Dragoncrest Cliffs As long as there is whiskey in the world

Wildfire hadn't left the pups for any significant stretch of time since their birth, regardless of her feelings for them—which were rapidly burgeoning now—but today @Thuringwethil coaxed her into taking a break. A little reluctantly, the Bandrona strode away from the fallen log and headed deeper into the woods. She hadn't hunted for herself in a while now and found herself suddenly salivating at the opportunity to chase down a rabbit or squirrel and eat it fresh and on the fly.

She was a little out of practice, so she lost her first two targets. She struck gold on her third attempt and was soon stretched out with the carcass of a lean hare between her forelegs. Wildfire carefully skinned the small beast, setting the soft fur aside to take back to the den for the pups, then greedily bolted down the meat until there was nothing left but a pile of bones and gristle.

it seemed that the mothers both had the day off, though portia spent hers herb gathering instead. dio had taken the pups for a short walk (and probably nap afterwards) today, so portia was free to roam. she came across wifi scarfing down some poor creature, leaving portia to smirk with amusement. the mother let out a light chuff of greeting and padded closer to see what was up.

"free-time?" portia purred, her speckled crown tilting sideways. she herself deposited a few marigold on the ground to better speak to her sister-wife, tongue clicking against the roof of her mouth to get rid of the unwanted taste. "dio has dalia and sirio for the day," she added, nose twitching as she took in the spring smells all around her.

Wildfire licked her lips as she looked up to see Portia striding toward her. She smiled at the other she-wolf, stretching out to bump their muzzles together in greeting as she sat upright. It seemed both mothers had the day (or at least a few hours) off and that they had both fallen back on their trades to pass the time.

"Yeah, for a little bit, anyway." She squinted absently downward at the pile of bones next to the delicate bundle of marigolds Portia had just dropped by her feet. When she looked up, a total non sequitur popped out of her mouth. "What do you know about the other pups living here? Anatha and Elohim I think are their names?"

portia smiled, but said nothing else in response until wifi asked about the other pups. "well i think mine are better," she offered lightheartedly, but then shrugged. truthfully, she hadn't left the den much at all-- and if some damn strangers thought they could waltz in and visit her and her children they were damn stupid. truthfully, portia didn't even know their names, and secretly stored them away and pretended as though she definitely did know that already. 

"i haven't met them," she then said, trying to better answer her sister-wives question, "what do you think of them?" maybe she'd form her own opinion around that.

Wildfire smirked faintly in response to Portia's remark. They are, she mentally agreed, as are mine... It turned out the Fisa hadn't acquainted with them properly either. This information made Wildfire's lips purse in thought, her little brow slightly furrowed.

"I haven't really met them either," she confessed, "or even really thought about them, until now. I'm suddenly wondering why Heda would take in any pups when we have five of our own to raise..." Realizing how that sounded, Wildfire cleared her throat and added, "I mean, I'm sure there's a good reason for it. I was just pondering about it, I guess."

"What're you up to, anyway?" Wildfire gently pressed in the next breath, giving her sister wife a somewhat hopeful look. Now that she had hunted and eaten, she felt rather energetic and wondered if perhaps she could accompany Portia on some task or another while they were both free.

portia shrugged. "i mean you know i can't turn away anyone in need, but i'm just as surprised as you are. heda is her own wolf though, i'm sure she has some sort of reasoning," portia responded, reassuring wildfire that her concerns weren't selfish. the fisa loved helping, but that didn't mean she didn't understand the wolfish instinct to be protective over their children. silently, portia wondered if thuringwethil was as connected to the children as wifi was-- since they technically weren't hers. maybe that left her less possessive over them. she wouldn't butt in about it though, no reason to make wildfire worry or to stir up drama.

"just doing some herb gathering. found these marigolds," she responded with a wag of her tail. she truthfully had been doing more wandering than she had herb gathering, but she'd pretend. "i was going to bring them back soon, i think."

Wildfire glanced down at the bundle of aptly named flowers, then back up at Portia. "Do you need to collect anything else? I can help. But I'm not ready to go back yet," she said with a little smile. She had grown to love her offspring but that didn't mean she didn't value time alone or with fellow adults. "What do these do?" she added, toeing one of the marigolds.

portia smiled. "i've just been walking around and seeing what i could find but i was gonna try to take this back before i set out again... you're welcome to come with," she said with a wag of her tail. she understood, she didn't really want to go back to the den either. she loved her babies with all her heart but... well, mama needed a break. she picked of the plants carefully and, through her teeth, replied, "marigold is good for headaches and toothaches and other sorts of swelling... a good go-to." it was pretty basic, one of the first things she learned. portia always made sure she had it around, it's use as an anti-inflammatory came in handy pretty often.

Portia invited her on a quick foray back to the dens (she presumed). Wildfire pondered for a moment, then shook her head. "If they see me, they won't let me leave again. It was tough enough the first time," she said. She wondered if the Fisa would face the same dilemma. "Can I wait here, then we'll go back out together? I'd love to tag along if that's okay," she repeated earnestly.

at first, portia was confused. she did have a tiny cache in the back of her own den for emergencies, but she kept all of her herbs stored in the caverns with the rest of the pack. there was a space with light that shone down into it that made for the perfect storage unit / garden. when she realized wildfire's mistake, she shook her head. "you can wait here, i'll come back, but i'm headed to hougeda," she replied, a small wag of her tail. with a slight gaze to the side, portia leaned forward. "i'm not ready to go back either," she said softly, grinning.

"we've still got time," she added, encouraging her friend to follow. they wouldn't head towards then dens, and would be able to stretch their legs for some time more.

The Fisa quickly clarified and Wildfire smiled and moved to her flank. "Oh, well, in that case." She flicked her smudged muzzle against the other woman's cheek. "I'll come with." She hadn't been to Hougeda in quite some time now and thought of whether they might run into some of their pack mates. She had come to love her children and of course she adored Thuringwethil. But it would be refreshing to see some other faces for once.

"Sorry, I thought you were dropping them off at the whelping den," Wildfire explained as they began to walk in tandem. "I had to pry Robin off my leg when I left earlier. He cried. I just didn't want to do a repeat." She clucked her tongue and chuckled under her breath at the adorable memory. It had broken her heart a little and she had almost stayed behind but she was glad she had taken this time after all. It was good to catch a break.

she smiled, nodding quickly. "oh hun," she expressed with a giggle, "don't i know it. sirio practically never leaves my side-- poor thing is a magnet." which was totally true, both of her children had the worst social skills-- despite her awesome social skills-- and she did worry about them a little bit in the coming months. but, they were still young, and there was plenty of time to grow.

"we'll just take a nice, slow, stroll," she added with a few extra wags of her tail. the pups were being cared for, if the mothers stayed out a little longer... well, who cared?! and so they did, all the way to hougeda and all the way back, where they parted ways and went back to their happy, but loud, children.