Hideaway Strath i am.

for hitting the 5 week mark! @Alduin @Atka @Tulok if y'all are up for a thread. [also ofc @Simmik and @Kynareth are welcome :)]

 



It was nice to have children in their pack, The Priestess had determined though, of course, she'd never doubted this. The Deagon-Sandraudigas were just big enough to begin making appearances near their whelping den and Aerin could scarcely wait to see @Mulberry, @Thyme, and @Turmeric (tags for reference) join them in scampering about the Strath once they got a bit older. The thought put a smile on her face, even now as she carried a limp squirrel in her jaws, as she trotted towards the den. 

The midwife settled herself a few feet beyond the den after arriving, setting the squirrel between her ivory paws before making a soft coaxing noise to call the pups out to play if their parents didn't mind. The midwife thought perhaps they might like a break for a moment. Her wispy tail swept to and fro, wondering if the children might actually manage to make a meal of the game or whether they would just toy with it until their babysitter offered some assistance. 

Simmik knew the boys were chomping at the bit to get out of the den and see the unknown world beyond, but she wasn't ready to let them. She thought they were too young still to be out in the dangerous world. She would introduce them to the pack when she felt safe doing it. The time was coming when she would have to share them, she knew, but for now, she still held all the control. 

Since the children were becoming so mobile, the harbinger had taken to laying directly in the entrance to the den: no one got in or out without her knowing it. She would allow only her mate into the den now, not needing the healers to check on her so much anymore. 

She scented Aerin before the soft call made her muscles tense. With a warning growl to the children to stay back, she quickly turned and faced outside of the den. She stared in the healer's direction, her gaze like a predator on prey. Then she rested her head on her paws, appearing relaxed but muscles tensed to offer a more firm warning. If she was here to talk to Simmik then she could do so from where she stood.

The day was moving like any other: they had napped for most of the morning, all in a pile against mom where she used her body to barricade the entrance to their home. Alduin had woken him a bit ago and coaxed him into a wrestling match.

Atka was soon to join in, never very far from either of them, and they spent the early afternoon growling, nipping, and barking at each other while they tumbled back and forth across the worn dirt floor of the den. 

But mom's growl had him freezing immediately. The sound was a warning—aimed at them. He knew it well; it meant they needed to stay back from the entrance she so diligently guarded. Tulok was very curious about the world outside, and the interest grew exponentially every day, but he would never disobey his parents. They were his only known source of comfort, and safety, and as he grew, he started to realize just how much their approval meant to him—even at such a young age. 

So he stayed where he was, on high alert now in case mom needed them to do something else. His still baby blue gaze watched his mother's every move, picking up all the signs of tension that emanated from her. He wondered what could be going on, but he remained quiet as he waited. If one of his brothers were to try and approach her, he would attempt to nip them and push them back.

oof. 0.0 (my bad y'all, i'd been gone for like a week when i posted this and just thought the pupperinos had already been brought out around others and was trying to get some more midwife/sitter threads. maybe we can still squeeze out another post or two so it counts even if she has to leave? if not, that's cool too. )

The midwife had been so excited, and it had been a moment since she'd last come to check on Simmik, that she hadn't even seen the ghostly silhouette of the mother guarding the den within the shadow of its threshold. She heard the first growl just as she made out the pale swivel of movement, the Sandraudiga turning towards her brood before locking citrine eyes on The Priestess, full of autumn's chill. The medic's tufted auds, which had raised in alert alarm at the growl, lowered nonthreateningly before she too lowered her head to her paws, whip-like tail slowly swishing in the pine needles behind her -- a display of submission. 

'Sorry,' she mouthed to the snow-pelted Harbinger, grimacing with contrition. As experienced as she was as a midwife, she should know better than to make any assumptions. Just because Simmik had allowed her near the babes when they were younger didn't necessarily mean she was welcome now.  

The halfling rose then, carefully. She made no move closer to the densite but extended her neck to nudge the squirrel towards the woman with a little poke. "Fer ye an' yers," the brumal doe murmured, giving a respectful dip of her head. She knew better now, she would stay away. 

Aerin didn't come any closer. Simmik closely watched her body language, taking in the submission as the healer mouthed her apology. She knew it must seem odd to the healers that she was no longer even letting them in the den, but it was what she wanted. She still controlled the lives of her children, and she would hold on to that control for as long as she could; it was the only way she could ensure their safety. 

Her gaze flicked briefly to the dropped food before snapping back to watch Aerin. She had brought them food; the new mother appreciated that, although her expression never shifted from watchful. Even after the healer had left, Simmik wouldn't leave her spot to go get the meal—she would just send Ky to get it whenever he returned