Sawtooth Spire What will it take to make or break this hint of love?

When you have time, @Mahler.  <3

​She was exhausted in every way possible, but her heart had never been so full. Ciri and Elke thrived each day, grew like little weeds - she was sure they'd more than doubled in size in the last week! They were perfect, and Nyx struggled often to understand how such wonderful children could ever have come from her after the grim fate of her first litter. She was thankful, of course, yet the paranoia that remained within her questioned how long it would be until her luck would run dry.

With the pups bundled close together and sleeping soundly, Nyx stepped over the nest to stride beyond the mouth of her cave. She breathed deep the crisp mountain air and lowered her forelimbs to better stretch stiffened muscles, before seating herself nearby to set about grooming the unkempt beige fur of her undersides.

he searched for worthy locales wherein he might spirit the older pair, and called as he passed the ridges for his wandering brother. had fatherhood called to wintersbane? was that why he had not returned? with the advent of the bear in sagtannet, mahler felt he must not choose this time to depart.
with guilt he kept close, though soon the time would come where he would be able to travel once more. he hoped, by that time, his fellow eisen might return.
never far if he could help it, mahler came upon nyx in her primpings, and drew close. there was wariness within him after wylla's edict, but he refused to show such a thing, settling close and tipping a warm glance toward the den where the babes surely lay.

She paused, canted a sable-dipped lobe in the direction of approaching paws. Her hawkish eyes was swift to follow and she stared through the evergreens, fully prepared to pierce whoever dared interrupt her privacy. Swift to settle at the sight of a familiar charcoal figure, Nyx resumed her grooming until he settled alongside her.

She looked up, caught him look longingly in the direction of the hollow in which their babes slept. "They're asleep," the lioness explained gently, tone hushed, and briefly sought Mahler's dark features with a smile of assurance. There was something off about him that she couldn't quite place, but she did not pry. Instead, Nyx scooted closer to press her shoulder in silent support to his, and tipped her muzzle upward to better see the warm sunset shades that swathed the evening sky beyond the spires.

nyx was silent in her appraisal, as always, moving forward to offer the sort of assurance mahler appreciated but could not ask after. in the moments that followed, he relaxed somewhat, swallowing the grief that threatened to spill at any moment. "takiyok has come back. but vintersbane is gone." a tightening of his gaze, and then he too followed the line of the lioness' gaze.
silence now, a grateful hush that he could be at peace in this place and think of elke and ciri so close and safe within the confines of sagtannet.

How long had it been since she fretted over Takiyok's scorn? How long since she'd even heard that name on Mahler's tongue. It roused surprise in the tawny Ostrega, the only sign of which came in the tightening of a muscle at her jaw.

"Hm," was all she could muster, thoughts lingering with the pallid wolfess who'd been so set on being the only mother when Diaspora claimed their hollow despite news if Wintersbane's apparent disappearance. Yellow eyes continued to look over the heavens, mottled pink and orange with the promise of a brighter day to come, and she wondered what this might mean for her. For her children.

Even for Wylla.

She blinked, and exhaled softly. "That is unfortunate," Nyx chose to comment on the latter snippet of Mahler's report, though she noted to herself with amusement that it could be in reference to either. "I hope no harm has come to him."

"she is ill," he droned on, a doctor wearied at the end of a long day. supplies low; he must descend. and yet all mahler wished was the release of long slumber, uninterrupted hours. "i hope it is a voman that has turned his eye," mahler remarked, and then shook himself from the careless reverie.
"you look well, nyx." such things seemed to come easily to the mother; she appeared sated, settled. he was pleased to be in her presence, and attended her with all of his lessened focus, lying back against the earth with a low sigh. "do not mind my croakings of doom."

When Mahler shared that his former second was Ill, Nyx at first wondered why the fuck he even let her gain access to their home. Brow furrowed, she tried to regain control of her darker thoughts: what if she's contagious? If she comes to close to the pups? What if this is a trap?

She felt she knew Mahler better than to blindly allow sickness near his offspring. No, he would understand the signs of illness better than anyone, knew what was able to be cured and what could not. An expert in his field, Nyx wanted to trust his judgement of Takiyok, but her trust in the white wolfess had never been particularly strong. She doubted there would be trouble, but she would prepare herself for it nonetheless.

