Stone Circle Always hungry

Valette realized that she was starting to fill out already. Normally she wouldn't really show until the last month, especially with her last litter. However, with this pregnancy she seemed to fill out faster for some reason. It was a nice confirmation that she was pregnant. Which the female more than welcomed. She had not felt the pups move yet but at least most of the signs were there.

Valette had already told Greyback, but she was pretty sure the male would have figured it out sooner or later. It was not difficult to figure out. The only down side, she was hungry all the time now. So she felt like she had to hunt more. The female kept close to the ground as she saw a flock of rabbits foraging. She was quite keen on having one of those as a meal.

Vespera had been hugging the borders more ever since the last confrontation with Valette and Greyback left her a bit shaken. Though, the young female was able to recover a bit after being by herself for a while, so she was managing. The dark female was carefully guiding her paws through each blade of grass she stepped on, she was beginning to appreciate her surroundings more since her wondering through the territory had brought her more peace in mind, she wondered how nature was always so peaceful. Well, maybe everything isn't so peaceful in the forest, especially when fires start, she pointed out in her mind, she even laughed to herself of how obvious she was being. Vespera though did feel like in need of someone's company, not just someone, not just any random wolf, one that she trusted, respected, and could laugh with. Sadly more of those kinds of wolves are getting more scarce by the minute, she scrunched up her own face to express what she was feeling, even though she was by herself. But what did catch her attention was the smell of someone familiar, the female stopped in her tracks and lifted her nose into the air, sniffing. Valette! She cheered in her own thoughts, she was so happy that the Matriarch was near that her fluffy tail began to wag. Vespera quickly followed her instinct and followed her heart and nose to Valette, her strides were clean and swift as she bounded through the forest like a white-tailed deer, with her eyes wide and her tongue lolling out in the wind. The young female felt like a child reuniting with her mother as she bounced closer to Valette, but when she saw Valette, she slowed and planted her paws into the dirt as she screeched to a stop. Vespera's lolling tongue retracted back into her mouth as she crooked an eyebrow as she saw the Matriarch, she noticed that her belly was bigger then what she was used to seeing. The young female titled her head as she saw Valette lowered to the ground like she was on the hunt, which gave Vespera the idea that she needed to keep quiet. The dark female lowered her stomach to the ground and fixed her head straight as she slithered forward towards Valette, with her paws carefully placed to where she was going. Vespera moved to Valette's side, hoping that she would see her in her peripheral vision, the female gave a big toothy grin, and her eyes widened and sparkled, she didn't even notice what Valette was looking at but Vespera kept wagging her tail, "Hi!" She loudly whispered, she couldn't help it, she loved Valette's company, with her motherly embraced since the last time they met, and this gave her a warm sensation through her body.

Valette stayed focussed on the group of prey before her. At first, she didn't even notice Vespera approaching but when she saw the overly excited female from the corner of her eye it surprised her. Valette glanced up. What was she so happy about? But as the female sat up, forgetting the rabbits, they all scattered. Valette groaned lowly at herself that she briefly didn't think about the rabbits.

The last time she had seen Vespera, she had not been that happy. As Valette sat, her belly was more prominent and sagging out. "Hi Vespera," she spoke with a smile, happy to see that she was happy. Valette just accepted the fact that she was going to be hungry all the time, and that a small rabbit wasn't going to make her less hungry. Perhaps she should take down a bison with the pack, then she could eat a lot of meat.

"You look very happy," she spoke, her tail gently waving behind her over the ground. "Are things going well for you?," she asked. It seemed that even with the heavy snows recently and the bad weather wolves were genuinely happy. She hoped that the weather would become warmer soon. Especially with the pups arriving over a month.

ack sorry for late response! I'm on spring break yet I can't catch a break

The young female tossed a slight glance around Valette as she saw the rabbits scatter, she then tied that fact that when Valette groaned in annoyance that the Matriarch was hunting. Guilt and embarrassment had rushed through her veins, her once happy expression turned into an awkward toothy smile, "oh uh.... Hehe... Sorry about that." However, the female's attention was soon caught by Valette's stomach and her sudden change in size since she noticed that Valette was putting a bit of weight but she didn't want to say anything that might insult her. Vespera's tail wagged slightly as Valette commented on her happy mood and asked if things were going well for her, "yea.. I uh.. Had some time to think and recollect myself," she spoke very honestly to Valette since she was the only one she could be open to about her feelings. The young female had sudden flashbacks at the event with Greyback, the emotions that were being spat and how vulnerable she felt had only grown a disliking to the Patriarch more, but she was keen on the offer of his help. But she shook away those thoughts and put them to the back of her mind since she did catch herself staring at Valette's stomach longer than she should have. Vespera shifted uncomfortably as she desperately wanted to ask Valette what was going on in there, is she growing a tumor?  The young female suddenly grew worried for Valette's health and couldn't hold in her question any longer,"Val are you okay? I uh, noticed that there is something going on down there and it's killing me to know." The dark female felt like she had been holding her breath when she asked her question, her eyes widened in curiosity as her ears stood up like pillars as she couldn't help but look at Valette's stomach.

Valette nodded and was pleased with what Vespera was saying. She had been more in the background, yes, but that also meant less of her sometimes strange antics. It seemed that she was truly working on herself to make a better pack wolf. Valette was proud of the female for learning quickly. Then again, she was young so she sort of expected her to learn behavior quicker.

Valette raised her brows curiously as she was not sure what the female was referring to until she realized she was talking about her stomach. Valette chuckled. "I'm pregnant, Vespera," she spoke with a grin. "So in a moon or so I will have newborn pups," Valette added proudly. She had been consistent with bringing young to this pack, something she was very proud of. "Never seen a pregnant female before?"

Vespera's eyes flashed in shock at the realization that Valette was pregnant, so that's what pregnant looks like. . .Makes a whole lotta sense now. The young female felt stupid for not knowing what being pregnant was, but she felt more embarrassed when Valette joked about her not seeing a pregnant wolf before, "no it's just that... I mean... I heard the word before and other wolves talking about it and being excited about it, but I was too I guess, outcasted to know what a pregnant wolf looked like." Vespera gave a bit of an amused chuckle at herself since what she said was true, Vespera gave Valette a pleased smile when the Matriarch seemed so proud of holding pups within her, but that gave her a bit of worry. "Wait," she stated in a bit of a panic and leaned a bit closer to Valette, "do I have to pup sit?" Vespera whispered, her eyes widen with a bit of panic and her ears back a little as she desperately wished that it wouldn't be so. Vespera was unsure if she could pup sit, Vespera felt like a pup herself mostly since she gets scolded and mentored a lot.

Valette chuckled when Vespera was telling her about what she heard about it but never seen it. "Well, I will probably grow fatter and my body will go through more changes. After all I will have to make milk for them and such," she explained to the female. She hoped Vespera knew that Valette didn't mind to answer her questions. "You can ask me questions about all of this if you like," she offered so the female would know.

Valette looked surprised at the sudden panic. When she heard the question she laughed softly. "Well, you can if you want to," she offered. "If you don't want then that is totally fine. You can always come to visit them and play if I am around," she smiled. She was not so sure if she would leave her children alone with Vespera in the first place but maybe she would surprise her.

The young female listened with interest to what it was like to be pregnant, she herself thought this experience would be too much for her. Vespera went into her thoughts about the idea, she imagined how silly she would look if she would carry all that weight, and she thought of how would Valette get the pups out of her. Vespera's worry began to rise again, would this be painful for her? Could she die from it? Vespera thought of all the terrible things that could happen to Valette during the process. The dark female look at Valette with a bit of concern as she managed to slip this question from her thoughts, "Will it hurt you...?" The young female said slowly, her eyes widen with concern. But Vespera felt relief when Valette said that she could visit the pups when she was around, good, she sighed to herself. Vespera couldn't trust herself around Val's young, what if something went wrong? What if she accidentally hurt them? Vespera didn't want to think about what could happen since it would give her a heart attack. But what did come across Vespera's mind was that since Valette must carry so much weight and feed the growing pups all the time that she must be hungry. This did put a bit of a smile on the young female's face as she slightly wagged her tail, "let me try and hunt for you, I bet it must be difficult for you to maneuver with that extra weight," Vespera said, though she did sound a bit more cheerful than usual.

Valette licked her lips. "It will hurt a bit but only briefly," she explained honestly to the female. She didn't want to lie to her if she would ever become pregnant. Valette last pregnancies and their birth were not so tough. She could hardly remember the pain as she got so much love in return afterward.

"Oh, that is very kind of you," Valette smiled. "Yes, running is not something I can really do at the moment," she admitted. Valette really appreciated the offer from the female. "Don't put too much effort in it, though. I would be happy with something small," she smiled.

ack sorry, final stretches of my school year are killing me

The female paused, she felt a little uneasy when Val said that it would hurt for a little bit. But he mood flourished when Val accepted her offer on getting her something to eat. Vespera nodded, she wanted to make this quick as she didn't want the soon to be a mother again to wait long. Vespera swiftly leaped to her giant paws as she didn't hesitate to follow her nose to find food for the Matriarch. Thankfully, Vespera didn't have to wait long, for her sharp senses caught onto prey very quickly. Since I am not hunting in a group, this will go off without a hitch, Vespera thought, with relief flooding her nerves. The young female made quite a distance but she could still see Valette above her as she went a little down way. Instinctively, the young female went into a hunters crouch and felt the breeze on her fur. Perfect, she smirked, she wasn't downwind so that her scent would carry down to her target. The young female scanned the area fiercely, she had found her target. A rabbit, quite a plump one too, this must be my lucky day,  she thought sarcastically to herself. Vespera gave one final approving glance to Valette as she soon turned her gaze back to the rabbit. The young female was very light, so making noise wouldn't be too hard, however she did have to watch where she was going since her young paws were ginormous. Vespera crept closer and closer, she was surprised it hadn't noticed her yet, probably because she is small. The young female felt the blades of grass touch her belly as she was getting ready to spring. Almost..... She said in her head, the last thing she wanted to do was fail Valette. With great luck, the stupid animal had turned its back to her and was minding its own business. Vespera couldn't wait any longer, with great courage and strength, she sprang and slingshot herself forward with great speed, the rabbit didn't even notice before it was too late. Vespera slammed down her paws on its back, the impact must have killed it since Vespera was bigger and heavier than the thing. The young female looked down on her prey before she grasped it into her jaws and swiftly carried it to Valette. Vespera dropped the rabbit down at Valette's paws and took a few paces back to give her room to eat, "here you go, here is my success, finally, at your paws!" She joked as she gave her tail a slightly amused wag, she eagerly waited for Val to eat before Vespera catches herself drooling.

No worries <3 We all have off times!

Valette didn't expect Vespera to hunt for her right away. But when she looked back at their conversation it seemed that the female was keen on doing something now. Valette went to rest and let Vespera do her thing with hunting. She could see the female for a bit before she vanished. Valette was pleased to see how much Vespera had grown since joining Easthollow. Pack life was doing her good, and perhaps the lessons with Greyback as well.

Vespera returned and Valette noticed the plump rabbit being placed before her. The mother's tail wagged as she was hungry. "You did a good job, Vespera! Thank you for getting me food." The female instantly attacked the meal. Eagerly eating the food off the bones. She did stop halfway and looked at the female with a questioning glance. "You want some as well?," she asked.

The young female appreciated the praise from Valette, which was always welcomed. She watched as Valette dug into the rabbit that she had caught, she gave a slightly amused glance as she watched the female wolf it down. Guess that is one of the side effects of being pregnant, dually noted, the young female than sat down and continued to watch in a bit of awe. Valette then asked if she wanted some, to which Vespera almost said yes to on the spot, but she paused, "Nah," she said as she raised her right hind leg to scratch her neck, "I am on a diet, so I wouldn't want to spoil my stomach," she joked to Valette. In reality, she did want it, but it didn't feel right that she would eat the meal of a hungry pregnant wolf, it wouldn't sit well with her since especially she would be taking food from the wolf that she respected most. Vespera ceased her scratching and gave Valette a curious look, "so um... What is like raising children? Is it hard? I assume that you have to give all your attention to them, wouldn't that be stressful? Do you get breaks? Would Greyback be willing to watch them for you?" Those questions buzzed in her head, though she would admit that the last one about Greyback would be a bit of a stab at him. Vespera did know somewhat about parenting since she briefly had some, she did remember being around her mother a lot since that's where she would get her milk from, so she assumed the mothers did all the work, but she didn't want to be rude.

Valette raised her brow when the female spoke about being on a diet. Instantly her mother instinct unleashed. "Vespera you shouldn't be on a diet!,' she spoke and looked the female over. "In fact, eating a lot makes you stronger," she added. She offered the meal to the female by nudging it to her feet. "I insist you eat." There, she could use her alpha powers for something at least.

"It can be super tough but with the help of the pack, it is easier. I will always be a mom, no breaks. Even if one of my older kids are in trouble I will help them or care for them." Valette explained. "Greyback would love to do that. He is not like my previous mate. He left me to raise Arlette, Keen and Merrit all by myself," she admitted, it still hurt. "After the pups were born he grew ill so I had to take care of him and my newborns. One day he just vanished from the den. No word, no footprints, no scent. I never got to say goodbye," she told her.

"Luckily Greyback was already in the pack and he helped me immensely. Then we fell in love and well, now I am raising children with him. He has been so caring from the start, hunting for me and making sure I am okay. He is a real sweetheart. He is so excited and nervous for the babies. It is really cute," she admitted. "I get some breaks when Ira or Greyback would watch them for me, but I like spending time with them and teaching them how to be a good wolf," she smiled. Vespera was also kind of becoming one of her children with how much she needed to learn. She had been so much better already.

Vespera should have seen that her joke would backfire as Valette didn't seem to catch that it was a joke. The young female laughed at herself a little since she probably knew that at this point in time that Valette wouldn't understand something to do with food wouldn't be a joke. The young female sat with an awkward toothy smile with her ears back a little to show submissiveness as the Matriarch scanned her all over. Vespera watched as Valette shoved the eaten rabbit towards her paws, the young female's ears pointed up as her grin seemed to slip into a bit of a confused look as her eyebrows raised up. Valette then commanded her to eat to which Vespera's rebellious nature started to kick in, she paused and her eyes swapped from glancing at the rabbit back to Valette for a few moments. The dark female shrugged her shoulders to herself and then dipped her head down and began taking small and swift bites at the prey and quickly swallowed to show that she was enjoying the meal. Vespera wasn't that hungry but she still ate away at the rabbit as Valette began answering her previous question. The Easthollow wolf tried to balance eating at looking and listening to Valette at the same time, but she would find herself staring at Valette thoughtfully before realizing that she should continue to eat to satisfy the female. Vespera found that she couldn't eat anymore and found that her stomach was about to burst so she had to force herself to resist eating the rest, but she didn't have to worry since thankfully she didn't have to eat much since Valette had eaten most of it. The young female craned her neck to look at Valette with a bit of affection as she mentioned the way Greyback has been treating her, she deserved any and every care in the world. Vespera couldn't help but cringe a little when she said that it was cute the way Greyback was treating her, but she then gave a bit of a confused and sour look when she mentioned Ira. The young female hadn't had the best introduction with Ira, and she refused to speak with her since, "If I am going to be honest," she began, "I don't see myself as a mother, I really don't trust myself since I have a bit of a history with my attempts at socializing with others." Vespera remembered back when she had that whole emotional breakdown with Greyback and Valette had to rescue her, but she wasn't sure that she could admit that she had gotten better since then.

Valette glanced at Vespera when she said that she never would be a mother. "Could you imagine that I said the same when I was about your age," she spoke. "Oh wait, I was a bit younger but I did say that," she chuckled. "So perhaps one day you might consider it," Valette offered. "Until you have made up your mind you are free to play and start to socialize with my kids," she chuckled to the female and then winked.

"I will howl when you can come meet them," Valette nodded. Though perhaps Vespera would find it scary, Valette felt that it was important to the female's socialization skills that she would meet her babies once they were born. It was a very different dynamic and often a pack had younger members that needed to learn what they can and cannot do.

Vespera was surprised, she couldn't imagine Valette not wanting children way back when considering she has so many now. The young female tilted her head slightly with her ears straight up like tall oak trees, her pupils wide with wonder, "I'm sorry Valette, I couldn't imagine you think like that no matter how hard I try," She commented. Though, she did find it a bit amusing that she really needed to think about it that hard. The young female squinted her eyes a bit when Val told her that she might one day reconsider it, she couldn't imagine herself taking on the responsibility of caring for young. Valette could balance being the Matriarch of Easthollow and being a mother of so many, Vespera had her doubts, "I don't know, it wouldn't really be my thing." The young female had been fighting for her own life her entire time, how could she possibly take care of others, if she can't take care of herself. The Easthollow wolf began lifting her dark hind leg to scratch below her cheekbone as Valette continued to talk, but Vespera abruptly ceased her scratching and looked at Valette with a wide Violet glance. Her heart stopped a little when she suggested that she can be around her newborns, "huh?" Her voice cracked, her leg froze below her cheekbone, she didn't think this part through, "oh uh... Yea, Yea sure, I am... Totally up to that." The young female didn't want Valette to think that she was a danger to her young, she just wasn't sure how to react to them when the time comes.

Valette had to chuckle at that. She could understand that it was hard to imagine for the female that she was different when she was younger. She had made quite the transformation from an angry pup to dutiful young adult, to then from inexperienced leader to a mother. She often felt like everyone's mother in this pack, especially the wolves younger than her.

"Well, it is not that we are demanding you have them now," she assured her, lightly joking on the matter. Maybe Vespera wouldn't be the motherly type and that was okay. As long as she would care for the young she got. Plus if she would give her a good example then Vespera might remember and take some things with her for when she was fully grown. "Great! Then I will go rest now and then you can come to visit me when the pups are old enough,' she spoke and then dipped her head before leaving.