Redhawk Caldera Put your dukes up

She seemed to slip from her nervousness when she was given a place to feel validated. It was a relief to see that she did not bristle or recoil; she was graceful when presented with security. He learned from this, and while he knew he would never have all the answers to the things that troubled her, he would remember that sometimes, an answer wasn't what was needed. Sometimes, she needed a question. 

He was about to ask her if she wanted to explore her feelings more- but it seemed her fears had been tamed, now that she knew she could have them without feeling pressured to fix them right away. He was caught off-guard by her sudden repair, and the way she seemed to flick off her worries with a sweep of her tail. It was a bit abrupt- but he was swiftly side-lined from his concerns when she admitted to being sick. 

He bristled lightly with concern and he drew in a breath. Bridget was away, but Eljay perhaps would have something to ease whatever it was that was bothering her stomach-

-oh. 

Oh.

"Oh!" 

A bit of a delayed reaction, due to the slight whiplash he experienced. Her emotional shift was fleet, and left him floundering for a moment until he realized what she was hinting at. Of course, he hoped she would conceive, but he hadn't realized that her symptoms might appear this early. It'd only been...Well, how long had it been? Long enough? Why wasn't he better at this? (Probably because discussions about reproductive health had made him sick as a child.)

"Is it-" Too early? He wanted to get his hopes up, because children were exactly what he wanted- but he also didn't want to get too excited too early, just in case. She would know, though- she'd know herself, and how her body felt, having been through this before. "Two weeks?" He asked, with a light laugh, his brow furrowing. How the heck was he supposed to wait two whole weeks to know, now that there was a chance? He'd spend every waking day hoping, looking for signs. It was time to start nesting, feeding her, protecting her- 

Dad mode engaged. 

He laughed, and reached for her with a soft whine. 

Their worries could be tossed aside. He could flick his concerns off as easily as Teya did- now that he knew there was a chance they were expecting children.