Sunspire Mountains Myotis

@Iqniq Afternoon time!

 

She ached more and more. Her irritability was at an all time high at this hour, though even still, her contractions had yet to begin. She cramped, but the aches she felt were dull blades rammed against her in comparison to the sharp sword that would tear into her later. 

The alpha female lay outside of the den, belly exposed to sun and snow. The heat comforted her about as much as the coolness of the sheet white stuff beneath her, but very little eased her pain now. Her breathing was slow, easy... Her face was utterly blank. She felt her next move would lure the babes from her at last.

He'd been busy. His efforts had gone to a little bit of everything in the past few days, weeks even, as they transferred from one home to the next. He'd hardly stopped to rest and tend to his own needs as he'd catered to the needs of those around him. Get everyone out of the spine. Herd everyone towards a new future. Scout. Outride. Select a new home. Secure that new home. Check out the neighbors. Continue his studies in Tartok. It was endless. His pads were sore from the constant roaming and he'd been somewhat negligent of paying attention to a wolf he'd left to her own instinct.

Picking up her share of responsibilities was not excuse enough to forgive his absence. Not with her time, their time, so near. While he did not carry the weight of their future within him, he'd done what he could to carry other weights and burdens as was custom of his gender, but sometimes a wolf needed the nearness and reassurance that their efforts were seen and appreciated.

He followed that trail of hot hormonal urine further inward. He'd yet to really poke his nose around her new denning site or any of the other internal places really. He'd spend too much time on the outskirts and was ready to change that. Climbing their new slopes, he spotted her laying upon a path of snow. He grinned. They'd finally found her something cool to satisfy her cravings. Their children would likely be born on ice.

Her flame moved, settling on the ground at her back as he drew closer to support her. Too warm? He cared little as he drew his body nearer hers and nuzzled behind her ear. That belly of hers was thick and swollen. Any day now. Any hour now. Soon.

Tonravik did not fault her mate for anything. The times had been tumultuous, and he was the one able to travel and scout and find. The alpha female did what she could, but with her time having been so soon she did not test herself and how far she could go; she was not foolish. The familiar sound of his trekking gathered her attention, but she was still in her spell of stillness. Fortunately, he did all the moving for her, and was soon behind her. His touch was a comfort, and the pained woman was tense no more. The alpha female was incredibly independent, but it was good to know she could depend on her mate in arduous times. He had made it out alive, and they had all together ensured their survival.

Her rounded sides rose and fell. She thought for a moment on how she would not see her mate for a while, after giving birth... but that the next time she would see him, he would meet what he had helped create. There were many things she wanted to say to him that she could not articulate. The alpha female had not doubted him once. At last, there was a time of calm... and she embraced it while she could.

He settled next to her and could feel the tension slip from her body. She eased up, relaxing as well as she could given her circumstances. This was one labor he would never envy her gender for, but it was miraculous all the same. She held within her life and that was something he'd never be able to provide in the same way.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked, knowing their time together was short. She'd retreat to her den when the time came and would disappear to care to their future. He'd stand sentinel for too long a time, perhaps risk her fangs to steal but a glimpse of his children, and then go back to being her eyes, ears, and feet. "Hungry?" They'd had no formal hunts since founding this place. Only small things as they found and could catch them. It wasn't enough, but it was something.

The alpha female kept near to him, and as he spoke, she realized that she was hungry. While she nodded, her appetite was absent despite the hunger. "Later," she told him. It could wait; their time together would have to, but for now, it did not. She would have everyone rest their muscles some before falling into a hunt—it was not a good idea to hunt in a tired state. Errors could be made that way, and failure would be the result, surely.

"You are a good leader, Iqniq." Tonravik trusted the Spire would be in capable hands in her absence with the cubs with her mate, and also Nanuk. They were strong-bodied wolves who knew how to use their minds. How things had changed since they had met for the first time, when she had thought him not bright at all. He had proven her wrong time in and out, the only wolf to do so. Her opinion had been effectively changed since then, those days long ago.

He took her quiet dismissal for what it was. In everything, they'd not had many opportunities to spend any amount of time with each other. This closeness, this proximity to her now was very much appreciated. He did not need her to fawn over him or dote upon him as most females might towards their mate. He understood and respected that it was not within her nature, but a wolf did desire confirmation that they too were respected and appreciated.

Ears lifted at her next words. He was not expecting them, nor did he ever think he'd hear such a thing from her. There was many a day when he felt as though he was just spinning his wheels, aimlessly chasing after things he thought to be good for their pack. To hear she thought he was not only a leader, but a good one brought a soft smile to his lips before he erased it with a certain level of smugness as he turned to rest his chin upon one of his stray paws. "And you suck at it."

Tonravik missed the expression that crossed his face as she lay there tiredly. At this point, she knew his brand of humor, and snorted at his response, glancing at his smug expression. She moved to reach toward him and nip him but the things within her kicked roughly. It brought a pained snarl to her own face, and would have tried again if she did not fret expelling the things there and now.

