Blacktail Deer Plateau Sweater weather

Although her last attempt to travel to the plateau had failed, Pied met with success today. The dappled she-wolf smiled to herself as she slowly walked up to the plateau and stood at its foot. She could smell the familiar scent of Hawkeye, as well as her resident relatives, on the chilly February air. Her tail swayed as she surveyed the views and reminisced about her own days living on this very plateau. She was tightly tied to Horizon Ridge now, though part of her heart would always live here.

Hoping to see Hawkeye first and foremost—though she certainly wouldn't mind if a Redleaf-DiSarinno made an appearance—Pied tipped back her head and issued a short, sonorous howl. Even if the Alpha female didn't come right away, Pied would make sure to see her before she left. She was surely pregnant now, after all, and she wanted to convey the happy news to her children's aunt.

Peregrine planned to ignore the howl, letting his mate and resident Warden intercept the caller instead. Yet when it registered with him that the voice was familiar, the Alpha male began to trot toward the borderland after all. When he emerged from the tree line and spotted his piebald niece, he chuffed and began to lope down the towpath to greet her.

"Pied," he called as he approached, "we got your message from Crete." Peregrine actually feared that his siblings might head back to Flightless Falcons now but, for the moment, it remained to be seen. As for Peregrine himself, well, he was tied down to the plateau irrevocably now. "I'm glad to get the chance to see you again, especially after the last time. I was in a bad place then. Forgivesies?" he asked, batting his eyelashes mockingly.

A black figure appeared overhead and her heart leaped, thinking it was Hawkeye. Quickly, Pied realized her mistake. It was actually her uncle, Peregrine. Although disappointed that it wasn't her adopted sister, she smiled and waved her tail as the swarthy male approached. He seemed to be doing well and his lighthearted reception surprised and pleased her.

"Perry," she replied. "I'm glad to hear that." The message hadn't been the most pleasant, yet she was just happy the mute had been able to convey it. "You are forgiven," she added with a light laugh. "It's good to see you too. How are things here?" Because of the language barrier of sorts, she hadn't been able to ask Crete much about the goings-on the plateau, so she hoped Peregrine would fill in the blanks.

There were a million things Peregrine could say in response to Pied's question but he wanted to keep things as succinct as possible. "Good and bad," he replied honestly. "Hawkeye and I are actually mates and expecting a litter... I'd say probably sometime in late March or early April? And the gang's all here, though I imagine that might change now that we know Flightless Falcons is safe," he added, his face falling a little bit. "Osprey and I are fine," he continued explanatorily, "but I'm not sure Atti and Crete like it here. I'm pretty sure Atti hates me for becoming the Alpha male and Crete and Hawkeye don't get along so well..."

The news about Peregrine and Hawkeye surprised her and didn't surprise her at all. Her eyes lit up at the news that they were expecting too. "Oh, wow, Perry. That's great! I know Hawkeye wanted to find a mate and settle down. Congratulations!" Now she was even more impatient to see the wolf she'd come to think of as a big sister.

Her uncle's other news caused her mouth to draw into a grim line. "Because of what happened with Tyrannus?" she guessed. "I'm sorry, Perry, that... sucks." She paused. She wondered what had happened between Hawkeye and Crete but supposed she'd better wait to ask the she-wolf herself. "Sorry to hear about the disagreement between those two too. I hope everything sorts itself out here, especially in time to welcome your family..."

Drawing in a breath, Pied waited a beat, then decided to make her own announcement. "My mate and I are actually expecting too. It's still really early but I'm hoping to welcome our litter in the middle of April or thereabouts. You know, Hawkeye and I always talked about having litters at the same time." Her pale face broke into a brilliant smile. "I'm happy it's actually happening. And I can't wait to tell her about it."

When Pied mentioned Tyrannus, the Alpha male stifled a growl and nodded his black head. "Yeah. It's really unfair but... I'm doing everything in my power to show Atti I'm nothing like him." He paused, his ears tilting backward as he then admitted, "He hasn't spoken to me since that day. I'm pretty sure he's around but he's definitely been avoiding me. I'm not sure he can see my efforts." There was a small note of frustration in his voice. "Anyhow, that's my problem," he finished dismissively.

Pied revealed her own pregnancy and Peregrine's tail waved. "Well, congratulations right back. And I'll take the hint. You want me to go find her?" the dark Alpha offered. Since Hawkeye hadn't shown up yet, he assumed she hadn't heard Pied's call. Perhaps she was sleeping. In any case, he would prefer to go fetch her rather than invite Pied into the pack land. They might have been family, yet they were no longer pack mates and Peregrine saw no reason for her to enter the territory.

