Redsand Canyon ain't nothin' but a G thang, baby

backdated to the 23rd

the mastiff did not intend to go see lady whatchamacallher quite so soon. her plan was to first go snoop around the communal areas in search of a meal (gaining some weight certainly would help her story), but, unfortunately, mr. icicle dick [@Kallik] had decided to escort her instead.

diesel deliberately lumbered as she walked, taking in the sights as she went (the canyon changed fuck-all in her absence) even stopping once or twice to nip at her fur in search of some fantasy fleas to gnaw on. anything to get a rise out of him.

it was somewhere between the sparring and the punishment areas that she planted her ass down and began scratching her neck with a hind leg, the chain links of her collar clicking against each other. 

click click click

Diesel was sure taking her sweet time getting to the tablinum. She was really trying his limited patience. He had even less now that @Aquene was pregnant. He had other shit to be doing, and instead he was escorting this deserter to receive medical attention he wasn't sure she even deserved. 

He also worried about the subject of her assault and how it would affect the medicus. 

He had enough stress in his life without the fallout of the mutant's careless decisions. And as usual, she was going about her day, acting as though she had all the time in the world and like she had no responsibilities. He could feel his anger and impatience rising with each time she delayed them with some stupid attempt at grooming, like he would believe she ever cared enough about her appearance to want to clean things from her fur.

But, even at her infuriating pace, they were nearing the tablinum. She chose that moment to sit down and scratch, and Kallik felt his control snap. He clenched his jaw and marched to where she sat. Get up and move, he demanded. Some of us actually give a shit about our responsibilities, and I refuse to allow you to be near my wife without my presence. A low growl sounded in his chest. move it.

oh she got a rise out of him alright. still, it was diesel who ended up dumbfounded when what he said anchored itself in her brain.

she rotated her head, leg still sticking out, and half-grinned in a most unpleasant manner.

"you ghat a haih?" her mangled lip did not permit her to say it, but context clues are king.

inwardly, she was almost impressed. outwardly, she cackled, a wet sound that sent spittle flying.

she leaped up onto her feet. "na need t' 'are y'aur teeth at a 'egnant 'ooman." she stretched her back with a series of loud cracks and pops. "-esides, i dhon't know 'ere y'aur haih e'en is." diesel cackled again. 

she hadn't connected the dots behind the purpose of this meeting, and thus wasn't aware that they were supposed to head for the tablinum, a place she fortunately never visited back when she was still welcome in mereo.

"i'ee just 'een 'alking in a randoh direction!" that was hilarious to her.

Her reaction to finding out he had a wife only delayed things further. He knew it was likely that once she was around Aquene, she would know of her pregnancy, which made him uncomfortable; he supposed she would find out eventually anyway. 

He rolled his eyes at her when she laughed and made a point to remind him she was pregnant. My wife is Aquene, the healer we are going see. He gave her an impatient look. You will be respectful to her; you are lucky to have her helping you. Pregnant or not, she would feel his teeth if she upset his kind, caring medicus. 

She earned herself another impatient eye roll. I have ensured that we are heading towards the tablinum, the scutarius explained. Now move it, he told her again.

he explained the situation to her like she was a juvenile, threatening to embarrass the family in front of a new tutor. the dog only rolled her eyes in response, albeit her flews were pushed up by a smile as she did so.

"yea yea, i get it." she finally moved from the spot, but took another moment to kick at the ground like a cat covering its shit.

it dampened her humour a tad that she was apparently accidentally leading them the right way. whatever. now she couldn't wait to see what kind of baby ice ice got.

they were before the tablinum. diesel's face wrinkled further at the odours coming from within, plants and mushrooms and whatever else these animals used to clean their wounds besides their god-given tongues. the mastiff paused, turned her head towards her escort and gestured with her shoulder.

"ga an, intrahduce me." wouldn't want her glorious face to be the first thing his wife sees.

He felt some measure of relief when they reached the tablinum; the sooner they could get this over with, the sooner he could put some distance between Diesel and his wife. 

She paused, and he was surprised that she had shown such respect. He half expected her to just barge in. Kallik nodded and then stepped forward to poke his head inside the tablinum. Aquene, he called softly to her. There is someone out here who needs your healing. He stepped back and looked over the mutant with a warning in his expression.

Then he waited for his beautiful wife to invite them in. He would catch her up and then wait outside to give them privacy.

She was going stir crazy, but she knew staying in one place was something to put her husband’s mind at ease. She had been sorting herbs, ensuring she had enough for when the Matrona would deliver. Ruenna was quite far along and she wanted to know that she could properly attend to him. She turned her head when she heard her husband’s voice. She smiled softly at him, listening as she said that there was someone who required her skills.
 
That smile faded to a frown at the mention of an injured soldier; at least, she presumed it was an injured soldier. “Bring them in. How bad is it?” She called out to him as she started to fetch the basics she usually needed: cobwebs, herbs for an anti-infection poultice, and something for pain. It was like a formula in her brain… in many ways, it was.

changing up the order with permission <3

She wanted to know how bad it was, and he wasn't sure how to answer. He motioned for Diesel to follow him inside. Sit down there, he told her, pointing his muzzle to the furs that Aquene put out for her patients. 

He turned to his wife. This is Diesel. She was once an auxillary here but deserted us because of her season. He tried to soften his words, but his irritation with the woman was still apparent. She was attacked and is now pregnant because of that. This was said with genuine care, but mostly because he knew what look might form on his wife's face when she connected the dots. He hesitated a moment, his gaze glued to hers. Then he looked to the mutant. The imperator ordered her to see you before she did anything else.

