The Sunspire I've been upside down; I don't wanna be the right way 'round

AW :) @Sorin & @Siqsa for visibility. (Slight pp, let me know if I need to edit anything

It was early morning when the wolfess rose, for the sun had yet to rise over the jagged peaks of the mountains ahead of them. Pale golden light peeked over the crest of the heights to blend against the soft grey of the morning sky. It was clear, with no sign of clouds and a last star winked dimly to the east. 

She left the Lair behind with her rapid but moderate pace - intending to scout ahead. Perhaps Sorin was in the best shape but Liri blended in best with the snow lingering on the ground. The ghost had long ago learned to fade into the shadows, to go unnoticed amongst the silence of the forest and its inhabitants. 

She had slept uneasily near the mouth of the cavern the night before, trying to ignore the lack of the warm titan that was usually close by - uncertain how Sorin might feel about sleeping at her side with Siqsa so near. He would be bound to see them curled together and Liri wasn't sure the raven wanted her relative to draw any conclusions about their relationship. 

The word nearly brought her paws to a halt mid-stride. Liri shook her head slightly, ignoring the falter. 

The prospect of contemplating whatever was happening between she and Sorin was frightening. Liri wasn't sure she wanted to think about what exactly their relationship was. 

As she trekked east, picking her path carefully through the mountains, her thoughts unwillingly turned back towards the forlorn raven. 

They were something like friends she supposed, but closer admittedly. Sorin was the first person to ever truly empathize with her past and yet, Liri wasn't sure she could tell him everything. He knew of her childhood and her marriage with Kavik, but what of every horror that lurked under bed, of the skeletons rattling about the floor of her closet? Would he still look at her and see the woman he thought strong if he knew the things she had seen; the things that had been done to her? 

Liri swallowed heavily as her head ducked self-consciously, feeling small and tarnished. 

And what of that nameless, hopeful surge that rushed through her when she met his verdant gaze? What of the glowing warmth that was beginning to seep in in place of the guilt that had once wracked her tiny frame when he curled around her on cold nights? What did it mean that the scarred fae felt whole in the raven's presence, longed for something she couldn't quite pinpoint. 

Liri stumbled to a halt, earthy optics falling shut as confusion swirled through her like a northern blizzard. 

She opened her eyes wearily, lifting them to find herself in the ghostly remains of her former allies' home. She'd been so engrossed in thought that instinct had led her through the familiar territories, guiding her back to the domain that had once belonged to Rannoch. 

Liri's gaze flickered about with a glint of curiosity as she began to explore, intending to insure that all was well here before circling back to regroup with the men. 

Taki woke up long before the sun rose, her nausea winning out against her exhaustion. The constant sick feeling had only worsened as her pregnancy progressed, and she spent most days fighting to keep anything in her stomach; she had lost some weight as a result, but not too much. She was large wolf anyway, so losing a little weight wouldn't be too detrimental to her or the life growing inside her. And even though she was almost half way through her pregnancy, she still hadn't noticed a rounded abdomen. If she wasn't so sick and exhausted all the time, she'd wonder if she even was pregnant at all. Today her nausea and been accompanied by an uncomfortable burning sensation that felt like it spread from her chest all the way up to her throat, making her feel even worse and definitely taking any prospects of eating anytime soon off the table. She had tried drinking from the icy lake of their territory, but it had only made the feeling worse, causing her to regurgitate some of the liquid into her mouth. Resigning to the fact that she would probably just feel like complete shit until the pups were born, she had set out to explore in hopes that it would help distract her from her feeling poorly. 

She returned to the tall mountain, set on trekking to the spot high up on the peak she had found the last time she had explored this area. Her plans changed though when she scented another wolf nearby. The scent seemed vaguely familiar, and so she was even more curious to find the wolf it belonged to. She padded quietly through the snow until she saw the similarly-colored female a short distance in front of her. As she got closer, it clicked why the scent was familiar. She was one of the leaders of the plateau. She knew from what Ruenna had told her that the pack no longer existed, but she was still curious as to her reason for being here. Had she been a complete stranger, Taki would have greeted her with her usual suspicion, but even feeling as sick as she did, she had no desire to be ugly to former plateau wolf. She too had lost her home and her pack, so she felt for the other northerner, a very rare feeling for her. She gave a low chuff as she approached, stopping a comfortable distance away. 

As she waited for a response, she was hit with an intense tightening of her stomach, and saliva began to pool in her mouth. Fuck--she knew the feeling well; it only meant one thing. Before she could move away or give any warning, she was forced to empty her stomach contents on the snow at her feet. She gave a heavy sigh after and took a seat, wishing she could just fall off the mountain now.

The tracker didn't expect to find anything of note - the Sunspear pack was long gone though Liri liked to think she could still detect a faint scent of Wraen upon the rocks. There were no signs that anything else had inhabited the territory lately, no scat or the musky scent of predator to be found. 

A vague sensation of being observed prickled along the nape of her neck as her pale crown lifted, dark gaze sweeping the treeline. The northron nearly missed the ivory figure, given how well the fellow arctic wolf blended in against the wintry backdrop. Liri's auds flickered as a chuff of greeting was carried to her across the vale, a low rumble of welcome leaving the healer's throat in return as she turned towards the stranger. 

Something about the woman's confident stride, the sparkle of her citrine gaze, alerted Liri to her identity even before Takiyok approached but it took a moment for her to place the vaguely familiar face. 

