring but she would have to think of Stark and his opinions as well, same went for Red's breeding permission. Perhaps Stark would be harder to convince, probably. "Make sure that you are on good terms with Stark if you want anything close to pups happening," she pointed out as well. She then looked at Red. "Knowing this though, will make you a perfect babysitter and to see if you are alright with handling pups," Valette grinned teasingly. Because even a mother would sometimes be glad to have an afternoon without needy children.

Dear God. I always try to do short posts with Red and that never ends up happening. T_T

Red nodded once at Valette’s words about needing a mate and the mate having to be part of the pack. “Oh, of course!” she said. That had been a given for her. She would never go outside of the pack to randomly mate with some dude she didn’t know or someone that Valette and Stark didn’t approve of. And if they weren’t part of the pack, she’d definitely try to convince them to join, and if not, would pick a different male to do the job. “That makes perfect sense,” she added, trying to get Valette to see that she was perfectly willing to follow the rules.

When Stark was mentioned, Red hesitated internally. “I… I actually haven’t even met Stark yet,” she admitted. “I’ve met a few other pack members. Illecebra, Kegana, and Greyback. And Clary, of course. She’s great, by the way. Clary. You’ve raised her well, if I’m allowed to say that.” Red grinned at the mention of babysitting. “Oh, yeah, totally!” she said, enthusiasm clear in her tone. “Yeah, I’ll watch them for you if you want! Make sure they don’t go wandering off, try to keep ‘em entertained. I’m great at makin’ a fool of myself if it makes someone else happy, honestly.”

So. Red thought back to what had been said so far in the conversation. She would have to prove that she could stick around the territory for at least a month; she would have to find a suitable male donor that both alphas approved of; if the male didn’t want to raise the pups, she’d have to find a female to help. (Red was fine with this, as it was a female with whom she wished to spend her life. She hoped for another woman to help raise pups with one day.) She would have to make friends with Stark. She would help babysit Valette’s pups. Got it. Red loved a challenge, and this would be no different. Pups were not a given, of course, and she still wasn’t exactly sure if she wanted them. But she was three years old, in her prime, and it was something she was distantly aware of, like a butterfly fluttering around in the back of her head. She would do what she needed to do to prove that she deserved pups. And if pups were not in her future, then at least she would have proven her worth to Easthollow.

Valette was pleased to hear that if Red would take a mate that she would come to Easthollow. Valette could use some loyal pack members like Mawk and Cebra for example. As she looked at the female Valette had the idea that Red was very serious about this. The alpha dipped her head in a mini thank you when the female spoke that her words made sense. Valette was glad that Red accepted her necessary requirements.

"Hm... Well, he has been a bit under the weather lately. He is keeping a bit to himself until he feels better." Valette knew that he was very cautious with the pups and didn't want to make them sick either. Valette hoped he would be well soon. "That is good that you met the others," she smiled. "Oh thank you. I tried my best," she chuckled. "I'm just very lucky they are all very sweet." The mother smiled when Red was clearly eager to watch her children. "Good. I'd like that. First I'd like to see you watch them together with me though." She would first want to assess some of Red's skills.

Have the shittiest post in the entire world cos I lost all muse for Red RIP.

Red made a sympathetic noise in her throat upon hearing that Stark was ill. “Oh, I hope he gets better soon,” she said. A sick Alpha was never a good thing. 

Then Valette told her that she wanted to watch Red babysit the pups before allowing her to do it herself. She nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. I mean, they’re your kids.” She paused, looking out at the horizon. “So when do you wanna do it? Watch me babysit, I mean? I can do it whenever.”

Oh no! Hopefully it will return!!

Valette nodded softly. "I hope so to," Valette spoke softly. She would have to make sure to take extra care for him as well so he would get better. Valette nodded once more. It would come in handy for Red to watch her kids if she was going to hunt for Stark. "I would appreciate that! I will howl for you if I need you to watch them," Valette smiled. She dipped her head gratefully to the female. "How are you now? Settling in well?" She thought the female was settling in well if she started to think about children.