Wheeling Gull Isle heaven helps those who help themselves

the shàngjiàng, leader of the jūnshí— atausiq's promotion had not been in vain. their borders were well-kept, and to her knowledge, there hadn't been any major disturbances. during the evening, ying would emerge from her makeshift den beside the border, using the quiet hours to perform her own patrol. a small bump had begun to grow along her belly; knowing what this meant, she didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

she hadn't visited anyone since her promotion. conversations were kept to a minimum, typically short and held only in passing. there were too many thoughts rolling through her mind, none of which translated to words. where had fengmian gone, and why had he left her? he'd damned her to an untouchable woman's existence, now known to the world as an unwed mother.

what was she to do? ying's brow furrowed with the thought, her body moving mechanically along her path.

Huā spent her time on the island now. As much as she wanted to stretch her paws and return to the land for short adventures, she knew doing so was at a risk. Only a few weeks remained before her birth and she was determined to keep the kids safe until that point. 

She caught the sight of Ying ahead; the girl had begun to round out herself. Huā thought bitterly of Fengmian's absence- she knew he couldn't have been trusted to stick around from the very start. He had acted untrustworthy, and proven himself as much. And Huā's heart was sore for Ying, above all- who had ridiculed her for being pregnant to a random man, and now the tables had turned. Huā was the one set to be married, Ying the one who was utterly alone. Had it been a month before, Huā would've been cruelly satisfied, but now that things had been made up between them, she wanted nothing more than happiness for them both. 

Quietly, gaze down-turned away, Huā slid up beside her sister, content to walk together in quiet unless Ying desired to speak her mind. Huā would be there, as a shoulder to lean on in this time.

the empress's presence was welcomed with a chuff. surely, she too had noticed fengmian's absence. ying didn't want to mention the obvious; there was nothing to be done about it now, and the conversation would only salt the open wound. 

instead, she brought up more important topics. 我们其中之一需要拜访我们的盟友, the admiral announced. her tone was smooth and level, devoid of any obvious emotion. 您可能太怀孕了. ying doubted that her sister would insist, but planned to suggest atausiq as escort if she did. 

Orochi正在寻找信息，但我们需要知道Mal是否有任何新知识. she blew a heavy breath through open nostrils, watching it dissipate through the air. not wanting to spread news of her pregnancy to outsiders, ying kicked her paws through the sand as an alternative way to leave scent markers.

Ying brought up an important case, Huā nodded agreeably. 我不会去。 She affirmed with a shake of her head. If all else went to hell, even if Ying and Ruò left with their broods and Huā was a mother alone- her children would be the future of Yuèlóng. As long as they would stay there, at least, though she hoped to secure them for a long time. There would be no risking their lives for a measly bit of diplomatic adventure. They were far too precious. 

She had noticed Orochi's absence, and of course knowing Ying had assigned him with a task focused on the retrieval of information on the violent duo. When Ying spoke of Mal, Huā's eyes flickered awkwardly to her paws. She had not told him yet of her pregnancy. Was it her duty? They were his, she was sure- but Atausiq was to be their father. Did Mal deserve a role in any of that? 

Aiolos had returned, but she was not keen on sending him on another mission so soon after the first. The best candidates, in her perspective, were Atausiq or Ruvik. 我们有Atausiq，还有Ruvik。 但是Ruvik正在努力成为一名贸易侦察员... He was nervous, yes, but that could be worked over in time- and he had not majorly fucked up so far, and had done an honorable job in helping her with marking the borders of their hunting grounds.

sending atausiq alone wasn't an option. wherever hūa went, the boy ought to do the same; for the time being, his place was on the island. ying didn't have much faith in ruvik, but what other option did they have? she lifted a brow and sighed, replying: 我会跟他说话. 

news about aiolos's return hadn't gotten to ying yet, but it didn't matter. she figured that they would meet somewhere along the line to talk about his experience.

我们的会员人数不足, ying said, turning to look at her sister. she stopped walking for a moment, feeling the slightest hint of nausea, but quickly continued. 我很担心.

