Two Rivers Isle We all got expectations and sometimes they go wrong

Ady woke with a start and realized she was starving. Like deep down, so painful she wanted to cry starving, and it had nothing to do with not having the meat to eat. It was simply finally she could eat without getting sick, or at least she felt like it. She stood wobbling on her petite paws, her belly starting to round out, the hair growing thinner. If she was uncertain if she was pregnant she definitely was no longer.

She pressed a paw there and smiled to herself. She was having Ulrich's babies. Life couldn't get any better, it just wasn't possible. She hummed to herself as she went in search of something to absolutely gorge herself on. 

The next wolf to find her would find her butt in the air, eating like she was dying blood on her pristine fur. And potentially crying because it was a defenseless rabbit that they had killed and she was eating, but she was so hungry and the pups were moving and her belly ached, and she was so happy she just couldn't take it.

*grabby hands with ady/ise threads* 

she hasn't seen her shadow recently. iseul has done her best to gather the gifts she intends to give him with the advice that ady had given her. the woman has been working to fill the caches with the meat she finds in the isle. as the weather slowly began to become slightly warmer, iseul has been able to stay in the water of the rivers for longer and fish.

while her failure was often more common than her success, she was at least beginning to have better techniques for going about the entire fishing process. today was no different, and this time, the girl had gotten lucky! a striped bass was hellbent on slapping the everliving daylight out of iseul in an attempt to get away (and for a few tries it was actually successful!)

so now the fish, finally accepting its fate and covered with dirt, hung from her jaw as iseul triumphantly walks away from the river, freshly shaken in an attempt to dry. though now, as she strolls through, she can see a very peculiar white coat ahead of her. though as she comes closer, iseul was not expecting to see the other end of ady.

"ah-ee?" she tries to sound out her name with the fish in her jaws, head cocked as she wonders if the pregnant woman was scrounging around for something to eat.

*clasps hands* I'm game :D

The wolves that made up their home. All of them were working as well as they could to make sure everyone was taking care of.  None more so than the sweet Iseul. Who was fast becoming one of Ady's most beloved friends.

A soft muted noise and she turned with a lick of lips. And a smile. Iseul! She wiped at her face and her eyes, brushing the tears away. 

Sorry. I'm emotional today. These babies make me feel good and frightened all at once.

She didn't know quite how to say it any better than that. Iseul had a handle on the language mostly, but there was still some barriers in place.

ady looked like the little kid who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but thankfully, iseul was not one to tell on others for little misdoings, especially when eating for more than just 1!

now, iseul was a woman, this was true. but she had not experienced her first heat, and certainly not her own pregnancy. in all honestly, she really had no idea what amazing changes were going on in ady's body. but all she knew was that being supportive is what mattered.

she comes to drop the fish and offer her friend a soft nuzzle of her nose against her white fur, windswept from her feverish eating. "no need sorry," she says, meaning to say 'no apology required', "is ady hungry still? want fish?" she nudges the fish closer to her friend's paws, wondering if she had a taste for seafood or if that made her queasy.

Ady was more ashamed of her emotions than eating. Though she was emotional because of what she was eating, which honestly made no sense. And that made her want to cry all the harder. But she didn't. She fought it back.

Ady buried her face into her friends shoulder for a moment. Taking the support freely given. And a moment to calm herself down. Then she took a deep breath and smiled. 

I am always  hungry it seems. Do you think it will all be okay? She asked on a whisper. Unsure what to do. She hadn't ever done this either, and she had no other woman to ask.

"hungry is normal" she comes to say in a comforting tone. the woman was most likely eating for an entire little fleet within her evergrowing belly and iseul was never one to shame others on their portions. ady needed all the lady support anyways the closer she got to her due date. and while iseul was no midwife, she did at least have some knowledge from her home life that being pregnant was no fun ordeal.

"always okay. 앉다, sit, eat." isuel comes to rest with her friend and begins to take off the unsavory parts of the fish, such as the fins and scales and all of the hard-to-eat parts. and when she felt proud of her quick cleaning skills, she returns to catch back to ady. "being 어머니 is work."

Ady felt at ease with her friend. IT made her feel better to know that perhaps she wasn't just being strange. That this was all normal and she was normal. That was the best part. That perhaps she was really cut out for motherhood. These were the things she worried about so often.

Ady felt tears spring to her eyes at the sheer goodness that was Isuel. She not only made sure Ady was okay, but she made sure to take care of her evergrowing appetite and so carefully too.

You are wonderful! She said happily, as she slowly bit into the fish, though she cut off a small portion with claw and ground and pressed it towards  Isuel.

You eat too?

it always seemed like it was a battle of politeness between her and the leaders of the river, though iseul had no complaints. while it was customary to fight over the checks and other forms of paying, eating, etc. iseul knew better than to argue with a very pregnant and very hormonal woman.

so, she comes to eat the part split off for her with a swift nod of thanks towards her pristine friend. "is ady happy?" she asks her, "to be mother?" well it felt like there would probably be an obvious answer, but iseul liked talking about these things. they were almost like forbidden questions back at home in fear of coming off as rude. however, it was often therapeutic to talk and get things onto the table; besides, iseul would know when to push and when to pull back anyways.

