Duskfire Glacier May you be in heaven a full half hour

i am with child. the words hang in the air between them as wintersbane processes them.

it does not particularly come as any sort of surprise to the tundrian; in his fourth year of life he's been around long enough to understand what happens when a man and a woman come together during a woman's heat.

i see, the tundrian rasps, thinking back to their last conversation when she had expressed uncertainty ...on staying, on the whole 'cubs' thing and he worries, for a moment, how she'll handle it. cubs were a lot of responsibility and he thinks then of astraeus and how his mother abandoned him before he'd even weaned.

lane launches then into further explanation, biding his words of concern and capturing his attention.

you are welcome to stay, wintersbane says. duskfire would be less without you. not spoken with the intention to flatter but out of truth: each wolf had their own part, their own role to play and should any depart, duskfire would feel the empty space left behind. it is a small pack and thus each member is more meaningful to him for it. though their small numbers bring with it some concern: did they have enough hunters, could they survive a surprise attack by an unknown aggressor? wintersbane was nevertheless glad for the intimacy a small pack had.

wintersbane's steps are methodical, calculated with purpose but also second nature. he doesn't watch the path he's walking if only because he's walked the borders so many times and knows them like the back of his paw. he startles at the splash and curse; steps faltering to a halt and looks around until his glacial gaze lands upon lane; teetering.

instinct to protect: to keep her from getting injured, surely, but also mindful of his children she's carrying in her womb; wintersbane rushes forth to help steady her.

you can pp wintersbane as needed in your post! i left it vague on whether he'd be successful/how he'd steady her if he was. <3