Blackfeather Woods all in all, it's just another brick in the wall

@Moonshadow's pups were about a week old when Maegi went to visit them, properly for the first time since their birth. The pale girl had been lost in her prayers, selfishly engulfed in daedric and dark things. She, like Mou, was spiraling quickly elsewhere—though perhaps her situation was not as dire as her love's.

Still, she felt bad for not being present at the birth, and had managed to snare a squirrel, meant as a gift of apology. It took everything she had not to eat it on the way. Her stomach, bloated well past her normally-svelte figure, growled as she padded toward the whelping den, painful in its intense desire. The smell of fresh kill was unbelievably tempting.

Get it together, she muttered to herself, feeling relieved as she caught sight of the small hollow where Moonshadow and her pups were living. She deposited the prey nearby and gave a chuff, forcing herself to smile. Moonshadow? I brought you something to eat, if you're hungry, she called out gently, tail drifting slowly behind her.

tagging only for reference

She has stayed close to her young ones as the days grew by. It was rather lonely due to her pups not able to do anything other than sleep and eat.

Moonshadow heard steps coming closer and her guard went up until she heard a familiar voice. “You can come in if you’d like.”

Upon Moonshadow's invitation, Maegi padded closer to the den, then entered, though keeping close to the wall as she stared down at mother and pups. Three of them, in all different shades—one pale, one brown-gray, one a brown so dark as to almost be black. It reminded her of her littermates, and she smiled, though with the familiar pang of loss at the thought of Euron, somewhere not here.

Oh, gods, she breathed, her grin growing wider. They're all so cute, Moonshadow. What have you named them? Perhaps they would receive Daedric names. Maegi could only hope that the woman had seized upon the religion so much as to take that step.

Her mouth trembled a bit. I'm sorry I wasn't there for their birth, she murmured in apology, face contrite. There was no excuse to offer, no alibi. She had simply just been. . .gone. Lost in some nightmare or another. Unable to bring herself to reality to help a friend.

She gave a smile towards her friend. "Don't be sorry it's quite alright." As her little ones suckled down their fill of milk she pointed with her nose as she spoke their names. "Falling star, Moonshine, and Rowan. Though middle names haven't been given yet, There was also another female but she didn't make it." As she spoke it was like her heart dropped. "Istoira buried her for me...I just couldn't ..." She struggled to find the words and fight back her emotions.

Moonshadow was too kind. Maegi hunkered down, matching faces to names. Pretty, she whispered. Maybe middle names could be—

She cut herself off as the woman continued, now sounding very sad. Oh. One hadn't made it. . .a girl. She swallowed, leaning forward and touching her nose to her friend's cheek. I'm so sorry, Maegi whispered, feeling the pang of loss acute in her stomach, like someone had struck her there. I'm really sorry, Moonshadow.

Peryite, my lord, my god, protect and preserve this daughter of yours as she travels through the Void. . .

Thank Peryite the other three are healthy, she murmured, trying to find a silver lining. She pulled back to look at her friend. They're blessings.

She was grateful for her friend. “I’m at happy that I have been left with three beautiful children. This one reminds me of my mother; she was all white that’s where he gets it from.” She was worried however that @Falling Star would feel different. Though she would make sure this would never be the case. They were all beautiful in her eyes and reguardless on if they never knew their father she would love them unconditionally. “How are you feeling?”

I'm fine, Maegi responded absently, much more interested in what Moonshadow had said about her mother. Beyond Nightstar, she didn't remember the woman ever mentioning her family, or really even her life before Blackfeather Woods. Where had she come from? Why had she decided to stay here?

Tell me more about your mother, she prompted gently, relaxing even further as she prepared for a story. My mother was pale, too. Hopefully, Moonshadow's dam had been far better to her children than Potema had been to her twisted, inbred litter. Maegi could only wish that the parallels ended at the pelt color.

She was surprised anyone ever asked a question such as this. But it seemed that Moonshadow had nothing else to do with her time. “My mother was a gentle creature but due to the superstition of our clan and our father question of my mothers infidelity we were taken from her and cast out once weened.” It pained her to think about the time she so much wanted to forget and briefly remembered.

Not a happy story, either. Maegi's face grew somber again as Moonshadow told it. Obviously it still hurt, for she was very brief in the telling, and fell silent once it was finished, with no follow-up questions. No charming anecdotes. It gave her somewhat of a sense of further kinship with the woman, to know that their childhoods had been similarly filled with angst.

Do you remember Cicero? she asked, abruptly changing the subject. Or Potema? They still lived here, before the war, when you first came. Those were my parents. . .and they were siblings. She swallowed, stomach churning with sudden nausea that she just managed to keep down. Potema hated my brothers and me and wanted us dead.

Maegi let out a puff of air through pursed lips, a brief sigh. So, I get it. I'm sorry that you were cast out. Her eyes traveled over the three pups assembled at Moonshadow's belly. Three. . .just like her and Ramsay and Euron. But these three would receive the love from their mother that the twisted trio had not. And from their pack, too.

We'll give these children all the love we didn't get and more, she promised, still looking at them. . .but smiling again, now.

She heard Maegi continue and as she did it hurt Moonshadow to think that a mother would do that to her children regardless of the circumstance. “I knew of them but never truly had a conversation with either.”

she then apologized and she could sense the hurt in her friends face. “Don’t be sorry that event only made me stronger and strengthened the bond I had between my brother and it made me vow to love my children dearly.”

She had a good point. Trauma did have a way of making one stronger, more able to handle the challenges before them. And more appreciative of the good times, too. Of all the love that was given. Maegi let her smile grow once more, nodding in agreement.

Despite everything—despite all the heartbreak, all the pain—she wouldn't change any of it for the world. It had brought her here, to this moment.

I'll let you eat and rest, Maegi murmured, casting one last loving glance at the puppies. I'll be around, Moonshadow. Call for me if you need anything.

With that, the Nona rose to her paws, carefully maneuvering her way out of the den and into the woods. She was excited to watch this trio grow up surrounded by all the love in the world. Blackfeather Woods may be a spooky place, but it didn't lack for heart. What seemed cold on the surface was, in fact, quite warm.