Swiftcurrent Creek [m] Welcome to the world, not-so-little ones

/posts a novel omg

A piercing scream tore Pukei from her nap. She woke with a start, dazed and blinking against the sunlight, before a following loud cry of FUCKINHELL! had her snap to attention. That was Arlette's voice! A mixture of excitement and dread suddenly pooled in the pit of her stomach, feeling disconcerted by the intensity of the screams ricocheting through the territory. Had something gone wrong? Despite this, Pukei knew she simply could not miss the event, and so took off in the direction of the sounds.

However, as she neared the scene, her paws grew cold. More screams, the scent of blood, Akavir nervously pacing outside. She desperately wanted to be near, to help in some way, but what could she do; would they even want her there? So, instead of approaching, the girl channelled her nervous energy into running laps in a wide circle around the entire site, a secondary guard to the alpha's last line of defence right outside the den – at least, that was what she told herself.

------------------------

Hours had passed, if the sun moving through the sky was anything to go by. Every so often Pukei would veer her path to be within eyeshot of the den to ensure everything was still fine, taking notes from Akavir's body language. It was when she spied Arric poking his dark head out did she stop her mindless run and finally approach. There hadn't been any more screams of pain for quite some time now, and the scent of milk was heavy in the air. Was the worst of it over, finally?

The Zeta moved cautiously towards the den, keeping her body low and head tucked submissively, though her entire backside swayed as she failed to keep her wagging tail in check. She so wanted to be involved but knew how protective new parents could be, especially when it came to outsiders – something she still very much was. The only other birth she had witnessed had been her younger siblings back in her natal pack, and even then she had been chased away.

"Is everything...all good?" she asked Akavir in breathless pants, stopping several paces away from the swarthy guard. Still, she craned her head to try and peer past him, gaze boring into the darkness of the den to see if she could even catch a glimpse of Swiftcurrent's newest additions.