W-where am I? What is this place? Wait.... not again. She knew this place. It was the dog-fighting place again. Her body was melted in the yellow bushes. She knew what would happen next. She would see her younger self getting taken by the furless creatures. And there was nothing ahe would be able to do. She looked out at the shrubery she would come out from. A little pup did come out indeed, but it wasn't herself. It was a white pup came. Lusa didn't know the pup, but felt a warm glow in her heart. She did know this pup. Somehow. But then she remembered what would happen. Don't go there! Stop! But her words came out in whispers. The pup walked closer and closer to the bars, making Lusa struggle to get out of her place. But when she reached the place, the setting melted away turning into a wooded area. The dog-fighting place turned into a wooden structure with artificial light glowing from inside. The little white pup started barking and yapping. And out from a opening flew a furless creature. He held a stick that smelled of death. He aimed for the little pup and a sudden bang sounded from the deathstick. Lusa's eyes widened as the white pup fell to the ground, blood spewing from her head. The thing turned his head and smirked at Lusa, before lifting the stick and fireing.

 The dark star woke up with a loud yelp, limbs shaking and head pounding. "Just a dream. Just a dream," she whispered frantically. Her heart rate was skyrocketing and she breathed heavily. Blue optics looked around swiftly. She was safe and sound in Bruke's old den. But it didn't feel very safe. Right now she wanted the company of Grim. She lifted her head and let out the short, shaky tune, calling for her mate. When she was finished, she lay her head on the earth below, head close to her belly. The unborn puppies where her only company now. 

Meldresi wandered in the dark forest of her own, ruminating about the fate of her pack. She was happy to find that Lusa was pregnant, and she would be due at the end of the moon, when her children of her pack would return. What joy that would be, to have a pack full of pups for once.

The queen paused in her tracks at the sound of a familiar yelp. Lusa. Were her pups starting already? It was not good. She was not even halfway through her term yet.

She rushed to the sound, where Lusa was nesting in Burke's old den. To her relief, there was no blood in the air, only fear. The little thing looked so frightened, especially when she raised her head to call out for her mate. Poor thing. "Lusa, dear?" She whispered, soft and gentle, as if she was talking to one of her own children.

 She turned her head at the sound of Meldresi's calming voice. She was still shivering and traumatized by the nightmare, so anyone here was fine by her. "Th-they killed her, she stammered, thinking of the little pup. And something told her who she was."They killed my baby!" Lusa wasn't expecting for the Alpha to know who 'they' where. She herself didn't know who they where exactly. Just loud and cruel creatures. She curled even more beside her swollen belly. She would never let anything hurt her young as long as she was around.

Meldresi did not know that Lusa had had children before. She was so young, barely more than a year old. To have two litters already was rare. She pressed her head against Lusa's comfortingly. "No one will dare harm your children." She sat by the pregnant woman, watching the pups inside of her shift. She wondered how many Lusa would birth, or would she be unfortunate like her, and lose half of her own litter. "I promise."

 The affection from Meldresi soothed her a bit, though blood still haunted her mind. It was strange. Usually she wouldn't care about it. But the blood from her dream seemed unnatural and usafe. "Thank you."

 Thinking back to her mate, she became more curious. "Have you seen Grimnir around anywhere?" With him gone for this long, she felt unhappy. She knew the Pack would care for her but she wanted Grim to care the most.

Grimnir. She really did love him, didn't she? That was good at least. She could not tolerate any forced pregnancies or unions. She had seen some traces of affection in both of their eyes when they came to ask her for the permission to mate, but Meldresi was skeptical. But now the young female was pining for him, and Meldresi had to tell her the truth. "I have not seen him.." She admitted. "Though I have smelled his scent here and there. He's near."

 She sighed as she heard this. Where could he be? He couldn't have just vanished in thin air. She didn't want him to miss the birthing of their pups. That would be such a let down.

 She shook the thought out of her mind, remembering what Bruke advised her the other day. "Meldresi, I have a few questions. About birthing. How will I know when it happens? What should I do?"

It was a normal question for a mother to ask, and it answered her question before. That baby she was talking about before was an adopted one then. Meldresi sighed, sitting up, thinking of a way to explain it to her. She was silent for a moment, then opened again.

"It will hurt, a lot." She said simply, bluntly, because that was most she remembered of her children's birth: the pain. "And for a long time, hours at most. It can start at anytime and without warning. But when it's over, it is the best feeling in the world." She smiled, remembering the elation and content when the worst was over, with her children nursing at her side.