mireille was rounded and fiercely so, approaching the end of her pregnancy. she had excavated a den in the tangle, going as firmly to ground as her instincts demanded. spotted with soil and thirsty, the obsidian found herself seized by restlessness.
as the evening fell, she found herself beside rushing water, surrounded by the gentle pulse of fireflies. the beauty of the contrast stunned her; mireille was moved, and with churning emotions she drank deeply.
she thought of val.
Following the meandering scent of the sow bear and her two cubs, Lilia wandered through the marsh and toward the mountain range, where the scents disappeared into the rising altitude. Satisfied that they would not likely prove to be a nuisance for the wolves either at the Rise or Sapphique, she left them to go, without pursing them further. If she ended up cornering them, she knew the sow would be quick to retaliate and fend her off.
She followed the scent of fresh water, and found it mingling with the scent of the ocean, carried by the cinnamon-hued leader of Sapphique. Curious to see what Mireille was doing in the ravine, Lilia prowled forward, carefully picking her way down the steep slope until she caught sight of the leader's firelight coat highlighted by the intermittent flash of fireflies.
She uttered a soft chuffing noise, as she began to push her way through a close stand of alders, knowing there was no possible way for her to approach the leader quietly. Once she'd slipped through them, she plucked a few leaves from her pelt, and looked up to see Mireille, on the opposite bank- and noted with surprise that yet another leader was heavily pregnant.
"Well howdy," She greeted, and halted. "An' congrat-th," She said, with a grin.
llia. mireille felt that the girl had been, well, more girlish the last they met. this lilia was quite self-assured, confident and familiar with the terrain. it brought a smile to the obsidian, for she enjoyed watching such young ones come into themselves, as suzu was doing, as she expected chani and chiro to do. the earlier a girl found herself powerful, the less power a man would ever have over her.
"bonjour, lilia, and thank you. soon they will come."
she dreaded it, somewhat, but knew she had the strength of her mothers and sisters to assist her.
"how have you been?" mireille inquired, stirring another flurry of fireflies as she shifted to ease the ache of her back.
Bonjour. She'd never really been addressed in another language before, and likely gave Mireille a surprised blink before she processed what was being said, but smiled when realization hit her. The wolves of Sapphique tended to have accents, she'd noticed, but she hadn't realized that they could speak an entirely different language. Now that she realized it, it made a lot of sense. She had to wonder how neat that would be- to be able to communicate with packmates in a language that perhaps few others understood. Would Ancelin come home, speaking with this tongue?
She had to wonder how many children Mireille thought she was going to have- but decided not to ask. "Like, really thoon?" She asked. After all, she looked about as pregnant as Meylodi had looked, and Avicus as well, when they had given birth. The answer was fairly obvious, then, so she offered Mireille a wink and a smile. "Betcha they'll be thome cute," She said.
Curiously, she noticed that the fireflies seemed relatively at ease around the expecting mother. She glanced about herself for a moment, noticing then that the insects seemed more keen on giving her a bit of space. Likely for the best- she wanted to catch one and see how long it would glow for after it was caught, but refrained from doing so while in polite company.
"Yeah, I been good. Doin' a lot of patrollin' an' thuch." She said. "How'th Anthuhlin been doin' over at Thapphique? Behavin' himthelf, yeah?" She asked with a grin.
mireille grinned. "very soon. an' i hope dey be cute. one day, dey will run wid de children of de rise, i t'ink."
ancelin. mireille wondered, but did not ask. "he is learning to swim. i expect suzu be teachin' him somet'in' or ano'ter. an' he hunts often. it has been good to have him here, even if i know he be eager to get home."
and privately she wondered if the young woman in front of her was part of that reason. "a lot of patrols? what have you seen?" mireille inquired, her red ears turning forward as she fireflies began to dance about lilia as well.
Cute? Probably. Every single wolf Lilia had seen over at Sapphique had been beautiful, as if bathing in kelp and soaking in salty waters made them all the more conditioned and appealing. Mireille seemed keen to maintain the bond between the two packs and aside from having been shunned by Quennell, Lilia still saw the wolves of Sapphique as an asset. "I hope tho too," She said. The hunt had been a success, and together they'd procured enough food to feed all parties involved.
She smiled for a moment at the thought of Ancelin learning how to swim, only to become concerned a moment later when a mentor's name was given. She felt her cheeks grow warm, though she tried to fight back jealousy. She might have to find out who Suzu was; maybe she could ask Raelle, though it wouldn't likely matter- Ancelin's time helping Sapphique was temporary. "He'th a good huntuh," She said, warmly. She had no intentions of hiding the affection in her voice, or what showed on her face. She did appreciate knowing that he was eager to return full-time to the Rise, flattering herself with the thought that she was a part of his motivation.
"I theen-" She was promptly distracted by a firefly that lit up surprisingly close to her muzzle before it went dark again. She huffed, amused. "I been mappin' out all the areath within a couple-a dayth travel from the Rithe. Thometimeth I go for about a week on a tour, ekthplorin' to the Wetht an' aroun' the Thouth. Through a couple of the mountainth, to the glaciuh, but...Mothtly jutht lookin' fer where prey goeth. Foun' a new pack thettlin' in the mouhtainth, not far from here," She said. "I thtopped by Thapphique on my way back an' told Etienne about it. Other'n that....Nothin' really out of the ordinary," She admitted. Aside from the new pack, these fireflies that blinked around her were likely the neatest thing she'd seen in some time.
lilia seemed to be an accomplished traveler. mireille herself had not gone so far without necessity, either to search for family or the look to conceive one. it reminded her of how far she had ranged for the growing children inside her, and that in turn reminded her of val —
the emerald eyes shone, intensified; a smile came to her mouth as she watched the redtail girl encircled by fireflies.
a cramp in her abdomen tightened the obsidian's expression for a moment, and then she sighed as it passed. "maybe — after dey born — we go huntin', you an' i." the idea was a pleasant one, and she blinked toward the other wolf, wondering if agreement would come.
Mireille seemed to enjoy hearing of her travels, which was satisfying, though the light strain that came to her features did not go unnoticed, either. Lilia knew relatively little about the process of carrying children, but assumed that Mirelle'd perhaps felt a puppy kick, or perhaps she had gas. She tried not to get too concerned- Mireille seemed like the sort to know her own limits and pain tolerance.
"Name the day an' the prey, we'll make it happen," She agreed. Another hunt with Sapphique would be beneficial for both packs- they could take advantage of migrating prey, and use their combined numbers to hunt something that would satisfy both packs, especially considering that both packs would have mothers with young children. She gestured with a kindly lift of her chin. "How 'bout I walk you back to Thapphique?" She said, her concern not forgotten.
somehow she sensed lilia's concern, or perhaps she only projected her own motherhood's worry of being too far from home this close to the end of the pregnancy. "i will ask chacal," she said gently, and then a flash of teeth glinted in a surprised grin.
"of course," she murmured, filling with a friendly, sisterly sort of air toward the confident young girl. despite the fact that the other was not of the seacliffs, her status, her countenance, her movements of confirmation; these things made her an ally in spirit as well as name to the red obsidian.
she would talk of idle things; hunting, the lash of the ocean, how many children she thought she carried, all the while glimmering with the pleasure of good conversation.
While the bear had not turned its wrath upon the inhabitants of the Rise, she still felt bad for the wolves who had weathered its attack. Having scented the sow and her cub earlier, Lilia felt it was best to escort Mireille home so that an opportunistic bear could not strike Sapphique again. Besides- Mireille was pleasant company, and she would take any chance she could get to both learn more about Sapphique, and ameliorate the bond that existed between the two packs.