Arrow Lake men crawled through deserts

blodreina feels fairly well rested, despite that she sleeps on and off. when she does sleep it is heavy and unperturbed even if @Praimfaya is awake and nurses. she'd be more concerned about it — sleeping light comes naturally to her as a warrior alone — but she doesn't fret too much. she had just given birth over twenty four hours ago, after all; and though she suspects it might take her a while to get herself back into pre-baby shape once more ( especially while praimfaya isn't weaned ) she doesn't feel the same level of exhaustion she felt while heavily pregnant and it's immediately rejuvenating to her spirit; and one pup, well she figures ingram and her can keep up with praimfaya easily enough even when she is mobile and innately curious about everything ( tori snickers @ blodreina b/c yeah, you think that n o w ).

for now, blodreina tries not to think of how quickly the little wanheda will grow and tries to just enjoy what is unbeknownst to her the easiest stage of motherhood. she tries to stretch discreetly — acutely aware of praimfaya nestled against her fur — and relaxes as she shifts slightly so the newborn is in her view. it's hard to tell whether the girl is awake or asleep but blodreina roughly assumes that not nursing is asleep and nursing is awake. here we are little one. blodreina murmurs in her native tongue to the newborn, aware as she was that the girl couldn't hear her. welcome to the world.

deaf or not, it still felt appropriate for blodreina to properly welcome her into the world, as to which she'd been far too exhausted and far too emotional to do so directly following praimfaya's birth.

*snipes* <3

it had been a few days since praimfaya was born, and ingram still can't get over it. how was something so small? how had he ever been so small? he was still in awe; any time praimfaya moved, a coo pressed forth from his throat unbidden. anytime she squirmed or squalled, he was fluttering right there -- probably overwhelming to blodreina.

he couldn't help it; never in ingram's life had he ever had a purpose -- but this, this was it. he was meant to be a father. he might someday make a good friend, a good mate, maybe even a good leader -- but he would always strive in his heart be a father that never saw his little girl want for anything.

he was just outside the den when he heard blodreina murmur softly to her girl -- the words he did not understand, but in his heart a pride bloomed, for there was unmistakable gentleness and affection in blodreina's words. for a moment, he peeked in, his eyes adoringly on the pair that was now his entire world.

<3 this is small but i wanted to get this in quick before work.

blodreina bows her head to press her muzzle, gently — because there's a very serious part of her that's afraid she might accidentally hurt praimfaya — to the girl's back though the touch is brief as the new mother strives ultimately to not stir the child from her sleep. the approach of footfalls draws blodreina's attention and her head lifts though she recognizes the cadence of ingram's gait by now to know it is him even before he peeks into the den. hey, blodreina greets him warmly.

nw! <3

ingram had barely moved his snout under the opening when he caught blodreina's gaze: she was an ever-watchful mother, and of course, had detected his hanging presence. his features split in a grin as their eyes met -- he couldn't help it.

"you two are cute," he announced, moving so that his shoulders had breached the den's mouth but nothing any further. reclining onto his stomach, the male inspected praimfaya wonderingly. "she seems to be doing well. how are you?" while ingram was invested in both of their wellbeing, he worried more for blodreina; she was the one that was cooped up, and likely had needs or wants she had to discard in favor of attending their child.

blodreina feels her lips curling into a genuine and almost demure smile as ingram calls them cute, meeting his gaze as a soft heat floods the flesh of her cheeks ( and boy, is she grateful for fur to hide it ). she'd never been the kind to blush over any compliment anyone had paid her — but recalling back, she can't think the last time anyone'd ever called her 'cute' — and reminds herself that she hadn't exactly given anyone a chance to. for a quiet moment, she wonders what it is ingram sees her because all she has ever seen of herself is bloodstained teeth, to the point where she hadn't been so sure there was anything underneath all that ferocity. she'd never given herself a chance to be soft, to discover who lay beneath all that war-torn armor.

