Redsand Canyon trident

@Kallik

Much to his surprise, Phox was settling in quite nicely in Mereo. He'd made a few acquaintances, and he—or rather, at Germanicus's instruction—made himself busy with patrols and watching spars taking place at the arena. This left him exhausted at the end of the day, when he would eventually curl up at the entrance of @Towhee and her mate's (@Maxim) little love cave. (Towhee would probably have a strong reaction to that naming of her home... but would it be good or bad? Phox could never be certain.)

Having just finished up a patrol on the southeastern border of Mereo's claim, Phox headed toward the sparring arena. Nobody currently occupied it, but he knew it was common to meet other soldiers here. Perhaps even Towhee's mate, who he hadn't had a chance to properly talk to yet. The guy seemed positively evasive. Maybe it would be easier to chat once they'd duked it out. There was also @Arsenio, whom Aquene had mentioned.

She supposed she was glad nobody expected her to be doing her duties in her condition. Towhee still patrolled on occasion, though most of her time was spent with @Ruenna and the newborns at the palazzo.

In fact, she’d spent so much time there, her body had begun reacting to the pups’ presence. Although Towhee couldn’t hear their whimpers and cries, her nipples apparently could. They’d begun to leak.

Excusing herself for lunch, Towhee paused on the doorstep to clean up her damp belly. When she looked up, she spotted Phox standing near the arena. With a flick of her tail, she walked over to him.

Definitely pregnant, she deadpanned, oozing slowly.

Kallik's anxiety was out of control today. He couldn't stop thinking about how upset Aquene had been the night of the matrona's labor. He had pushed the thoughts away while comforting her, but once he was on patrol the next morning they all came rushing back. And it was like that any time he was alone; he would come up with all of these scenarios where something awful happened to his wife while she gave birth. 

So after a few days of this, his whole body felt like one raw nerve. On the outside, he was his usual cold self, though; he was a master at hiding his feelings; maybe not so much from Aquene, but from everyone else. 

He found himself heading towards the arena to see if anyone was around to spar, hoping a good workout would give him some relief. He found Towhee there, though, along with one of the new auxillia. 

His eyebrows raised a bit as he heard the praefectus declare that she was pregnant. Congratulations, he rumbled, stopping a few paces from her. He knew she and Maxim had actually wanted children, so this was not an 'oh shit' conversation like it had been for him and the medicus.

Towhee approached, and the smell she carried with her was positively... something. Her comment made him grin.

-Does this mean I get to be a funcle again?!- he said/signed, nosing her belly gently. He had always been an honorary father to her previous litters... but would this year be different? Last year had been so hard, and he wished he could have spent more time with Caracal, Tierra, and Sphyra. He wondered if Maxim would have any of that... but then again, Towhee had been able to convince Reyes in some form or another. Phox was briefly reminded of how poorly he'd been treated at Brech's borders by Towhee's former lover, but he pushed the negative thought away. This was a new year.

Phox flicked an ear back when Kallik approached, his brain firing off the connection to Aquene.

Same should be said to you! I met Aquene the other day. She's a great gal, Phox said, before remembering why he'd come here in the first place.

Phox turned to Towhee. -Wanna give me notes after the spar?- he asked. Towhee had always been the more able mercenary, and Phox was always thankful for any advice she could give him. His eyes turned to Kallik then, eyebrows raised in question: spar time?

Kallik appeared with felicitations. Hey, thanks, Vanilla Ice, Towhee replied with a smirk and switch of her tail.

Turning back to Phox, her grin took on more of a dopey slant. Yeah, she replied, tail waving now, watching in silence as her brother addressed Kallik about his own good news.

It seemed the two might might spar. Towhee nodded approvingly. Sure, though I can only hang for a few minutes. Gonna go see Mrs Vanilla Ice about my leaky tits, she said, shooting Kallik another grin.

Phox's praise of his wife briefly softened his expression. Yes, she is, he agreed. 

He looked to Towhee blankly, not amused by the nickname she had given him. He dipped his head once at her words, but said nothing else. 

The auxillary silently offered a spar then, and Kallik was quick to accept; he trotted into the arena and shook out his coat, loosening up his muscles in preparation for heavy use. 

He would take one side and turn to face Phox, readying himself for the other man's first attack.

For a moment, Kallik seemed to soften at the mention of Aquene, though the next second, he was looking rather unamused by Towhee's sense of humor. It certainly wasn't for everybody, as Phox had learned over the years. As for him, he could scarcely remember a time when he didn't hear Towhee's voice in his head, those silly nicknames and off-kilter remarks about everyone she met.

-I can always catch up with you later,- he said. Phox certainly didn't want to hold her up if she was having, uh... whatever problems she was having.

His attention turned to Kallik then, entering the arena and gearing himself up for the spar. He rolled his shoulders, shook his coat, then went in for a round of good ol' wrastlin'.

if it's okay with you, can we roll a 1d10 in discord for the winner?

Towhee’s amusement was inversely proportionate to Kallik’s. She met his blank look with a broad grin, then settled back to watch the spar. She waved off Phox’s comment, committed to watching for at least a little while so she could give him the feedback he’d requested.

She stuck it out for a solid fifteen minutes before her soaking nipples drove her to distraction. I’ll compile my notes and get back to you! Have fun, kids, she called out to the two men before picking up her feet and making her way toward the tablinum.

Phox gave a little wave to Towhee, then squared himself up for the spar with Kallik. Like the many others he’d participated in since arriving in Mereo, it was over more quickly than he expected it to be. In the end, he hovered briefly over his opponent before giving way to him. Phox may have been the winner in name, but Kallik had put up an excellent fight.

When he looked back, Towhee was already starting away. Phox didn’t waste any time trotting after her after giving Kallik an approving nod.