Lost Creek Hollow If you've changed your mind

Wat is waiting. :P Hav thred @Terance.  Probably sometime late in the day after Ibis joins??

Over the past few days, her body must have hit a certain tipping point.  Despite being incredibly fit to start with, the growing pups had apparently reached the size of Too Much Beyond Normal and finally started to cause some additional problems for her that weren't just easily brushed away.  Treason had a pretty high tolerance of things as long as it didn't effect her daily activities and now it certainly was.  Running was awkward, if she stayed on her feet too long, her back or paws might start to hurt, but if she lay down it wasn't exactly comfortable.  She was also pretty sure that they were trying to crush her internal organs.  But Treason was tough, she wouldn't complain too much, except to herself.

And just think, she had a few more weeks of this.  She was uncomfortable now, and by then she'd probably be miserable.  Like honestly, if someone tried to convince her it was some sort of magical experience, she'd probably think they had three heads -- there were much better experiences out there than this.  On the other hand, at least it got her mind off of how she looked and the associated mental hangups, but that was because the physical demands now basically yelling at her.  Great.

She'd galumphed her way to the cache near her den again to find something edible, but she had been doing a good job at making anything fresh that appeared there disappear pretty quick.  Most of what was left was almost to the "leave it for Joss" degree of quality in her eyes, but she'd been far more fussy over food the last month, so maybe it wasn't actually so bad yet...  She frowned.  Maybe she'd have to actually find out.

lucky for treason, terance had just had a successfully hunt with @Nara. after he'd spoken with ibis, walked her around a little bit, he'd originally intended to go find rannoch... but instead, nara had come across him while she was tracking down a badger, of all things, and asked for his help.

it wasn't really within terance's realm of chores to take down big game -- he usually just hunted little things within the territory and then continued on with his patrol. the two had taken it down pretty swiftly, save for a good swipe it had gotten across terance's shoulder. not that you could tell, those shoulders were already so fucking beat up anyway...

either way, if her appetite included fresh badger, treason was in luck. unless that didn't sound appetizing, then she was still in the same boat. 

anyhoo.

terance dragged up the thick thing towards the cache, spotting her as he did so. he gave a deep woof through the scruff of the beast, before dropping it and standing upright to look at her. "how's my timing?" he asked in a rumble, head tilting to one side.

Just as she was about to give up and pick something, Terance's bark interrupted her.  Oh?  What's he got there?  Huh.  A badger.  Let's not forget, badgers weren't easy prey, so the fact that was what he was hauling along definitely gave Terance a few brownie points today.  Treason found shows of power like that attractive, and it showed in the faint shift of her expression.  Perfect.  Not done trying to impress me, I see.  Okay, yes, on further examination, Nara's scent was on the badger too, so he'd had help, but hey, Terance was the one dragging it here, so she'd still give him most of the credit.  He probably wouldn't mind too much.

With a wag of her tail, she went to greet him and investigate his prize, but as she got closer she noted some of the smell of blood was coming from him, so her attention shifted and she looked for the source.  It wasn't super hard to find, but at least it didn't seem too major.  Still.  Regardless of whether he'd cleaned it himself, Treason came up next to him to lick the wound a few times and make sure it met her approval and not requiring further attention.  Apparently an interesting day so far? she mused, looking back to the badger.  She couldn't remember having that before, but maybe she just forgot.  At the very least she could try it, and she gave it a few sniffs as Terance probably started to respond.

"never," said terance with a lofty step towards her as she herself closed the distance, offering her a gentle nip to the shoulder. he stood still as she moved to examine his shoulder, ears flicking as he awaited her diagnosis... but treason wasn't any sort of healer, so whatever. "just a scratch," the brute commented as she stepped away, apparently deciding that she agreed with him on the 'nothing to be worried about' frame, watching as she began to investigate the damned thing.

"yeah... had good help from nara," he replied with a wave of his tail, studying her as she nosed about the thing, "not the most interesting part of my day, though." he waited until she either looked up at him to give him her attention or maybe responded or maybe just... kept investigating, before continuing, "ibis showed up at the borders again today, but she wanted to join the pack." and then he waited for a proper response.

