Hideaway Strath Eventually time moves on...

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The black wraith stood staring up the cliff side at the goats who skittered up and down like they were spiders, big meaty and juicy spiders. Normally she’d climb up there and chase them down, indeed she had in the past but today, today she felt she couldn’t.


She felt sick to her stomach just looking up, or was there another reason she felt ‘off’ and she had found that she was not as sure footed lately when she was climbing. It felt like her belly was larger then it should be. She didn’t understand why it kept brushing up against twigs and things she couldn’t easily fit through the trails she normally took. And it was making her far more irritable and possibly a lot more whiny then normal. Nope she didn’t feel anything not mad or sad that was ridicules right?

With a disgusted huff she turned her attention away from the cliffs and stared into the pack lands, She just stood there quietly with no idea what to do perhaps she should find @Charles for a distraction he always made her feel better. She could go mark the boarders and by god she needed to pee, but it too smelled weird. Maybe she’d find a healer like @Arlette or that one that she talked to before @Aerin maybe she was getting an bladder infection.  She stood frozen in a brain fog of indecision as time slipped by.

sorry for the wait on this

Aerin found herself meandering along the cliffside boundaries of the Strath, slender limbs whisking in a brisk trot beneath the warmth of an afternoon sun. As she rounded a bend in the high, stone walls, the midwife's moonlit gaze rose to land upon the midnight silhouette of Whrist. The nymph neither slowed nor stopped, but pressed on towards the shadow -- chin raising just a fraction. 

It was neither arrogance or disdain. The Priestess had simply bowed to enough in her life, submitted and sacrificed for the sake of survival. She would not do it here, now -- not when she had carved such a position for herself amongst this band of warriors.

"Vhrist," the halfling wisped as she padded closer, offering the corvid the slightest nod of greeting. She slowed as she moved to pass, allowing the dark she-wolf the opportunity to stall her with speech if she so desired a conversation.

Whrist drew in a sharp breath and held it turning her head sharply in the direction on the voice, her hackles lifted just slightly at the sight of the white pelt but she forced herself to relax quickly.

"Hello Aerin" she spoke in a calmer tone then she felt, in fact she was proud of her collected tone she offered the priestess a deferential nod, it rankled her that this one was a higher rank then her however she had not put any effort into raising her rank either, something she should rectify sooner rather then later.

Whrist opened her maw as if to say something more but then her black muzzle wrinkled  and she quickly turned her back to the slender white woman and hacked up a portion on her breakfast, the smell of it almost made her bring up the rest of it, now she wrinkled her muzzle for an entirely different reason and moved a few steps away angry that she had embarrassed herself in front of another.

She moved her tongue along the roof of her mouth and muttered "Sorry" she couldn't help her tail as it tucked a little toward her belly and she moved a few more steps away lest she vomit from the smell, though it was not a bad smell any smell was becoming bothersome to her.

Stifling the urge to sigh, the halfling started to stop as she readied herself for what was likely to be a hostile interaction only to skitter a pace or two away as the dark she-wolf turned and emptied her stomach with a few heaves. "Nae need fer zat," the healer gently dismissed the apology, she had seen and smelt worse as a midwife, taking a moment to really drink in Whrist's appearance. Her moonstone optics widened as they fell upon the Specialist's bloated belly, her rose nose lifting as she sniffed in the raven's direction. 

The scent confirmed it for her, the realization hitting her with the force of a landslide. Holy shit, Whrist is pregnant.

"Vhrist.." she started hesitantly, recalling the woman's reaction to being told she was in heat. Aerin had warned her what it meant, surely the onyx femme hadn't disregarded her advice and just gotten knocked up without a whim or worry...at least, that was what the milkmother tried to tell herself as she eyed the subordinate's swollen bump. Maybe it was just worms and her nose was off today. 

"Do ye remember vhen I said ye vere in 'eat?" she decided to ask first, hoping she would be wrong as she held her next question at the ready -- a loaded gun she hoped wouldn't set the traumatized shadeling off. 

Whrist shifted her shoulder’s forward in a semblance of a wolfy shrug. She certainly did remember that day how could she forget forging, if not an alliance of some sort, then a peaceable truce with a white pelted female.

Whrist heard in her minds eye Aerin’s strange speak

“Peace be, ag scáthú," Though she had never understood that phrase and had ignored it at the time she remembered word for word the had been spoken next
"I only meant it is vhat 'appens vhen a voman is ready to breed. It does nae mean ye 'ave to 'ave children -- I doubt anyone 'ere vould make ye do something ye don't vant to. An' if they do, I vill tear their throats out." 

She remembered her own response too

“If there were a threat to the pack, I would fight alongside any and all to defend us. None of ours would fear defeat. I would give you the same honour.” 


