Bearclaw Valley if he fell in love

for @Towhee Jr

rumors traveled fast in bearclaw, and they hadn’t spared him. whispers of her condition had reached his ears, setting a fire of questions in his mind. yet she hadn’t told him. and so, he was here, determined to hear it from her lips—no, her paws.

he strode closer, his breath misting in the cool air, a warm chuff escaping his throat as he neared her. he kept his gaze pinned firmly to her face, careful not to let it wander—though it took every ounce of restraint he possessed.

when he was close enough, he leaned in without hesitation, his cold nose brushing hers before his tongue darted out for a brief, tender kiss. it was an affectionate gesture, uncharacteristic in its softness—he was putting his foot forth in being more direct with his affections. tvar didn’t wait to see how she might react, instead pulling back just enough to sign quickly with his paws, goodmorning, towhee.

his lips curved into a smile. without skipping a beat, he added, have you ate yet?

she took a few days to rest after visiting with her mother and brother ... because she needed it and because she had to sit a little longer on her revelation during it. the symptoms have not waned nor has there been any alarming change that might signal to her something was amiss.

which meant she was going to tell tvar. today. she was sure she was correct and that 'i think' no longer applied.

so, she sought him out; peering up at ghost as the falcon gives her a signal that someone was approaching. the scent told her it was tvar.

her heart gallops in her chest, both at the brush of his nose and tender kiss that follows but also with anticipation. how would he take the news? she presses a soft kiss to his cheek in return, hoping that what she had to share didn't end this. whatever it was. she was enjoying the plot twist she hadn't seen coming in her life.

-good morning, tvar,- she signs in return, giving her head a soft shake 'no'. her stomach was a gurgling mess of nerves. even if she wasn't dealing with morning sickness, she still couldn't eat. not until she got her news off her chest.

-you should know that i'm ...- her ptero falters for a moment. -i'm pregnant.-

the moment towhee’s paws move to sign the word, tvar knows. his heart leaps into his throat as the realization hits him fully—not just a suspicion, not just a gut feeling, but real.

before he can even think, he closes the space between them in a rush, his broad frame engulfing hers as he pulls her into a firm embrace. his laughter bubbles up, warm and unrestrained, vibrating against her as his muzzle buries into her neck fur. he inhales deeply, threading kisses through the dark strands with an almost desperate affection.

"towhee," he breathes, her name thick with awe and joy, though he knows she won't hear it. his paws are clumsy as he signs, his excitement making his movements swift and eager. i knew, he tells her, laughter still spilling from his chest. i had feeling, but to hear... his movements falter off as he looks at her. searching her face, her eyes.

he signs again, slower this time, trying to ensure she understands him fully. strong, towhee. family will be strong.

his paws falter briefly as he meets her gaze again, his voice softening as he signs once more, i won’t leave... your side! he wanted to sign, but couldn't quite figure it out.

if towhee could hear her heartbeat, it would drown out everything else. as it was, she could feel it, rapidly thrumming in her chest; her mouth dry as she watches tvar's reaction to the truth bomb she'd just dropped at his paws. but her anxiety evaporates as he rushes towards her, his laughter felt from his throat. her cheeks flush with hidden warmth as she feels the kisses he peppers along her neck.

the warmth from her cheeks blooms then in her chest, giving her a feeling of buoyancy. if not for his strong embrace, his presence towhee was sure she'd float away like one of ghost's feathers caught on the wind.

she is smiles naturally, so wide that her cheeks begun to ache.

but for a better reaction she could not've asked for!

she'd been steeling herself for raising them alone, would he have taken the news poorly.

but those worries had been all for nothing and then after the unbridled joy and warmth, relief eases the tension that had been held in her shoulders.

-i know they will be strong.- pride makes its home next in her chest; running towhee thru the gambit of emotions. strong and healthy. though admittedly and perhaps this was her maternal instincts already kicking in preparation: she would settle for healthy.

he trails off during his promise, though towhee can tell that it's not out of interest in finishing it but because he is still learning ptero ... even if she is impressed with how quick he caught on and how much he's retained ( and she is undeniably impressed ). -good,- she signs offering him a partially sly grin. -because i want to keep you.-

tvar’s chest swells at her words. eyes stay fixed on her paws as she signs, each one followed by the steady thrum of his heart. the pride in her chest mirrors his own, and when she finishes, the slyness of her grin draws a huffed chuckle from him. overwhelmed by affection for the woman, he gently pushes her onto her back; coming to lay beside her, pushing his front up to hover above her chest. his nose to hers.

