Whitebark Stream when that strange shape drove suddenly betwixt us and the Sun [mtr.]

relief, and simple happiness. his step toward her is met with a low hum, content and soft in her chest. she had not expected this; her plan had been to find some uninterested male to sire her young and raise them on her own. she'd managed her pregnancy mostly alone, that first time; aditya had been distant. she'd been ready to do it again. 

but she knew better than most how quickly those plans could crumble and morph, and this; this, she thinks, is better than she could have ever hoped for. they touch, then, and for a moment her gaze flickers closed. and then she shifts, planting featherlight touches along the line of his muzzle, a kiss to his cheek; careful, gentle in her ministrations.