Whitefish River Every Sunday's getting more bleak

Okay, so he'd found a place and settled in. The days passed and Raimo busied himself with whatever life threw at him: patrols to get the lay of the land right in his head, trips along the river to gather some fish for the caches, the careful perusal of the claim and its inhabitants. Nothing struck him as "out of the ordinary" throughout it all. There were fat, happy women waiting to give birth to fat, happy children; the leader who had shepherded Raimo in to the collective was busy in her own den and nursing her newborns.

He did his best to adhere to her rules... Namely, to stay away from the newborns and their mothers. He was still too new, too unknown to them. Just as well, he thought—Raimo had his fill of children back home, he need not bother inserting himself in to that same role here. No, his interests were different now. Raimo wanted to learn all he could about the Wilds, to collect stories as his adventuring kin had already done.

The man wanted to confirm that the sleeping dragon on the coast truly coiled itself beneath the mountains, find the nesting phoenix in its forest, and one day perhaps confront the hydra too; all these fantastic things filled Raimo's mind as a child and now that he'd come to the Wilds himself, he was eager to seek out the truth. But, he had duties to perform. Tasks that needed to be done, and eyes always watching him. So he did what came naturally - kept his head down, stayed the course, and worked quietly.

Speaking of fat, Speedy was feeling more and more so with each day. Her belly was very round now, although not as big as it had been last year, which made her wonder if she was going to have less children this year; it could also just be that they were smaller. Either way, she could tell she was nearing the end of her pregnancy, which left her with very little energy despite all she was trying to do to get prepared. It was most helpful that Hieronymous had been taking care of Ira lately, leaving her with more time to rest and more time to prepare her den for her own birth. She still made sure to run by and check on Ira every couple of days, just in case; there was no taking the healer out of her, no matter how far along she was in her pregnancy. 

She held a bundle of leaves gently between her jaws as she slowly made her way back to her den where she was working on building a nice little stash for herself for when she had the puppies. She had already made sure her herb den was fully stocked as well. She paused, though, when saw the unfamiliar man. He must be the new addition to their ranks, and since she always made a point to check on the new members and introduce herself as the pack's healer in case they ever needed her, she trotted forward towards him. When she was close enough, she stopped and set the leaves down near her front paws. Hello, she said first. I'm Speedy, Kaistleoki's Physician. She offered him a warm smile. You must be our new member.

He was minding his business when a blimp passed overhead. By blimp, I mean Speedy - and by overhead, I mean she walked right up to him and blocked his path, but that was totally fine. She dropped some borage on the earth and introduced herself, meanwhile, Raimo was staring. She was, quite possibly, the prettiest thing he'd ever seen in his life. Shades of warm chocolate and toasty espresso brown meshed across her coat, with cream swirling down her cheeks; he was struck by the composition and couldn't quite find his bearings.

Obviously he was new, and she'd pointed that out. The air hung thickly between them, humid and claustrophobic, but maybe it was also Raimo's star-struck stare that added to it. After a lengthy pause he unravelled his twisted tongue and said, What're your brother's and sister's names then? Sleepy, Snappy, Punchy 'n' Pretty? He hadn't meant it to be offensive but after the fact, he knew it sounded a little snide - oops.

A low laugh pealed from him, deepening with time, becoming a boom. Aye, sorry miss. No harm meant - yes, I am new. Name's Raimo!

At first, all the dark man did was stare at her as if she had spoken some different language, at least that's how she interpreted his star struck look; because thinking she was pretty was the farthest thing from her mind right now, with being blimp-sized and all. Her eyebrows drew together with concern as she waited for him to say something, and she almost asked if he was okay but then he finally spoke, making a comment on her name. It had been a while since anyone had teased her about her name, but she responded as she had always done when someone made a comment about the strangeness of her name: with a grin and a soft giggle. She had gotten used to the comments a long time ago, and his particular remark was amusing. 

She shook her head at his apology. No need; it doesn't offend me. You're neither the first nor the last to have something say about my name. The healer dipped her head at his greeting. It's nice to meet you Raimo, she told him first. How are you settling in? Speedy continued with her normal concern for her packmates. Do you need anything? Being heavily pregnant would not keep her from taking care of the pack as she always did.

Ah, he was glad she did not take offense to his comments. The words slid off of her like water off a duck's back; still, Raimo would not make another comment like that again. Poor Speedy was probably sick of all the quips. She was sweet enough to accept his company and even asked after him, offering him the world if she could. Raimo was charmed of course but he felt it was not Speedy's place to make these offers - she was pregnant! He should have been tending to her, or perhaps her mate out to be.

Ah, no, I am alright! I outta be askin' you that. He grinned to her, cheek tufts bouncing as his expression shifted. It hadn't slipped his mind that Ira outright forbade him any interaction with the newest children of the pack, but he figured if the mother was willing and he was respectful, there was no harm in it. What about you? I 'ken fetch you somethin' warm ta eat, or maybe a pelt for your den - if'n you have a den - heck, I could dig you one if you need! Everything came tumbling out of him and when he was finished he laughed, the sound booming from his chest. Honestly I'd love ta have a job.

He promptly turned her question around and asked after her own needs, offering to help with food or her den. Her smile widened and she shook her head. It was nice that he was so willing to chip in; it meant she didn't have so much to worry about when there were three women with pups, most especially since one of them was their leader who would be out of commission to deal with problems if they came up. It was nice to know there were capable pack mates to pick up the slack. Not that she did a lot of patrolling or protecting the borders, but that didn't mean it wasn't one of the things she worried about. Well, if you get hurt or need someone to talk to, feel free to come find me anytime. I'm never too busy to help, she told him. 

As for his offer, she added: I have plenty of help in the food department, she answered first. Emrik made sure of that and many other things. Really he made sure she had everything she needed, but she wouldn't turn down more help getting the den ready. But, fur for the den sounds nice, she continued. And I can always use help collecting plants. She paused and slowly sat down, letting out a long, soft breath once she was there. She had forgotten how much her legs protested to her standing in once place while she was so round until the muscles of her ankles began to ache. As you can see, I haven't been able to get around as quickly as I usually do. She laughed a little and puffed out another breath. If you're interested, I could tell you what I could use more of in case you see it around.