"Takiy-," the name began to slip from her tongue, pronounced in the harsh lyrics of the northern language, but the fae was stopped by the sight of the northern woman lunging forward, shoulders curling as she hunched in on herself. 

Liri leaned back instinctively as the contents of Taki's stomach made a reappearance. The healer had cared for enough mothers, had been one herself briefly, to recognize the symptoms for what they were. The pale stretch of the former leader's stomach wasn't yet swollen with the evidence of the new life growing within but the scent lingering on her pelt, the scent of the vomit, would have given it away eventually. 

"Congratulations appear to be in order, " the healer murmured, not unkindly, "but first, are you alright?" Concern twinkled in her cinnamon optics as she hesitantly offered her assistance. 

Sorry for the wait!

She silently cursed herself for the position she was in. Taki didn't like not being in control, especially in the presence of someone who mas merely a vague acquaintance; it seemed her body had different plans as she was quickly learning, and it didn't really care what she wanted. She nodded her head at the congratulations, getting up and finding a spot closer to the other wolf and farther from the evidence of her moment of weakness. I apologize, she said first, slipping into her native tongue; it felt nice to speak it after not using it for so long even through the irritation she felt with herself. I'm fine...just very nauseous, she continued. She glanced at the other woman, studying her for a few moments before speaking again. I...pretty much feel like this all the time, Taki offered hesitantly. It was strange for her to admit that to someone that was practically a stranger and honestly, she wasn't entirely sure why she had offered it. Hormones making her soft maybe? She didn't know, but it was too late now to care about being reserved with the contents of her breakfast lying just a few steps away from them.

"That's alright, " she smiled slightly, "not like you can help it." A soft chuckle escaped with the quip. The healer had seen too much of the lupine body, including what lay under the flesh, to lose her lunch over a bit of puke. 

"Some women do. It can fade as your pregnancy progresses or it might last the duration of it, unfortunately, " she grimaced in sympathy, thinking of her son. She'd not experienced much morning illness with her passed litter but then again, her body had probably needed all the nutrients she could get in Kelina's company. 

"I don't believe I know any remedies offhand, though you might try a herb for stomach aches, " Liri murmured thoughtfully, brow furrowing as she thought. "Chervile maybe or perhaps watermint."

God, she hoped this wouldn't last her whole pregnancy; she couldn't imagine feeling like this for the foreseeable future. But it wasn't like she had much say in the matter. She committed the herbs to memory and made a note to check with Mahler when she returned to the lake to see if he had anything like that. Thank you, she offered with a nod. 

Eager to distract herself from the nausea, she steered the conversation away from her pregnancy symptoms. What brings you to the mountains? she asked, hoping it was an innocent enough question and wouldn't provoke anything painful for the pale woman. Taki wasn't up for discussing the fall of her own pack, and so she assumed the other woman felt similarly.

Liri nodded once in response to the northern leader's gratitude - understanding that it was courtesy though such thanks felt undeserved. She was a healer; it was Liri's life calling to help those in need of assistance. 

"Just...trying to make it to spring, you know?" She answered with a slight smile, paw rolling over a small pebble underfoot idly as she toyed with it. 

She'd never known Takiyok well enough to speak with her openly about the betrayal that had torn her assunder, the pack she had seen crumble like so many infirm stone pillars tumbling down. An unspoken agreement not to speak of their issues settled over the pair, an agreement the Blackfoot was loathe to break. 

"What about you? What led to this?" The healer asked curiously, tipping her skull towards the woman's stomach in question. It lingered unsaid that she needn't answer if it was too personal an inquiry.

She nodded, understanding what it meant to just get by when things in life were difficult. Taki followed Liri's gaze to her stomach, looking back to her before answering. An agreement born mostly out of mutual respect, she answered first. The father is a good man and has earned my trust; we both wanted strong children, the northerner supplied. She left out that the father was also the leader of Diaspora, feeling uncomfortable divulging that detail to someone she barely knew; it was kind of an important detail, especially to someone wishing harm against her pack. What better way to do that than to do something to the leader's children or the woman carrying the leader's children? Not that she thought Liri would do such a thing, but you never knew who could be listening or what the future might bring. Regardless, she never really trusted anyone that hadn't proven they were worthy of it, and so she felt like she had made the right decision for her children's sake.

Liri smiled, not even considering the fact that the Ateneq might find the question threatening. She was genuinely curious and honestly just didn't want to talk about the Plateau. 

"That's actually nice to hear," Liri admitted honestly with a slight grin borne of hearing good news. "Everything has been so messed up lately that it's just sorta refreshing to hear something positive, you know?" 

At least Takiyok and the father had their head on their shoulders - they had a good relationship or so it seemed, and they appeared ready to provide for their mutual children. 

"I wish you the best of luck with your children," she murmured encouragingly, hoping that she didn't seem too odd to the other northerner.

Super sorry for this atrocious wait. Wanna wrap up?

She knew not everyone would understand her ways,  but it seemed this woman saw the benefit of her agreement. She wasn't sure if the other woman was intending to invite her into a talk about her problems, but Taki was the last wolf she wanted to seek comfort from. Had she been a packmate, she would have been more receptive, but as cold as it sounded, this wolf held none of her loyalty, and so she didn't feel she earned such consideration. So she only nodded her agreement.

Thank you, she replied to the other woman's last statement. Suddenly, her nausea spiked again, and she stood. I'm sorry, I should get back, she explained. She was not going to vomit again in front of this stranger. Without waiting for a response, she turned and trotted away, vomiting once she was far away from the woman and then returning home to rest.