Larksong Grotto tonight i'll be the libertine

Everything seemed fine when she woke up this morning, crawling out of the grotto to find herself a spot to pee. Once her business was concluded, Tavi sought out a bite to eat. She scoured the territory for a fresh cache, and dug it out - yet halfway through digging, when the smell of the meat hit her nose, the woman's gag reflex came in to play. Thankfully her belly was empty, or she'd have spoiled a perfectly good pheasant carcass. As the spasm took hold of her, Tavi averted her head and then her shoulders, hunching over the edge of the ridge while her stomach twisted. A dribble of saliva leaked from the corner of her mouth, but other than that, she was fine. She gave one questioning look towards the cache, and then abandoned it - exposed as it was - in order to retreat back to the grotto.

Once there, she sequestered herself and tried to sleep for a couple more hours. Her mind drifted, forgetting briefly that she had felt so sick for those brief moments, and it was like she was starting her day over again. Except it wasn't even fifteen minutes before she felt her bladder twang uncomfortably -- so once again, she got up, exited the grotto, and did her thing. Tavi sighed heavily as she returned to the grotto once more, her face scrunched up in a frown. Something seemed very, very wrong.

Having woken up to see Tavi had departed the Grotto in the early morning, Reek simply shrugged it off and returned to sleep, awakening only briefly when she retuned to his side for a few more hours. Her presence was stop and go, and soon she was gone once again, but Reek payed it no heed and found himself back in the throes of his midday nap. However, it was only a half sleep, as Tavi was up and about again in what felt like mere seconds. Reek poked his head up from his outstretched forepaws and watched with confusion as she left for a second time.

He tried to shut his eyes again, but at this point, Reek felt thoroughly awake. Rising to his paws with a shakey, sleepy hobble -- he intended to start his day with an herb run, albeit far later than usual. Despite his intention to move, Reek could only hobble forward a few steps until Tavi was back in their chamber with face wrought with a frown. Reek took one final shakey step forward toward her. Everything alright Tav?" he asked, voice full of both concern and confusion.

She didn't want to worry him -- but more specifically, she didn't want to worry herself. Maybe it was all in her head? Did the pee-cycle of a wolf increase based on their rank? It made sense to her. Perhaps her bladder was being an overachiever just because she'd been out and about lately, pissing on every inch of the borders. Once Reek took notice of her though, the frown melted away. She tried to put aside the uneasy feeling in her gut, and crept closer to him.

Yeah, everything is -- oh, but the air in the grotto was a little off, like it had caught an errant wind from the west, and caught the sea. As she spoke, Tavi thought she could smell that. A salty tang, or a rotten fish-like odor; it was there, then it was gone. But it was enough to make her feel nauseated again. She sucks in her cheeks and clamps her mouth shut, trying to appear unaffected, and yet her body curves as if something unholy is about to bubble up from the pit of her stomach. A second later she is wheezing, and as soon as her mouth opens, a thin line of bile splatters the grotto floor.

As Tavi's frown faded away into a much more normal expression, Reek felt a tad relieved. She moved in close and Reek buried his face in the crux of Tavi's neck as she choked out half of a reassurance. A calm swept over him, but his relief was short-lived. Startled as her words were cut short by a fit of retching, Reek pulled away as Tavi spilled her guts all over the floor of the grotto. Had Reek not been in such a state of denial about the possibility of Tavi's pregnancy, perhaps he would have recognized the symptoms far before this point. Now, however, Reek's instincts as a healer took over and he considered her condition as he would have with any other sickness.

Once again, Reek pulled his body close to her's and allowed his teeth to trail through her fur in the hopes that it would calm Tavi down. "Shhhhhh," he whispered. "You should lay down." She obviously needed to get off her feet, and from a flat position, Reek could examine her better than he could standing up. His calming ministrations came to a halt and Reek motioned to the floor with his muzzle before finally asking, "What hurts?"

