Northstar Vale You've got the music in you.

Lately her hunger had grown, swelling as her belly swelled, and Ibis felt as if she were possessed by a vengeful spirit or something; she would be insatiable for hours upon hours, eating anything she could find and pestering @Akavir to bring her more, more, more. Sometimes she would take a long look at a fresh kill and lose herself to the hunger. Other times there was an opposite reaction: immediate revulsion, sometimes with the added benefit of vomit.

Her body had changed tremendously. For someone who had been born during a famine, then so recently survived a second famine, Ibis had gone from wiry, thin, and half-dead to so round she couldn't always find her feet. Her belly dragged against the grass. Her joints ached. Her back—upper in the morning, lower by the end of the day—was a constant irritant. It was easier to roll places than to walk, but that wasn't ideal for the unborn lives inside of her, and wasn't exactly a fitting behavior for a queen.

Today she was sunning herself in the heart of the territory. The rolling hills undulated around her, with a stand of giant trees granting a veil of shade across her. When she felt too warm she'd roll one way—too cold, the opposite. She fidgeted and bemoaned her current status as quietly as she could, until she'd rolled one too many times and got caught on her back. There Ibis sat, flailing her little limbs, trying to ease herself one way or another.. But she was stuck, like a tortoise flipped upon its shell.

Celara scrambled from the shade of the trees, emerging into the sunlit hills. Even with the still strange scent of the Renian Empire, this territory was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. The wolves had been, for the most part, quite welcoming. The weather was warm and pleasant. The valley was rich with prey. She couldn't think of a better place to live.

As she walked at the edge of the forest, Celara caught sight of another wolf. She was clearly heavily pregnant and seemed stuck on her back, unable to move. Celara tried to remember who it was as she walked closer, but couldn't quite place it. When she was four leg-lengths away from the flailing wolf, she spoke nervously. 

"Are you okay? Do you need any help?"

She tried thrusting her hips one way and hoping the momentum would carry her over, and then tried the other way, but there was no shift. Her belly slumped. Every little movement was irritating or painful to different extremes. Eventually she just had to give up, try to catch her breath, and keep calm.

The sound of steps in the grass alerted Ibis, and she tried to lift her head, but that was also nearly impossible because of the growth of her double-chin. She tilted her head so that her nose was almost aligned with the ground, her throat exposed, and wriggled to try and look around; beyond the green fringe of the grass she could see the tapering of blurry limbs, and that was all.

Are you okay? Do you need any help? Spoke a voice Ibis did not recognize. She hastily compared it to what she remembered of Hime's voice in case it was the imposter woman, and then Awenfen—but there wasn't any hint of darkness to the tone, nor was it so light and breathy to be delicate. Someone new, then.

Please. I'm stuck! Ibis pleaded, her little forearms raising and paws flipping about like little fins in distress.

The wolf replied to question with a voice she barely recognized.
Right. Celara would have to be careful. This could be awkward. She spoke, half to herself.

"This might be kind of... uncomfortorble "

She shoved the she-wolf over in attempt to get her upright. It didn't quite work, but the wolf might be able to pick herself back up now. Celara looked closer at her face. She could almost place it, but not quite.

The girl (at least Ibis thought it was a girl) mentioned something about comfort, and well, anything was better than how Ibis was currently stuck on her back. The strain on her spine was one thing, but one of her unborn children was wedged against her bladder while another kept twitching against the bottom of her ribs. It wasn't ideal.

Then, suddenly, there was a shove. Paws connected to her belly with care, and her shoulder, and Ibis paddled at the air as if she were being lowered in to water. She felt grass against her side, and guided by the stranger, rolled enough to lay on her front; this didn't last long either though, and she stood after. Her belly was so round and so heavy; but she couldn't lay down anymore.

Ooof, the queen sighed, eyelids fluttering as she took a deep breath. She glanced around and saw the pale girl, towards whom she smiled softly. Thank you. I never expected to be this big blobby thing... But it should be over soon. I can't possibly get any bigger.

Celara was unsure of how to respond to the pregnant wolf, so she simply nodded a bit. Wind blew, ruffling her fur. She still could not quite place the wolf's face. She had seen her though, definetely. After some silence, she finally decided to ask the wolf. She spoke nervously.

"I think I saw you when I was being introduced, but I don't remember your name"

She awkwardly stepped back, slightly embarassed, and dug her claws into the ground. She watched a centipede crawl over a rock.

The queen was caught by surprise with the stranger's words. She hadn't been doing patrols lately, so it likely hadn't been her, but not many of the wolves in the kingdom looked like her. There were mostly white wolves; the daintiest one being Awenfen, so maybe that's where the confusion stemmed from. That or Ibis had been spotted stretching her legs and had been too self-involved to recognize the new recruit. Her face warmed at that thought.

Oh, maybe? She offered softly. My name is Ibis. I'm.. the queen. Hopefully tacking on her rank wouldn't come across as a boast, as Ibis still didn't feel comfortable with it. She went on before the girl could react to say, So you're new here, miss...?

That wolf was a leader? Celara nearly panicked, before she managed to calm herself down. She had not been rude, and Ibis seemed perfectly fine with her company. After taking several deep breaths, she managed to answer the queen.

"I am Celara Argenti. I joined just a few days ago."

She did her best not to show how nervous she was. Part of her wanted to make an excuse and flee, but that would come across as rude. She was perfectly capable of holding a normal coversation with a leader.

Ah, you have a beautiful name, she comments with a little smile, briefly distracted from her own discomfort. If the Empire continued to grow and grow, soon they would be full! How odd it felt, to be the Queen of this place and yet know so few of those that lived with them. But she was pregnant, which took all of her focus. Then the children would take the rest of it - so that beget a pattern of thoughts within Ibis laced with doubt. What good was she to these people if her entire focus was on her children? But also, what else could be expected?

She was drifting; distracted by this sudden onslaught of thoughts, so there was a growing silence between them. Feeling silly for letting herself get swept away by them, Ibis laughed softly to herself and added, I'm sorry, I have babies on the brain - how do you like it here, so far? And, hm, what was your last home like...?

"Thank you." Celara smiled a bit at the compliment. It went away at the next question. To think back at it was painful. The queen hadn't asked about why she left though, and she could describe the territory without to many feelings. In a voice with little emotion, she spoke.

"It was a forest. It was rocky in some places, mostly the ones close to the mountain. The trees were tall, but not thick. The mountain was large and barren, but had goats and sheep. It was on the edge of the territory. Most of it is gone now."

Even describing the territory almost bought tears to her eyes in longing. Celara dipped her head so the other wolf would not see.

As Celara described her home, Ibis tried to imagine it. She couldn't help but deviate from the descriptions to something more familiar - thinking first of the Emberwood, and then the Willows where she had grown up, and finding an ache in her chest. The same old heartache she thought she'd curtailed with the formation of the Empire. Her mind wandered from there. She thought of her brother Okeanos who was still missing, of Sarah too, and suddenly felt so much heavier.

A part of Ibis was paying attention though. She heard, and felt, the pain in Celara's voice. The empathy that the queen shared with each member of the pack was in full force as she sat there listening, and a small frown creased her face. I'm sorry, it must be hard to think about. How insensitive of me to ask -- she murmurs, glancing down at the ground briefly before sharing an apologetic little smile.

I moved around a lot when I was younger, so I understand missing home, or having nowhere to go back to. I hope the empire becomes a home to you, Celara. Whatever pains you from your past - it is behind you now. Hopefully she could heal here, and grow.