Dawnlark Plains Where has the time gone

vaguey vague about Pema preggo since he doesn't know IC yet but she should be showing soon?? IDK ignore my rambling LOL

It was a happy time--let's put it that way. And while happiness brought with it its separate set of worries and nerves, joy was a much better alternative to sorrow. Shale felt many pounds lighter, and there was a spring in his step as he walked through the territory that day.

But for all his sunshine, Shale, ever the empath, was cognizant of the fact that rain clouds could still hang over others. He was keenly aware, then, of the woman sitting under the tree, looking quite downtrodden. Sybella, he thought her name was--one of the Streiters, most of whom had left, seeking new adventures. He felt for her; it was not easy to be alone, without family in a strange land.

With a small sound to alert her he was on his way, he padded over, settling down next to her. "Hey, there," he said, smiling. "How's it going?" It didn't take a genius to figure out things were not going well for her, but he figured he'd let her make the first move, rather than pry the sadness from her with leading questions.