Redsand Canyon led by a beating heart

He took some comfort in her words, though he wondered if she was downplaying things for his sake. She was feeling better now, so he supposed he could let it go, unless she was going to continue that pattern going forward. She had seen worse, and it made him wonder just what all she was risking to bring these children into the world. 

Her words made him feel warm and loved. But with those feelings came a spike of fear. She thought he was all these admirable things—but what if it turned out that he wasn't? She had this view of him now that he wasn't sure he could maintain, and that terrified him. He worried one day she would see that he was actually none of those things and leave him. Shame made him hide his face in the plush, dark fur of her neck. Hmmm, he murmured. I could say every one of those things about you. He drew in her scent and let it calm some of his anxiety. I am not sure what I would do without you, he admitted softly, almost shyly. These were very intense feelings for the soldier, and he wasn't used to allowing them space in his heart and mind. He was trying to be different for Aquene.

She informed him that it was too soon to tell how many pups they would have, though she guessed two. I would prefer sons only, he told his wife, shaking his head. I will worry about them anyway, and it will only be worse with a daughter. He didn't like the idea of some guy feeling any way towards any daughter of his. 

He did like the idea of a pup to give Towhee a hard time and it showed in the sly smile that curved his lips. The praefectus liked to push his buttons, and he liked the idea of one of his children giving her a hard time. They might be just like their lovely mother and want to learn about healing, Kallik pointed out. He wasn't sure he wanted them to be soldiers, but he supposed he wouldn't stop them if that was their path.