Swiftcurrent Creek May all that has been reduced to noise in you, become music again.

For @Constantine, other tags for reference.  :)

With the pups just shy of their third month, Durnehviir was beginning to feel a little more confident in leaving them unattended at the densite for short periods of time. Sometimes they'd follow her, though her acceptance of this had proven they were less likely to do so - after all, where was the fun in acting on something that was allowed? She mostly trusted the three boys and her greatest concern was always @Talos who, much to her disapproval, used every opportunity to tear away unnoticed.

Relief slackened her slim shoulders upon her return, a fresh hare dangling from her jaws, as she counted all four of her babes present beyond around the hollow. The cubs rallied to her then, excited yips and wagging tails enough to cause the gentle sway of her own plume. She settled the prey at her paws, side-stepping @Akavir who dove in for his share. Durnehviir smiled down at her littlest son, pity in her soft gaze that he was yet to physically catch up to his litter-mates.

She settled nearby, outstretching her forelimbs to rest as she observed her ravenous young. Although their numbers had thinned over the weeks, Durnehviir was not overly concerned. Her offspring were thriving and would soon begin learning how to contribute themselves, shaping four able hunters to pad the adult ranks when they came of age. There were three other children born to Swiftcurrent to raise as such - four if she were to include their nameless young ward, who seemed to have recently found his feet again and taken to wandering. He always returned though, thankfully, likely knowing that he would be taken care of.

Durnehviir exhaled gently, contentment seeping into her bones, and her thoughts turned to the whereabouts of @Constantine. He'd been gone most of the day and, as evening crept over their territory, she hoped he would not be gone long into the night. The russet Frostfur did not worry though, for she could always rely on her swarthy mate to come home.

@Durnehviir I'm done sucking!

He had assured @Aria that all would be well – but that perhaps she should settle first before she meet his young. Perhaps he had not been so subtle with his apprehension, but he had tried. Durnehviir had mentioned her dislike of the pale girl before.. but surely, the fiery dragoness would harbour no ill will to Aria now that he had a family with her?
 
Still, he considered how to best discuss it with his mate. He swept past the borders as the sun began to settle in the horizon, bidding Aria a farewell before he made his way to his den. He could hear the spark of play with his young, and it brought a smile to his dark features, albeit a tired one. At the sight of his mate overseeing them, he released a tentative breath of tension and wonder – surely she would see he belonged to her?
 
“I have news,” he greeted his family, his tail swaying behind him gently as his muzzle swept down to nudge his children in welcome. Turning to Durnehviir as they scampered off, the shadowstalker trailed his nose to her cheek, inhaling her familiar scent. “I found Aria. She’s well. She’s here.”

By the time Constantine returned to the den that evening, the cubs had eaten their fill and were content to laze around together in the Summer heat. Durnehviir, taking full advantage of the collective calm surrounding her normally rambunctious litter, had set about grooming herself by plucking unkempt tufts of undercoat and cleaning her bloodied paws. She blinked up from licking between toes at her mate's arrival and at once, greeted him with a lazy flop of her feathered tail.

There was something odd in his gait, she noted. A certain sheepishness, perhaps, even as he moved in to accept their children's approach to welcome him home. Constantine turned to her then, announcing that he had news, which caused the dragoness' ginger ears to perk atop her lovely crown. They were quick to tilt backward, however, as the dark Alpha shared that she-who-shall-not-be-named had returned and was "well".

She pulled herself onto nimble paws with a feigned smile then, shaking out her pelt to signify that she didn't particularly care, even though she was screaming behind the false warmth in her expression. While there had been a brief interval that Durnehviir felt sorry for Aria throughout their claim of Ravensblood Forest, she trusted her gut more so than her heart - and something feral deep inside of her did not want this female anywhere near her mate, no matter his assurance.

"I'm ready to be Alphess again," she told Constantine coolly, matter-of-factly, and rose her proud crown to seek his warm gaze. She spoke nothing of his pallid dove, intent instead to reset his focus on herself. She was the one who'd stood by him through the struggles. She was the one who bore his children. She mattered.

Aria, as far as Durnehviir was concerned, would be taking Chusi's place in the Omega rank.

The dark wolf had dreaded this reaction from his mate, and the icyness of not just her eyes but in her stature as she lifted herself higher gave him pause. Durnehviir did not bother to voice even an insincere congratulations or well wish to the she-wolf that he considered one of his closest friends, and he felt his brows furrow and his jaws clench.

Instead, she claimed her title once more, and he considered for a moment the reasoning why, and because of that, could only feel disheartened by the news.

"Good," he rumbled, his fiery eyes scanning across the fair features of his feisty beloved. "It's where you belong."

"Good," Durnehviir's mate responded to her claim, a certain blunt edge to his tone, and she continued to search for something in the heat of his gaze. She took note of the tightening of muscle in his jaw and the furrow of his brow, clear sign of his frustration with her blatant disregard of Aria, and the russet Frostfur found herself holding her breath.

She loved Constantine. Right at her core, with every fibre of her being, she knew that she loved him. While neither had shared the sentiment verbally, Durnehviir had felt it in her bones since before their mateship became official - perhaps before they'd conceived their litter. He was hers, as she was his. Their life together had been both challenging but beautiful, and the dragoness could not shake the feeling that Aria might see fit to rob her of the world she'd built. Constantine had assured her, many months ago that his pale dove had not shared his past feelings - but would he choose her, if the opportunity arose?

It occurred to Durnehviir then that, while she loved her mate wholly and fiercely, she might not trust him as well as she thought she did. She let silence linger, tense and uncomfortable, as she glanced over at her children and considered how best to deal with her most recent realisation.