The sharp taste in her mouth made her want to retch more, but there was nothing in her belly to come up. Instead she dry-heaved, even as Reek ushered her along. It didn't stop until she was on the ground, rolling over on to one side. Once there, she sucked in a breath of the stony, cool air within the grotto. To answer his question, she muttered, Nothing, because that was the truth. I think the cache outside is spoiled though. That must have been it -- the grotto didn't smell bad, there was just something lodged in her nose from when she tried to eat breakfast. Ignoring the fact that someone had recently left a deposit there (possibly Eslani, since she seemed keen on keeping their stores full), Tavi was convinced there was nothing wrong with her.

Once she was on the ground her answer came. Reek dipped in low and rested his head on Tavi's breast. There, he listened to her heartbeat and the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest as her lungs filled with air. It was a relief to know she felt no pain (apart from a heavy sense of nausea that had seemed to strike out of nowhere), but it did not diminish the seriousness of the situation. "Just nausea?" he asked, imploring her for more.

At the moment, Reek thought it must have been food poising. However, the contents of Tavi's spilled stomach suggested otherwise. He raised a brow as he looked over to the trail of bial Tavi had chucked across the floor. "When'd you last eat?" The more Reek thought, the more a spoiled cache seemed unlikely.

The stone upon her belly and cheeks was cold to the touch, and she could feel it through her fur. It was nice. It relaxed her somewhat, at least until the stone felt too warm, and Tavi began to shift. She flopped to her other side with ease - seeking the 'cold side of the pillow' effect - and was settled by the time Reek asked his next question. The answer to that was a bit muddier, a bit more vague. Dunno, Tavi mumbled with a tiny shrug of her shoulders; it had been a couple of days at least, maybe even a full week. Anytime she went near food, she'd get the same result: an unsettled stomach. The nausea was a new addendum to the previous symptom, and she assumed it would only get worse if she did manage to eat.

I haven't been hungry lately. They had both been pretty busy exploring the territory, since it was such an intricate place. Considering how actively Tavi had been patrolling the borders and trying to strengthen their claim, she should've been tired and hungry - not moody and sick. The thought of pregnancy was far from her mind; to Tavi, her symptoms were signs that she'd been pushing herself too hard, and nothing more. Do you ever get... What's the word, her face scrunches as she tries to remember another term for dizzy, and when the light turns on in her head, she looks to Reek, Vertigo? That's the thing where you get all fuzzy and wobbly when you're up high? I've gotten that a few times, but I figured... I dunno, that it was because we live where we do.

Up shit creek she'd wanted to say, but that made her want to puke all over again. Her mouth clamped shut and she plopped her chin back down on the cold stone, hoping this new wave of nausea would desist soon.

Despite being in a slight level of denial about the true ailment afflicting Tavi, thus disconnecting Reek a bit from reality, he still possessed an inquisitive and sharp mind -- especially when it came to all things medical. The thorough training Reek had received from his mother years prior still withstood the test of time. Like a well oiled machine, the internal gears of Reek's mind continued to turn, and with two key pieces of information provided by Tavi, Reek became even closer to coming to a confident diagnosis. Each symptom, he felt, was a single puzzle piece -- each connecting to create a much larger picture.

Reek's brow furrowed as he pulled his head away from Tavi's flank. His expression, obviously telling in the fact that he was lost in thought. Her lack of appetite, and most importantly, the fact that she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten completely ruled out Reek's initial assumption of food poisoning. However, with the additional symptom of vertigo, Reek was sure he was getting somewhere. He shook his head in response. "I don't think that's it Tav," he said before awkwardly biting down on his lip. If her dizzyness had been caused by the site of their new claim, surely Reek would have felt it too. Nevertheless, he felt no such thing.

He had seen these symptoms once before -- in Saena during the earliest stages of her pregnancy. Reek sucked in breath through his teeth as he was now unable to deny the possibility that Tavi was laden with his own young. "Have you felt tired lately? Any frequent urination? I know it may be TMI, but... I just wanna be sure."

The extent of Reek's knowledge had eluded her. She knew he understood herbs and things, but aside from fixing up flesh wounds, she didn't think much of it. His determined expression surprised her - and made her a little unsettled. He seemed to know what was up, yet instead of outright telling her, he asked more questions. Tavi was growing frustrated - or maybe a touch afraid - by the entire situation. 