She could tell her sister wasn't wholly satisfied- but she agreed, and that was enough. They had few scouts, and they didn't have room to be complaining. 

When Ying mentioned their numbers, Huā frowned and shook her head slightly. I recruited two the other day- a girl called Thresher, who was born here, and our younger cousin, Luhan. A kick in her stomach came then like a reminder from mother nature herself, Huā stopped in her tracks in momentary pain before continuing. And you and I are both carrying children. This is why I am so careful- they have the potential to be more loyal to Yuèlóng than even ourselves. She turned a somewhat sharp gaze to Ying then. It is why you must be careful with yours too.

If they are not enough, who will we recruit? After my children are born, I can work harder to bring in new members.

my children will be loyal to family; not always to this pack.

the loyalty of her nieces and nephews wasn't ying's decision, but she knew where her children's allegiance would fall. should the hostility return to their relationship, ying and those she carried would leave without a moment's notice.

she returned the sharp glare with one of her own, daring hūa to throw another wrongful suggestion. 我们必须谨慎选择, ying replied, then continuing to walk, 我们有太多没有经验的成员.

The words felt like acid on her skin (??? shitty metaphor idk). She frowned- Ying was a leader, equal to herself. Shouldn't they both value the pack? Not above all else, of course- but to imply that her children would care little for the likes of Yuèlóng was just a tiny bit like a knife in the heart. Still, she did not want to give in to reckless bickering- as tempting as that was. A deep breath. They had made up already. She would not let herself fall back into that hellhole, not yet anyway. Not now, at such an essential time. 

To her ssiste's suggestion, she shook her head once more. If we have so few members, we cannot be picky. She gazed into her sister's eyes, any shred of malice gone, only hopeful. I'm not against training them. We can take the untalented people and make them skilled. Inexperience is not a problem, only prolonged inexperience- we could work together to harden their bodies and minds. She paused, marking the border here, before continuing, awaiting her sister's thoughts.

okay ying is also speaking chinese

training wolves required time and resources, two things which their pack would soon need. three of their trade-bearing wolves would be nursing young, leaving two mercenaries to properly train a swathe of useless strangers. what if something happened? no; ying would not concede.

she shook her head, replying: there are skilled wolves out there. it might take more time to find them, but it's not impossible. and in her opinion, it was smarter than their current philosophy of taking in anyone who roamed by. we have to be prepared for the worst scenario, and bringing in just anybody won't help.

sorry this internal thought(?) got a lil long lmao. also chinese ofc

She almost thought to bite back; how many have you recruited? Even I was the one who accepted Aiolos, you only brought Fengmian who has run off... But things would never get better if she bickered mindlessly. As much as she wanted to. Ying had done her part and much more- it was why she had promoted her, after all. And though Huā doubted that Fengmian had much talent to bring, she had not yet gotten the chance to know. Maybe there had been a gem hidden in that man- but he was a runaway, and people like that were not well-suited for here. So what was more important, longetivity or talent? Huā thought longetivity. Any son of a bitch can be trained to work hard. But not every talented man had a loyal heart, and just as soon as you could pick them up they might disperse. There was a balance that needed to be found- those who were willing to put the effort necessary to be a strong worker. No matter what their skill was- they needed to have a loyalty to Yuèlóng, and a willingness to provide, rather than being a dead weight. 

You receuit how you want, then. But personally, I'm not against bringing in the unskilled as long as they are willing to stay and learn. I think it's most important to have those who are willing- and not only the experienced. And even with experience, some can be flighty. Never staying long enough to make a difference here. That much was obvious, considering the quiet pointed reference it made to the missing baby daddy. Point is, you can be choosy. But if I want to bring in people who are not masters, let me do such. I want to see their potential.

this isn't going anywhere, she muttered to herself. regardless of the situation, the sisters would always find a way to disagree. instead of bickering, ying decided to remove herself from the conversation as a courtesy to them both.

she looked at hua and clenched her jaw, but said nothing. ying dipped her head respectfully before breaking off for the western beach, hoping that their might be something in the traps.