She was just starting the process of plucking off a mouthful of badger fur as he dropped the Ibis bomb.  Spitting out the tufts so she could actually speak without fur on her tongue, Treason looked up, kind of confused, Did something happen in Elysium?  From the way she understood it, the two children were quite happy to stay off in their mother's pack, so she jumped to negative conclusions.  Maybe there'd been a fight or something, especially since there was only one of them who'd come to the door.  It was not something she had at all counted on happening basically ever.  And Treason was also kind of a greedy jerk so she didn't like sharing or that there might be further implications that she wasn't seeing yet.  Shelve the badger for a sec.

he repressed an amused smile as he watched her spit out hair, noting the change in herr own demeanor that suggested maybe humor wasn't her intention at the moment... and then terance gave a heavy shrug, lowering his rump to the ground to sit. "she didn't say. she showed up, said she wanted to stay with me, and i said okay," he said, giving her the basic run down (and quite honestly almost a word for word recitation). he studied her expression for a second before showing a bit of general hesitation, or well, actually, more than a bit. so much so that he didn't even say what he was going to say, he was just quiet for a second. 

"i did tell her about you, of course," he finally said, assuming treason didn't stare him down so hard he turned to stone.

Treason latched on to the first words Terance used right away, just wanting to confirm to what degree he meant.  She seemed pretty defensive about it, I hope you mean just the pack and not the den too.  -- You know her, but I don't.  She wanted her space to be her space -- well, theirs, but still, she hadn't planned on an interloper.  Treason searched Terance's expression for some sort of assurance on that.

And Ibis couldn't still be a child at this point, could she?  Treason was pretty sure that if she wasn't an adult by this point, she was close enough that she should be wanting some independence anyway, right?  Though she was quick to judge, she was not one that was quick to trust, and the thought of being forced to share her den with someone that to her was a stranger sounded pretty irksome.  Maybe that was just however many weeks of pregnancy talking, but adding someone to her circle of trust at this point didn't seem like something to rush.

terance scowled, but held down his judgements on the question on the pure basis that she was pregnant and probably gonna say some dumb shit. this, according to terance, was dumb shit. he fought the urge to shoot back a petty 'so what if i do mean the den?' and instead shook his head and said, "the pack, treason." nevermind that ibis was his daughter, terance would put a pin in that concern, as if he would let anyone anywhere near treason after the pups were born, much less someone who meant harm. hell, terance himself probably wouldn't even be allowed near for a while. he held his tongue.

Okay, his reply gave that quickly-developed ball of anxiety the ability to be unwound a bit.   Her little fortress of kind-of-solitude was safe.  She was still perplexed by the fact Ibis was here in the first place, though.  She visibly relaxed with a slight nod, her eyes drifting back to the badger for a second before returning to Terance.  He didn't seem particularly pleased by what she said, but she wasn't going to apologize for it, let's be real.

Her ears twitched as she ran through what all this might mean.  How did she take it?  Previously, she didn't have to give a damn.  They were too far away to matter much.  However, now if she had to be wary of some hellchild bent on her destruction or something, it was probably good to know.

treason moved on, as terance expected her to, and he decided not to dwell... though he silently did. 

he shrugged. "not great but, she just didn't seem thrilled. i think she'll get used to it," he commented, wondering why it was so weird for the little bird, who had watched her mother form an entirely new relationship with olive... what was so different about him? or, well, he actually wondered if maybe that was why ibis left... she wouldn't tell him. maybe he should've pried more?? or maybe it was better he didn't...

Again she nodded.  Hopefully there wouldn't be any trouble.  Probably would be, but at least if Ibis totally hated the idea she could have just turned around and left before committing to staying.  Whatever.  They'd find out.

Her distrust and low expectations from Seabreeze carried over to her children.  Were they a lot like their mother since they'd spent most of their time with her?  Treason expected so, but maybe Ibis had left because she realized the err of her ways or something.  There was a lot of speculation, and Treason wasn't one to think the best of people.

