Redhawk Caldera Streets lined with cottages and cabins

I know I owe others but I need to get this up! <3 no rush now that it's in the timeline

The weather was barely starting to get warmer, but Maia had chosen a good time to take her trip with Hymnal. The signs were there - when @Eljay took his trip to see Akashingo, she'd supported it enthusiastically. But once he was gone, she'd worried more than usual, and she'd been a bit of an impatient mess until he'd returned. Luckily he hadn't been away long.

Her mood had shifted further over the past few days. She kept it in check and didn't really allow it to affect the way she spoke with her children or with Eljay, but she could feel her blood starting to heat, the urge to drive the others away and to disappear with her mate. Today it was unmistakeable and, finally, Maia let herself confirm what she'd already kind of suspected. This was more than just moodiness.

Her fur prickled with expectation as she sought out Eljay. Unlike last year, there was a confident and excited air about her as she went about it. She knew what she wanted, she knew he wanted the same, and it was finally time to bring it about.

The trip to Akashingo had been tiring for Eljay, because he wasn't used to taking any sort of trips and he definitely wasn't used to doing diplomacy, much less on another pack's grounds. It had gone well enough though, but he had taken some time to take it easy after his return to Brecheliant, just spending time with his family.

Today, he was lounging around the Blackthorn den, and when Maia strode into view he knew right away what time it was; his nose informed him.

It was probably a good thing that Teya had asked them about this. Otherwise, they might have needed to have the discussion while heat was already on, and it was rarely a good advisor. This way, Eljay knew for sure that if Maia said she wanted it, she actually wanted it and wasn't just saying it because her hormones were telling her right now.

Eljay rose to his feet and smiled at Maia. Do you want to go for a walk? he asked, not wanting any risk of Sylvie, Roswell or Hymnal walking in on them.

As soon as she found him, Eljay suggested a walk. Her immediate instinct was to rebel against that. No, she didn't want to take a walk! But she knew better, and when she took a second, she could tell that he knew.

Maia nodded, then drew in to rest her shoulder against his. Maybe to the north? There was a forest there that would give them a few opportunities for privacy.

Eljay was very calm through it all. He'd never been particularly susceptible to heat - at least not as much as it seemed to affect others at times - and it gave him a strange calmth. Last year he'd been a bit nervous because it was the first time, but this year he knew what was coming. Better yet, Maia herself did not seem as nervous this time as she was last year. It made Eljay feel confident in a way; to know what was coming, to know that Maia felt good about it too, and best of all, to have someone like Maia who wanted this, with him. To be with him, to have a family.

She accepted and he felt a warm glow in his face when she moved her shoulder against his and suggested North. He nodded. Yeah. I hear it's beautiful this time of year. Eljay smiled knowingly at Maia and pressed his shoulder a bit more firmly against hers before he broke contact and slowly started heading away from their family's hangout.

Maia hadn't thought much on the ways she had changed, but despite being well into adulthood, she'd grown quite a bit in the last year. There had been so many changes - some good, some bad. And she'd shifted with them.

She and Eljay were always close, but not usually like this. Outside of instinct they didn't really bother with it, but right now she led the way eagerly, through the trees and to a secluded spot where hopefully no one would bother them.

How about here? She asked, nuzzling at his cheek, where the white had begun to pepper into the grey. It was something she'd noticed, but wasn't something she'd put to age (thankfully) yet. In her mind, Eljay was no older than she was... and like Wraen, she would stubbornly hold that notion as long as she could.

Eljay was glad that Maia was (or at least seemed to be) like him, and didn't really indulge in sexual things for pleasure. It was nice and it felt good to be so intimate when it was for a purpose like this, but it wasn't something that he thoroughly enjoy for the sensation of it. He smiled at Maia, who he did always see in a new, different light when it was during her heat, and he nodded. Wherever he was with her was perfect enough for him. The nuzzle to his cheek sent butterflies to his stomach.

Hymnal said that she'd love baby siblings, he said, I think she'll be a great big sister. They all will be. Roswell and Sylvie, too; they were all such gentle souls, Eljay couldn't imagine anything different than them helping with the kids, even though he hadn't specifically discussed it with Roswell and Sylvie.

They really will. She let her touch linger, then let it travel, pausing to plant a kiss on his shoulder. Despite the drive of instinct, there was no urgency to this. They had more than enough time. Whenever you're ready, I am. She lifted her gaze to look at him, lovingly and trustingly.

It wasn't as awkward this year as it had been last, now that she knew what to expect. She knew that he would ask, every step of the way, and make sure that all was fine. In turn, she would reassure and let him know if she needed to move, if something was wrong. There was a quiet closeness in it.

Fade and skip? we can wrap or continue after, whatever your preference <3

i'll go with a fade <3 feel free to post once more or archive it as is. would love a thread later, somewhere during the pregnancy though!

Eljay always remained a little awkward around the kerflomping because it didn't click for his brain like it did for many others. Of course he enjoyed the closeness to Maia, the love that he felt; but in all honestly, Eljay himself preferred to just snuggle up together. Still, he moved closer to her when she said that she was ready and nodded; thoughts of the future of their family on his mind as he snuggled Maia's cheek and moved in closer; ready.

definitely!

When they were done, Maia would linger and they'd spend some time their preferred way. Likely she would ask a few more times before the span of her heat was over, but that was more for insurance than anything else - she always wanted to be sure, in the end.

For the rest of today, it was enough to just stay curled up with him and hidden away, sharing close contact and the company of one another.