While Somnia did spend a good amount of time in her den the past couple days, she still made an attempt to get outside a couple times of day. While a large part of her wanted nothing more than to do nothing and stay in the den while her thoughts pushed her towards depression, there was a part of her that resisted that. That resistance was based solely on how others would act towards her, excluding Elwood.
What if Peregrine or Fox tried to kick her out for doing nothing? While the rational part of Somnia argued feebly that they wouldn't do that without trying to see if there was a reason, it was still a possibility. Even if they did question her, she would have to tell them what had happened. It was bad enough that she had told Elwood - she did appreciate his presence though when he checked in on her - but having the rest of the pack know about it?
While Somnia didn't exactly get much of anything done when she took her few walks outside, it at least made it seem as if she were doing something. If anyone questioned about what she had been up to, she could at least claim that she had been trying - and failing - to hunt recently until she got back on her feet completely.
So on these walks, she keep her scent of pack grounds recent, but avoid any other pack-mate's recent scent except for Elwood. The only useful thing the walks actually did was introduce her to the scent of a new pack-mate. While the scent was feminine, it still upset Somnia a bit.
I can't imagine Fox not checking up on Somnia, chief puppy sitter!
Somnia had been... well,
off. Perhaps it was her mother instincts kicking in, but Fox had noticed over the past week or two that their highest-ranking member hadn't been herself lately. She was normally so social, so outgoing, and so friendly that Fox just knew, deep down, that something was wrong. She assumed that Ashton's departure had something to do with it. Hadn't Fox become more withdrawn when Haunter had left the first time? Not only him, but her other suitors?
Fox hurried her steps, causing her belly to swing wildly from side-to-side, when she happened to catch a glimpse of the recently scarce Gamma.
"Som! Som, wait up!" She really wasn't as quick on her feet when she had to lug around several other bodies in her belly. Panting by the time she reached her, Fox sputtered a few disjointed words.
"Where..." pant-pant
"you..." pant-pant
"been?" pant-pant.
When Somnia heard panting and the pounding of feet on the ground, her stomach dropped. Her first reaction was to start moving, to try and act like she didn't know that the other wolf was there. That option was quickly crushed when she heard her name called by the pregnant Alpha. She temporarily thought of acting like she hadn't heard, but that wouldn't work either. She would've had to be deaf (as well as blind! How could you miss that gigantic swaying stomach?) to not have noticed Fox.
As Somnia turned around, her gaze landed on Fox's stomach. She knew that Fox was pregnant, but when had she actually started showing? It came to show how much Somnia was missing out on pack life. Once she managed to stop gawking, she answered Fox's question rather tonelessly, also obviously taking her question literally. "I've been here..." For the most part it was true. She had been gone for two days when she went looking for Ashton, but a few excursions every now and then weren't uncommon for the Gamma. Just because Somnia hadn't been showing her face didn't mean she had disappeared.
Fox managed to catch her breath, though her sides still expanded and contracted in an exaggerated way. Somnia replied that she'd been... well, here. "You know that's not what I meant, silly!" Fox replied, though she was beginning to think Somnia wasn't in the best of moods. Maybe she was nearing her special fertile lady time. "Perry told me Ashton left. That piece of shit deserter can go die in a fire." What Fox didn't know was that Somnia a) had already been out looking for him and b) might not take kindly to the harsh words Fox used on him.
"Don't let his stupid ass bring you down, y'know?" Fox offered, putting on her best sympathetic smile. Fox needed for each and every member of the caldera to be in tippy-top shape when the children were born. She wondered how Finley and Elwood were dealing with their... y'know, relationship or whatever. Fox considered bringing it up with Som, but realized talking about that might just make her miss Ashton even more.
It seemed as if Fox blamed her absence from pack life on Ashton. While it was partially correct, Somnia made no attempt to correct her. Letting her believe it was Ashton's fault - which again, it partially was - seemed like the better option when faced with the choice of telling her what happened. But even if what had happened to her could be blamed on Ashton, her stomach twisted as Fox tried to cheer her up by insulting Ashton. While part of her was raging madly against him, there was still a part of her that cared about him.
While she avoided commenting on that, she let out a small "Mmm." to show she understood Fox's point. Then, for Fox's sake rather than her own, Somnia attempted a small smile. However, it quickly turned into a grimace.
Somnia certainly didn't react in the same way that Finley had, when they had been Finn-bashing. It made sense, though. Finley had always been more like Fox when it came to being crass and harsh. Somnia, on the other hand, was a bit more... dare I say... soft. In a lot of ways, Somnia reminded her of the squishy Blue Willow. Sure, she'd given Fox plenty of lectures, but she'd always seemed far too proper when it came right down to it.
Really, the worst part was that Fox had no idea how to deal with somebody who was so down in the dumps they could barely even push out a real word. "That... is why you're sulking, right?" Fox asked, wondering if there was something else. Given Som's reaction, it seemed like she didn't feel that bad about Ashton's disappearance. Fox furrowed her brow, trying to come up with other reasons why Somnia might be feeling down in the dumps.
When Fox asked if she was sulking because of Ashton, Somnia did what came to mind first. As she didn't want Fox to know about what happened to her, Somnia lied right to her Alpha's - as well as her friend's - face. "Yeah." She said perhaps a bit too hurriedly. Somnia tried to keep her face straight, her ears from pressing back nervously, and her tail from curling between her legs. Her lie seemed obvious to her, and she stared at Fox as she waited for her to point it out.