there’s a warmth to his gaze, a quiet intensity; he is moved by the emotions swirling within him. tenatively, his own paws begin to move, raised by his head so that she can see. he signs: you and... his paws falter, hesitating as he tries to piece together the correct motions for their children. instead, he just presses his paw to her belly. them. he gestures. safe here. content to hold her, gaze into her eyes, and swathe her in tender kisses with his nose and mouth. he buries his nose to her throat and greedily drinks in her scent, eyes fluttering closed only briefly. opening to catch what she says last.

he leans in again, brushing his muzzle against her cheek before pulling back just enough to look her in the eye. be mine, he signs, head tilting as he looks for her reaction. he points to her with his paw, then to himself, and motions: mates.

when i tell you i was giggling and kicking my feet writing this. <3

towhee stares up at the clouds as she obliges, rolling onto her back — with the brief thought that soon she would not have such mobility ( at least until the children were born ) — only to feel a smile tugging at the edges of her lips as he steals her view. it was preferable view, much more handsome than the wispy clouds, for sure.

she sighs against his kisses and touches, amazed that instead of triggering her hostility the touch of his nose and mouth to her throat only fill her with warmth.

a sign of her affection for him, her trust.

-i know.- towhee signs confidently into the air with her paws as he pulls back some to read it.

towhee blinks slowly at him as she reads his ptero, her gaze assessing as she processes the words. his. his mate. his wife. hers. her mate. her husband. she had never imagined this life path for herself, but her initial life path had been born of her own selfishness. she is a mother-to-be, looking forward to sharing life with the babies growing in her womb ... and now she'd get to share it with tvar too.

it was no secret she was attracted to him and incredibly fond of him. she trusted him ... and she was carrying his children.

the golden tendrils of fate had weaved them together, irrevocably. in a way that she had never imagined during their first meeting.

-i will be yours and you will be mine, tvar.- she signs her acceptance of the proposal, tail beating against the earth.

his chest swells, warmth flooding through him like the first break of dawn on a cold morning. his tail gives an enthusiastic thump against the ground, matching hers in tempo.

mine, he repeats in ptero, as his voice rumbles low in his throat, a sound of approval and unbridled joy. yours.

leaning closer, he brushes his nose along her cheek, his breaths warm against her fur. how he had not expected this! things had happened so quickly, a whirlwind of emotions and feelings, and yet—he figures he couldn't have hoped for anything different.

our family, he signs next, his paws moving more fluidly now, emboldened by her acceptance. he dips his head to nuzzle into the curve of her neck, his voice soft but sure as he murmurs against her fur, i am, he falters only for a moment, happiest wolf.

a cheeky smile then, as he looks into her eyes. you want girls? boys?

if someone had told towhee that she'd be married with children on the way when she'd first set off from moonspear she would've laughed that wolf off the face of the earth. it wasn't how she'd ever envisioned her life: being tied down ... to anything or anyone. and yet ... and yet in the here and now she could not imagine anything she wanted more. tvar and their unborn children: they were for her to love, for her to protect. her new mission in which for her world to revolve around.

-me too.- signs towhee with a contented sigh that comes from deep within her body, perhaps even from the root of her soul.

his question draws a brief moment of contemplation from towhee. in truth, she hadn't thought about what genders she wanted even after she'd come to the realization that she was, indeed, pregnant. -i want healthy and happy babies.- she signs resolutely. what they were born as or chose to become didn't matter to her: she would love them all the same. so long as they were healthy and happy.

tvar’s chest rumbles with a low, warm laugh as he watches her sign. he presses his nose briefly to hers, a soft gesture of affection, before leaning back to respond.

all we can hope for, he signs. healthy. happy. strong like you. there’s a glimmer of pride in his eyes as he signs the last part, his gaze lingering on her with quiet admiration.

he shifts slightly, settling closer to her, his tail brushing lightly against hers as he does. but maybe boy like me, he adds with a playful grin, his paws signing the words with an ease born of growing familiarity. and girl with your fire.

in truth, he didn’t care what their children were, so long as they thrived. this was his family.

their family.

at his ptero, towhee grins, a soft flush warming her cheeks. -strong like you.- towhee counters in ptero, paws tracing the air; more fluid now than the clunky ( for her ) slowed version she used when teaching. though, she supposed, she was always teaching it and would be teaching it to their children in a handful of months, knowing it would be some time before they were old enough to start learning but if how much bushtit had grown in the months she'd been separated from her mother and younger brother it would go by fast.

-but maybe only some of my fire.- towhee says with a sheepish grin. -my fire has burned even myself before.-

there was a distinct line between being wary and protective and hostility and towhee'd always leaned towards the latter.

especially so when she was younger.

