Ouroboros Spine this is for the good ol' boys

if you have time/chickadee would be back yet ( though we can always forward date it if need be! ); left this all welcome just in case. <3

tracking the herds does not hold his attention as it once had; and distracted he had spooked one and lost one all together. @Chickadee claims her place at the forefront of kivaluk's mind until he could think of nothing else. worrying about her welfare, missing her like a palpable ache in his chest as if his heart were carved out and carried with her while she was aware visiting her family — his in-laws.

and wispy thoughts that have come more and more prevalent the longer time wears on that plagues any first time father he assumes: had they been successful?

he gives up on trying to salvage the trail he'd lost, accepting defeat of his own making as he trudges back to the spine, entirely too distracted to be of any use.

!!!

the young moonthorn had stayed for two weeks in brecheliant, during which time she'd at last accepted a truth her body already knew.
but on the journey back, stepping more carefully than she ever had before, chickadee had decided to guard her secret another week.
the sickness continues but she hid it from kivaluk as best she could, not wanting him to worry. 
they had settled into a routine, but today she stood with resoluteness and went to find him along the needle-choked path.
for a minute, chickadee could only gaze at kivaluk, unable to speak as she wildly hoped their children would look like him and not the father he detested.
"we're, uh, well, my mom says," and her eyes filled with happy tears, "we're going to have pups."
in the weeks to come, her body would start to bloom into a soft curve.

it is not long before chickadee finds him and he is filled with a wave of relief as he moves to greet her. but before he can finish crossing the distance she speaks and his steps come to an abrupt halt. he blinks at her, slowly at first and then again. head tilting for a moment as if he can't quite make sense of her words.

it takes his brain, more sluggish than he'd like, to catch up.

really?! it comes out choked; voice thick and cloying with emotions that had very suddenly lodged themselves in his throat. it is wild fear and anxiety but the happiness and warm and love drown it out.

his moonbeam gaze is soft as he takes her in, with what feels like new eyes.

that's great news, chickadee! he moves toward her then, to press kisses to her cheeks.

his confusion was adorable, his realization touching, his reaction so welcomed; chickadee wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders and laughed, her eyes wet before she knew it.
"it's very important that my mom and dad and my sisters are part of all this," she explained when she could catch her breath. "so we'll have to travel. a lot, maybe," but that was so small in the grand eye of things!

would he have been able, were he human, kivaluk would've picked her up in his arms and spun her 'round; so he settles for a relentless barrage of kisses: on her cheeks, on her muzzle.

and when he pulls back, it is to shift so that his muzzle brushes her flank. hi, little ones, kivaluk whispers. it's dad. she wasn't showing yet but he knows they're in there.

as she speaks of traveling, kivaluk pulls back to face her again; frowning, mind calculating, the answer to the equation making itself know quickly. you shouldn't be making trips like that, and you'll get to a point when you won't be able to, he's been around enough pregnant women to know that without doubt. why don't we move there? to brecheliant? we can go now, while you're still able to make the trip. if your parents'll have us, of course.

kukutux had her hands full with children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and maybe their moving to brecheliant would help take some of the strain off of moonglow.

she gasped! "but, kivaluk, what about — what about being firsthunter here? what about —" moonglow?
kukutux? his sister, galana! her heart raced, and all she could do now was stare at him, in hope and disbelief, hoping he would explain why he'd come to this choice.
the way he'd spoken to the babies misted her eyes, however; she could not help from grinning stupidly at him.

he is shaking his head as she speaks, asking about his title as firsthunter and though she trailed off he could guess what had been about to come next. perhaps kukutux would be disappointed in him, perhaps galana would be upset: but it wasn't as if moonglow wasn't absolutely thriving.

sivullik is just a rank. i am husband and father first and being husband and father is more important than a rank. and it wasn't as if moonglow didn't have hunters to take his place. as for moonglow, it's thriving. us relocating might even help take stress off them.

chickadee nodded as kivaluk gave her reasons, her anxieties ceasing as excited anticipation started to replace all the worry she'd had before. imagine mom's face when she came back pregnant and ready to stay, for good!
"all right," she said, brimming with delight. "i-i'll pack. but we should talk to kukutux first," the young woman said softly, face alight. she kissed his cheek, then the other; then giggling, for good measure, kissed his mouth and made as if to move toward the moon woman's ulaq.
she turned again! "no. first, we need to have galana for dinner. we should tell her before anyone else, since she just got back." and chickadee wanted to part in the best way possible.

if there were any reservations about relocating — mostly his own consideration if her family thought he was good enough for her, he was still nervous around his in-laws, having only met them a small handful of times — they are whisked away by her sheer delight.

there was a soft pang in his chest as the thought of how his sister might take his leaving, especially since he did not have her wanderer's heart. but it wasn't as if he were leaving the wilds all together! he was only moving a few neighborhoods away.

still very much within visiting range.

ok. we tell galana over dinner, tell mom and then we get ready to leave. he is eager to leave before she grows too round and travel becomes cumbersome upon her. besides, the sooner they got there, the sooner he could build her, her ulaq of her dreams.

"sounds good!" whatever trepidation she felt might have existed, but in that moment it was thoroughly quelled by how confidently kivaluk had suggested their move and taken charge of things.
despite the queasiness in her gut, chickadee wanted him then, settling for a lingered kiss. she settled for a time in his embrace.
it would be a new beginning for them both.