Silver Creek I, I've been trying to fix my pride

For anyone wanting to interect with Sky during her later pregnancy, though @Ikari might be fun? I dunno. All welcome, assuming everyone now knows that she is indeed pregnant. (They all know the story of her leg being torn and then being too weak to run when stranger caught her in heat. Apart from the pups of course).

She was close now, she knew it. The ever-growing bump on her side was not the only easy clue to the dove's pregancy. The sickness was by far the worse. Oftentimes in the mornings or during the afternoon, she would empty her stomach and rest for a good while, waiting for the horrible feeling to pass. Honestly, now that she had begun to experience it, she realised how Spring must have felt during her own pup-bearing. It only made Skylaris feel more guilty about the past events. She had made sure to keep working as well as she could.

It was now that a wave of sickness rolled over her, causing the woman to pause in her tracks and vomit over the newly blossoming ground. She eyed the foul chunks in dismay and shook her pelt in disgust before taking a deep breath and beginning to dig a small hole, covering her puke in a mound of dirt to hopefully cover the scent a bit more. Nobody wanted to smell that.

Next she continued to wander until she came across the Creek. With a sigh, the silver wolfess lowered her head and lapped up the cool water. It was satisfying, to say the least. With the gross sick feeling beginning to vanish in the taste of the drink, Skylaris flopped down onto the ground and rested her head on her paws. Oh, how she wanted this to be over. Every day she felt a stab of guilt, just as painful as the kicks she recieved from her sprouting young. They were getting more active and it was incredibly uncomfortable to lay on her side, which normally she would have done. For now she watched as the tiny waves of water rolled, causing her eyes to slowly drift shut. She was not asleep, despite the weather being almost perfect for a snooze; Instead she was gently napping, still aware of the sounds around her.

oop, this reply is super late, my bad! I've been all over the place lately

The massive golden wolf plodded along, grumbling to himself. He felt like shit, total, irrevocable, awful shit. His left ear was torn to shit, his shoulder felt like crap, and Snake was all to blame. (Although, he would gladly have a meeting with him again.) Not to mention those herbs! If he had known more about those damn plant seeds that were given to him, he might've... 

Well, no need thinking about it. What happened, happened. And anyways, he came away from it looking like a total bad ass. Totally rocking the half ear look. Ikari trotted to the edge of a small source of water, immersing his whole head in its frigid depths.

"Yeeeagh!" he howled, emerging from the liquid, shaking water everywhere, "Fucking cold ass water goddamn!"

He snorted the water out his nose, then plopped down on the ground for just a moment to gain his bearings. He felt awake, and that was good. He felt a little better than before, so that was super good. He stood up, shaking the remnants of the water from his gold fur. He went to continue his plodding, but was distracted by something, or someone, more precisely, in the distance. A familiar scent wafted his way. He stood, and began to lope towards it.

Soon enough, he came upon the source, and with a happy wag of his tail, trotted over. 

"Oi, Sky!" Ikari called out, although as he came closer it seemed her eyes were closed, and he worried he'd have awakened her. "Oh, didn't know you were sleepin', my bad." The gold wolf scrunches up his face before sitting down beside her, not too far away, but not uncomfortably close, either.

'Tis okay! I'm pretty damn late with this too xD

Skylaris heard Ikari before she saw him. Or, technically her, but.... him. "Hey," she greeted, giving a small wag of her tail as her head lifted off her paws. "Nawh, it's alright. I couldn't sleep if I tried. These goddamn pups are a pain - literally." A small chuckle escaped her jaws and she grinned at her friend before glancing out at the icy water of the creek. 

"How's you?" She asked, wondering how he was doing after joining the pack. The dove had not been able to talk to him as much as she would have liked, but hopefully that would change soon.

The golden wolf thumped his tail on the ground a few times, giving Skylaris a smile as he realized, quiet happily, that he had not awakened her. As she mentioned the pups, he shrugged his broad shoulders. For being a female, he had a pretty masculine body. Not that that was a bad thing. If anything, Ikari would like to keep it that way. "Oh, that sucks," he said, wrinkling his nose. "'fraid I can't relate to ya'." And for that he was glad.

Another question was asked and Ikari cocked his head to the right. He followed her gaze to the creek water. "Pretty good, I guess. Life in a pack is, well, different. But not necessarily bad." He turned his attention back to the woman and gave her a smile, bright eyes falling shut.

"Sucks ass. Honestly... I can't wait for it to be over." And it would be over soon, or so she believed. Her time was drawing close. But even then, after the birth, she would still have pups to care for. And there would most definitely be something in them that reminded her of Nico. The father that was not meant to be a father.

"Well, yeah. It's very different. I'm glad you're finding it okay, though - Silver Creek is a bit of a more... quiet pack. It's not as active as many others - but I suppose when all the pups arrive things will get a little more lively." She flicked her tail in thought.

Ikari huffs out a laugh at her words, the amused sound a loud release of air from his nose. "I've never met any pups myself, but I bet they'll be pretty fun," he said, a smile pulling at his lips. Perhaps he'd have pups of his own someday. Not that he could truly be the father, but perhaps he could be the father figure, if anything. Yeah, that might be cool. Ikari had no experience with young wolves, but where was the fun in that?

He scanned Skylaris for a moment as she spoke, nodding every once in a while. "Yeah, guess so." At the mention of pups, he wagged his tail. "I'll definitley be looking forward to that."

Skylaris nodded, then frowned slightly. "I just wish the situation had been better. Like... I wish the father was someone I genuinly had feelings for, rather than some stranger who happened to come across me while I was in a tough spot." It was going to be hard, looking at the pups every day and seeing something that reminded her of Nico. It would always be there - like he was haunting her. And honestly, it did scare her quite a bit.

She shook her head, a smile forming on her maw once again. "I'm sure the pups will be fun though. I've never really been around pups much - I was a lone wolf for a good portion of my life."

Ikari pauses for a moment, his head cocking to the right in question. "The father," he begins quietly, "who is he?" Another pause. "If you don't mind me asking, I mean." The large wolf dips his head down. "Sorry." 

As the woman's frown dissolved into a smile, Ikari glanced back up at her. "I know the feeling well. But it'll be exciting. I'll be looking forward to it," he said, a smile of his own gracing his lips.

Her eyes flickered with pain for just a moment but she pushed the memory back and glanced at Ikari. "I... don't really know if I'm honest. But.... his name was Nico, I believe." She had been stupid, leaving while in heat. But then again, it was not entirely her fault. Or, perhaps it was. The other young male might have ripped her leg off, but if she had not pissed him off in the first place then maybe it would not have happened, and she would have been able to run away from Nico.

"Don't worry about it." She reassured him, hoping the golden wolf would not feel bad about asking. After all, it was in the past and did not many any longer. Or, at least, they should not dwell on it. But a simple question had been fine.

"Yeah, It's all new to me. I'm rather excited I suppose, if not just nervous." She let out a small chuckle, flicking her tail in thought.