Moonspear blood of my blood

For days he had been well aware of the shift in her routine. Subtle at first but then increasingly obvious. Her time had drawn near just as she had said and he expected, then all at once it was as though she too were absent from the world. It did not deter him from what needed to be done, what he picked up in the slack of her stride and stead. But when the day had grown long and she had not summoned him or otherwise ushered him from the forested lowlands, he had gone to seek her.

It was Arcturus that he laid eyes on first, sitting not unlike a gargoyle waiting for dusk to pass. Beyond that he could sense her sisters loitering through the timber, could feel the persistence of wandering gazes. It was enough to dissuade him from nearing the den mouth though he was hardly foolish or brazen enough to try and breach the sanctity of her whelping site. Hydra had long been keen to have him for company to find it, but had otherwise defended it. And just as her brother and sisters did, he too would defend it from a wider range.

Not lingering long, he gained evidence of what he needed to. It was hard to miss the acrid air or to play deaf to a plainitive cry. He would return again and again later for those minute updates with a curiosity not hidden, but until then, there were things to do. Best to keep idle hands and minds busy; she would let him near when she decided to, and he trusted their shared kin to keep her safe.