So what will this mean?  It was open ended.  What did it mean about them, her, whoever.  Everything.  In all honesty it kind of was a lot to try to figure out, and she didn't know where to start, so she kind of did have to look to Terance for some direction.  Treason hadn't expected them to be more than brief visitors.  She didn't want to act as a mother to Ibis or -- what was the boy's name again?  Whatever.  They probably wouldn't really like her anyway -- she didn't subscribe to the Elysium brand of woo (or any brand, for that matter), and was probably so different from Seabreeze that they'd get whiplash.  How then would Ibis fit in to the family they were making here at the Creek?  Maybe it would have been better if she hadn't let herself get overly involved...

terance gave a gentle sigh and paired it with another shrug. what the fuck did he ever know, anyway? nothing ever really went how he expected to. secretly, he expected this relationship with treason to crash and burn even more horrifically than anything else he'd ever dealt with... but, hey, maybe not. he was trying to be more optimistic. it seemed to generally be a little bit better than anything else he'd involved himself in, anyway. 

"probably nothing," he answered with a click of his teeth, trying to sort through what it might mean. "best case, our kids have an extra babysitter and an older sister," terance said with a flick of his ear... what was worst case? well, not worst case, he didn't care to think so much about that... maybe he'd just have to ask ibis to leave. or that she would leave. oh, that sounded better. "worst case, i guess she might just leave."

Maybe some part of her realized she had approached it wrong to start, as she slowly shifted further from her previous anxiety towards something more uncertain. Her ears folded back slightly as she reached out to touch her nose to the underside of his jaw, leaving it there a moment. We'll see. It was quietly said. It seemed like every time she wasn't dead-set on her decisions she ended up showing submission to him.

Treason had her priorities but she'd hope that Terance knew his daughter well enough that those would be the likely outcomes. There wasn't anything she could do about it right now. All she knew was that in the case of even worse events, part of her job would be to protect her own offspring and she would do so, no limits.  But hey, she didn't expect someone who was probably more like Seabreeze than Terance to cause any trouble that couldn't be easily thwarted. Ibis would have to be especially diabolical. 

She looked back down to the badger. Back to Terance, though still somewhat subdued, Are you going to join me? She would rather go back to complimenting his hunting prowess -- that was far less complicated and actually something she could do now.

despite all his urges to attempt to be petty, terance nodded. her display of submission (something not too often rewarded to him from treason) was enough to ease his anxiety and frustration over it for now. he'd let her off the hook, if only because she was being a little bit sweet. he returned her little nudge with a few licks to the cheek,  "absolutely," he chimed, deciding that right now was not the time to start fights between them. wait until actual problems arose, then he could exercise his more obnoxious, petty side. for now, this would merely fizzle in the back of his mind until it erupted again. just a little grudge terance could hold against her, now. a little one, he'd forget about it most times, probably. hopefully it wouldn't get any worse. 

he let her have the first (well, she'd already started to dig in, right?) choice and then would follow her lead. pregnant ladies first, an all that.

However, the player totally dares Terance to show more dominance one of these times -- just 'cause.  It might be interesting.  Or not.  Who knows.  No spoilers.  Terance had probably forgotten how standoffish Treason was when she first got to the pack -- that question hadn't been out of left field for her.  So in her eyes there was nothing wrong with it.  Anyway.  Good.  At least they seemed to be on the same page from her view.  With a quiet whine and a broad tail-wag at his affection, it was time to shelve talk of Ibis for a bit.

Either way, she'd planned to tell Terance something else, but now Treason wasn't so sure she should at the moment.  Not that she minded stomping on the news that Ibis was here, but it sounded like the kind of thing other people might.  But maybe there'd be an opportunity?  Waiting might be ok.  It wasn't like it had to be done in the next few hours.  At least for now, she'd be happy enough settle down and have a meal with him.  Again, her tail wagged.  Good.  She looked down and it took a second to find where she'd taken out that tuft of badger fur, reaching for another and another so they could actually get to some skin and the meat within.

