Redhawk Caldera groundseep

teya had kept herself too isolated. @Maia had delivered her own children too long ago for the raven to not have made an appearance yet. it was sheepishly that she made her way to the den the woman shared with eljay. 
as always she carried a fish.
and she tried not to think of bridget. she tried not to think of reyes. she was here for maia and to meet her new little ones. teya's stomach nevertheless knotted unpleasantly as she set down her catch and chuffed to announce herself.

any puppies are more than welcome to hop in <3

Maia was tucked in and contemplating a nap of sheer boredom when Teya's welcome voice came. She'd had more than enough company, of course, but nursing was always the worst. At least, this year it was. Last year she'd isolated for so long, shaken by Wraen's death, that she hadn't noticed the way it could drive her stir-crazy. At least the weather allowed outings more days than not.

Teya? Come in! Or... yeah. She looked at the pups. It was tempting to meet her outside, but the ones who weren't nursing were currently napping and upsetting the quiet was sure to kick off chaos. I was meaning to come see you. Sorana must be getting so big now! Maia smiled, shifting slightly to make room for the Raven. She'd seen her once or twice, allowing the little ones to get aquainted, but not nearly enough for her liking. She couldn't wait until they were old enough to reliably explore and meet their packmates.

"she is. i not understand they grow so fast." teya managed a quick, tired grin as she gave maia a subtle once-over. "hymnal and roswell, they like having siblings?" she asked. she did not mind that maia had been slow to visit. the raven herself had been unfit for company a long time.
there was a pause. she was unsure how to fill it, and so busied herself settling against the other woman in a companionable warmth.

Maia tried not to glow too much as Teya settled herself against her but it was hard not to. She was outwardly friendly pretty much all the time but Maia wasn't always the best at making actual friends. Especially, for some reason, with other women. Actually, outside of Wraen, who was her last friend that she'd seen at least twice? Probably Coelho.

They really do! Maia exclaimed, though she kept her voice somewhat hushed as she looked down at her own children. Once their eyes open there's no turning back. They suddenly have to see everything up close and personal. Thankfully most things were harmless, though she had been forced to save one or the other from bee stings a few times.

Sorana's welcome here anytime, too. She and Jay seemed to hit it off, and I think it would do them some good to have someone else to play with. She added as a quick afterthought before answering her actual question. She'd taken it so for granted that she had almost forgotten it was one.

They've been excited from the start. Hymnal absolutely adores them. @Roswell is a little less involved, but not everyone can handle them at this age. I think he has other things he likes to do, but he'll be excited to take them for patrols once they are big enough to see the borders. He loved them just like any brother would, Maia could tell, but Hymnal (and Sylvie) both had the same doting affection that their father carried in him. She saw so much of him in both of them.

She thought about what Hymnal had asked her and was tempted to bring it up, but she decided to wait and see how Teya took her invitation first. She had warned her daughter not to get her hopes up just in case, but she knew Sorana would absolutely love to have an older sister to look out for her.

tag is for npc assumptions and ref <3

maia was kind. endlessly kind. kind in a way that teya would never believe she deserved. "it nice that sorana have so many cousins to be friends," she offered in an abrupt show of sisterhood. no idea how that should feel. "i bring her, or you come over to island, soon," the raven said softly. 
this was for sorana. everything she did from here on out was for her daughter. reyes did the same. they could make this work. they would, that was what she had said.
what she had promised.
"hymnal is good with sorana too. she came to birth. i — well eljay bring her but i only see eljay then. still, i think of that. it good to have her close."
another delicate pause.

Maia was clearly pleased and flushed a little, on her daughter's behalf, at Teya's praise. She loves you, and her, so much. I know that. She even asked me if I thought Sorana would want a big sister. Maia smiled at the memory, her eyes warm with the love of a mother whose heart was full. I told her I was sure she would, but even if she didn't call her that, she could always act like one anyway. She hoped that Teya didn't mind that.

If you like, you can tell her which you prefer. Or I can. Maia offered, throwing the second one in quickly. If it was to say no then Maia could deliver that news more lightly that Teya could, maybe, though she didn't imagine she'd need to.

she was more than a little emotional to hear that. her throat grew hoarse, and she nodded quickly. "sorana will be blessed to have hymnal as sister." she wanted to cry. she wanted to vent. she wanted to tell maia everything and yet nothing would come.
the woman shifted a little, feeling exhaustion suddenly crush her into the seat she'd taken.
"when everyone — feeling better, maybe we hunt with akashingo. we very close to them now, already share hunting grounds. maybe they bring their children and we let them meet," she murmured.

She was so happy that Teya wanted it and so proud of her daughter for offering. She wondered if the other mother felt any way about only having one, but that seemed the sort of thing that was rude to outright ask.

Oh! Um, yeah, I think that sounds like a really good idea. Once she got around the initial panic that hunting in front of another pack brought on. Gosh, what if she just completely destroyed the alliance by tripping over herself and getting someone kicked by a goat or something? It was both funny and a deeply upsetting worry. She was so not a great group hunter and her nerves usually only made her mess up even more.

Plus, that reminded her of her talk with Eljay, and.... oh, should she really bring that up now? Wouldn't that make it ten times worse if... ugh. She took a little breath to get it together and hoped Teya didn't notice how ridiculous Maia was being right now.

I actually, uh, talked with Eljay a little bit ago. I wanted to wait until the puppies were here but I didn't know if, maybe, you wanted help? As a Raven? I stepped down before, so it's not a big deal if you don't, but... yeah. I thought it might be good, to be able to help again. She wished she could be more confident about it and just ask, but every bit of her assumed that she was out of line even asking. Why should they want her as a Raven, and even more, why should she get that position when she couldn't even handle it the last time?

She could see how tired Teya looked, though, and that helped. It couldn't hurt to offer even if she wasn't sure how much help it would actually be.

teya had not expected the offer.
tears stung her eyes and thickened her throat; she looked down at the ground, commanding herself to be well, be still. be whole. but the truth of it was her exhaustion, exacerbated by this shit between she and reyes. 
and bridget.
teya drew a shuddering breath, and this time she did not hide her face from maia. "thank you. i think — yes. that good, maia." the extra hand on the borders would be nice. brecheliant was quiet and tucked away into its own little alcove here, but that did not mean there wasn't work to be done.
and getting more rest would mean she wasn't destined to stay a giant bitch forever. she inhaled and tried not to truly break down.

She was happy and relieved that Teya didn't seem to mind the idea, but she got the sense that something else was going on too. The Raven seemed emotional in a really fragile way and while Maia was a little awkward about that sort of thing, her mom senses were pinging like crazy. This felt like more than just tired.

Thanks. They didn't have to let her have the position again. And, I know we haven't really, but if you ever need to talk. Or just, I dunno, vent? I can listen. I don't even have to give any dumb advice, unless you want me to.

She'd mentioned Reyes before Sorana was born, but so much time had passed that Maia assumed they'd fixed it. She had no inkling of what was bothering her but if it was parenting related, or leadership related, or anything related really, maybe talking about it would help.

teya was overcome; she wanted to sob. but the tears would not come. they were somehow blocked, as if all the days of holding them inside truly had resulted in such. "i should get back," the raven said quietly. hesitantly.
but this time when she sought maia's embrace, she let the other woman hold her a little longer.
"reyes an' i — we making it work. for sorana." it was the only truth she had left to muster.

Teya seemed to linger in her hug this time and Maia took the opportunity to do it properly, enfolding her in the embrace completely. She'd comforted Eljay like this so many times, and her children too. It was one of the few things she could do when talking about it was too much, or when Eljay's panic took him and he needed an anchor. She didn't let go until she felt Teya relax and lessen, sensing she was ready.

Making it work. She didn't understand. They seemed like a pair now, and both looked like happy parents. If Reyes and she were both happy with Sorana, what was there to make work?

