Hushed Willows But your hands ain't red yet

Pregnancy thread 1/4, sliiiightly forward dated I'll date this later

Reverie had known for weeks that she was pregnant. Weeks of falling slowly into fatigue, feeling the first tendrils of sickness creeping over her like wild-growing vines. The evidence of it turned physical now; she felt heavier well before the swell of her belly made itself known. It was a subtle thing even now.

But she felt it. She saw it. Her body was changing already; no longer only her own, but home now to the new lives she had chosen to bring into this world. She had chosen this. And it was so much different this time.

Reverie settled just beyond the entrance of her den, lounging at the cliffside and inspecting the curve of her abdomen. There was fear in her. Disgust. Bitterness. But there was love, too; the memory of Blossom's birth, that moment in which nothing else mattered but the tiny perfect daughter at her flank. Love, and a fierce surge of possessive, protective instinct. These children were hers. Only hers, for now; some secret brimming part of her that no one else could see or feel.

She curled in on herself, chin tucked next to her belly. Her children; her choice. This time it would be different.

After claiming his own den and marking out his own territory, Tuft decided to check in on Reverie to make sure that she was alright. Discovering that Reverie was pregnant was a huge surprise. But what worried Tuft was the fact that she didn’t share the same excitement. “What is going on with her?” Tuft thought to himself.

Coming up toward Reverie now, he could now see that it was certain she was going to have some pups. Tuft, with his own over-protective personality, couldn’t help but ask a barrage of questions as he entered the den. “Hey Reverie! How are your pups doing? Are you making sure they are being well fed? Do I need to ask Boone to give you more food?” His voice echoed off the walls.

Ah, Tuft; in many ways the man still represented all that she had come to resent her husband for. Yet she welcomed him now, aware that this was through no fault of his own. He was kind and eager to integrate with the pack, helpful where he was able, and all of these were things that Hearthwood needed. For that Reverie was grateful.

His questions, however, were unwelcome. In truth she had not been eating, not since Boone had fallen ill; perhaps that was why her pregnancy already showed on her thinning frame. The reminder was unwanted, as was the reminder that Boone was not caring for her as he'd promised, though it was his responsibility as her husband and the father of her children. It wasn't his fault. But it stung all the same.

Still, Reverie offered a tired smile, uncurling to greet him. Boone is still resting, She answered, voice low to avoid waking her husband. But Kyrell has been helping to keep our caches filled. I'm sure it will all be alright. She avoided answering his questions directly with as much subtlety as she could manage.

They're growing quickly, Reverie added after a moment, gaze drifting back down to her belly briefly before finding him again. Do you ever want children of your own, Tuft?

---

At the mention that Kyrell will just help out, Tuft squinted his eyes, confused by the answer. "Are you sure? I can go get Kyrell right now and get you some food. I'm starving too, so maybe we could eat together!" Tuft said. The idea that the coach of the pack not getting the best treatment appalled him. Tuft made a mental not to himself that the next time that he sees Kyrell, he will have to talk to him about food for the pack leaders.

He slowly padded over to Reverie and sat next to her on the hard rock. When asked about wanting to have children Tuft said "Yes, yes I do! It would be my greatest honor to some day, hopefully soon, to be a father. I just haven't found the right person yet." Tuft desperately wanted to be a father, but ever since his pack died, he hadn't seen nor had the resources necessary to start his own family. Tuft looked solemn at the fact that he hadn't found anyone yet. "How did you meet Boone?  I bet it was something incredible like you saved him from a bear attack or something, right?"

---

Oh, no, that's okay - I'm not hungry, really, Reverie reassured him quickly, her stomach flipping uncomfortably at the thought of food. The last thing she wanted to do was bother Kyrell. Already he'd taken on so much to help Hearthwood. The least she could do was take care of herself. But if you're hungry, I'm sure there's a cache nearby...

She smiled faintly when he mentioned his desire to become a father. It reminded her of Boone in a way. Was it typical for men to be so eager for fatherhood? Had Lestan only been an outlier? Reverie was unsure, but found some comfort in the knowledge that she was Boone's right person. Her smile returned in force as Tuft asked after the circumstances of their meeting. A bear!

Oh, I wish, Reverie laughed. No, um, he - he saved me, actually. He found me on the beach - alone with my daughter from my first marriage, Blossom. He asked me to come to the mountains with him. And then he just... became part of my life. It was too easy to fall in love with him. Now I don't know what I'd do without him.

Tuft barked out a laugh. “I guess he does that alot doesn’t he? He saved you, Reina and now me.” Reverie had mentioned that she had a daughter, but she was not here in the den. Mentioning this to her, Tuft asked “Is your daughter somewhere in this territory? I didn’t notice any other scents around the territory.”

Wrapping this!

Reverie laughed softly. Oh, I wish! It would have made a much cooler story, she thought. But the reality was romantic in its own right. Blossom is here, yes. She stays near me often.

So she would tell Tuft the story of how they'd met; how Boone had found her by the sea, lost and alone. How he'd swept her away to the mountains and showed her that she still had a future. How they'd fallen in love, and married on the tallest mountain of them all. It'd felt as if they were standing at the top of the world, that day. As if they would never come back down.