Broken Antler Fen And as the world comes to an end

I think a new thread is an order :3 @Sebastian
pushed back to before the hunt

Pearl was napping close to the meeting place, far too exausted to travel much farther to her and Sebastian's den. The Alphess knew better than to refuse food so her subordinates could eat, but she did it anyway. They had to eat, and she took as little as she was offered so they would keep going. It wasn't healthy for her and nor was it very Alpha-like. 

The pale female was slimming down alarmingly fast, but her coat was able to hide whatever was there, or rather what wasn't. But sooner or later, her doting mate would come across and find her. You couldn't very well hide from someone you slept beside every night, or who was bound to notice her wobbly exits in the morning. She could only hope it came later rather than sooner.

Maybe I will use this for medic! :D

Sebastian was pretty beaten himself too. The male was a large one and to sustain his body he needed more food. To move his limbs took more effort but he walked past the borders anyways, refreshing the scent markers and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious or maybe some type of prey.

He and his mate were most definitely not the alpha couple that claimed all, they both shared with their members. When the male returned, head low to the ground, and half slumping he saw Pearl laying down. The male's head shot up and made effort to trot forward, stumbling a bit over his own legs. "Pearl," he spoke sank down on his haunches. "Did you drink enough?,' he asked, Sebastian kept his belly 'full' with water to go against the hunger pains, at least they had enough of that.

Pearl's head jerked up at the sound of her name, instantly regretting it as black spots entered her vision, but calming and resuming casualness when she recognized her mate. She yawned and looked up at him, so wonderfully glad she had a mate that cared for her. "Probably not," she said, expression mildly confused. Did she need more than what she normally drank? Pearl took a small drink whenever she passed by one of the water sources, which was quite often, but too much made her stomach hurt. 

"Why? Is that what you're doing to fend it off?" she asked, curious about what her much larger mate was up to, since he needed more than her. She was concerned for everyone, especially Sebastian.

Sebastian looked at her worriedly, after all they had enough water to drink from. They lived in partial wetlands. Sebastian also still wanted to be a medic, and he realized that drinking water helped. "Yes. The water will fill your stomach. It is not the same as food but it will keep you up," he explained to her and then nudged her gently.

He could see the worry in her eyes and licked over the top of her head. "Don't worry about me. I will be fine," he admitted, though he would need to eat soon. Maybe he was able to catch something small. The fish in the fisherman's Fen were kind of lacking due to over fishing. "Let's go to Fisherman's Fen. Maybe there are some fish along with water for you," he offered to her.

Pearl slowly rose to her feet, careful to avoid the lightheadedness that often came with getting up. She nodded to Sebastian, giving him a lick back on the cheek. "That sounds good," she said, starting them off towards Fisherman's Fen to hopefully find some food. She hadn't been in a couple days, so maybe there were some on the banks or shallows they could snag. 

As they were making their way to the fen, Pearl turned her head and asked, "Who have you been thinking about promoting to Beta?" It sure seemed a wild time to ask, not that having a Beta would make things any easier during the famine, but why not? "Just wondering"

Sebastian watched her get to her feet, ready to help her, if she proved too weak. He was not so steady either but at least he would help her. He walked with her at a casual and slow pace. He did not have the energy to move quickly.

Sebastian angled his head a bit. "I have been thinking of Ambrosia, but she is away a lot, so I can't really have her be Beta. Then there is Aduin but I am not certain if he is confident enough to lead if we would be away. And well, then there is Brandy, as Aduin's mate but I find her too young and too inexperienced pack wise," he explained to his mate. "What do you think?"

Pearl offered a smile to her mate, wondering when this would all be over and the prey would come back. Then everyone would be healthy and happy, and another chance might come to have pups. The future looked all dandy and sweet, but the present, however, kinda sucked.

On the topic of Beta, Pearl had to agree with Sebastian. "Yeah, Ambrosia would have been my first choice in the past as well. Maybe we have to wait and see if any others 'prove themselves worthy' for the position." she said, flashing a glance up at the sky. Pearl looked into the distance with a blank expression. "It seems like we have to wait for a lot of things now. For the plants to grow back, for the prey to return, and...just for this all to end. I just want this to end." 

