Bearclaw Valley it’s got to come and find us, all we are is stars

one post pack activity, no participation required. astara is officially going in labor. this thread will be archived in one week <3

her bear had seen to her that her needs were met, but the time came that even he was coerced away by the show of her fangs. 

a new sensation rippled over her frame. it spoke of deep within her, evincing gasps of pain. 

never before had the nightshade experienced agony so. whimpers and cries sounded from the den as the night wore on, and once, a furious full throated howl tapered towards the moon before fading off into chilling silence.

he sat hunched upon some forlorn shelf of stone half-saddled with darkness.
something monumental was occurring, and it did not involve merrick.
he dared not steal close to her den, despite the compulsion to churn his limbs and bring himself closer. his nightbird's sounds of pain crescendoed into a feral dirge that poured through ursus and swept over the bearwolf.
one
he descended from the rock face and inched in that direction on legs that felt bound by all myriad things
two
merrick's face refashioned into a masque of anger; he came no closer and glowered in the shadows as the echoes of his raven's call drifted into motes.

---

As Atara's time drew nearer, Galena's patrol circled closer to the Bruin-tooth's nest — magnetized by a deep instinct to care and provide for her leader. Like a lioness among sisters, her natural attentiveness towards the dark rook was innate. She prowled through the dark, an auspicious moon casting its light across the valley, and smelled Merrick before she could see him. The Witch was perched upon a slab of stone. Her perceptive gaze cast upon him and she watched as he slunk forward, fixated on the den, face twisted in concern and... anger? Galena was confused by this expression. She moved towards the luminary's haunch (as to not stand abreast or before him) in a titillating silence, with only the chorus of his blackbird's pain breaking the night. She must bring greatness into the world, her Reverend Mother would say, our legacy depends on it.

She had no enlightened words for Merrick, but stood with him in solidarity and hoped the pain would pass over and through Astara, leaving nothing but blessings in its wake.

---

 

Fraser was some distance away, but the cries were loud enough to hear. Merrick's partner. He whimpered, feeling the pain acutely as the all-too-familiar empathy overtook him. He knew pain, human or canine. He hoped everything was all right with the dark mistress.

He passed by the den, still keeping far to the shadows. Good or bad, he would watch over the scene, a silent sentinel. He would protect his master, and all dear to his master. Whatever it took.