Moonspear for the longest time

After Hydra and Dirge's talk, Nikai decided to stick with @Alya for a little bit to see what her thoughts were. His were conflicted, because he didn't feel the same warm hearth here that he did at Easthollow -- he felt the weight of expectations that didn't suit him and he could not help but wonder how his children might experience that -- but on the other hand, with him and Alya as parents, it would surely end up alright. And it would also tie them down considerably, as travelling with their children would be harder if they decided on it. Then again, his leg limited his ability to travel as much anyway.

Last year he had often thought about what it might be like to be a father when Valette had her babies. What would it be like? It was like a whole 'nother adventure.

What do you think..? About what Hydra said? he asked, ears piqued curiously as he waited for his mate's opinion on the coming season. Would she prefer to stay an aunt, or did she want the mother upgrade too?

The talk had not stirred up anything new in the shewolf. She'd been thinking for some time about motherood, and had even talked to Hydra about possibly having pups this year. Another shadow had crossed her heart, but she was beginning to think that these were things that happened inside her, rather than things caused by the outside world, or tellings of things to come. She was learning, slowly but surely, that she was simply inclined to be sullen and ruminative at times. It was never going to be pleasant, but she could at least mitigate the damage she allowed it to do to her life.

"I think I'd like to try," she said after a moment of thought. "I do want to be a mother. Our children will be protected here." But would they be nurtured? She had no doubt they'd be doted on, but she didn't want them to become cold mercenaries like herself or her sisters. It would keep them safe in certain regards, but open to treachery in others. "When they're older, we can teach them our love of travel," she added, because lately when she thought of children, she thought of herself and Nikai and a brood of bright young eyes out in the open wilderness.

To Alya, this place was home a lot more than it was to Nikai, and he could imagine that quelled her doubts a fair bit. Nikai wondered if pups were the right thing to do right now, with how he felt, but on the other hand he also was ready to settle. Without travelling lined out for his future -- because it just wasn't as fast and easy as it used to be -- what did the rest of his life look like? He wanted to have something to fill this empty feeling and although rationally he imagined pups might not be that answer, he did feel that it would help give them something new to focus on now that travel was less of an option than it was before.

Though travelling with children did sound nice. And in general, creating little mini-them's was quite tempting. They made quite the pair and Nikai was convinced their children could be quite something. I think I'd like to settle, too, Nikai said in response to Alya's desire to become a mother. For now, I mean. You're right, we could always take them when we decide to travel again. Nikai smiled at the thought of travelling with not only Alya but some children of their own, too. It was an appealing thought. Should we call Hydra and Dirge to ask them? They seemed pretty eager at the meeting, so it probably isn't a surprise to them. Might as well get it over with, he felt, to make sure they didn't build their hopes and dreams for the future on a non-existent reality.