She was such a horrible wolf now! Not only was she weak and helpless it seemed, but she was also a liar now! It was all Somnia could do to prevent a whine from escaping as she waited for Fox to realize just how useless her highest ranking subordinate was. She was such a disappointment!
Luckily for Somnia, Fox was terrible at picking up on subtler cues, so she hadn't a clue that the trusty Gamma was lying. "Well, there's plenty to look forward to, right? I mean, the kids will be here soon," Fox said, touching her own belly with her nose, "We have new recruits who could probably use some help getting acclimated. Maybe doing that might take your mind off things for a little while." Fox had certainly been known to throw herself into work when things were bothering her. It was hard to see Somnia in such a funk, and she really did hope she snapped out of it sooner rather than later.
"Did you hear about Fitz? He took off with Raissa to start his own thing." Maybe a change of subject might help. Or make it worse. Fox didn't really know if bringing up another couple might upset Som further. Still, gossip was gossip, and Fox wanted to try and get her to lighten up a bit.
Somnia let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The topic of the conversation changed to pups. But, just as quickly as it had switched to a safe topic, it switched back to a dangerous one. New recruits?! She had detected the scent of one newcomer, who luckily was a female. What if the other one(s) were male? While her new trust problems affected everyone she wasn't close to, they were stronger towards members of the opposite gender.
Before Somnia's thoughts could progress too far along that road, (even though there was actually only one new recruit,) there was yet another topic switch. "Raissa?" Somnia questioned. She could only match a scent to the name, not a face, nor any other pack-mates to her for that matter. They had never met, yet she could only imagine that the one scent of an unknown pack-mate that faded around the same time as Fitz's was hers. She couldn't have stayed too long if Somnia hadn't met her, yet she had quickly figured out she wanted to whisk Fitz away from them? Her sense of nationalism for the pack took a hit.
Wow, Somnia really had been laying low, hadn't she? Raissa had been around for a bit, and Fox wondered where Som had been spending all of her time. “Fitz’s girl. I think she came from another pack, but I don’t really remember the details.” It was a shame that Raissa had gone, if only because Fox found her to be some good eye candy. Sadly, Fox's one girl crush had run off with her lover, and she'd likely not get the chance to pursue anything. With the kids on the way, Fox was pretty sure she wouldn't have time for that anyhow.
“I think it’ll be good for them, though. Peregrine and I gave them our blessing. I wish others would’ve done the same for us back at the plateau.” Well, now she was just rambling on about whatever, wasn't she? It was so strange to see Somnia in such a state. Perhaps the rambling was Fox's own defense mechanism. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know when the babes will pop, do you?” Fox had wanted to ask Ashton, but he'd up and left them, so that wasn't really an option any longer.
Somnia listened to Fox as she explained who Raissa was and what happened. It also seemed as if everyone was alright her leaving with Fitz. Of course, it would've been hypocritical for Fox and Peregrine to prevent them from leaving, and it was also their choice in the end, yet she couldn't help but dislike Raissa based on her leaving the Caldera with two less members. Somnia must've been in a bad mood to blame it on her when Raissa and Fitz had all rights to leave. Plus, she had never been too close to Fitz whatsoever!
Somnia shook her head at Fox's question; she had never seen a pregnant wolf before Fox. But even as she did that she took a step forward to better inspect Fox's side. Somnia did know that pregnant wolves' stomachs got bigger because the pups were getting bigger in the uterus. Fox's stomach already was huge! "Maybe soon? I don't think you could get much bigger." Somnia offered even though she had no past experience.
Fox had actually expected to balloon up a lot more than she had. Sure, her abdomen was noticeably larger, but she could still walk, and that was more than she'd been hoping for. “I think you’re right,” Fox replied, wishing she had more to go on. She really wanted to know how many days she had left, but she figured nobody could really know that. Nature worked in strange ways, and it often didn't even follow its own rules. Silly nature.
A howl caused Fox's ears to twitch backward. It was nobody she recognized, and it sounded like it was coming from the outer reaches of their home. “Wanna investigate with me?” she asked, looking back at Somnia while taking a step toward the sound. If she wasn't up for it, Fox would go alone. Just because she was pregnant didn't mean she was going to do nothing all day!
While there was no way to know when the pups arrived, there were other things that Somnia did know. No matter what condition she was in, she would try her best to be an excellent Caretaker, as well as an aunt-figure for them. While Peregrine had asked her if the pups could call her Aunt Som, Fox now had two of her sisters within the pack. That meant two other wolves that were actually aunts by blood. Being unrelated yet granted the title was causing a bit of mental turmoil, but she would eventually sort it out.
When the howl went up, Somnia froze as she recognize it; she was quite wary of strangers for a few justified reasons now. But if she went with Fox, surely her friend wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, even if she was pregnant. Additionally, what would Fox do if she got into trouble by herself? No matter how well she seemed to be keeping up, being pregnant would definitely hinder her in a fight. "Sure." Somnia answered, prepared to follow Fox.
I'm gonna fade out here. We should definitely have another! i ♥ som :B
Somnia obliged, which only made it that much easier to march on to their destination. As they walked in a comfortable silence, Fox wondered why so many wolves left without saying a word to those they had pledged their loyalty to. She'd seen it over and over again, each time wondering what had pulled them away. What had pulled Ashton away, really? Had he been hurt out there somewhere?
Although they didn't know it yet, the wolf who had howled would be gone by the time they got their. They would never know what he (or she) had wanted in the first place. But for now, they traveled at a leisurely pace to the origin of the call.