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it was high time that mona mayfair accepted whatever punishment she was to be given for her unseemly act, and so she trudged to the center of the hollow. only there did she hesitate, feeling the sting of fear. what if she was driven out? what if they told her they would end her children for their illegitimacy?
both of these thoughts choked the little cardinal with anguish and terror, so that she could scarcely call for the leaders. but call she did, her voice thin and wavering in the cold air. 
mona waited, head down, tail curled between her heels. it was not enough that they would be displeased: the mark of her grave error was stamped visibly upon the growing curves of her flanks now.
The Hollow had been silent for some time—all had been operating accordingly, as far as Rannoch was concerned. Despite them being in the heart of winter, they were thriving, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Life was much different in Lost Creek Hollow than it had been at Sunspire. Rannoch had been reflecting on the pack's welfare when the sound of Mona's voice rose from the silence of the Hollow. Without much hesitation, he redirected his meandering and set off in the direction where she had called from. It did not take Rannoch long to arrive where Mona lingered. 

The tone for their conversation was dictated by Mona's stance, and Rannoch observed for a moment. Although he could have sworn that her flank appeared swollen, he'd reserve his judgment and assumptions until after she spoke. 

 "Mona," he greeted after the pause, his voice warm despite his serious expression. "Let's wait for the others before we speak."
by now, @Treason's heat had come to its end. there was really nothing to be said just yet -- this was just the course of things. that being said, terance had already taken on a bit of a protective role towards treason. not that she needed it -- are you fucking kidding me? look at her -- but it was just something masculine in him that wanted to make sure she was okay. it was, what? day three? two? one? i'm not really sure, but either way, terance would've most certainly hung around her just to keep a few tabs. 

so when mona called, it was no surprise that he was with her then. the two of them came up together, like they carpooled or something. whatever was on treason's mind was only known to terance if she told him -- terance was mostly neutral about whatever this meeting was. it didn't seem urgent, per say, so he wasn't exactly worried. he was also still pretty caught up in the moment from the last week. whatever. he was fine. 

before they appeared through the underbrush, terance snuck a quick, playful nip to treason's shoulder, ducking if she had any sort of retaliation. and then he spotted mona and rannoch through the trees, and chuffed, expression dimming only as he noted mona's expression. his head cocked to one side, clearly curious, but he didn't make any comments right away. instead, he just stood before them and waited expectantly, swinging tail steadying. if terance noted any signs of pregnancy, it wasn't clear. it was terance, after all.
In all honestly, she didn't mind the continued company.  The world had settled back towards normal again, at least for now, and though she'd enjoyed the little vacation they'd taken, it was probably about time for her to get back to work anyway.  As far as she was concerned, nothing would change unless it had to, which was perhaps a foolish way to think, but hey, it was Treason after all.

When Mona called, Treason had to wonder if she had always sounded that way, but it hadn't seemed too far off for her to be particularly concerned.  An emergency would have been stated, wouldn't it?  Treason probably just wasn't remembering right, so she brushed it off and headed towards the call at Terance's side.

Of course she had to snap back at him, keen on the idea of a maybe rough game of chase that turned out wasn't going to happen. They were basically there already, so that had pretty much ended things before they had even started.  So after that first response missed, she waited a few moments then was probably able to land a light chomp back on him, a little frustrated that it was job time as they came upon the scene.  Whatever playful attitude might have been visible melted away and she was back to being stoic as usual.

