Blackfeather Woods tâkkua ilimanaitut

Tags for visibility. @Tahani. Puppies can cameo!

Since @Takiyok and @Tomkin’s return, Shivali has been quite. They have plans to leave when the children are old enough, but she worries that’s too late. It feels weird living within the Woods and though they don’t use much of their resource when they can get away with it on their own, it doesn’t feel right to still linger. No one comes to visit, as if they aren’t even here, and she doesn’t complain but one day soon they might. They’ll want to meet the children, she’s sure, but to her surprise they keep away. She longs to be with her younger brother, deciding it would be a waste of time for him to join and he promises to linger outside the borders until they’re ready.
 
Her restless heart aches looking down upon her three sleeping children, growing bigger by the day. They can walk short distances and still be carried—why isn’t it now that’s perfect? Apprehension has long since settled in and she sighs, lowering her head to her paws and waiting as the days tick on.

rabbit in her jaws, Tahani padded through the grove, smiling when she saw her sister awake, gazing at the slumbering pups. she placed the kill by Shivali's paws, licking her chops and settling down next to her, looking lovingly at her nieces and nephews. "eat," she said softly, less a command and more a conversation-starter, eyes soft.

"how are you?" she asked, glancing back up at Shivali. her littermate looked a little troubled, and had for a while. ever since Taki had returned, they all had been restless, eager to reunite with Tomkin--and itching to explore the glacier they'd heard so much about. Tahani was eager to make it their home, but they must wait for the children to grow. and the waiting was excruciating.

perhaps that was what was on Shivali's mind now. she hoped, anyway--anything more serious would be cause for concern, and her heartbeat quickened, a small flutter of alarm in her stomach.

The others come and go, so when Tahani plops in with something to eat she noses at it as she gets settled. The children wake up a little and squeak in excitement, stirring a little in their sleepy haze to peer up at their aunt.
 
“I’m okay,” she says quietly, giving her sister a chance to interact with the waking puppies as she takes the time to eat in relative peace. She takes her time to pick through the carcass to carefully remove the pelt from it along the way, giving them something to play with or chew on. The longer bones would good too and so as she feels relatively satisfied, she brings over the remains to distract the puppies again. “How are you?” she returns the question, tail thumping on the ground a little as the puppies being their migration back to the most interesting thing at the time.

she hunkered down with the pups while Shivali had her meal, drawing her nose lovingly along the white and brown pelts. she murmured a little tune to them, then Shivali was done, and asking her questions. closing her eyes, she sighed, giving the smallest of shrugs in response as she searched for the right words.

"restless," Tahani answered honestly, mouth quirking. "ready to see this glacier Takiyok's said so much about." there was an excitement in the Ateneqs she hadn't felt since their reunion; the northern wolves were eager to get on the road, to find their new home. and while Tahani was not one for traveling, in this case, the journey was all about the end. there was more than a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow--there was a place to call their own, and that was invaluable.

Shivali nods her head, understanding the feeling. She’d been loathed to admit it, but she’d been restless for a long time. She’d been asked to stay out of loneliness and where has that gotten her? She has to leave. They all have to and she’s glad they have a way out now. “I will be glad for this to be over,” she says, shuffling the mess out of the way—the puppies have taken over what’s left of it, and she shuffles her weight to be closer to her sister.

she let out a breath of laughter as Shivali spoke, an expression of sympathy. she knew all too well the feeling. perhaps not even to the extent that her sister knew it; she had, after all, been in these woods for longer, and was saddled with the leader's children. the time had come to seize their own destiny. no more would they be chained to some place they could not stand.

Tahani cuddled into Shivali, draping her head and neck over her shoulders. "soon, Shiv," she whispered, hope glowing in each short word. "soon we'll be far away, with our family, and a home of our very own." it was like a fantasy, a fairy tale--but it was real. Takiyok had seen it. and it wouldn't be long before it was their reality.

Tahani leans into her and the mother closes her eyes, shifting a bit so it was more comfortable. Her eyes close and she rests into her form, feeling the puppies nearby tussle with one another. The comforting words of her sister are all she needs, though. There is much to plan once everyone is ready, knowing carrying children will not be of the ideal but their best bet to get there as soon as possible. Any bigger, any carrying will be difficult and they won’t have the stamina as the adults, but it’ll be over soon and that’s all she has to tell herself.