Misty rain veiled Swiftcurrent's sunless day as the weather ebbed from downpour to drizzle throughout the afternoon. The lush greenery of the territory basked in the inclement weather and smaller creatures like slugs and toads wormed out from their hiding places to enjoy Spring's eve. It was still and quiet, besides the noisy pattering of drops all around, though the grey pall overhead reflected the creek pack's sullen mood.
Bones had been abducted. Taken. Violently torn from the family she had forged in the valley. The wolves of Tortuga knew no mercy as they reclaimed their sea-born, and the battle had been fierce despite the gunmetal adolescent's plea for sanctuary. Fox, Bazi, Ferdie, and Jace fought tooth and nail to keep her here, maiming and killing those who dared defied them. The snarling feud and the howls for vengeance had wrenched Tuwawi from her burrow and she had raced forward into the fray. However, just before clearing the treeline, the ember had pulled up short. Through those murky branches she had watched, helplessly and unmoving in the dark, as the memories of Jinx's miscarriage shot through her brain like a bullet. The babes had slipped so easily from their mother's womb following the punch from the lion's paw, still and lifeless because they had been birthed before their time, and the image of fetal newborns still sleeping in their sacks shook the nearly indomitable Tuwawi. Her body had quivered, feebly lowering itself to hide, as she was reminded of the life she carried... the unborn who depended on her. And though she cared deeply for Bones' as a sister of the pack, instincts instructed the mother to not intervene in this fight.
It had ruined her — watching Bones be dragged away like a carcass against her will — and for the first time in years the Sveijarn felt the hollow weight of sheer helplessness. She retreated to her home, seeking comfort, but had found the den empty and lifeless, and when morning came Tuwawi set off to find @Njal . Her walk was stifled while water beaded upon her dampened topcoat as she trudged through the deluge, posture uninviting and somber. No longer was her figure so delicately curved. Pregnancy's physical changes had started to distort her image. Once her sides had been slender, and now they thickened. The smallest paunch, noticeable only to those who knew her best, began to grow at the root of her abdomen, though they thick fur of her belly still hid the growing teats that would soon feed her young. The other day she had felt so strong... embracing this new purpose with all the vim in the world as a fertile woman who had the capacity to breath life from passion. But now... in this dark, dark rain... she felt weak and hopelessly empty.