Redsand Canyon led by a beating heart

and he is soft for her <3

Every evening after he finished his last patrol, Kallik hunted in the forest near the married dens. He would return only when he had something to bring his wife. Luckily, the land here was abundant and he was fast, or he might have been hunting longer into the night.

This evening was no different, and when he came to his and Aquene's den, a rabbit hung from his lethal jaws. He was always eager to return home in the evenings; he worried after his wife, and no matter how hard she tried to hide the effect of her symptoms from him, he knew to some extent how uncomfortable she was all the time. So he tried to make their time at night as easy for her as possible. 

As the soldier made his way through the entrance, his eyes found his beautiful wife before anything else. The scutarius trotted over to her and placed the meal at her paws. Then he nuzzled and kissed her cheek. He had noticed the shift in her scent not too long ago, which meant anyone who was near Aquene would know she carried children. His possessive side was pretty smug about that, but his anxious mind saw it as another way she was vulnerable. For her sake, he pushed the thoughts away for now.

Kallik stretched and yawned before settling himself to the ground. His gaze moved over her form, checking her over, and that was when he saw the slight roundness to her sides. It was subtle, but he knew every inch of her by now, and he could certainly tell. Aquene, he murmured. If she came close, he would rub his nose along the curve of one side of her abdomen. They are growing, he said softly, both in wonder and uncertainty. Until now, there was no visible sign that their pups grew within her, but now there was proof. It reminded him that their birth was getting closer, and he worried often about that. He just wanted to get through it with all children and his wife okay.

His eyes were soft with adoration as he searched for her gaze. If she wasn't snuggled up to him already, he would make an impatient grunt and pull her to him. Kallik would nuzzle into the fur of her neck, drawing in her scent and closing his eyes. The tightness in his chest eased up as it always did in these moments. I love you, he whispered. The words came out without thought and he froze, swallowing hard against the sudden panic in his throat. He hadn't even known that love was what he felt for her until the words were spilling from his mouth. Now he knew the truth of the words. But he worried Aquene might think it was too soon. What if his admission pushed her away? His heart raced and his stomach turned as he waited for her response.