Arrow Lake Will you be my breath through the deep, deep water

the general had worn himself ragged trying to keep an eye on every new face in the vicinity - feeling that the only way he could fully trust these newcomers was if he watched them take their every breath. his over-protectiveness motivated him to scour through each night for any creeps or spies, and by now he and mahler had become efficient enough in their rounds that if takiyok's den ever went unguarded, it wouldn't be that way for long. this behavior would dissipate after the birth of his children, but this was a high-stress time for all parties involved, and the way things were turning out simply couldn't be helped.

nothing so far had come up truly awry, and that night turned up much of the same. but by the time he had returned from his nocturnal patrol, blood had been spilled inside of his treasured den.

freshly alarmed, stigmata rushed to the smoothed denmouth in a crouch, rumbling anxiously as he tried to determine from his vantage point what was happening. he met a hard lilac stare in the darkness first, and an edge of relief took roost in the hound's thoughts as it registered instantly who was there. mahler. the shadowpriest's presence here felt more welcome than his own, he thought, so he made no move to join them or otherwise take his kapitan's place. instead he lay on the doorstep, and whined quietly for the ailing takiyok - eager to know she was alright and swallowing the hard knowledge that he could do nothing to relieve her.

baby daddy is skippable! he'll just be kinda outside like: