Stone Circle afraid of what's inside

Leynille (Secret Creek)

It was hot today — the air had been steadily thickening with humidity as the days passed by, and today felt like the worst. It was hard enough for Sanja to keep herself cool, being darker-toned, but now she had the added stress of excess weight upon her belly.

She'd sought out the creek for a drink after waking, and now lay in the shade of the trees. Her paws draped over the edge of the creek, so that they could soak in the crisp flow of it; although even that was not cold enough. In the shallow sections she could see a thin misting of the ground - which was more likely steam from the stony bottom.

With a sigh the woman tried to adjust herself. Nothing felt comfortable anymore; but she knew why, by now. It wasn't illness that plagued her — she was very, very pregnant. After one such adjustment her belly continued to writhe a little bit, as something inside kicked back.

this time, he ranged further.
it was good to stretch his legs. colt hunted rabbits but his efforts turned up empty. and the longer he waited in the open, the hotter the day was to his dark-blor fur. 
the man tossed his head and pressed on. "well, well, well," he growled to himself in pleasure, having left the downs for the shade of the fox-reeking glade. but something had told him to go further.
and here he'd caught her scent. colt was immediately pleased. she'd sated him once before. perhaps he could hunt for her again. a prairie wife. he snickered and began to descend.
colt stopped again. there were others about, two or so if he had to reckon. still the loner glided over the soft borders, scratching in the earth and crooning for the woman.

A low crooning found its way through the trees. At first she thought it was only her belly gurgling, but it continued and it grew louder In a gradual sense; thus Sanja turned to look for the source, and was surprised when she recognized the dark-faced man.

Her hackles were immediately up.
A glance further, for any of the women that had come to live with the stones and the creek, and Sanja knew she was dangerously alone. Better to keep them out of it - what if this man's appetite was greater than she could handle herself?
And, of course, there was Bjarna.

Though there was tension within her, Sanja drew towards the man with a tentative sniff of his air, her tail raised to give the impression of confidence or even ownership, as she considered this her land now.

"ain't yew a sight for sore eyes. i've been travelin'. huntin'." he licked his lips. the woman smelled of cubs but was still pregnant, which he found curious. someone else might have found it off-putting, but not colt.
he drew closer, for she did not indicate that she would run off. "fine place yew fetched yerself here." he did not look around, no more than a flick of his stare.
colt cocked a hip and chewed his birchbark. "was wonderin' if yew wanted to make another trade. there's deer in them forests an' rabbits beside. if yew got others here, they'll need to eat also."
his crimson eyes bored into the woman.

She understood what he wanted and what he could offer — intimately aware — and that was why she had not yet chased him away.

Sanja was desperate, but that did not make her stupid. She knew it was dangerous to mingle with a man such as this; she also knew that without him Bjarna might starve, and relying on the good humors of someone transient was not ideal.

Trade. She replied. She had heard the word before, with him, and now it held certain connotations that made her face warm and her insides churn. Trade... for stay. Heim.

The man was a threat, but he was also strong and capable, and she weighed these things against one-another. She needed him.

trade, and his red eyes kicked up a notch brighter. he was just about to saunter over and push his nose into her hackles when she added what sounded suspiciously like she was offering him a place to stay.
colt eyed the heavy curve of her belly and lifted his air with deliberate slowness to test the air, as if to say he knew she had another child at hand. "'fraid i'm not the homesteadin' type, darlin'," colt crooned with a shake of his head. what she had to give was good, great even, but there wasn't no woman who could hold colt briggs with any sort of staying power.
"trade fer huntin'?" he uttered now, tail lashing once behind him. he was a bit exasperated; why did every female have to go and change up a good thing? time was wastin'; from the look in miz may's eyes she was rarin' for him. he didn't need to stick around here.

Sanja did not know what he said explicitly, but his tone was one she knew well enough. His posture only shifted slightly, but she saw he had no intention of making this his home.

What could she do? What could she give to make him stay and hunt? The man looked bothered by the very suggestion of lingering. Sanja could not let this bridge be burned because of her desperate attempt to keep a hunter near — and he looked about ready to depart.

Trade, trade! She hurried to say, and pressed herself up against him; not eager, but willing enough. Trade, for hunt.
Bjarna needed to eat and Sanja could only do so much to provide, but she would do anything to ensure the child thrived with her.

now there, that was more like it. "sure as hell," he promised, brushing his muzzle through her guard hairs and pulling her hips back into his.
quick. perfunctory.
colt disengaged and swaggered off into the nearby valley, shaped a bit like a bear's paw. 
the woman would find a doe killed neatly at the line between valley wall and her own circle of stones. and this time, colt did not take a bit of it, satisfied enough by her agreement to leave it entirely for she and hers.
he decided to call her raven, having not had the presence of mind to ask her this last time.

She would distance herself mentally from the act, and tamper down the revulsion she felt for herself as he took what was offered.

He came, he went.

After waiting for him at their meeting place, Sanja realized he was not coming back to her, so she sought to find him. It had been at least an hour by the time she crossed paths with the doe carcass - lined with his f0rmidable scent, anointed as she was.

She stared at the doe's glassy eyes and felt a kinship with her - but did not bask in the company of the dead for long. The belly came away to her teeth and she gorged herself until fit to burst, and only abandoned the carcass to seek out the bear-child.