she's the cutest. blodreina sighs in agreement, breaking eye-contact with her beau then to look lovingly upon their little wanheda. praimfaya kicks out a paw in her sleep and makes a small coo-ing noise in her slumber. it definitely a stereotypical mom thing to say. didn't every mother on the planet think their babes were the cutest? she looks like my mother, blodreina remarks quietly, unable to remember if she'd already mentioned that to him. my mother was renowned for her fighting skills but also her beauty. blodreina recalls with a soft noise, not unlike my sisters. both freyja and thyri had been beautiful ...and there'd been a brief time when blodreina ( then, eske ) had been jealous of them for it.

i'm ok. i feel a lot more rested now. now that she wasn't close-to and laboring. i feel like i shouldn't but, for many selfish reasons i can't wait until she's old enough to go outside. despite that not all of blodreina's reasons are selfish. it's a big world beyond this den and why shouldn't that world be praimfaya's oyster? and yet, i also dread it. there's a lot more danger out there. the conflicting emotions are quickly becoming what blodreina is internally referring to as the 'nomon paradox'.

how're you doing? she returns the question to him, genuinely curious to see how he's taking all this — though from what she's observed ingram appears to have taken to his role as a father without missing a beat — and on the next breath asks. any new developments with the pack? because she feels a bit out of the loop not being able to patrol ( and she's nosy af like that ).

ingram’s ears focused on blodreina, though his gaze was riveted to the tot nestled between the wanlida’s paws. in a moment indescribably too cute for words, the little girl stretched her tiny toes, and unfurled an equally little yawn that just had ingram’s heart stirring. was anything truly so cute?

he’d been quiet as blodreina mentioned praimfaya’s similarity to her granddam; almost unprompted, he wished to point out that blodreina was beautiful too — he did not find the wanlida even approaching the territory “ugly”. well, sounds like those traits run in the family. ingram remarked softly, seeing just as much as blodreina in the small child. 

prompted then to think of something besides his daughter, ingram’s expression became serious. not much has changed. takiyok’s whelps are now allowed to roam a little further. they are doing well — you will be there soon, too. he smiled encouragingly, knowing she must wish to get out. i can guard any time you want to stretch your legs. he slid in, hopeful blodreina would take him on his offer any time she needed to do so. i am afraid though, that right before you left, aurewen’s mate went missing. ingram did not implicate the male in his statement; he did not know the wolf well enough to believe if he had deserted, or simply gone missing. but her puppies seem well.

blodreina smiles at him, perhaps a bit demurely when he mentions that the trait runs in the family — he's called her beautiful before ...when he'd first showed up on diaspora's borders — and while she's heard many adjectives thrown at her that one is still new and taking her a bit to get used to ( but probably also because as a child she'd never wanted to be seen as beautiful but fierce and intimidating instead ). you flatter all the girls like that? she quips on impulse teasing him as a slow, impish smirk steals away the modesty she'd felt previously.

soon enough though, at her own prompting, the conversation steers to a more serious matter and reina offers ingram her rapt attention, giving a sage nod to hear that takiyok's pups are able to roam a bit further, giving her a small peace of mind that she wouldn't be den-ridden forever; despite that her claustrophobia hasn't been too bad all things considered. thank you. reina tells him warmly, appreciative of both the offer to give her some time to stretch her legs and information on what she's missed.

ingram's words about verx do not bring much surprise to blodreina — she had noticed his scent starting to wane before putting herself on den-rest — and she feels a swell of irritation towards her uncle simmer beneath her breast: because she assumed he left ( which would later be confirmed ) due to the issues him and aure'd been having and their arguments. still, she hadn't thought verx would abandon his family ...even though their decisions to split from drageda had been exactly that, and she has to remind herself that she's no different.

i see, verx was all she'd had left of her previous life and though they hadn't always gotten along nor seen eye to eye it sort of stung her too. i'm glad the goufas are doing well despite their father's disappearance. she speaks this genuinely. any news of those wolves ...the ones that planned to claim the vale and our potential alliance with them?

