Lost Creek Hollow a brief history of time

it would not be long now. time and gravidity had swollen mona's little body until she looked rather ridiculous to her own mind. the spring melts had come, and she used that time to wash herself in the fresh waters, shivering slightly upon the bank of the creek as she groomed herself dry.
then to her den, and an excavation of her own. without a mate, mona was hard-pressed to move the winter-cold soil alone, and was forced to break several times, her round sides heaving with exertion as she sought to widen the small shelter in anticipation of the children to come.

um hi I feel like im taking all ur threads <3

Gannet was doing the rounds, and as usual, passed by where Mona resided. He didn't usually approach, but now that he knew she was pregnant (I assume?) he felt like he should pass by. Just to ensure all was well.

Today he was glad he did, because he found her digging. He looked, then immediately came up and waved his tail cheerfully. I can help. He enjoyed digging, though didn't often do it.

thats totally fine & also i take all urs SOOO <3

she had paused for a moment as gannet arrived, his usual amiable self. "oh! oh no," mona exclaimed, suddenly guilty for seizing a moment's respite. "you ... you don't have to do that." wasn't it her job? he had no tie to her or the children she carried. but he is a packmate, the girl's inner voice reminded her sternly.
"i mean, if you'd like," she amended, glancing into his pleasant features. after all, hadn't gannet said he enjoyed helping?

<3

He smiled. I'd like. That might be the closest thing to wordplay he'd ever said, though it wasn't entirely intentional. I'll start here.

He picked the side opposite where she was working, so both would have room and it would go faster. He'd have done it all for her, but he remembered their y'all before and didn't want to make her upset again. This is for puppies? He asked, glancing over at her. He had noticed she, like Treason, had grown with them, and he was doubly excited to have two sets to look forward to (assuming he didn't know Liffey was, in which case he was triply!)

his question somehow caught her off-guard; she colored and ducked her head to keep gannet from glimpsing the consternation on her features. "yes," mona answered shyly, wondering if he too would put to her a litany of questions as the leaders had done. but gannet did not seem likely to do that.
moving out of his way, mona returned to her work, glancing at the man from time to time. "might ... might you be a father this year?" the girl inquired softly after a time, though she had never seen him with a she-wolf, or known him to speak of a wife.

This was happy news, and he showed it in both his expression and his demeanor, though he did not say much on the matter. This seemed to be fine since she asked another question after. One that made him smile and congenially shake his head.

No. But I'm happy. It had never occurred to Gannet to even wonder if he wanted kids of his own, and still didn't really. Pups are good. He didn't see how helping to care for the pack's was any different good-wise from taking care of his own, and the pack was going to offer a lot this year!

"even if they don't have fathers?" mona blurted, and then faded into an expression of horror, glancing down at the earth. it was a question for herself, however, for the young mayfair had come to loathe her decision, despite how radiant she had felt in the seawolf's arms. though this would be the place where her children were born, they would not have a father. terance would be one such to his, rannoch to his — her brood alone would be without that validation.
it rather hurt her heart to think of, and so mona turned back to her task in a grim silence, lips thinned into a cold line, lest she speak again and shame herself further.

breakin my heart ;.;

Gannet did not know how to take her question in any way other than literally, so he gave a deeply genuine (and semi baffled) Yes. in response. Of course even ones without fathers.

He got there, a moment later. It wasn't a terribly huge leap even for him, but it was hard for him to understand her worries on it. They have family. It's no different. He said, with a sure note that was uncommon for him. But he was thinking of his own siblings, who hadn't had a mother or a father. The pack had raised them, and they had been fine, at least as far as Gannet saw. Her pups would have a mother, and they would have the pack.

He's gone? He asked, assuming so. He didn't know her well enough to know if she had had a mate in the past or not, and he wasn't polite enough or experienced enough with such things not to ask.

;;;

mona had fast determined a dour opinion of herself and her actions: she was unmarried, with children very soon to be born out of wedlock. even if the seawolf had been close, it would have been easier, knowing that the father of the babes she carried would be aware of their natural father, perhaps involved with him. gannet was wrong, surely; it would matter that her sons and daughters would watch rannoch and liffey, would watch terance and treason, and have only mona in their own lives.
as it was, mona could only remember the shade of the man's eyes, the way the ocean was locked into the tresses of his fur, how he had embraced her — the memory of that made her shiver even these days. for now, however, the little mayfair glanced at gannet for a long moment, wondering if he too would judge her as treason had. "i did not know him."

He didn't judge her; it was unclear if he was capable of judgement. But he also didn't understand her. He hadn't known it was possible to have children and not know other. He didn't, in fact, know or think much about the entire affair in general.

You think they need one? he asked, quietly, looking at her. He didn't like seeing her upset and he wasn't sure what he had to offer was good, but he didn't see any harm. He didn't fully understand the role between mother and father; the bond that Peregrine and Fox had shared wasn't nearly as present as Peregrine's role in his brother's and his lives. Maybe she was right. I could? He offered. He didn't likely fully comprehend what it was that he was offering, but it was honest, and he thought perhaps he might like trying.

shock; mona seemed to crumble before gannet, settling to shaking haunches while her scarlet ears fell back atop her delicate skull. what was he offering? her murkwater gaze seemed formless momentarily, focused on the male while his offer reverberated within her tired mind.
would it so be the same? what if they grew up to know that gannet was not their father in the usual way, as she had? no — no. she must not keep it from them. and suddenly, embarassingly, mona's chin trembled and her gaze was forced toward the earth, to hide the sheen of tears that had cascaded into it at gannet's offer.
"i think," she began, when she had found composure again, "i would like that." her voice was small, tremulous, but mona raised her eyes back to gannet all the same. why was he being so kind to her?

It didn't occur to him that what he had asked might be taken badly if Mona was a different sort, or might be seen as bizarre. He did know he would not be their real father (did he know, however, what made that difference?). He also knew, though, that he wanted to make them happy. They needed someone and he was elated she was giving him the chance to be that someone.

Good, he answered, his lips turning up into an easy grin. He worried when she seemed to cry before. I do to. If he was their father, it meant he had a role, even more than what he meant to the pack currently. Someone would depend on him. The thought gave him a pleasant warmth, and it filled him, causing his smile to deepen even more.

perfect place to fade & have another<3

gannet's smile was too warm not to return, and mona found herself reassured in a way she had not thought possible since falling pregnant. alongside gannet she worked until the growing sun and her own hunger suggested they pause for a meal, and from time to time, her murkwater eyes lit with a more hopeful sort of smile as they spoke quietly of many things.