Maia wanted to ask so many questions, but she managed to stop herself. Teya had literally just said she needed to go. I don't want to keep you if you need to get back. But it sounds like something isn't right. Not with you and Reyes, sorry, just... She trailed off, feeling like she was flubbing this. She didn't have any right to say what Teya should do, but she was worried.

Sorana cares about your happiness too. When she gets older, if either of you are unhappy because of her, she might blame herself. It should work for you too. Teya's words were too vague for Maia to know exactly what was going on, but she guessed from it that they were compromising on something to make Sorana happy, something that maybe neither of them wanted. Pups were so smart and so caring. She remembered how Hymnal and Sylvie had been, those first few months, when she'd still been struggling with her own grief. She'd had to be so careful to make sure they knew it wasn't anything to do with them. She hated worrying them so much.

If you need help with that, either of you, Eljay and I are here. But I think you are a wonderful mother, Teya. She reached out to nose her cheek encouragingly, then drew back. Hopefully they could talk later, but she wouldn't pry.

her jaw clenched. the words bubbled and wanted to form, wanted to overflow. her throat ached. maia was so passionate but how could she know? how could she understand? eljay worshipped the ground she walked on and they had always loved their children.
they had always wanted them.
the mention of sorana and the damage to her future made the woman want to lash out. fuck off, can't you see i'm trying? but it wasn't an attack. maia cared and her love was so apparent.
crazily she thought of bringing sorana here and leaving her and never coming back to brecheliant again. the thought pinched the back of her head. 
"reyes an' i not happy. but we devoted to her. i want to make this work, for her. she need to see us together, at least while she young." saying all that felt like lancing a boil: a moment of agonizing pain that sheared down into something smaller, more of the same familiar, manageable ache.
she shook her head silently at the notion she could be a good mother.

They weren't happy, or they weren't happy together? Maia had thought it was the first one but now it sounded more like the second. She was surprised to hear it. What had changed between them? Now that they had the baby and were content with it, what was there to fight over?

She had a hard time imagining it, but she kept the questions tamped down. Teya was sharing but that didn't mean she could go from 0 to 60 and stick her nose into everything.

You don't have to be together to both be in her life. Do you? It wasn't until after she said it that she realized how that advice sounded. She wanted to kick herself. What are you saying, that they shouldn't try to work things out? How dumb is that? You don't even know what their issues are!

Sorry! I'm not saying you shouldn't make it work. Whatever you're doing, I'm sure it's perfect. She's always so happy when I see her. She rushed to correct it, hopefully waving away whatever criticism Teya might see in her stupid advice in the process.

Maia didn't like the thought of Teya feeling forced towards unhappiness, but she also drew similar thoughts about her own perspective. She and Eljay worked through everything so easily. Maybe Reyes and Teya could too.

she hung her head. maia meant well. she did not want to blame the other woman for anything. "think of it this way, ah: eljay love you. and i think reyes stop loving me before sorana was born. so," she tried to go on, lips twisting bitterly, lashes blinking down bright tears, struggling, fighting not to sob and trembling with the effort of it, "if we not make it work that way then we try for her. i just — i not want to live b-broken."
she was losing the battle. teya stood up sharply, moved away directly; "i need to go but — thank you, maia. thank you, a lot."
she turned and hurried away.

Maia felt horrible as Teya hurried away. She opened her mouth to stop her but then clamped it shut and sat down with a regretful thump. She just had to go and open her big dumb mouth, didn't she?

It made it hard, that Maia just couldn't understand why Teya felt like she had to choose between family and happiness. If Reyes and she weren't happy as mates, that didn't make them any less family. She and Wraen had been so close despite only being sisters, and she and Charon had been good friends without ever being mates. Unless Teya maybe still loved Reyes, and she was more upset that they couldn't have what they had before.

That made a lot of sense. Maybe she could.... no. Leave it alone, Maia. She didn't know Reyes nearly well enough to ask him how he felt about his mate. Imagine!

She'd just have to keep an eye on them and check in later, maybe. It hurt to see Teya so upset, and to think that she and Eljay had been so blissfully unaware of it all. If she could help both of them to come to a better understanding, in any way, she'd do it in a heartbeat.