Silvertip Mountain my heart is filled with the pain of disco

set at the base of the mountain. for @Samaantine per our convo like a billion years ago but AW!

mating season was driving him mad.

he had assured dawn he was not upset with her at the prospect of no pups this spring--and he wasn't, not at all. he couldn't be upset with himself, either. he knew that waiting a year would be fine, that if he had survived this long without issue, then it would be fine.

but the women were beginning to go into heat--all save dawn and pema--and it crawled under his pelt like a roving insect, one he couldn't reach. aditya was not like engel--his lips drew into a snarl at the very thought of the man--he needed no guard, but to be surrounded by fertility was an aggravation almost too much to bear.

he found himself taking his border patrols wider and wider, often straying into the neutral ground between the plateau and silvertip mountain. morningside did not claim this land, true, but he liked to keep a careful eye on it, anyway. the ravensblood wolves had been quiet, and the war to the south seemed contained to that area. all was well here, for now.

so why was he so angry? today, he paced in the shadow of silvertip, tail lashing. he had gone out hoping to fetch small game for the caches, but his thoughts of sex and pups overwhelmed all other senses. giving it up with a curse, he tried praying instead.

hariji, give me strength, he thought. so that i may stay true, and steady, and not bear a grudge against any man or woman for things beyond our control. the words calmed him, slightly, and he repeated them again and again, holding them close to his heart.