He wanted to kiss her cheek or brush his nose along her jaw in comfort, but not in Diesel's presence. Instead, he gave Aquene a dip of his head and an apologetic look. I will wait outside. 

He would turn and leave unless someone stopped him.

he can be skipped now! tag if you'd like me to jump back in <3

sorry for the holdup, had an eventful day +
 different timezones ¯\_(⊙_ʖ⊙)_/¯

diesel strutted into the den of the licenseless veterinarian, feigning casualness by craning her head to look at the various herbs hung and placed along the walls, smacking her lips, ruined side facing away from the doctor.

"nn, not a 'ad crih, though it could 'ee--" whatever she was to say was lost the moment her head turned to look at the mysterious wife.

diesel recognised her.

black tea, she mouthed, but never said. albeit, the appealing build the wolfess had months ago was ruined by the heavy swell of her belly. whatever. the little writhing things within would be out soon enough, judging by how they stretched out their mother now.

the mastiff ambled over to the furs, where she seated herself as gracefully as her build would permit. as iceboy introduced her, she put on her most pleasant smile, relying on the natural droop of her brows to add softness to the expression. 

she knew to act gentle around pretty things such as she.

after the man departed, diesel dipped her head. "i h'oh ieeh not chausing trou'le." jesus fucking christ how she hated scarface in that moment. "i shee you're 'eety 'ar along."

Diesel. Yes, she remembered the strange woman. She had mentioned her to Towhee, stating that she wasn’t a wolf and it was true. Her expression softened at his next statement, quickly connecting the dots and offered a nod. She didn’t know what to expect, certainly not the disfigured features of her face. Aquene noticed a few things that simply seemed… off. “No, of course not. This is my job, and if I weren’t able to be doing it I would not be here right now.” She assured the other woman as she approached and started to look her over for injuries.
 
She did not flinch at the appearance, not in the slightest. She had seen far more disfiguring injuries when she was at the Trail. She was desensitized to the injuries that fights or war could cause, and for that she supposed she was thankful. She could not imagine how she might handle a fright now. “How far along are you? When was the attack?” She asked. Admittedly, she did not seem to show any signs of pregnancy, but the woman was not horribly familiar with the anatomy of her species nor the manners in which they showed pregnancy. Was it similar to wolves? Did she lay legs? Aquene had no idea. She worried about her ability to tend to the woman’s pregnancy or even offer herbs. What if it wasn’t safe for her?

diesel did her best to suck in the hanging strings of drool when the brown-eyed beauty approached. when she came closer, the dog feigned a sudden coughing fit and took in a lungful of her scent. 

pregnancy had ruined that, too, she thought with bitterness.

"ha? ah." she realised she was being addressed. "-ell, uh, 'aybe earlier this 'onth-" immediately the bitch mentally bit herself. she knew jack-all about pregnancy, never planning to be a mother, but wouldn't she be all fat and bloated by now? "-ai 'een, ai 'eed, uh, kind doesn't sho' until the shecond 'onth." a pause. "alsho 'ai 'ashclesh hide 'ai 'elly." her biiig hulking muscles. the desire to waggle her wrinkles at the other female was a greater temptation that that of the christ.

but, she resisted.

The woman was hard to understand. Earlier in the month? She supposed if she followed a wolf timeline she might not be showing yet. It was some mental gymnastics, and something she would need to admit to the Imperator that she was unfamiliar with. She started to speak of her own kind and how they handled their weight and growing children. Didn’t show much until the second month, and they hid their belly pretty well. She nodded in understanding.
 
She didn’t know how to feel. She felt wholly unprepared… but also, certainly another canine’s pregnancy should be similar to a wolf’s, right? Perhaps it was time to reach out to Qiao and see if she knew anything on the topic. She wanted nothing but the best care for all of those in Mereo, including this woman, regardless of what her fate might be now. All Aquene knew was she had been here, she had disappeared and faced an awful fate at the hands of another, and then returned with a decent chunk of her face missing. “I have another I can reach out to in order to assist with your care. I will admit I have never served as a midwife to anyone of your kind before.” She needed the woman to understand that this was new territory for her, and she herself had no teacher to help her at the moment. “For now, rest. I will look over how your apparent injuries have healed and then speak to the Imperator about seeking out Qiao.” The woman had genuinely sought to help, and Aquene hoped she could help this time.

'scuse me, work's been kicking my ass. end here? ^^

diesel was lost in the sauce her own brain, focused only on crude fantasizing about a less-pregnant version of her chocolate-eyed nurse. ice-boy sure knew how to pick 'em pretty, she had to give him that.

the dog blinked, dull-eyed, a few times after the healer spoke to her again, not quite ready to let go of her sapphical daydreaming just yet. 

"uh? uh- yeah. yeah!" she laughed. "i'll shee to it im-mediately. lots'a rest. like, i 'on't 'ee ee'en gettin' autta 'ed!" she laughed louder, snorting. 

diesel got up to leave. "thanks hor the check-ah doc, 'ill tell yeu if i heel any kicking." she gave pretty-pudgy poison-eyes her most charismatic wink...

...and promptly walked into a wall.

"augh. i'm- i'm fine." she said aftet rubbing her hurting nose with a pawpad. "they 'red us tou'h." with another wink, this one obviously more uncertain, the bitch walked out the med-den.

she'll give @Kallii a wink as well, but won't say a thing.