Heron Lake Plateau Sooner rather than later

Raven roused from her nap bleary-eyed and a little disoriented. She'd risen early that morning to tag along with Quixote on one of his usual rounds of the borders, but soon they'd parted ways as she became distracted by a variety of interesting plants she wanted to harvest for her stash. Winter had seen her stores depleted significantly as the pack continued to require medical attention while nature provided no replacements, but now that spring was here in full, she took every opportunity she could get to restock. Many of the plants needed to be processed in certain ways -- some needed to be set out in the sun to wilt, others needed the roots baked and dried, still others needed the leaves or blossoms stripped away -- and by the time she was finished, she was tired!

She had no doubt now that she was pregnant again, given how quickly her energy flagged in the afternoon heat. The subtle curve of her midsection removed all doubt, and nothing filled her with greater joy. As she yawned and stretched, she peered at her belly and grinned. Motherhood was not a cake walk by any means, but she enjoyed it tremendously.

As she shook out her coat and readied herself to go find and rejoin her mate, a call directed specifically at her caught her attention. It was Phox, and she wasted no time answering his summons. It didn't take long to find him, since the den in which she kept her medicine stash was located somewhat centrally within the territory. Inwardly relieved to see that he wasn't injured or anything, she greeted her brotherchild with a bright smile and a waving tail, touching his chin with her nose as she drew near. "Hey Phox! What's up?"