Sunbeam Lair sterb’ ich vor liebessehnen

!! i love them too <3

unbidden, mahler's thoughts turned to takiyok. it would not be long now, he suspected, before the winterwhite guardian gave birth. stigmata had been scouting more as of late, perhaps intending to find a suitable whelping den for his new brood. the gargoyle suspected that these would not be the first of his licentious brother's children, for the ironstar seemed unsated in his appetites for all things. a simple observation, for mahler was not judgemental of those who had first commanded his respect.
hoping that takiyok would welcome his presence as midwife in attendance, mahler allowed himself a small quirk of a smile to contemplate it. it had been quite some time since he had experienced the presence of newborns; the possibility of it warmed the shadowpriest even now. 
a plant snapped between his jaws, fluttering in two pieces to the ground as a very unexpected voice echoed in the cavern. mahler blinked, the only other evidence of his shock; ruenna was here? why? the thoughts he had mused in regard to her previously now came flooding back, and beneath their deluge, the gargoyle stood and padded into visibility.
she was framed against the entrance, the light beyond haloing her small body, and mahler was paralyzed for a moment before he found his tongue. "ah, ruenna!" he greeted, willing his tone to remain steady, for he had not recovered from her sudden appearance. "i vas hunting for herbs here. a curious place."