Adylaide and Ulrich had been both raised in a culture where politeness was a veneer for everything else. You were polite at all times, especially if you were a princess and a guard. You never let it show outwardly how you really felt about anyone or anything. And it had broken her heart, but she had found out. She didn't mind the politeness if it was genuine.

At the question ady inhaled sharply. Though it wasn't because her friend upset her, it was because she wasn't sure. 

I'm happy, but I'm also very scared. What if something goes wrong? Or I'm a terrible mother. Ully will be an amazing dad, but I'm not sure if i'll be a good mom. I never had to take care of anyone. Everyone always took care of me.

She pressed her paw into the dirt, unsure. And though I am happy the fear outweighs it at times.

she could hear the concern that laced her friend's words, and iseul wanted to take away all those negative thoughts from her.

iseul reaches so that her paw laws atop ady's gently, as a friend would come to hold your own. "okay. it is okay Ady scared." had she the words, she could spin an entire verse on how ady would be a wonderful mother no matter what. the fact of being scared shows that the delicate woman cares for her litter and provides them with the utmost care.

"Ady learn, maybe ahh– make mistake," she comes to bring her other paw in to sandwich Ady's with her own in a gentle squeeze, "but Ady smart, and Ully and Iseul help. Ady not... not alone." it wasn't much to offer, but it was probably better than nothing. with enough social support, Ady would come to be a fine mother. But now this makes Iseul wonder if she should go looking for a woman with experience and seek out what she should know about caring for kids.

A soft watery smiled colored her face as her friend touched her paw and spoke sweetly. And Ady supposed part of her understood that by worrying she was indeed showing that she cared, and would do as good as she could, but she just wasn't sure about any of it.

A sweep of her tail and a gentle croaking laugh as she leaned against Iseul's shoulder happily. They would help her, the would do as well as they could all three of them. Ady hoped that her babies grew to love Iseul as much as she did.

her friend sits quietly with her and iseul is more than glad to offer her a shoulder for support. and while most would just enjoy the silence, iseul has yet to pick up on the social cue norms for the wilds. 

her muzzle would come to reach for ady's fur to begin a light grooming to return it back to the sparkling white hue it always holds, so long as she didn't mind. it was like friends who braided each others' hair while they gossiped with one another. if ady asked her to stop or pulled away, iseul would simply follow directions. but if she sat still, the young girl would come to sweep away bits of dirt and blood with her tongue.

"does ady have names for puppies?" that was always the hardest part for some, just coming up with the names. some wanted them to be all connected while others wanted them to be completely different. iseul never gave thought to what she would ever name her kids if she had any.

Ady leaned into the touch, returning where she could of the preen to her friend. This was often done when they were in the court, the girls would sit and chat and preen. Though it wasn't as calming as this was, nor was it any type of fun for Ady. Though this time, she found she didn't mind. A friend to speak with it seemed made all the difference.

A soft smile. "So far only two. Everarda for a girl and Manias for a boy." 
She hadn't thought of any other names yet. Unsure if she would have more than two. Though she was certainly large enough, that ti stood to reason she'd have more than two. Goodness she could barely move lately. It was frustrating.

those names sounded hard to copy for iseul, so instead of butchering them with her own attempt, she decides to simply hum as an answer. she thought they sounded delicate yet strong, seemingly a combination of both the parents. "i like." it was not the biggest compliment she could have come up with, but the meaning was still behind it.

"back home," she comes to say gently, "some want boy first, they get ah– mad if girl first." it was a common view at the time her parents were young and even when iseul was small. though, had she been back, she would have learned that the opposite is actually happening. most are actually preferring girls, perhaps for a myriad of reasons. "does ady or ully want uh... specific?" more or less she means to ask if they had a preference for gender. though, if the mother already had a few names picked already for both genders, perhaps she was just happy to have healthy kids in the end.

Ady hadn't thought of the names on other's tongues. It was just names from when they were children. Names that she had liked. Names that fit with her and Ulrich's names. A small smile lit up her face at Iseul's agreement that they were nice names. It was nice to know that someone else liked them too.

Ady nodded. My family was like that. They had boys before me. In my family, if you were a boy you could be an heir and if your father had many sons, and one died in war, or from sickness. You could stay in power if you had more. But it is a doubled edge claw, because if you have many sons, only one can be the heir and then, well you can imagine the fighting.

Ady shook her head. I believe Ully and I will just be happy to have healthy children away from the darkness that we came from.

it was a bit strange and perhaps comforting to know that ady shared some attributes that iseul has seen in her days. the universe has a mysterious way of connecting others to the tiger's life, perhaps the string would continue to split off and bring more and more wolves into the fold of the yoon.

"it is good," she comes to say for a moment, "that ady has ulrich. there are  판소리, stories about love where i from. many many stories." there were many tales of both pure love and tragedy, where stars had to find ways to seek each other's embrace with the help of birds from the earth.

"but ady and ulrich are my favorite." perhaps nothing would top what iseul had been told of her friend.

Ady knew all to well love stories that ended in tragedy. Were she to persue Ully from whence they came. It would have signed his death warrant and perhaps even hers. The thought of not being with Ulrich. Well she could understand some of the stories better and why some made the choices they had. She may have done the same. 

Ady's tail wagged and she pulled her friend to her tightly again. It was so nice to have someone so loving as a best friend. It made her heart sing.

The gods favored me when they brought you to me, Iseul.