Blacktail Deer Plateau Can I tell you something just between you and me?

@Emrik <3 figured we could also use this as a chance for them to pick names :D

She was already fairly round by this point, her presumed due date just around the corner. She had needed to do this for a while, but now especially since soon she wouldn't feel safe leaving the safety of the borders. She had woken early with her usual nausea and after chewing on the ginger root she kept close, she had woken her mate and asked if he would escort her on a trip to gather plants. There were a few she especially needed with their pups due soon, along with Ira and Moonshadow's pups, as well. She wanted to make sure everyone had what they needed. She had a feeling Emrik would be worried about traveling outside Kaisteloki, but hopefully he would find comfort that they would stay close enough to call for help if they needed it. She was pretty nervous herself, but her duty as Kaisteloki's physician took precedence over how she felt about the trip. 

They had followed the river north and then ascended the path that lead onto the plateau. The scent of pack lingered here, but very faintly, telling her that they no longer claimed this land. Just before the land was engulfed in dense forest, there was a sunny grassland; it seemed to stretch around the plateau for as far as she could see. She searched this area first, looking for a very specific blue flower. This seemed like just the place for it. She offered Emrik a smile before moving through the grass, her nose to the ground as she inspected. Luck seemed to be on her side today, thankfully, and the very plant she needed could be seen in a large patch just ahead. She trotted forward, stopping once in front of the plant. Immediately, she began to gently use her teeth to pull the big green leaves from the stems of the plants. She needed to make sure she had enough for everyone. She started to make a pile at her feet, pausing to look at her mate and smile. Borage leaves, she told him as if that explained anything. She pulled a few more and set them down. For milk production, she added. 

When she had a sufficient amount, she took a step back and looked to Emrik again. Would you mind carrying some of these? she asked softly. I want to explore the forest a little and see if I find anything else useful. She was pretty excited at the prospect; she could usually find good stuff hidden within the trees.

His morning had started so wonderfully, woken gently by Speedy with the sun cascading throughout the den and a calm breeze moving about. But, before he even had time to voice his content the feeling was whisked away by the very woman who had awoken him. She assumed correct when she thought he did not want to venture past the territory boundaries. And he was vocal about it too, asking her several times before they had even reached the border if she was sure she had to go out. And then he mentioned seeking out Connor to come with them, Hieronymous or Howl. Really! Anyone would do! Even sweet little Inna. But sadly she laughed off his complaints. Claiming that he was over reacting. Which admittedly he was... but STILL.

As they ventured further north, his grumbling fell away. Instead he focused his energy on surveying their surroundings and searching for any sign of another predator or other environmental danger. He made sure there were no stones that Speedy could trip on, and no puddles that she could drown in, and no tree branches that could give her a concussion. That wasn't over reacting right.... No of course not.

Emrik begrudgingly felt his lips curl at her excitement, as she nattered on about this plant and that plant. What plants she wanted to pick up today, and which plants she didn't need today but would need in the future. Borage leaves. She said, and of course he had no idea what she was talking about. For the length of time he had known Speedy (their whole lives) he had never absorbed any of the knowledge she tried to give him. Not an inkling of medical knowledge made any lick of sense to him. He could only hope their children would take more after her.

"Of course." Emrik was quick to gently pickup the leaves the indicated for him to carry. With the foliage obscuring his tongue, and there by making him mute. Emrik gave her a look as if to say, carry on, as he followed her prancing through the forest. Still as keen to their surroundings as ever.

Of course. She grinned at him. She knew this wasn't his favorite thing to do; she could tell any time she started plant talk that he was only listening for her sake, but she loved him even more for that. And she knew her being out here was killing his nerves; he had asked her many time before leaving if she really needed to do this, and she wished she could have just said never mind and spent the day within the safe boundaries of Kaisteloki, doing something far less risky. But she did really need to do this. She needed to replenish her herb supply while she still could. She was coming out of winter way more behind than normal, and there was not only her litter to plan for this year. There was also a small part of her that really needed this, too. It had been a long time since had been able to do much plant gathering, and it always made her so happy and relaxed. But she knew it was making her mate the exact opposite of relaxed, and so she would try not to get carried away. 

When he urged her to carry on, she walked up and kissed his cheek. Thank you for this, she said, and then she reached down and picked up her own stack. She knew he would much rather be home, and she wanted him to know that she appreciated him letting her do this despite his constant worry that something would happen to her. 

With mouths full of leaves, they weren't able to speak while they made their way into the forest of the plateau. It gave her plenty of time to think, though, and their unborn children were the stars of her thoughts. They hadn't discussed names yet, and she wondered if Emrik had any in mind. 

When she found some cobwebs on the low-hanging branches of a tree, she stopped at its base and deposited her mouthful on the ground. She nodded for her husband to do the same, a smile curving her lips as it often did when she looked at him. When he set his leaves down, she turned to the base of the tree, looking over her shoulder to ask: Have you thought of any names for the children? Then she lifted up on hind legs, placing her front paws on the tree, and stretched her muzzle over to the cobwebs to try and reach them.