I'm always tired, aren't you? We just moved, settled an area, and started patrolling everywhere together. The same could be said for her frequent peeing, which earned only a raised brow. After a beat, and she'd swallowed the growing lump in her throat, Tavi continued: But... yeah, I guess. I thought it was normal. Like uh, my body was adapting to being an Alpha or somethin'. What else could it be?

He shrugged. Lethargy, in hindsight, seemed to be pretty normal given the circumstances. Lately, Reek lived his life tired and he assumed claiming the grotto had the same lingering effect on Tavi. His bladder, however, had not shrunk in size and Reek's potty schedule remained like clockwork. He sighed and laid down beside her, resting his head gingerly on his forepaws.

The deeper Reek dove into Tavi's condition, the more difficult it became to deny what he knew deep down to be the truth. She had given him enough information to know with certainty. Tavi was pregnant. Reek didn't exactly know how to tell her without being horribly blunt. Knowing this had not been their mutual choice as it had been between him and Saena, he was unsure how she would take the news. "Tav—" he opened his mouth to speak, but his voice hitched in his throat. What managed to come out was only a hoarse whisper. "I think you're pregnant." Oops.

Her body felt flush, growing warmer and warmer as her nerves built and indecision reigned supreme. She shifted on the rock, but no spot was cool enough to remove the strangeness she felt. It took some thought, and Tavi watched Reek's face as he contemplated her various symptoms, gradually wishing he would just hurry up and spew out an answer; she raised her head - possibly to snap at him in that very regard - when he began to talk. The hitch in his voice made her pause, and her anger evaporated --- but as soon as Reek said the word pregnant, everything else did too.

Tavi lay there with her eyes boring lazy holes in to his face, glossing over a bit as she took the news and, for a moment, seemed to vacate her brain. That had always been a possibility, although she had not wanted to entertain it. Neither one of them really did, she could see it on Reek's face. Their relationship - this partnership, she corrected - had been an exploration of hedonism and nothing more. Yet more seemed to come of it at every turn. Tavi tried to swallow, but felt a dryness in her mouth. Maybe Reek was wrong? Maybe she should find a second opinion or, maybe she should wait and see? As her eyes re-focused, they seemed to plead with unspoken questions; 'are you sure?'  and 'what happens now?' fighting for the top spot on the list.

In the end she doesn't say a word, and just hoists herself up, dragging her feet as she heads for the door.

just gonna squeeze in a reply before I have to go :p

Reek could see the disbelief written across Tavi's features. A large part of him wanted to scoop her up and tell her that everything would be fine, but Reek wasn't entirely sure everything would. In part, he was scared, but the rest of Reek churned with uncertainty. He had already mucked up this sort of situation before with Saena -- and intent on not letting history repeat itself, Reek was hardpressed to make the same mistakes.

He simply stared back and silence took hold. Soon, Tavi was on her feet and making her way out of the grotto and a sinking feeling settled in Reek's gut. "—Wait," spoke Reek, hoping he could somehow make her stay... To somehow make this all better. "We can do this right." They could handle it together; just like they had handled being thrown out of the Maplewood. They could be strong.

squeals

He was right, they could be strong. Together. At the moment though, Tavi did not want to be near him. She didn't want to be near anyone. As soon as Reek was up and drawing closer, she seemed to flinch away from him; at first ducking her head and slicking back her ears as if to sway him with submission; but then something clicked in her head, and she assumed a more dominant role. Her head went up and she rumbled softly at him. Not an outright refusal for his company, but a thin warning to keep his distance. Maybe it would be enough to stop him in his tracks.

Leave me 'lone, Reek, she quietly ordered of him. Her tone lacked all substance, but she needed him to hear her. If this was true and she was carrying his kids, then... Well, that's what she needed to think about. And she couldn't do that here, in their home-cave; her mind briefly picked up on the term sex dungeon and she felt her stomach lurch, ready to spew more bile across the threshold of the grotto's mouth. Without looking back she hastily sought her freedom, off and away to find somewhere quiet she could think.