Sebastian hoped that once the famine was over and food would be plentiful Pearl might go in another heat. Though then they did have the chance that if she had pups they would be born in autumn or worse, winter. Sebastian badly wanted to start a family with his mate, and well, he thought the pack was ready for it too. They had settled in their roles. If only their surroundings were helping out.

With these bad conditions it was tough to not go into negative thinking. He did not wish that for Pearl and instantly nudged her in comfort. "None of that," he spoke, trying to be his positive self too. "You don't have to wait for my love anymore. We should look at this differently. We will survive this, and it will make us stronger. Our pack is so much closer already. A true family, and once we survive this we will rewarded with pups of our own," he spoke. They reached the fisherman's lake. "Drink, drink as much as you can and then drink more. It will feel unnatural but your belly will feel full," he advised, before starting to drink himself.

Pearl honestly didn't think she was being all that negative and was just stating what was in her brain. Regardless, she was immensely grateful for the reasurance, which she needed more than she thought. Now pups, that was something that she hadn't quite thought of much with the famine going on. It was a plesant thought, a bunch of chubby, fluffy miniture combinations of them running around the fens, which in a better time, would be bursting with greenery and plenty of prey. It would come soon enough, but it seemed as if that fantasy was off in another place, meant for someone else. For now, she smiled hopefully at Sebastian, wondering how she was lucky enough to end up with him.

She did as she was told and lapped at the water until she felt funny enough to stop, her face betraying her with a weird look at the ground. Pearl shifted her gaze to Sebastian, who was somehow managing through all of this. He didn't look well, but none of them did at this point. Briefly, she wondered how many lives the famine had claimed already, and how many more had to be before it stopped. She felt like cursing at the earth, but it wouldn't do much good. Still, it would make her feel a bit better, but she remembered what Seb had said a long while ago about his stance on cursing.

So Pearl settled on light conversation, padded over to her mate and sat beside him. After burying her face in his fur and enjoying his scent, she leaned against him and asked, "What do you think our pups would look like?"

Sebastian drank water too together with Pearl. It didn't take long before they settled down, both having their bellies full with water. The male hummed softly when Pearl settled against him. He rested his head against her. He wanted nothing more than to start a family with her.

"I would not know, all I do know that they will basically be perfect. I hope they will look like you because you are very pretty," he spoke and nudged her. Even though he bones were showing Sebastian still thought that she was the most beautiful creature on this planet and she was his.

The male licked the top of her head. "Even though now we can't have them yet, it means they will only be more wanted when they are born," he spoke, sounding pleased. The whole pack was probably waiting for them to have young. It seemed right. They had settled.

Pearl smiled contently, despite the present situation. For now they were together, and the future was still possible. She had to give a soft giggle when he complemented her and it only felt natural to say something back. "And you so they can be adorable handsome fluffballs," she teased, though in all truthfullness that's what she hoped. 

"Yeah, and they'll be the most loved and spoiled pups that ever existed." she said, wagging her tail happily back and forth. She knew that everyone in the pack would (most likely) love having them around, and then came to a realization...Aduin would be an uncle! With a slow spreading grin, she immediately looked up at Sebastian. "So that'll make Aduin an uncle, then," she said, wondering what Addie's reation would be.

Sebastian cracked a smile because he kind of had that adorable handsomeness. He realized that after three girls had crushed on him in a short period of time. The male chose for Pearl, realizing she was the best for him. Leveled and balanced. They were both calm. Sebastian smiled happily, even though hunger was gnawing at his stomach.

She started about Aduin and made his think of his own siblings. Nathaniel he had ran into but left again, so emotionally detached and broken. He hadn't seen Avi in a long time. She had left without saying anything. "Yes he will. Aduin will be a good uncle I think. All of the wolves in this pack will be family," he spoke, he was certain of that.

The young male raised his chin a bit, proudly so. "We will make it Pearl," he stated. "The greens are returning, so it can't be long. Just a moment longer!"