Morningside Cuesta my body is a flower and i am ready to bloom

@Sunspot

The whelping den was beginning to feel less like a cramped cell and more like a second home. Lavender buds lined the entrance and lay scattered near the rear wall, alongside blown about feathers and other debris. Khoe had been doing her best to keep the space tidy for the pups, as she knew that their arrival could very well be any day, but standing for longer than a second had become a blessing. Her spine was so uncomfortably curved that she was beginning to look misshapen, and that was without the added oddity of her stomach which now hung almost low enough to grace the ground. 

The sun was beginning to rise, yet rather than leaving her space to go watch, Khoe sat within the confines of her den and tried her best to hold back whimpers as she looked on from afar.

Sorry for the wait! Takes place shortly after this thread, in Sunspot's personal timeline.

Sunspot snorted as her brother's scent began to fade. This was the fourth trail that'd ended up weakening the further she went. It was no wonder, though - that boy was all over the place. It was impossible to find him except by chance, when every blade of grass was telling her, yes, he's been this way. Yes, today.

Couldn't he ever just slow down and stay in one place?

The Huntress could've howled for him, of course, but it seemed silly to do that when it was nothing urgent. She just wanted to talk, and give her report on the places she'd seen and passed. Besides, she was a bit uncomfortable trying to summon her brother, since he was the high and mighty leader of this place.

Life sure has changed, she thought with a sigh, turning to head toward the one place he might be for more than a few minutes at a time. As a rule, Sunspot tried to stay far away from wherever she thought Khoe might be, but perhaps it was time to bury the hatchet? Everyone had their moments, and Sunspot had only met the woman once.

Approaching head-on, Sunspot gave a querying woof - "Anybody home?"

Rather than the familiar voice of Grayday, the foreign and distinctly unpleasant tone of Sunspot came to light. Khoe lifted her head slightly from where it sat resting on her forepaws and looked around with her ears perked until she finally spotted her apparent companion. Her legs slowly moved as far upward as they could as a shield to her belly, though she made no otherwise threatening gestures. In here, she said after a moment of thought; initially, she thought it would be smart to stay silent and let Sunspot find her way out, but Khoe knew that they were kin and would need to get along one way or another.

Sunspot, too, was unnerved by the other woman's voice. She licked her ears back against her skull, suddenly embarrassed by the scent of sex and Ramskull that still clung to her. Still, she tried not to pull a face, thinking along the same lines as Khoe.

"Hello," she said in a voice of forced pleasantry. "I was just looking for my brother. It's hard to track him down when everything around here smells like him."

Moving so that she could be seen from the den, but so that she did not block the entrance, Sunspot settled on her belly and tried to look as non-threatening as possible.

Khoe found it within herself to lift up onto her two front paws as she looked on to where Sunspot lay. The unspoken air between them would remain that way; there was no reason for one to bring it up to the other, and it wasn't something that she thought needed to be brought up anyway. A small smile managed its way onto her maw as Sunspot brought up Grayday's irrefutable presence. He was an excellent leader in her eyes, and she had no doubt that both his experience as alpha and as a father would carry over when their first litter was born. 

I wish I could point you in the right direction, she began with a sigh, but I haven't left the den much recently. Last I saw him was a day or two ago. It then occured to Khoe that Sunspot was free to roam and likely had more information on the outside world than she did. What's happening out there? she asked in reference to the pack; had there been any new joiners? Hunts? Had they chosen a place to relocate to? It felt miserable to be so out of the loop, even if she knew she had a good reason to be.

Sunspot was immediately alarmed. "Two days ago?" she repeated, aghast. "You've been here all by your lonesome for two days?"

She'd be having a talk with Grayday, of course. How could he have left her alone for so long? He should have at least been checking in a few times a day. The woman was pregnant, for goodness's sake! Sunspot shook her head, a heavy sigh billowing out of her mouth.

"Nothing's happening, really," the huntress replied, attempting to settle herself once more. "Not that I know of, at least. Life's been boring except for - " She cut herself off, an embarrassed grin flickering across her face. "Well, I made a friend. It's kinda silly."

Khoe sighed and lowered her ears as she realized just how cruel she must've made Grayday sound. No, not exactly. I just haven't had a real conversation with anyone in a while. I'm never completely alone with your brother watching over me. He was protective and present which gave Khoe an added sense of comfort, but she couldn't help but feel suffocated every now and then. Perhaps it was because she hadn't had that same security with her first mate; she was having issues adjusting to genuine love. 

Khoe's stub began to beat behind her with haste as she lifted her head and perched her ears atop her head. Her green eyes grew wide with excitement as she began to thirst for gossip. Nothing is silly if it matters to you, Khoe assured Sunspot. Tell me more.