"good," terance echoed, moving to nudge her cheek swiftly before she bent down to eat. and when she'd taken her choice win badger, he did the same, going for a fattier portion... because terance was rather bulky as is, and no one would notice a little extra meat on his bones. as if wolves even thought of that. 

perhaps now they could eat in peace, albeit with maybe a little bit of an awkward silence. terance wouldn't feel so much awkward as he would frustrated, but he would do his best to tone it down for treason's sake. after all, he knew she had some... possessive tendencies, why wouldn't it carry over to him and their children? obviously they would take precedent before a child that treason didn't even know all that well... but, oh well. terance would hold the grudge, but he'd pretend to move on.

She enjoyed the badger.  It was different than deer and hare, and certainly a nice treat.  Talking and eating is still rather impolite, and that much harder when your toolset for making things bite sized pieces was also your mouth instead of cutlery, so she stayed quiet while she had her fill.  It was what she'd come here for in the first place, after all.

Once Treason was done, she stepped around to Terance's side while he ate and licked the wound on his shoulder again, more delicately this time, as she pondered whether she'd say anything now that she'd been planning to later in the evening.  Honestly, she was being silly.  She should just do it.  Yeah.  Do it. -- Treason gave the wound one more lick, then she said simply and quietly, I can feel them move now.  Which was probably the first direct thing she'd said without prompting about the entire pregnancy.  Sure, she'd complained when she felt bad or whatever, but for the most part she'd kept everything to herself.  Things were left unsaid that were obvious.  But this was not obvious to anyone other than her.  She was a little fuzzy on the timeline, but it certainly meant things were nearing their conclusion.

his shoulder was fine, probably, maybe gannet could look at it. either way, treason stepped around him to investigate it a little further, giving it a careful lick. and then again. he wondered what she was doing, honestly, since a few cautious licks wouldn't do much for cleaning... and treason probably didn't know Jack-shit about that anyway. he paused his eating to look up at her curiously, a gentle tip of his head to one side and a quick swipe of his tongue over his chops. 

a quiet pause from terance after she spoke, who had to process the information a number of ways. the first being, ah, yes, so she was pregnant, and he hadn't just been forcing the narrative upon her this whole time. good, he was glad he could hear her confirm that, for one. the second was that, oh my god they were moving. after a few seconds silence, slowly the wind picked up and terance's tail began to wag, a smile pressed upon his features as he finally processed the entirety of the comment. he moved to give her cheeks a few affectionate licks, pressing his forehead to the side of her neck. he didn't speak, not right away, but his excitement about the situation was generally pretty obvious.

"how do you feel?" he asked her, pulling back to study her as she answered.

Treason watched for his response. It wasn't like she was expecting him to have some sort of negative reaction or something.  More, she was just not sure if it was going to be a big deal or just a shrug or what.  At least from her perspective it seemed like a major milestone.  Like it seemed as though things were really going to happen or something.  And it seemed like she'd judged right, her tail starting to wag as well as she leaned into him.  She nibbled on his fur a little, seeming somewhere between amused and happy at his response -- it was hard to tell with her.  Positive, though.

How did she feel?  She wasn't too huge about talking about what would be weaknesses, even to those she trusted. Like I'm ready for this part to be over. It's hard to ignore the negatives now, so I think I'm benched.  So no starting any wars where you'd need me, hm?  Treason punctuated that with a playful nip before continuing, It's a really weird feeling, though.  Them moving, that is.  Since she lacked the ability to watch Alien, she didn't have the right similes to make.  Or metaphors.  Whatever.  Something like that.

"ha," purled terance as she nipped at him (just for good measure, he was sure). he returned one, albeit a little gentler, and gave her forehead a few solid licks. "i'll start 10," he returned with a wave of his tail, "minimum." but for sure this was a joke, because terance didn't even know 10 people to start a war with. maybe 3. he could probably start 3 wars. but he sure as hell wasn't doing that. 

at her next comment, he leaned back to examine her more fully, his ears pricked and head tilted. he tried to imagine what it must feel like... he remembered feeling seabreeze's belly when she was pregnant... but from the other point of view? terance couldn't quite imagine it. "what does it feel like?" he asked her, gaze raising back up to look at her.