"Wintersbane will be fine," she commented, not finding the strength to worry for their absent Eisen when she had enough to be concerned about already. Mahler was probably right: the breeding season was waning, and it was likely that Wintersbane could be seeking the embrace of another before its end.

He told her she looked well, which was a compliment well received. Nyx felt good, for the first time in a long time, and she had Mahler to thank for that. The General had proven himself loyal to her by fulfilling a promise made long ago, one that had certainly rocked the boat. While the tawny Ostrega did not know the full extent of Wylla's bitterness, she did expect her to fume over the birth of Sagtannet's latest litter.

Nyx, unwilling to dwell on the arrogance of other she-wolves who might wish to have Mahler to themselves, was glad to share his company that evening. She watched him sink heavily to the ground, exhaustion wearing on him, and she shifted her weight to lean over his shoulders and preen the dark fur of his neck with careful teeth in an attempt to comfort. "Croak away," she told him, a playful and teasing edge to her tone, "I'm all ears.

he was tempted to take nyx up on what she offered, sink into her embrace and reveal the heavy contents of his heart. but such a thing could only be selfish, for all of them. he closed his eyes beneath the ministrations of the golden woman, wondered briefly why she doted upon him so when he did not deserve it. not by his internal estimations, however. and according to wylla, his actions would throw the children of sagtannet into utter turmoil.
his broad shoulders shifted; the eisen tipped back his weighty crown and sighed. "i have not earned these things," he muttered to himself, even as lavender gaze gleamed with gratitude upon her. "do you ever miss how it first vas, in diaspora?"

She responded to his comment with an amused snort, though a thought sparked to life in her mind: why did he feel the need to say that? Nyx wondered what it might be that roused such guilt in him, and her immediate conclusion was that it was perhaps Takiyok who'd made him feel responsible for her absence and the illness that now plagued her.

Still, the lioness continued. Her teeth combed fondly through charcoal guard hairs and her tongue smoothed the furs she disturbed. When he shifted to turn his frosted gaze upon her, Nyx looked right back. Had Ciri inherited such a hue, she wondered, rather fancying the idea of her little blackbird looking like Mahler's miniature. Perhaps both her daughters would.

"All the time," she agreed, recalling the freshness of it all. It'd been around a year since Stigmata had welcomed her and, although Nyx had been and still was a rather private creature, she'd found happiness and stability among them. Before Stigmata and Blodreina's deaths, before Ingram's disappearance, before Takiyok decided that she was queen bee and before Wylla returned to upset the balance. "I do miss it, but..." she glanced longingly toward the mouth of her cave, where two precious little creatures slumbered inside, "we can always make things better."

Something roused Nyx' little blackbird. Likely shoved by her sister's movement, she emitted a soft groan and turned her face away from where her snout had been pressed to Elke's pale furs. She scrunched her face and attempted to will sleep to return for her, but when she did not doze instantly she parted her jaws to protest.

In all her wailing in demand for a parent's attention, she failed to notice the bleakness of a brand new world through freshly-opened eyes.

mahler nodded into her clear stare, his eyes drifting to ciri as she moved against elke's nestled body. better was a concept he did not think he had grasped. but it had always been the pinnacle of his striving. a stronger leader. a fitter man. a more worthy father. 
he blinked at the glint of light that shone upon ciri's bleary pupils, then shifted in excitement. "schau dir das an," the gargoyle muttered, glancing toward nyx.

Fading here  <3

From within the hollow, a babe stirred. Nyx' muscles tensed at once in preparation to tend to her wailing infant, but Mahler was swift on his paws to do so first. The lioness gathered but hung back, vivid eyes soft on the gargoyle's dorsal.

How wonderful he was them. Nyx smiled lightly to herself, content then that Mahler had insisted on playing his part in their cubs' lives despite whatever scorn he may receive.

Her expression turned to one of concentration, however, as the dark-furred Eisen glanced her way with words in his mother tongue. She blinked, confused at first by their meaning, but the tone was encouraging. She swept closer, pressed alongside Mahler to peer into the cave that sheltered their precious children.

"Ciri," she breathed out, excited to see the glint of her newly opened eyes. Grin on her muzzle and her tail sweeping, she made to exchange a giddy glance with her companion, before she stepped forth to offer comfort to her pups in exchange for quiet.