Whrist’s eyes narrowed, she had made an oath that day and she’d not back down. Her word was her honor she’d stand by her oaths Her voice started soft but quickly amped up the last words coming out more growl then word

“Who hurt you? I will tear their throat out!”

She stared past Aerin and looked about as if to see some danger heading their way, like the day of the bear fight.
She cast her white blue eyes up to the tree tops and gave 4 sharp yip barks, quickly a young Raven took to the sky floating above them as if it were a sentinel but it never sounded an alarm which made Whrist worry; there was danger near and that damn bird better pull it’s weight or she might just have to eat it.

It never crossed her mind she was in barely fit condition to fight, she’d hide her weakness if at all possible, though throwing up was a dead give away something was up. The night colored femme paced the area her heart racing far faster then it should, her emotion’s more of a jumble then when she had been in heat. She felt like she was going crazy was this to be her life now an emotional mess?

The halfling's pale orbs widened in surprise, head shaking in an attempt to deny what Whrist was assuming as she charged past the healer in search of threats. "Nae, I am fine, Vhrist. Nae one 'as 'urt me," she reassured quickly, turning to follow the dark woman with wary eyes. "I only meant.." she trailed off, unsure how to phrase her next words.

"Vhen ye vere in 'eat, did ye sleep vith anyone, Vhrist?" Finally, Aerin just forced herself to spit the words out, watching the shadow with a keen eye in case she should become unhinged and attack The Priestess once more.

Slowly the black wraith paced the area another time or two, more to settle her adrenaline then for any thing else. Slowly her hair settled upon her shoulders returning to normal, the raven cawed from high above the canopy and wheeled away.

It was far easier to find a target to kill but it didn’t look like Aerin was going to provide that distraction. With a sigh Whrist forced herself to settle and sit near by, side on to Aerin, not facing the priestess nor turning her back to her either, She tilted her head slightly hid her eyes. This question was nothing she wanted to answer not something she wanted to admit out loud; she was sure he had more lovers then just her. Not that she could bare thinking about him with any else.

“I don’t know…” She narrowed her eyes more at herself; she wasn’t a liar “Maybe… It’s hard to remember if it was,” there were several long breaths before she’d mutter “Why would it matter anyway?” still she didn't look at Aerin feeling inadequate. She hated this feeling.


Even now she still did not grasp the concept of being in season or what it meant to breed during that time. She had not been raised in a typical pack and this knowledge and much more was denied to her. Her social skills suffered greatly due to her lack of upbringing, as many members of the pack had seen.

Aerin only nodded, not believing the woman but not willing to press. That wasn't something you'd just forget, even during the whirlwind of being in heat. Sure, some of her own memories of the time were hazy -- but not amnesiac -- the handful of days blurring into a string of golden beams drifting through the den's maw only to soften to black with the close of another day. Vein's arms around her, his whispers in her ears. Even those had been lost to the fever consuming her, snippets of murmurs trickling to her as if underwater, sweet nothings meant to soothe and rile as the time bled away and left only the cycle of returning to one another's embrace. It wasn't something she'd ever forget, not if she lived for a hundred years.

"Because if'n ye did..." she started, taking a deep breath before continuing carefully, "zen zere is a good chance zat ye are pregnant." 

I appoligze for my wolf. At least she didn't attack... *Sigh*

Whrist could not believe her ears, and they pinned themselves to the back of her skull nearly of their own accord. She looked at Aerin warily and felt herself getting sick again probably from panic, then she drew a deep breath and straightened her spine “No!” She stated firmly then again in almost a pleading tone “No” then she trotted away rather rudely and scared to death but she would not let anyone see her fear.

She had to forget this conversation, it never happened! Nope it was some weird waking day dream….

Aerin only watched, tense and wary, as the darkling accepted the news -- though 'accepted' might not have been the right term as soon enough, Whrist was whirling away, spewing denials as she fled. For a moment, The Priestess felt the urge to follow -- maybe see if the she-wolf was alright. But the raven had made it clear that pale-pelted wolves made her uncomfortable and she sensed her presence would be unwelcome as the Blade came to grips with motherhood. She glanced down at her own belly, feeling concern (perhaps borne of a heightened maternal instinct) for the maybe babies that the dark she-wolf carried. 

What was to come of this? Who had even fathered the children? Aerin didn't have any of the answers she needed and Whrist clearly wasn't giving them up. Maybe it just wasn't any of her business what the future held for the coal-pelted femme and her future children. Even so, the once-druid couldn't stop herself from stressing as she rose to her feet and took up her patrol once more -- filing what had just conspired away to think on later, to bring to @Kynareth's attention if she needed to.