did ingram tease all women like that? hell no -- his gaze fell to her playfully, but one could see plainly that if he looked any way at a woman, it was only at blodreina. for as sappy as writing this was, ingram was a family man -- a wolf tied by blood and honor and duty to serve not just himself, but those he held in his heart. "only you." he nimbly replied, his features assured -- even as the topic changed to something far less jesting.

ingram didn't know anything of blodreina's past life besides what she had shared; he knew abandoning drageda had come at a cost, and he did not fault any for the decision they had made. once, he had been forced to leave home too -- a memory deeply embedded within him, but the feeling had never been forgotten. he hoped that for aurewen and her whelps that the male would return, but in the meantime he would do whatever he could to make sure they were not wanting. "he will be back, i hope." ingram returned, thinking back on if he had heard any news of the vale. "i am not sure about the vale. i have not seen them myself, when i have been hunting." ingram had yet to come across evidence of the vale's claim, and so, assumed perhaps they had set up shop elsewhere.

only you. ingram replies to her teasing and blodreina feels her impish smirk soften into a bashful smile, ducking her head for a moment. well, blodreina drawls. i feel honored. she replies in a tone that is light and playful but genuine all the same. blodreina'd never been one to believe in luck really, but she recognizes that she's lucky to have ingram.

ingram expresses hope that verx would return and blodreina is quiet, contemplative as she considers the odds of it. she doesn't want to gossip and tell ingram that verx and aure had been having issues prior to verx's departure from diaspora. blodreina had suspected at the time that aure might not've realized how deep of a wound there was that'd been left to fester for weeks without speaking. blodreina suspects that whatever had caused verx's initial departure held deeper roots; and as angry as she is that he would just leave his children ( if nothing else ) blodreina considers the fact that she'd once thought aure had been much more invested in that relationship than verx from the get-go.

he might not. blodreina replies quietly, as if she dreads saying the words out loud ...but objectively and realistically she doesn't hold her breath for his return. though it goes unspoken blodreina considers that perhaps the only wolf verx had ever truly been devoted to had been heda. at the very least, that's how it presently seems to her.

stigmata brought them up briefly after i first came here, she offers with a soft breath that turns into a heavier sigh than she'd intended. that was a while ago. perhaps he chased them off or they decided to settle elsewhere. she's not used to being so in the dark on matters ...but she'd been heda's trusted and had always been pretty up-to-date on the going on's in drageda; and really she had no excuse to not have been as she'd hardly ever left the pack lands. diaspora was a whole different ballpark and her continued stay in the geist rank — born of her own failure to complete her task before giving birth — serves to bother her a lot more now that she has time to focus her thoughts and energies upon it as their daughter spends most of her time nursing or napping.

ingram's features lightened into an easy smile; it was he that ought to feel honored to be within five feet of her, to share the same air -- and it was he, he knew, who was lucky.

something nagged at the back of him, something demanding to be said -- ingram patiently put it aside, listening as blodreina offered her own (brief) insight on vercingetorix's departure. ingram did not know enough of him to make his own conclusion, nor enough of aurewen to understand or know why the man had left -- he only knew he hoped he would never be in the same position.

that thought distressed him for a time, though he again pushed his nagging mind aside as blodreina spoke of the vale wolves. he had never met them, would likely never meet them -- and if it was up to him, he would prefer no such neighbors while their baby girl was growing up. he nodded, but said nothing further on the matter of vale wolves.

he inched closer, lowering his body so he was level with the two of them. for a moment he held both in his sights, and felt a trepidation overcome him. "reina.." ingram started, feeling his heart pound, yet knowing it was right. "i know we have praimfaya... and she is.. perfect. i'll never not be a father to her.." his heart was going a mile a minute, and he offered an uneasy smile as he felt anxiety seep into his veins. "but.. what about us?" he wanted the two of them to be so much more -- he could not see himself with anyone else in the world but blodreina.. the very idea of them being apart like aurewen and vercingetorix tore at every fiber of his frame. "i want us to be something more," ingram breathed uneasily, holding blodreina in his gaze as he spoke again: "will you be my mate?"

