Sun Mote Copse I got a head full of sharp knives

It took her a bit to get back after her fight with Artaax, and by the time she did, her head was pounding.  She slunk through and made her way towards the tree she usually curled up under, settling in once she did and turning to try and clean the mess he left on her ruff.  She couldn't reach it though.

Eventually she gave up and settled down with a huff.  The quiet gave her time to think, and picturing Artaax made that anger settle into her stomach sourly again.  Last lesson.  She didn't need any more mentors; in the end, they always disappointed her.

Nomi's gone. 

She curled up into a ball and tried  to fall asleep.  It was hard but, eventually, her body managed it.

Once the evening fell and the world was wrapped up in a cloak of darkness, Epic felt at ease as he discovered the edges of Sun Mote Copse. Slowly but certainly the territory he now called a home for less than a month was growing on him, as he liked specific nooks and corners. But even moreso he began to enjoy trying his best to be a part of Maia and Wraen's Super-Duper-Awesomeness Club. Still he was trying to find his way into the pack, with everyone related to almost everyone, that was quite a challenge and more than once he felt like the outsider.

But not this evening, this evening he felt like a detective as his nostrils flared at the scent of a wolf. The scent of a wolf lingered close by, one of his fellow pack mates but not one he had yet met. Curiosity drove not the cat but the wolf forward, until his eyes fell upon a curled up ball of fluff. If he hadn't taken a closer look, he might have mistaken it for a cat yarn ball who was slumbering. Carefully he edged closer, and upon arriving he stuck out one paw. Trying to gently poke the wolf. Thing. Whatever it was. He wasn't sure!

Would the yarn ball ..err wolf bite (his head off)?

The first thing Kiwi noticed when she woke up was that her head still hurt.  The second was that something was poking her.  She bristled and rolled instinctively over to see what it was - only to immediately stagger to her feet as her stomach roiled, and she threw up next to where she'd been sleeping.

Ugh. She let out a soft groan, then flared at the guy who woke her up, as if this was somehow his fault.  Maybe it was.  What the hell did he want?

What?! She asked, still feeling sick and tired and not at all in the mood for a stranger poking her.  It was super tempting to give him a big old chomp for doing it actually, but since she was Regent and he was obviously a member, she was going to do the adult thing and instead stare daggers at him.

Wildfire didn't make a habit of roaming after dark, though she enjoyed the copse's quiet hush as she wrapped up a later than usual patrol and then moved inward to make her way to bed. A yawn split her jaw as she moseyed, her mouth snapping shut with an audible click when she heard a familiar voice in the near distance. "What?!" The fur along the Sovereign's spine prickled at the defensiveness of the tone. She shook off her sleepiness and galloped to the source of the sound.

She found Epic hovering over Kiwi. Before her fur could smooth, she noticed the puddle of vomit close by. Warily, her chestnut gaze swung between the two. It was dark, so it was hard to see their features. But she thought she smelled the iron tang of blood. And the Regent looked oddly disheveled. Wildfire took a step closer, squinting, reaching out to nose her daughter if allowed.

"Kiwi, what's going on?" she asked right before her eldest son's scent hit her nose.

I can edit out the bit about his scent if you'd prefer! Just tap me. :)

Epic had no idea of the tragic news that had befallen the fruity Regent, she lost her Nomi, one of her parents. Since having no memory of his own parents, he had no idea what it would feel like other than it would hurt like a beach and sting as sadly as a bee. Instead he wondered whether or not the fruity Regent was pregnant; because first and foremost he had no idea how pregnant women actually reacted other than the silly stories told by boys and men. And second of all ..she was acting rather strange. If the light was any better his eyes would have scooted on a secrety mission to glare at her belly.

The stenchy scent of vomit suddenly grew heavy upon his nose, it was the sickening scent that made his stomach twirl. Pregnant women did throw up every once in awhile, right? Again, he had no idea other than gossip and heresay.

"Oh, ow." He wanted to speak up and reply that she didn't look so good. No, duh sheriff. Maybe he would add that it looked like a bear ran her over. But that wouldn't help. Remembering the possibility and the opportunity of being a medic, he added. "C-can I get you anything?" Even if that meant moving his butt out of the situation.

He was actually relieved when Wildfire stepped in. Nodding gently with her head, out of respect and a greeting, he carefully stepped aside to give her room. If he hadn't been so fixated on Kiwi, he might have noticed one of the ladies amidst his presecence was pregannt ..and it wasn't the fruity Regent. Oh no.

She'd hunkered back down as soon as she finished throwing up, but she felt dreadful.  No.  She backed up so that her hindquarters pressed against the tree.  She just needed...

