Blackfeather Woods The Fool and the Queen

Meldresi slept near the Meloni's entrance, hidden underneath a gnarled bush. The fatigue aspect of the first trimester hit her hard, with her barely being able to make it out of the tunnels without collapsing with exhaustion as her body grew accustomed to the growing extra mass inside her. She was furious with herself. Why make her so lazy now? She had things to do; her daughter was less than a moon away from being an adult, and she wanted to mark her shoulder with the ceremonial red pawmark of the Dark Brotherhood then. But Potema was smart. She would learn quickly.

She was always a light sleeper, even in the thrall of pregnancy, her head rising and turning to the foreign black wolf that approached her. Burke had told her about an old friend of his that came to Blackfeather, but she had no yet met the man. And here he was. Smelling of tobacco no less. The smell of the leaf tended to cling onto the user, even if they weren't chewing. Meldresi made no judgment, instead returning the formalities. "Pleased to meet you, Akela." She returned, pulling herself upright. That was only going to get harder from here. "How long have you known Burke?"