silence follows for a few moments after and blodreina's attention strays momentarily to praimfaya as the girl sleepily nuzzles against her; though her head swings back to look at ingram as he speaks her name, noticing that he's inched a bit closer. she is quiet but attentive as he speaks, ears cupping forth atop her skull as he begins with praimfaya saying that she's perfect — and blodreina can't help the subtle nod of her head in agreement, entirely biased as she is — both reassured and confused by his words that he'll always be her father. she tries to follow the string to where he could possibly be going with this and feels her heart sink in her chest as she comes to the worst case scenario of he found someone else.

not that she could or would begrudge him that, but the thought twists at her heart in an ugly and painful way all the same; so much so that she almost misses his but.. what about us?. clue enough that she'd been following the wrong potential path the conversation could take but it doesn't actually sink in until his next words: i want us to be something more, followed by his uneasy breath and the proposal will you be my mate?.

blodreina immediately feels embarrassed at herself for assuming that this was the part where ingram left her ...but losing those she cared about had become a second nature to her. everyone she'd ever loved was gone now ...except for praimfaya, ingram and aure ( whom reina had tried not to care for as a friend but ultimately failed; she cherishes aure's friendship more than she'd probably admit ); and she was only confident in war. in fighting and strategizing war. being a mother? a wife? was all new and untrodden territory for her.

her gaze holds ingram's, confident in her answer of yes,. she doesn't need to think about it for what was there to think about? she already knows she cares a very great deal for him. yes, i'll be your mate. she breathes with affection, ears slicking back against her skull and tail beating against the ground for a few seconds before she stills it, worried about waking the slumbering praimfaya.

there was a lull where his words paused, and in between that lull ingram caught the hardened glint in blodreina’s gaze — something unreadable, which faded like smoke on the wind as he continued. thus assured his words were not improper, ingram outpoured a long exhale as his queen rejoined him, assenting to his query with nothing but absolute positivity.

all at once his tension fled him, and he breathed at ease, overjoyed. he had never thought he would be here, where he was — and he was euphoric for it. his luck, his odd, strange, quirky luck had deposited him here, with a beloved daughter and a woman (nay, a mate) strong beyond reckoning. the smile that split ingram’s features was a beam irrevocable, and he nudged gently his mate’s proud crown, overwhelmed and content. i love you, the eyjolfur admitted, his heart full.

blodreina's eyes close as she feels ingram's gentle nudge to her crown, reveling in his touch. her heart flutters in her chest at his touch, still, and the smile that tugs at her lips now is softer, perhaps more demure but genuine in its entirety; but it's ingram's declaration that followed soon after that causes her breath to catch in her throat. i love you. her gaze rises to him, studying him as she processes the words, embarrassed to admit how long it's actually been since someone had said those words to her. ...had anyone ever? surely gyda had, at some point or another. or maybe she hadn't and blodreina just knew her shieldmaiden mother loved her without her ever having to say it.

they're profound, those three little words. they make heat rise to her cheeks and fill her with so much giddiness and warmth that blodreina isn't quite sure what to do with it for a few seconds. ai hod yu in. wanlida replies coyly then. it means 'i love you' in trig. she explains to him after a beat.

it didn't matter to ingram that no one had ever said these three words to him. what mattered most was that he felt them, earnestly, every time he gazed upon blodreina. every time he looked to her, his heart started a light song, his pulse quickened. he had expected these feelings to fade, or the honeymoon period to undo them -- but if anything as the days blurred together, this overwhelming and warming feeling of love only entrenched itself deeper within him.

he had been holding his breath, afraid he was too forward -- yet blodreina returned to him those trembling words, in a language he found coarse and beautiful at once. he would never forget those words, never forget the glint in her eyes, or the way the sun slanted in that moment; nuzzling blodreina profoundly, ingram breathed in and exhaled out nothing but indefatigable and unassailable contentment.