And then mom was there.  Mom!  She had asked what was happening, but Kiwi was finding it a little hard to follow what all was being said with all the noise, even though there was no noise.  She might throw up again.  Artaax.  He.... no.  She wasn't going to.  He said Heda's dead.  Abridged, but it had everything Wildfire needed to know (likely she'd infer the rest regardless).

She only spared a cursory glance for Epic as he withdrew, her attention fully ensnared by Kiwi's state and the smell of her son on the girl's fur. "He..." Wildfire felt a lump in her throat as she pressed nearer, nosing the yearling, looking for any signs of injury even as she waited breathlessly for some terrible tale about how he'd tried to harm his little sister, still natrona in his eyes.

But the news that spilled from Kiwi's lips seemed to suck all that air from Wildfire's lungs. Her lips parted, a stricken look in her chestnut eyes even as they clouded with disbelief. As much as she had come to resent her former mate, then remove herself entirely from that chapter of her life, this information struck Wildfire like a blow. She sat down, hard, a strange noise rasping from her throat.

"Are you—?" She meant to add "okay," then realized the futility of that question mid-sentence. Wildfire shook her head, tears already beginning to swim in her golden eyes. She blinked and they began to fall, rapidly. "Did he—?" This time, she couldn't finish. Wildfire reached out a paw to delicately touch Kiwi's shoulder, as if trying to reassure herself that Artaax hadn't added physical blows to this emotional one.

Epic was a sensitive creature when it came down to feelings and emotions; he felt the air thicken with a mixture of sadness and grief. A heavy lump in his throat formed while the moments passed and the scenery unfolded in front of his every own eyes.

Nobody could replace a mother's loving touch and as she questioned what was wrong, although not so much with words Kiwi's grief began to grow to titanic proportions. She proclaimed that someone was dead and Epic couldn't help but to feel sorry and a want to comfort her. But it wasn't his place and he didn't know her that well. More importantly, Wildfire was here.

"I-I'm so sorry for your loss.." He wanted to say but no words came out. Instead he decided to dip his head in a farewell and give them some private time to get through these moments together.

[Epic out]

Kiwi didn't look at Wildfire, not wanting to see her reaction to the news.  Instead, she stared down, fighting the nausea and the urge to scream at both of them to go away.  She wanted her mom, but she also just wanted to sleep.  When Epic left, she didn't see it.

Wildfire came closer and she didn't react or respond much, not until she asked.  The back of her neck had some wounds from where Artaax had grabbed her, but the worst of it was her head, which throbbed like a drum at a steady beat.  I'm f-

She had started to lie, and moved to get to her feet to demonstrate, when something misfired.  To her, the world just winked out for a moment, but any watching would see her muscles tense as her legs seized up and she fell over.  She hit the ground and her legs spasmed once, twice, three times.

It was only a few moments before she came back around with a groggy whine.  There weren't many things that could frighten her, but as awareness came back to her senses, she was definitely afraid.  What happened?

light bit of PTS <3 shes concussed real bad

Despite the darkness, Wildfire noticed the wounds on the back of Kiwi's neck in the instant before she swooned. "Kiwi!" she cried, immediately swooping down beside her and inserting her foreleg beneath the girl's head to cushion it. She twitched a few times, then seemed to come back to herself. The Sovereign's eyes were full of both tears and worry as she returned the Regent's gaze.

Wildfire loved her children unconditionally. But as she peered down at her yearling daughter, she felt a ripple of rage pass through her. She could've wrung Artaax's neck for what he'd done. But that savage fury passed quickly, subsumed by grief for her children and even for herself. Wildfire had severed all ties with Thuringwethil, yet she still mourned the woman's death. She also empathized for how badly the loss must've hurt her eldest children in particular, even though nothing excused Artaax's insistence on harming those he considered natrona.

Bending over Kiwi, Wildfire buried her head in her child's neck. "I'm so sorry, Kiwi," she said, voice thick with tears and muffled by the fur just a few shades browner than her own.

Her focus wasn't what it should be and everything felt kinda distant, muffled.  But she felt Wildfire bury her face in her neck and suddenly, she wanted nothing more than her mom to stay there with her.  And sleep.  She needed to rest, badly, though the throbbing would make that difficult.

Can you stay? She asked, not even bothering to hide the light whimper behind the request.  She was past caring about appearances right at this moment; whatever had just happened had freaked her out and she had no intention of trying to get up again.

"Of course," Wildfire whispered, drawing back just far enough that her voice could be heard. "Of course I'll stay. I'm here." She shifted her forelimbs into a proper embrace, slung loosely about Kiwi's neck, holding her as well as supporting her. "I'm not going anywhere." She almost added the words "not ever." She thought them, fiercely.

She would die one day too, though, and she dearly hoped it was before Kiwi. That would be hard for her too. But that day was, hopefully, quite distant. For now, the Sovereign kept her arms wrapped around her daughter, crooning a note of empathy and soothing.