To say that Treason had been paying any attention whatsoever to any other wolves' drama in the past week (or even two) was kind of a joke.  She'd been thinking about herself.  And well, that was about it.  Mona's attitude and posture, though, were certainly out of what Treason expected, and maybe it was just the way she was sitting and Treason's current headspace but was she...?  Her gaze flitted first to Terance, then to Rannoch to see if either were suspecting the same thing, then back to Mona.   Well?
while she had called for all of the leaders, mona was still shocked when the three of them attended her call. first was rannoch, whom she could not remember meeting personally. over her slanted ears his voice sounded, and though the man's face was somber, the kindness in his tone and turquoise eyes steadied mona.
a swallow threatened the delicate strength she had gained when terance arrived, accompanied by treason. if mona had not busied herself skulking about these past several days, wanting to ignore what she already knew, hiding from her packmates, she might have garnered the goings-on between the two.
they gazed expectantly at her; mona felt a tremble beginning to start in her limbs. however, the firebrand lifted her chin and, with another glance toward rannoch, was direct: "i am pregnant." the moment the words left her lips, she wanted to take them back, and finally tears did spring to visible glint upon her cheeks. but mona refused to weep. "i will take whatever punishment you want to give me."
Note: Really sorry for the wait!!"
 
Rannoch's suspicion was confirmed after Terance and Treason had arrived—Mona was pregnant. Given his surmise, he wasn't as caught off-guard as the others may have been. Rannoch frowned; he knew that this affected the entire pack. 

"We will need some time to discuss this," he said, glimpsing towards his fellow leaders. "This is no light topic, and I do not want us to make any rash decisions," he was far more concerned about Treason than he was Terance, "But, if anything, I do appreciate your honesty, Mona." She had been brave to admit what had happened, even if it would have become more obvious in the coming weeks.
terance looked to rannoch as he answered, feeling a small ripple move through his brain, influencing his thought process. he looked over mona with a sad expression. he felt for her, for many reasons, and didn't appear to judge her. he looked to rannoch, and then to treason, feeling as though he was the odd one out when it came to opinions in this matter. "mona is family," he said gently to them both. she was. their parents may as well have been blood. 

"who is the father?" terance asked her in a soft voice, his ears flicking forwards.
Yeah.  Treason wasn't exactly happy to hear that. Unsurprisingly.  

But Mona hadn't been in the pack when Rannoch had spoken about this breeding season, and apparently Indra hadn't relayed much of their conversation either.  So did that mean that because of whatever behavior went on in Bearclaw, she didn't think it was as dire as it could have been?  Was she to be the next Seabreeze or Olive and run off into the sunset?  Was it just ignorance?  But if they were to discuss it later, for now, Treason would hold her tongue.

But family?  How was she family?  She looked to Terance, kind of confused, but still still stern.  Family how?  Like actual family or was he just being soft on a packmate?  Better be the former.

Maybe it was a good thing she wasn't alpha right now.
rannoch spoke first, maintaining the kindness that mona had come to need in this meeting. she was surprised, however, to hear terance's quiet defense of her in the face of treason's expression. a swallow thrummed in her throat; the young mayfair fought the urge to collapse beneath the silent judgement.
"a man near the sea. i never got his name." which was worse? a single tryst or the fact that she had met the male twice, and not received his title either time? only his countenance was burned into her memory, his laughter, the way he had embraced her.
why did it matter? he would not come to claim them. but mona said nothing more, eyes flickering between them all before her gaze found the earth once more.
"Mona is family," Terance established directly; Rannoch had not been aware of the familial relationship between the two wolves. Nevertheless, it didn't matter that he was unaware—what only mattered to Rannoch was protecting Mona's young. 

"If Mona is family, then her children are family, too," he stated, his voice firm. "They will be raised here." Rannoch then turned to Mona, his gaze softer as he regarded the mother-to-be. "How far along do you think you are?" he asked—even an estimate would better prepare all of them for the unexpected additions to the pack.
treason's look of confusion and sternness did not go unmissed. as she looked to him terance's gaze flitted to her briefly, and then back upon mona. a low, gruff sound rumbled from him in an effort to express he could explain it to her later. for now, he was only relieved to hear rannoch second his wishes, and then mona continue to speak.

his ears flicked. "then you returned to the sentinels," he commented in assumption, though he hadn't been necessarily right. but that was all terance had to say, and so he looked to treason again to catch her expression, or to hear her voice her own opinions.
And... She didn't know who the guy was, really?  Oof.  Why.  Treason probably just had a very different perspective on things, because that was not something she really agreed with either.  She made the assumption that if it was someone that Mona had just randomly met, he could very well cause trouble for them all later.  The guy could be a homicidal maniac in his spare time, who knew.