Treason probably should of expressed her certainty far earlier, she seemed to be almost enjoying this particular degree of doting.  Or maybe just that new directness.  And regardless of whether he was joking or not, she was happy to play along.  Mm.  I thought 'warlord' would be more of my kind of title than yours, she said with a smirk that grew a bit more devilish as she continued, but I'll help you plan your conquests.  She rested her head against him, content, though there was maybe a slight shift in her expression as she pondered the situation she suggested.  Dunno, that might actually be fun -- she could almost picture it, even if that probably wasn't Terance's thing at all.  Treason's tail continued to wave behind her -- maybe she really did like these moments.

Except then he leaned away to look at her again.  Aw c'mon.  Oh well.  Guess she should answer the question.  His shoulder was still the closest flat spot, so she reached out and poked him gently a few times with the tip of her nose, adding in a couple of swipes.  That was about as good of an approximation as she could figure.  It was less precise, but it would hopefully get the point across.  But coming from inside of you.  You can't control it, and it never seems to be in the exact same place.  They weren't quite to the full on trying to kick the hell out of her innards, that would be a little while longer.

"title's all yours," rumbled terance, who returned to his doting with a few licks to the top of her head before the second half of the conversation ensued. 

as she demonstrated, terance attempted to imagine what that might feel like from the inside. he had little luck in doing so, except maybe relating it to tummy rumblies when dinner didn't sit right... but that didn't feel appropriate. "hm," he hummed thoughtfully as she looked at him, green eyes settled upon her features before moving back towards her stomach. he moved to hook her back into him with a persistent muzzle, nosing gently and preening through the fur along her cheeks and neck. "those suckers are gonna be big," he commented casually, thinking in particular right now about how forcefully they were kicking at her. maybe they got lucky and got some genes from his mom's side... but even osprey wasn't small...

When Terance pulled her in, she leaned back into him with a content sigh, also starting to groom him, uttering a quiet whine when he moved he moved in a way that made it harder for her to reciprocate. 

When he spoke again, she stifled a laugh, Have you looked at us? I don't think either of us would ever qualify as petite.  And though she was quite amused in the first breath, the second was less so as other thoughts came up in her mind, I'm fine with it.  Because she wasn't going to go and pick a small guy, and that was part of the reason Terance had even been on her list in the first place.  Yeah that kind of sounded weird when she looked at where they were now.  Especially when adding in what Terance had said at start, making her expect to be kept at arm's length, and at the time she'd been okay with that.  But now?  She was pressed up against him, quite happy with things aside from the fact her legs and feet were starting to get unhappy with her standing around.  It wasn't what she'd expected.  At all.  But she didn't mind, really.

But that had been enough to bring her back to reality.  Another sigh, this one not as content, I need to get off my paws.  Will you be coming back to the den with me?  She was pretty sure there were still some edible parts left on the badger -- not a lot and not easy to get to, but she could wait for him to finish it or bury it or whatever.  Or bring it along -- it had to be much easier to carry now.

terance scoffed. "what? i've been told i'm incredibly petite," he challenged, entirely sarcastically, but added quickly after, "yeah -- you'll definitely have your little army." big army, more like. either way, they'd see whenever they arrived. 

when treason suggested she wanted to go back, the leader rumbled a rumble of agreement before nudging her to help her to her feet... not that she needed it. he followed suit, standing and giving a rough shake of his dark fur. "lead the way," he say with a gentle bow before giving another, playful nudge.

'Little,' she had to repeat, though not very seriously.  They'd just been over that, obviously, and even if he meant "numbers" it was still related to size, so...  If you're petite, then I want to see who a large guy might be, Treason said with faux intrigue.  If she was better at the whole social interaction thing maybe she would have tried to make it sound like she was totally thinking she should upgrade to whatever giant that might be.

Anyway.  She stretched, then nipped back at him.  You can tell me more about your victory over the badger on the way.  It's not like I've been up to anything fun, she said before suddenly reaching out to try to grab one of his ears.  Treason really wasn't really up to anything too particularly draining at this point but she could still be a little annoying in other ways.  It'd make the walk more interesting, too, and for a brief bit she could maybe forget how useless she felt some of these times.  There was good and bad to every day.