Bearclaw Valley keep stealing ribbons from the steel, and giving hell to every halyard you can
i will pry his bony fingers free
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All Welcome 
AW. backdated a bit. some stuff here to reference, idk, indra being pregnostic. tags are for reference, but of course you guys are welcome to hop in.

the last few weeks had gone by in a blur; things were busy for the redleaf. so busy that she often found herself sitting slumped at the corner of the den, weary-eyed and wishing the sun stayed up just a little longer, or the pups slept just a little longer. @Nunataq was a powerhouse, never tired, always going -- and indra, never energetic and always tired, followed after the girl's shenanigans with good humor and patience. @Marten had taken her a bit longer to get to know, but things were going to be okay, she thought.

@Laurel had been busy too, with her own pups to attend to -- they hadn't seen much of xan at all, and what they did see of him, they often drew him away. indra grew more tired, more restless, more frustrated as the days went on -- with everything.

him, how he had treated laurel, how he wasn't treating his kids, how she was tired to the bone from taking care of his kids, how they scrambled around like hens while he did whatever; had she not been suddenly imbued with permanent exhaustion and mysteriously gaining weight at a rapid pace, she might have tried convincing laurel to leave again.

the only thing that didn't make her more tired was @Tadec; indra found herself relying on him more and more - she loved the sweet way he interacted with the puppies, and how doting he was to her -- did she deserve him? did she?

it had come as a shock one day when she was thinking about how little she deserved anything, least of all tadec, that she was suddenly aware of a scent. cloying, sickly -- the scent that had hung around laurel for weeks. and then she was sick in the morning, then it was all the time, and once she put the pieces together a knot formed perpetually in her deeply dropping stomach and a dread; an overwhelming, inescapable dread.

what if she wasn't ready? what if tadec left her? what if she was an awful mother? what if laurel was mad, the puppies felt abandoned?

what if, what if, what if?

indra had always been a wolf enshrouded in her own troubled thoughts; she had always been prone to fitful melancholy.. and as the weeks blurred by, as they were wont to do when one felt wildly out of control, indra sunk deeper and deeper.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
Jalapeño
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While Indra had her doubts about being a good mother, Nunataq did not burden herself with such sad thoughts at all. Within two months, since Reigi had left Bearclaw valley, the russet she-wolf had become the girl's best friend/cuddle-cushion/sparring-partner/teacher and all other good things in the whole world. Though she was usually very busy and always onto doing something, there were these rare spurts of a very sincere affection and love that only Indra got to see and experience.

Despite that Nuna was completely ignorant to the fact that her caretaker could get tired, could not be in the mood of getting into the all mischief that the puppy offered and forgot about any kind of boundaries more often than she remembered them (Laurel was very good at reminding this). Therefore even now, when it was very clear that Indra should be left alone, the girl bounded excitedly towards her, bringing a piece of bird-wing she had found in the leaves. She did two zoomies around her and then came to a halt in front of her with all her features expressing the immense pride for her finding and want to hear appreciation and admiration from the older wolf.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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it was a good thing indra had the puppies to draw her from her dark thoughts; they were a beacon, a buoy on a tumultuous sea, a reminder that she needed to take care of herself, so she could take care of them too. 

she offered a weak smile as the ever-jubilant nunataq approached, a tucked and tattered wing carried in her mouth. tiredly indra watched as the girl zoomed around her. she admired the boundless energy nunataq was capable of harvesting, and it was enough to pull her out from the melancholy that dredged her worried mind. nunataq's pride shone clearly in her eyes; indra felt a warmth reinstilled in her as she proclaimed: "oh, what's that?" propping up onto her elbows and shifting her enormously laden girth under her, indra canted her muzzle to the side and spoke with a wink: "better keep that somewhere safe so the others don't get it."
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
Jalapeño
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Safe, hide? From whom? Nuna was radiating with self-confidence, at this moment she would be ready to take anyone and win, though the only real competition to the toy would probably be Marten, her other two buddies - Piper and Lucas - being a little too mellow for a full-scale playfight for toys.

Since no other action followed her display and in that case there was little if any fun at having a toy that no one else wanted, she spat it out and nudged it towards Indra. Then took few steps back and crouched, her sly gaze shifting from the older wolf back to the wing, she was ready to pounce any moment.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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she felt so fat, sitting there, an enormous hippo ready to burst. it didn't help nunataq had a streamlined youth to her, a tangle of lean limbs that contrasted directly against indra's heavy form. she rested her head on her tired legs and watched as nunataq seemed to think a moment and then discard the toy, offering it towards indra in what she knew was an attempt to garner play out of her.