-do you have a last name? the children and i will call it our's, if you do.-

see his history and blackfell's pawprints!

he tries to sign crownore first, his paws hesitating mid-air before he opts to speak instead: crownore, he says, ensuring she can see his lips form the word. when he looks back at her, a faint smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. towhee and tvar crownore.

it feels right. sounds right.

with that, he shifts, rolling onto his back, his gaze fixed upward at the clouds swirling above. his paw rises, cutting shapes into the pale sky as he begins to sign. it’s a struggle—his movements are clunky, hesitant—but he persists. he tells her about his father, adonis, and his mother, lunarre. the siblings he had grown up with in winterhelm. but then, about his real mother, lycinia and the siblings he had never known until he was an adult. about their lineage, the great clan of hrafnvaengr. his signs falter here and there, and he pauses to mouth certain words for her to catch.

he finishes with a soft huff, his paw falling back to rest against his chest as he turns his gaze toward her. there’s a quiet vulnerability in his expression, one he rarely shows, but it feels right to share it with her. but now i belong with you.

there is no doubt that their names twined together, harkening the way to his surname crownore sounded good. or, so towhee imagines it sounds good. they read good together and to towhee that counts as the same thing.

she is still as she watches tvar sign his tale, his history ... the legacy of his family name in ptero, catching the spoken word here and there when it was offered. towhee book marks the names in her mind, and sinks effortlessly into the mythos of his home. his culture.

it couldn't be more different than her own upbringing. she herself was secular, as she believed her mother was. she couldn't speak for her father for, though she had been upset about it happening as a child she has forgotten much of him.

-well,- she signs in ptero, offering a heavy sigh that begins deep in her chest and visibly leaves her body in the rise and fall of her scarred shoulders. -i've got the dark pelage and bird of prey bond thing going for me.- some of the topics tvar had signed of had been heavy, felt heavy and she wished to lighten that burden for him.

-do you miss it?- asks towhee in ptero, gaze soft as it rests upon his face.

she scoots closer, and presses a soft kiss to his cheek, pressing her nose to the fur of his neck.

-sometimes,- he signs with the hesitant twitch of a smile. -not all of it. but parts. my siblings. the mountains.- his gaze drifts for a moment, caught in the hazy edges of memory, before returning to her. -it’s... complicated.-

her kiss pulls him from the depths of his thoughts, grounding him. his lips twitch into a small, genuine smile, and he nuzzles her lightly in return. -thank you,- he signs, brushing his nose against her temple before leaning back slightly to meet her gaze.

after a beat, he tilts his head, his eyes warm but curious. -what about you?- he signs, his paws moving with careful precision. -your family? your past?-

though towhee's upbringing was wildly different than her husband's, she can sympathize even if she cannot empathize. arguably, the most distressing part of her childhood had been her father disappearing without word and then ... never coming back. and she'd been so young when it'd occurred that while it likely had some sort of lasting impression on the woman she's become, she can barely remember him now. a name in her memories in stead of a man.

of course she'd never admit that to her mother but the elder towhee appeared to be doing just fine without him all the same.

she draws in a deep breath when the tables are turned to her; and it is fair she knows but she was almost embarrassed to admit that her past was extremely self-centered.

-i grew up in a pack called epoch though it has been disbanded for quite some time, from there we joined a pack called moonspear which i believe is still thriving these days. my father left when my brother, sable and i were young so our mom, towhee the OG raised us as a single parent. when we were old enough she told us she wished to travel to visit my older siblings. it wasn't long after that, that i left to find my own way. i joined a place called redtail rise which is where i met ameline. i stayed with them some time and earned these,- she gestures to the scars from the coyote on her shoulder.

-i did a couple brief stays with a few other packs. was betrayed by a leader that i liked quite a bit ...- a memory that still stung and caused an shift in her expression: a slight she would never forget. unfortunately for the world, towhee is exceptionally good at holding grudges.

-and then i met back up with my mother at a pack called sun mote copse led by my elder sister and her husband. i rose in the ranks to lead it beside my niece but our numbers dwindled until it naturally disbanded. i left the wilds all together for a few months and just recently came back.-

in hindsight, as she regales her husband with her own personal history she realizes how bland it actually is. -it was more exciting when it was happening.- she tacks on, sheepishly; paws stilling once more.

he doesn’t interrupt, letting her finish, though the corners of his mouth twitch when she adds the sheepish comment at the end. his gaze lingers on her scars for a beat before shifting back to her face.

-it’s not bland,- he signs quickly, passionately, in fierce rebuttal of her self-deprecation; his lips pulling into a small smile. -it’s yours. and it shaped you.-

he leans forward slightly, brushing his nose against her cheek briefly in a gesture of affection. pulling the woman into a bear hug, strong forelegs grappling with her own, pressing his nose to hers; a playful growl vibrating from his mouth against hers. my strong wife, he thinks.

then, his head pulls back, to press a lingering kiss upon her forehead. grooming between her ears like an overbearing mother hen, warm laugh bubbling up a thick chest as he does so.