Bearclaw Valley you'll have to watch me struggle from several rooms away

Teeth were once again hidden from view as they both submitted, though his ears kept forward and his tail arched. He looked at each of them, gaze lingering longer on Reigi as his eyes roamed over her crumpled body. The swelling of her abdomen was apparent, though faintly so, but he recognised the meaning behind it; after seeing his sister towards the end of her pregnancy, he knew, and felt confident with his assumption. And there was no doubt in his mind that those she’d bear were his, which made him protective in a way that he could not understand; Alexander had never been fond of children, never saw any use for them, but the thought that he might have his own—the start of a family that would not break apart—felt different.

Blinking, he turned his attention back to Indra. “I told you to avoid her and I’d take care of this,” he stated. “She’ll learn her place here.” How he would convey the message, he’d yet to figure out, the realisation that she still couldn’t quite understand him having slowly crept into his head. But he would find a way to show her, to explain to her, how a pack was structured. She would learn or he would hide her away, as he could not so easily cast her out; there were too many things counting towards her, too many reasons that he couldn’t get rid of her, though they were all personal. Again, he glanced towards her, having to resist the urge to reach out and comfort her—he wasn’t used to this, viewing his own behaviour as being incredibly weird and downright unnecessary. But he couldn’t ignore the instinct to protect his own blood, just barely able to tear his eyes off of her and refocus on the fiery-coated girl.

“Do you see her?”—he swung his muzzle towards Reigi, nose pointed towards her visible side—“Do you see that? I’m not ordering you to stay away from her, I’m asking as your... friend to at least tolerate her. Until I can teach her.” His reasons were clear, to protect that which was his—but whether that was what he imagined was growing in her now or her alone, he did not make it clear because he didn’t know.