Peregrine didn't seem to want to dwell on his fraternal affairs, especially when there were happier things to discuss. Pied bit her lip when he offered to summon his mate, the nodded. "If you don't mind," she said a bit apologetically. "I'm dying to see her. It's been too long and there's actually a reason for that..." She trailed off but, instead of finishing that thought, she said, "But don't go anywhere. I still want to catch up with you. And I kind of want to see the two of you together." She smirked, her heart giving an excited little skip at the thought of seeing Hawkeye paired off with her very own uncle.

"I don't," Peregrine said simply. "All right, you stay here and I'll go hunt her down. I'll be back, I promise." Giving her an innocent look, the Alpha male turned and loped up the towpath to the plateau.

Trotting through the wood, he headed for the den he shared with the pack's Alpha female. "Hawkeye, babe," he called as he neared it, "Pied's here to visit you!" He hoped the name would stir his mate, if nothing else would—supposing she was actually asleep in their den and not out cavorting somewhere else entirely.

Hawkeye heard Peregrine call out for her, but she was sitting in the back of the den, depressed. It had come in a wave over her for the past few mornings, and she could not explain why.

"Hey," she called out softly. The ebony wolf had not heard Pied's call, and she was not sure she would have responded anyway, but she was happy that she was here. Slowly picking herself up, Hawkeye moved forward and came out the bright entrance.

"How are you today?" Her voice was gentle and quiet. She felt tired. Being up late and waking up early only to sleep for hours more probably wasn't helping. Maybe some exercise would pick her up. "Let's race to Pied, Peregrine. I feel like going for a run."

He paused a few feet from the den, the silence making him certain she wasn't there. But then her voice came from inside and, a moment later, she appeared. Immediately, Peregrine sensed something amiss. He was at her side in a heartbeat, nuzzling her neck and nosing her face.

"I'm okay. Are you okay?" he asked softly. "Anything I can do?" he added. Peregrine knew pregnancy was tough and, being partially responsible for it, he was willing to do anything to make his mate more comfortable.

Her proposal took him by surprise, yet he smiled and accepted quickly. "Sounds like a plan. Let's go!" The Alpha male gave her a nudge, then began to trot back in the direction of the borders.

Shaking her head, she said, "No, I'm fine, but thank you." She knew he would do anything she asked, but there wasn't anything he could particularly do to help.

He began to trot after agreeing to race, and she burst past him in a full-out run. Hawkeye knew that if he began to run as well that he'd pass her easily, but it was fun for her anyway. She looked back to him, tongue flapping around as she ran.

She burst past him and Peregrine galloped after her, catching up to playfully nip her behind before he fell back and simply enjoyed a more leisurely pace. The view didn't hurt, either, and he wasn't even staring at her butt. Instead, the curves of her belly—which noticeably swelled out on either side now—drew his eyes and made his insides warm and melt-y, like the inside of a grilled cheese sandwich.

Before long, the two of them plunged down the towpath that led to the borders and his niece just beyond them. "You win!" he announced to Hawkeye as they arrived at the finish line: Pied. "Well?" he said to the dappled two-year-old without missing a beat, standing proudly at his pregnant mate's shoulder. Surely, the two of them cut a handsome portrait.

Soon enough, Peregrine nibbled at Hawkeye's earlobe and then stepped back, taking a seat nearby. "I'll let you ladies catch up," he said before slumping forward in the grass and then rolling onto his back. He kicked his legs into the air and wriggled around, enjoying the sensation on his back. After a minute of this, he then fell still and relaxed.

Hawkeye watched Peregrine wriggle around, and she shook her head while laughing. He was so silly.

"What's up, Pied? How are things? Are you pregnant yet?" She snickered like a child at the last question, simply because it involved sex in the process. It had been quite a while since the dark female had seen her sister/niece-in-law (weird), and her tail swayed happily behind her.

Lol, I hope the Pied/Kisu threads turns around, else I'm about to screw with so many timelines. :P

Although she'd sort of hoped to accompany him on the search for Hawkeye, Pied obediently stayed behind, making herself comfortable as she waited just beyond the borders. She wondered if anybody else would spot her and come down to say hi, yet the solitary silence stretched onward with only the rustling of the wind and the occasional chirp of a brave robin to keep her company.