better oblige her, indra thought with a smile -- she could play as lazily as possible and she imagined nunataq would still delight in it. with a laborious lunge she snapped at the wing, dragging it in front of nunataq with a playful spark in her sad eyes.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
Jalapeño
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Indra was a mind-reader - unlike most people, who had to be told twice, what Nuna wanted them to do. Her caretaker grabbed the wing and the puppy lunged forward a second later, securing the other end of the feathered thing between her teeth. She held still on it for a moment, then did a little tug and growled for a better effect, however, she did not put all strength in the motion, because the fun lied in the game of tug-o-war and not regaining the wing to herself on the first take.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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with the bird wing seized in her jaws, nunataq pounced upon it. rather than yank it out of reach (which would spoil the fun) indra held it at an angle, and nunataq's tiny teeth clipped onto the fragile thing with little growls. willing to match nunataq's energy indra let out her own quiet and playful growl, pulling the wing to-and-fro without full force in each tug. it was more fun to wrestle than to take, in indra's eyes, and she was thankful for the brief escape from her thoughts nunataq's ever-soaring presence offered.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
Jalapeño
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#8
Whatever you can do, I can do it better!

With this in mind Nuna drew in as much breath as possible and growled louder than Indra (or so the girl thought). The sound was followed by a heftier tug and she soon found herself tumbling backwards - having lost the grip on the wing with odd feathers still in her mouth. In the next instant (after a lot of lip and palate licking and spitting out the pieces of feather that had stuck inside her mouth), she was back in the game. With jaws parted and ready to grab, she charged at the wing again.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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a small explosion carried between them; feathers adrift in the air and nunataq's small body catapulted backwards. indra, suddenly loosened by the lack of tension on the other end, felt her neck jolt a bit. she could not hide the grin of amusement that followed, having witnessed such a spectacular cartwheel.

nevertheless, nunataq was not in the lease bit phased and came back swinging for more. indra, having gotten an idea watching nunataq's abrupt backflip, pulled just enough so that there was tension between them before she let go -- ooops!
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
Jalapeño
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#10
Nunataq's attack was succesful, she grasped, whatever had remained of the wing firmly, tugged with even more energy and suddenly it all back-fired on her again, with the toy in her mouth she was tumbling backwards. This she hardly noticed though - if one compared her to a boiling kettle, then now she was going over the top. She got back to her feet, kept hold of the wing and walked around shaking it viciously, growling and snarling at the same time. Feathers flew everywhere, the fragile bones snapped in her mouth and pieces of the severed toy scattered in all four directions. This was not enough for Nuna, who attacked each one of them, destroying them. And only then did the adrenaline rush dwindled, she fell on her bum, panting hard and looked over to Indra with a tired "Did you see that? I did it. I. Did. It.!"
i will pry his bony fingers free
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whoosh! nunataq catapulted back like a loosened arrow. if it had been indra's design, nunataq hardly seemed to suspect it; she trounced around, scattering feather and bone alike in a series of tiny snarls, and then committed each fallen feather to certain ruin. indra smiled contently to herself; these behaviors were promising, and were but a shade of the fierceness to come.

she watched as the feathers fluttered about them, and when nunataq seemed to settle she gave the girl an appraising look. it appeared to convey a quiet pride -- after a while she rose stiffly. her movements were suspenseful and deliberate. once she had captured nunataq's full attention, she snatched the spindly spine of an eviscerated feather, and then galloped off.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
Jalapeño
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#12
Nuna was not the one to sit on a success too long and Indra did a good job at keeping the young wolf motivated, occupied and focused. No sooner had the girl's adrenaline level's sunk, when her caretaker gave her another reason to get them high again by grabbing one sorry remain of a feather and galloping off. Prey drive kicked in with full force again and with a warlike "Rhumphf!" she went after her, catching up and attempting to regain the mangled feather by jumping up and down to reach it, where it was secured between Indra's jaws.
i will pry his bony fingers free
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the tattered feather was not much, indra was afraid -- already she thought it might get lost in her mouth, so small was its remaining spine and frill. all the same it was big enough to have captured nunataq's attention and ambition; she smiled between clenched teeth to hear the girl's warlike growl as she peeled off after her aunt.

indra would do her best to give nunataq challenge, but she kept most of her movements tamed and not too abrupt -- for now, nunataq was learning, and there was little sport in using one's full advantages against a disadvantaged adversary. as nunataq jumped alongside her indra lowered her head just enough so that if the girl was quick, she might find it was she who had the desired feather now, and not indra.
now the wren has gone to roost and the sky is turning gold,
and like the sky, my soul is also turning.
Jalapeño
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#14
Nuna missed her opportunities to reclaim the feather, because she had got over-excited again and at time she lost the focus of why she was doing this. Eventually she forgot it all together and feeling tired for the time being from all the exertion just fell on her haunches and looked Indra in the eyes with a happy grin and tongue lolling out from the corner of her mouth.

She was done for the next 45 minutes or so. Then she would resume.