"Almost time," she breathed. Her hormones raged within her and she was unsure of how and what she felt. There was a sense of unease to her. "We will be ananak and atâtak. Mother, and father." Tonravik was not used to this role as she was used to all of her others. Never had she been called ananak, and the hour was nigh.

Ear flicked, catching her snort at his last words as he felt her squirm beside him. She shifted to get at him, but she fell short as a grimace passed over her maw. His head lifted, searching her for any sign of what might have caused her discomfort when he realized that this near to birth... her discomfort was coming from just about everywhere. Oh well. At least she had her patches of lingering snow.

Content that he was safe from her teeth, he nestled closer to her back and breathed in the scent of her. The scent of them. Mixed and merged. His eyes pressed closed, resting until she spoke once more and stirred him from his absent thoughts. Almost time... He'd had a feeling, but he could only guess at it. Even now, he was thankful they'd made it this far before the pups were born. New life was the perfect way for all of them to celebrate their new lives here.

"Nervous?" he asked her, rousing himself enough to turn his attention towards her ear. He licked at it, cleaning away hint of their travels from her pelt as he groomed her. She had every right to feel however it was she felt. They were about to unearth a new chapter in their lives and he'd be a liar to deny his own anxiousness over what the future might hold.

Tonravik felt his every movement. Not wanting to make a sound despite her displeasure at him shifting in fear of still popping out their kids then and there, she only stiffened to relax again when he preened at an ear. Even though it shifted out of reflex, she pushed her head toward his muzzle eager to receive the attentions. The sensation soothed her, and even for a moment made her forget she was due to explode in some odd or even hours. Her mind interpreted his question, and the alpha female thought of how best to respond.

"I am not sure how to be ananak," she admits. Her nerves were not frayed for it, but she certainly wanted to do right lest she ruin their future in the first hour alone.

His teeth worked gently at her ear. Briefly, he remembered her impatient efforts at tearing the knots from his own fur, but he held enough patience to work over them with slow precision. He licked where necessary and used his teeth to gradually pull the tangles from her fur. It was... something of a therapeutic motion for him and one of the few offerings he could give her to ease her discomfort. The pups were coming soon, he knew. Her level of discomfort would soon ease to be replaced by other things.

"Is anyone ever sure?" he asked. He didn't know any wolf who was completely prepared for parenthood. No amount of advice or teaching or learning by example could train them to be excellent parents. They could only do as they felt led, learn from their mistakes, and take each day one at a time.

Truth be told, he was just as uneasy about everything. He wanted to be a good father for these pups as opposed to the absentee dad he'd likely been to a number of bastard children. Here and now? He was committed, wholly and truly, but he did not express his discomfort. Confidence could be contagious, so here and now he'd hold his thoughts close to himself.

He licked the flat of her head and ran soft teeth over the edge of one of her ears. "Don't sit on them and you'll be fine." Or roll over on them. Or forget how large she'd be in comparison to fragile lives. "And let me know if there's anything I can do to help you help them." He'd be near. He'd be watching. He'd be waiting for the day when he could finally meet them, but until then he'd be attentive, supportive, and their first wall of protection.

Tonravik did not know the answer to his rhetorical question, having again believed it to be literal. Did they? Who knew. Not her. It did nothing to dissuade her dismal thoughts on the matter... but the woman believed in herself enough to think all would be well in the end. As he licked at her head, she seemed to relax all the more. Yes. That was what she needed. The woman was tense in one million different ways; the journey had taken its toll on her. It would have been different were she not carrying an extra load; she was a well-traveled woman, all in all.

Sitting on them hadn't been a thought, but now that he mentioned it, it was a possibility. They would be small, wouldn't they. The alpha female grimaced, an expression he may not be able to see due to the way that they lay. As for how he could help them? "Feed me." She did not mean then and there, but throughout; in nourishing her, she could do the same for her cubs. Tonravik leaned more into her mate, and thought it a good time to take a quick snooze. The woman hoped her body trapped him into not moving at all; he was incredibly comfortable.

"Feed me." Her answer was simple. He smiled softly as he continued to preen at her head and eventually move to tamper with the tangles in her nape. Soft teeth. Soft enough that he hoped she'd learn and borrow a little bit of his patience should she attempt to clean their children in the future. It was probably a long shot. No doubt, he'd have his work cut out for him in trying to teach their children more socially acceptable behaviors.

A soft murmur escaped his lips. He could certainly keep her well fed. It was a small thing to ask, but important none the less. She shifted against him, cutting off his access to the lower portions of her nape as she effectively leveraged her weight to keep him in place. He shook his head, relaxing a bit as she drifted off to sleep. He lingered, tucking his head aside her own as offered her the comfort of his presence and kept watch while she slumbered.

-fade thread-