The Sunspire everything from joy to pain (easter activity!)

The smile on her muzzle felt as though someone had painted it on her. It wasn't real, much as she longed for it to be. Terance was brilliant and joyful as he shared the rules for this game of his. And of course he was - he would soon be a father. Parenthood was enough to make anyone smile like that. She could've been smiling like that if she were soon to be a parent. But she wasn't. He was. He and his... his what? Were they even mates? Had they committed to each other at all, or were they simply tied together now by their foolish moment of weakness to lust?

Liffey's false smile tightened as he called for them to go. It was a relief to turn away and dart off to begin her solitary hunt. Her smile dropped and was replaced by the forlorn frown that she so often wore when she was alone. She wanted to be happy for him. She wanted to be happy for Olive too. But she wasn't. She was bitterly jealous, angry at their foolishness, and anxious now for what this would mean for her own litter.

She had waited. She had worked so hard and suffered for so long to get here, to a place where she could be happy and where Rannoch's children would be safe. This was supposed to be their time, but now it was shared. She knew it was selfish and horrible of her to feel so bitter. But being aware of those truths did not stop her heart from grieving, nor her instincts from raging against the idea of a subordinate birthing a litter. That was her right as alpha. All of this was wrong.

Liffey took a deep breath as she trotted across the terrain. Her heart wasn't in this game very much, and so she wasn't trying too hard to actually succeed. It seemed that luck was on her side though, for when she found the egg sitting in a pile of similarly sized rocks, it had nothing to do with any effort she'd actually put into it. She was actually disappointed when she found it so quickly, but gingerly plucked it out of the pile and trotted dutifully back to the gathering nonetheless. 
Nara, Wraen and Rannoch were there already, and she again didn't much care. She stepped to her mate's side and dropped her egg neatly beside his. She turned then to plant a kiss upon his nose before settling in at his side to await the coming feast, the smile once again painted upon her face.