Wheeling Gull Isle tell me can you hear me now?

you don't give yourself enough credit, atausiq chides with a click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth after she frees his ear and responds to his question. its a very thin line between play and fight. he points out matter-of-factly with a tug of his lips; a bit mischievous and a bit serious. it is true, however, that he is instinctually conscious of the growing roundness of her belly and near subconsciously alters his moves to be more gentle. funny, how though atausiq knows the babes growing within her womb are not his by blood, he feels the instinctual need to protect them all the same.

and maybe, he thinks wildly, blood didn't matter. for better or worse, she was his siren bride and her children were his.

she shifts off of him, allowing him to rise to his paws. atausiq does so, giving his coat a brief shake. i do, clumsily and unskilled right now. like a boxer taking blind jabs, lacking the ability to read his ring opponent. when i am trained i'll be better. that was just common sense — anyone with training could be lethal. he tries to turn to face her as she circles behind him — but despite her current physical situation she is still more swift than he — and just as he is about to turn her teeth grasp ahold of his tail. his muscles twitch as he resists the urge to whip around. instead, he lets out a low bark and half-turns towards her, teeth snapping playfully and harmlessly at the air between them.