Eventually, the sound of footfalls racing in her direction caused Pied to leap back to her feet, favoring her healing hind paw. Her bright eyes lifted, watching as two dark silhouettes broke free from the tree line and began to gallop down the towpath. They approached swiftly and the piebald she-wolf wondered if Peregrine and Hawkeye were engaged in a race of some sort—a suspicion Peregrine confirmed with his shout.

After posing next to Hawkeye—the two did make a good-looking Alpha pair—the swarthy male retreated to the side, lolling on the ground as he allowed the she-wolves to talk. Throwing him a quick, grateful glance, Pied then flung herself at Hawkeye, licking and nuzzling the woman she'd come to think of as a sister. Right then and there, she decided she might even stop including the word adopted to describe Hawkeye's relationship to her; theirs was a bond as strong as blood.

"Yes! Well, I'm hoping," she replied brightly. It was too early to tell for sure, yet there wasn't a doubt in the Gamma's mind, obviously. "Look at you!" she added, tail wagging so fast it was a blur. After meeting Hawkeye's gaze for a moment, she gently pressed her nose to the Alpha female's slightly rounded flank. "You have yourself a beautiful baby bump," she exclaimed happily.

Hawkeye felt herself blush. "Yea, I'm a classic fatty right now. And Peregrine is loving every minute of it. I, myself, could go without the mood swings." Hawkeye paused a moment. "We can have our litters at the same time like we had joked about! How cool would that be?! They would be your cousins AND niece and nephew."

A huge smile formed on Hawkeye's face, picturing two vastly different looking litters playing like brothers and sisters.

When Hawkeye made fun of herself, Pied shook her head. "You're not fat!" she protested. "You're carrying pups. Besides, you carry extra weight well. You look..." The Gamma stuck her tongue in her cheek, searching for just the right word. "Fierce," she concluded after a moment.

"My litter is due around the middle of April, I think. Perry says you're due late March or early April. So they'll be right around the same age. We can get together for play dates as soon as they're all old enough. I mean, the territories are close enough that we could all just meet in the middle," the Gamma gushed in a way she really only did with Hawkeye.

The Alpha female's smile was infectious and Pied found herself beaming from ear to ear too. "How is the pregnancy so far? You mentioned mood swings... have you gotten sick or had heartburn or anything like that?" she queried, wondering if her experiences would be similar to her sister's.

A thought struck her, spurred in part by Hawkeye's teasing about Pied's complicated relationship to the pups. "I'll be related to your pups by blood, you know. I was just thinking that I think of you as a sister, not an adopted sister. I feel like this makes that bond all the more real," she mused softly and happily. Aunt, sister, whatever... they were really and truly family.

Hawkeye never got to see a litter come from her brother. He had been betrothed to the daughter of another pack chief, but he had gone mad before anything could come of it.

She swung her head and growled, trying to look fierce as Pied had identified her look. Then, the black Alpha pictured travelling with two little pups to the Ridge, running and playing in between herself and Peregrine. Her eyes shone with excitement.

"No, I haven't been sick or gotten heartburn. I guess I'm lucky in that sense. I just can't wrap my head around that you will actually be related. I still can't believe that you are Peregrine's niece. Crazy." Hawkeye never wanted a sister growing up, but it was nice now that she was older.

Hawkeye struck a pose and the Gamma grinned at her, truly admiring her ebony sister. She laughed, too, when Peregrine wolf-whistled and thumped the ground with his paws, clearly also admiring his mate. Pied was happy that the two of them had found each other. Even after just a few minutes, she could sense the deep affection that existed between the pair, even despite her uncle's perhaps uncouth behavior.

"Yup," Pied said rather generically, then decided to elaborate. "My mother, Velox, is his older sister." Because Peregrine was nearby, she decided not to mention her mother's direct litter mate: Tyrannus. Why mention such a beastly name at a happy time like this? "So that does make you my aunt, though I prefer to think of you first and foremost as my sister."

"So? Do you have names picked out?" Pied asked excitedly in the next breath. She was sitting on her haunches again by now, yet she rocked back and forth, not unlike a child eagerly awaiting a slice of birthday cake.

When Pied asked about names, and excited "yes!" squeezed out of Hawkeye's throat. She looked at Peregrine and her eyes squinted with a smile. "We are having a boy and a girl. We just know it. The girl will be Osprey, Jr., or 'O.J.', and the boy will be Tytonidae, 'Ty' or 'Tyton' for short." Hawkeye loved the names that the two had picked out, and for a moment — but only that — she wondered if they should have picked out more names just in case they were having more, or even two of one gender.

"What about you, Pied? Have you two picked out any names?" Hawkeye rested herself on her haunches after wagging her tail.

Hawkeye declared that they were having a boy and a girl. "How...?" Pied began to ask, momentarily perplexed by the absolute certainty in her sister's tone. It then dawned on her that they were only guessing. Although she wondered about the propriety of these assumptions, she wasn't about to rag on Hawkeye and Peregrine. Instead, she would celebrate with them and stand by with bated breath to see if their predictions came true. They seemed more than a little confident.

"You're going to name one after Osprey?" she called to Peregrine, who grinned and nodded from his sprawled position on the grass. To Hawkeye, she said, "I love the names, especially the nicknames. And, yes, we have some name ideas. Unfortunately, Kisu and I lack your mystical abilities," the Gamma quipped, "but I've had dreams—have I mentioned them to you? I forget—about having a little girl so, I have a name picked out there: Saēna."

"Prancer over there talks to them and we say it's a boy and a girl. Maybe there's an extra one in there that he can't hear yet, but I'm just sure it's one of each." She smiled, finding that she probably sounded like a fucking nutcase.

Hawkeye nodded. "He wants to name her after his sister, though I haven't met her yet." The Alpha paused a moment, feeling distracted. "Yes, you told me about that dream. I am glad that it can finally come true." Though she did not believe in Atka, Hawkeye was glad that Pied would become a mother to a little girl just like she had wanted.

Prancer? Pied thought, biting her lip. Out loud, she said, "Hey, they're inside you so I wouldn't be surprised if you just... know, you know? I hope I get my mommy senses soon too," she mused. She hoped that, at some point, she would feel her daughter in there, the one she was destined to name in Atka's honor, even if every other aspect of her spirituality had faded away.

"I just hope I don't have a batch of boys... though, what am I saying? I'll be happy no matter what I have, as long as they're healthy. And, hey, maybe I'll just name one of the boys Saēna if that happens," she quipped, sticking out her tongue.

Suddenly, Pied really wanted to tell Hawkeye about her unique abilities and, in particular, about her ghostly visitation from March Owl and Tyrannus. By now, she knew Crete would have passed the message along... but, of course, none of her relatives knew how she'd really found out about the tyrant's death. Although she loved them, she didn't trust them with this information about her. But she trusted Hawkeye.

"Hey, I wanna tell you something. Wanna walk? Do you mind if I borrow your mate for a little bit, Perry?" she called more loudly to her lackadaisical uncle. "Girl talk!" she added, knowing he probably wouldn't question this.

It didn't even occur to Peregrine to question why Pied wanted some alone time with his mate, though in a typically male fashion, he wrinkled his nose at the words girl talk. "Nah," he answered, "you ladies have fun. I'm going to go get some hunting and caching done."

Plucking himself up from the ground, he trotted over to plant a kiss on Hawkeye's cheekbone, then waved his tail at Pied. "Good seeing you," he said to her. To his mate, he added, "See ya' later, babe." With a wink and click of his tongue, the swarthy Alpha male then turned and loped off into the wood.

With a smile in her eyes, Hawkeye watched her mate leave. She had noted the shift in Pied. The Alpha wondered if it had to do anything with Pied's future litter and concerns about their health.

"What's going on? I can tell that something is on your mind, Pied." Call it just Hawkeye's keen eyes, but she bet it was more a sisterly intuition more than anything.

Peregrine took off and the two she-wolves began to walk along the outer perimeter of the plateau. Hawkeye looked at Pied keenly and the dappled female could see concern written on her sibling's dark face.

"It's nothing bad," Pied started. "I ran into Crete a little while ago and passed a message onto him, which he passed onto the rest of his siblings. It was about how Tyrannus was dead at the hands of Perseus and Echo, who took over Flightless Falcons and restored it to its former glory. You've probably heard about this."

After looking at Hawkeye's face for an answer, then peeking over her shoulder to make sure Peregrine wasn't secretly lurking there, she said sotto voce. "March Owl and Tyrannus visited me. As in, they were dead. I couldn't tell Crete et al that. I don't want them knowing..." She was possessive of her secret. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell someone the truth. Don't tell Perry, though, not that he'd believe you."

They came around a bend and Pied glanced over the flatlands before stopping and motioning for Hawkeye to turn around and head back in the other direction. "So I can't believe you're all settled down with Perry. Will you tell me how it all happened—how the two of you fell in love?" She chuckled, her tail waving as she pricked her gray ears for the story.