A genuine smile finally flickered across the woman's face. Khoe appeared to be trying, and so Sunspot would try, too. She relaxed a bit more, sprawling to the side and supporting herself with an elbow as a wider grin stretched her face.

"His name is Ramskull," she began with a dramatic flair, deciding that she'd make this as fun as possible, for the sake of her brother's woman. (Two days. The poor wretch!) "I was out looking for places we might move to, and he was out on his own, singing about some girl named Elvira. Only, I couldn't smell any Elvira around, so I decided to introduce myself," she explained, her voice coy and innocent all at once. "And when I'd gotten close, I realized he was an older man - but you wouldn't know it with a body like his." Her eyes sparkled madly as she remembered his handsome face, and the strange jolt she'd felt when she'd realized how much older he was. "Still, I felt kind of silly. I'd approached him with a particular intent in mind, and when I saw - well, I wondered if he'd even be up to it," she laughed, ducking her head as her embarrassment returned to her. Still, it would be worth it if Khoe were amused. After all, the day had ended on a high note, for Sunspot.

Finally! Some real fun was to be had on this side of the territory. A wide, beaming, in-your-face grin swelled so far across Khoe's face that a stranger might've taken it as a threat. Her stub of a tail kept a theatric beat behind her, speeding up and slowing down with each turn of Sunspot's tone. An older man? she cooed, noting the scandal in the tale. Khoe had a thing for the older gentlemen as well; she found the younger, less experienced wolves to be a bore. It was the gray hairs and the gallant tales that really caught her eye. 

So what happened next? You can't leave me hanging. For a moment, it was like the two of them were nothing more than a pair of teenage girls sitting across from each other and whispering about how they'd finally taken the final plunge with their respective beau of the week. The only difference being that Khoe was pregnant and an undoubtedly seasoned player, and Sunspot was a grown woman with decisions made in her own time, by her own respects. 

Still!

Sunspot's tail was wagging as well. She was reminded of similar times with her sisters - some older and some younger - affectionately called cow sessions to go alongside the bull sessions that their brothers often held. "Well," she went on, stifling a mad giggle. "He was definitely up to it, as it turns out. I tried to play coy, at first. All flirty and hard-to-get, try-and-catch-me, all that. You know the drill," she said with a flick of her ear. By now, it was hard to speak through her laughter.

"But he was very persuasive - and you know, I don't think he was at all fooled, by the end." She gave a soft hum of contentment. "I hope I see him again, sometime."

Khoe had a certain affinity to women in tune with their own desires. She'd spent enough time with conservative folks who knew nothing but the stuffy ways of their ancestors (who she respected, without a doubt) to know liberation when she saw it. There was certainly nothing about Sunspot that would have led her to believe otherwise, so rather than thinking too deeply, Khoe liked the idea of thinking of her sister-in-law as a free spirit, roaming by her own rules. I'm sure you will, she mused, The wolves in your family have a gift in charming poor wanderers, don't they? 

Just thinking of one of her own using their gifts to seduce loners was enough to give Khoe a headache.

Sunspot returned the quip with a wan smile. She and her sisters, certainly, had been adept at charming strangers. She remembered Grayday, however, as a sullen little boy. It was strange to realize that he'd charmed his way into two separate gene pools, at the very least.

"I guess we do," she agreed. After all, two was a step up from her own measley zero. A moment later, she'd returned to her cheerful self. "How do you feel about marrying into this family?" she teased.

Although it didn't seem so from the surface, Sunspot's question was one loaded with unexplainable emotions; Khoe wasn't sure how to express the simultaneous fear and excitement she felt knowing that she had a real family that she would never have to give up. There didn't seem to be words that could convey the joy and sorrow she felt knowing that soon, in days, even, she would be a mother again, raising children with a father who would never hurt them the way that the last man had. She took a deep breath and shook her head, laughing a breathy sigh, Nervous, but confident. 

It was what she wanted, after all. Wasn't it?

I'm just glad that I don't have to deal with anything beyond what I can handle. Besides, you all seem like good people; I don't mind having you all around to help out with these ones. Khoe grinned blissfully as she used her snout to motion toward her belly. With a close eye, one could see the tiny paws fighting at the tough skin around them, though she tried to hide this so as to not give the impression that she was comfortable with Sunspot reaching out. They were family, but that trust was still developing, and it had a mighty long way to go. I hope you don't mind having me, either.

Truthfully, Sunspot didn't know whether or not she minded Khoe. She sure as hell had going into this conversation, but the past few minutes had proved that the woman was capable of being friendly. Still, the huntress didn't fool herself into thinking Khoe would be friendly all the time, or that this little interaction would negate their previous encounter. First impressions mattered, and although seconds and thirds did as well, Sunspot wouldn't easily let go of the that initial encounter.

In the end, she merely gave a small, sincere smile, finding that she minded a lot less now than she had before.