Yet, despite the fact that it had previously been said that they weren't going to be as lax this season, here it was happening again.  Perhaps there was some solace in Rannoch's statement that any children would be raised here (not that words could stop Mona from leaving all on their own), but it was a minor thing.

At Terance's response, she huffed stubbornly, though her ears tilted slightly back for a second.  Fine, she wouldn't be completely snarky about how wishy-washy they were being about stuff, but she did have one question, What is your plan about that man?  Surely, she had to thought about it.  Whether she was going to hunt him down or just pretend he no longer existed.  Something.  But Treason wasn't going to going to volunteer to hunt him down.
"perhaps three to four weeks," mona ventured. enough to know she was pregnant, to have truly experienced pregnancy to this point. but not quite halfway, though truly it made no difference. to terance she turned her attention now. was he speaking of the second time she had left, or the first? or that she had come back? "after we were ... together, i returned home," mona murmured, the shame of it staining her cheeks beneath the crimson fur.
sensing a good deal of judgement in treason's tone, or perhaps she was merely projecting, the young mayfair nevertheless reined her burgeoning irritation back where it remained unseen. "there is little chance he will know he has children here. we live too far apart."
Perhaps three or four weeks—pleanty of time to prepare, Rannoch surmised. He nodded in reply, seeing no reason to interject. 

"Well, that's good," Rannoch replied to Mona in regards to her child's father, his relief evident. "I don't like the idea of some stranger coming to our door, demanding to see his children—especially with other children on the way."
terance's one response was a gruff grunt, letting treason do the questioning and rannoch do the decision making. he showed where he stood on the issue, so everything else that came from it was up to them. he figured he kind of knew how treason felt about it, just based off of last years whole fiasco... but he figured he had at least the tiniest sway on her. minuscule, at least. but treason was pretty head-strong and opinionated without his help. so, eh. whatever. 

he looked between the other three wolves as they spoke, getting the gist of what would probably happen and understand all the consequences of her actions blah blah blah... it all sounded fine to him. he liked mona, he gave her a bit of leeway here. donnelaith stuff, whatever. his ears just flicked forwards as he waited to be addressed or to be dismissed.
She nodded, but still wasn't keen on the whole thing.  It was good if she didn't have someone actively trying to lure her away with whatever children she had because that probably lowered the chances of her leaving, but... Still.  They needed to prevent another incident with some mother just running off with her children after all the time and effort the pack put in to support them.  Yeah, her brain might be caught in a bit of an endless loop on this one.

But Rannoch had pretty much already come to a decision for them and she didn't have anything really to add.  Maybe she'd think of something later, but right now, nope.
rannoch's words drew an attentive nod from mona, but she remained silent. there was nothing more to be said; they had forgiven her, or perhaps only treason had not. but whatever the reason, she had been granted leeway for her children, even as her mind hooked at the edge of their existence with the accursed name of bastard.
"thank you, all of you. you've been ... very kind and gracious to me." she had terance to thank for that, and rannoch's kind heart from which he always spoke. but now she could bear to look at none of them, wanting only to crouch in her den and hide until the shame had passed.
"Of course," Rannoch replied; Mona would be taken care of as long as she lived at Lost Creek Hollow. "Is there anything else you need at the moment?" Although this question was directed at the Stalwart, it was open to all of the gathering.  If he wasn't needed, he'd get back to Liffey and the preparations for their newest litter.
last from me; sorry to post out of turn but this can be wrapped anytime <3

mona shook her head, glancing at treason and terance before her eyes returned to rannoch. a dismissal then, and one she took, turning on her heel and striding away. not till she was out of earshot did tears begin to burn rivulets along her face but mona kept her composure only until she was within the dark confines of her too-small den.