Northstar Vale Alérotos
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#1
All Welcome 
The young wolf prowled through the vale with his eyes trained on the herbs that grew beneath trees. He wished that Meadow had more time. He wished that he could bombard her with question after question without fearing that she would tire of him.

Antigone had spent the better part of the morning cleaning his coat, tending to the messiest places in his densite, and then searching for a meal. When he had accomplished his chores, the red-hooded figure could feel his mind buzzing with the need to do more, to busy himself.

The young wolf sought @Tamar, hoping that she would need assistance with something.
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#2
antigone would find her beside the namir.

the lake named for striped cats she had only heard of once.

tamar, back to her young son, shoulders heaving not in sorrow but in sickness. "ah!" she wiped her mouth and sighed in exasperation, which slowly became awareness.

antigone was there when the morphe turned; she jumped somewhat, then smiled weakly. "i am all right. i will be, do not worry." she looked him over. "you are shining!" tamar said of antigone's pelt, hoping to distract him.
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The boy grew uncomfortable at the scent of his mother’s sickness. She assured him that she was fine, that she would be alright. The young wolf eyed her intensely, unmoving.

Did you eat something bad? Antigone asked, voice sharper than he had intended. He thought of what might help with this ailment. Mint, maybe. Did they have mint? His features became sour with thought. His eyes were fixed on Tamar’s features.

She mentioned his coat.

Antigone blinked once.

I was dirty. Spoken plainly.
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#4
tamar felt her stomach settling.

antigone stared at her with his usual measuring intensity. her son wore eyes that were older than him, she felt. the gaze of an ancestral strength.

she smiled gently at him, as if to reassure the boy once more. he was not moved from his worry and would expect an answer. "i did not eat anything bad, i do not think."

tamar gestured that they should walk away; she did not want to stand near those trees. "what have you been doing today, antigone?"
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The young wolf wanted to tell her that she might be ill. He thought he should call Meadow to check on her, but did not want to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. She looked weary, to him. The longer he traced the features of her face, the more he found the signs of stress.

Turning to walk with her, the boy drew his tongue over his whiskers.

I thought about visiting Meadow, but-

Antigone’s features were deep and pensive. He thought of the dirty man that had been there. He thought of the way the stranger had smelled, the way Meadow had described the frostbitten parts of him as being rotten. Sickness churned in his belly.

She had a man she was treating. He smelled horrible. I think I intruded on her, frustrated her. He wouldn’t tell his mom that he was glad the disgusting man had left.
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#6
tamar was measured by her son.

like his father, antigone missed nothing. but where her redstone man softened this with wide grins and rich laughter and pointed jokes, their son was a cooler mist of steady air.

she sensed his power now.

her brow furrowed a little to hear of this aromatic stranger. "what makes you think that you disturbed her, my son?" tamar asked softly, tilting her pale beige eyes on him with curiosity.
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At first, he was not sure how he might answer his mother’s question. She was well within her right to ask it. Antigone simply hadn’t considered what had made him feel so uneasy in that chance meeting.

The way she spoke, he finally stated. Meadow’s words had been strained, noticeably. She had taken a moment to answer his questions and when she had, her voice had carried a different tune. Her eyes. The boy thought back to the expression she had worn. He wondered what the smelly man might have done to convince Epoch’s trusted healer to treat his rotten body.

I could be overthinking, Antigone finally uttered, mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown.
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#8
tamar shook her head.

"it is good that you notice these things. they are details that may one day help you."

to catch one in lies, for example. a thought came to her. "antigone, this year i think that you will have new siblings." a soft pause. "would you care to learn about the ways of carrying children? the birth?"
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The boy’s mother assured him that his skills would be useful, that he would find help in his sharp attention to detail. There was no reason to argue. Antigone believed that his mom knew more about these matters than he would. All he could do was nod his head and accept her advice at face value.

She went on to say that she believed he would have new siblings. The boy looked to her with a stern face. His ears flipped back atop his head. There was a feeling of fright in his belly. He didn’t know where it came from, only that it swept through him in an anxious wave. Tamar asked if he would like to learn how to aid in birthing.

Yes, he said. Is that something I can do? You will teach me?
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his redgold mother nodded.

"yes. you can learn. and i will teach you what i know. we will learn together, antigone."

her smile was quick and radiant. "but now i need to rest. will you walk with me to the den?"

tamar did not think her thoughtful son would decline.
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Antigone nodded and followed his mother’s path.

She said that they could learn together. She would offer what she had already learned, and they could build upon that foundation. The boy saw nothing wrong with this.

Watching the way she moved, he wondered if she could feel each individual puppy inside her. Did they squirm? Could she pinpoint one over another and know which child it was? It made him uncomfortable to think of something moving from within. He wondered how she slept.

Is it hard to sleep? With them.
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"sometimes."

tamar smiled at her son. "i feel heavy and so i cannot find a comfortable way to lie."

the den ahead; on impulse she paused, reaching to kiss antigone between his ears. "maybe you will stay for a nap," she suggested lightly, knowing he was quite devoted to his studies. "that way you will be able to see them move."
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He was invited to stay, to nap. She said that he might feel them moving.

The thought caused his neck to twist, his skin to crawl. The concept of birth was still interesting, but he was not certain that he enjoyed the idea of what came with pregnancy. If he focused too hard on these thoughts, he found that he could almost feel movement inside his own belly. It caused his eyes to shift and his fur to prickle.

For a bit.

Antigone would stay, just close enough that he would sense any disturbance in her, but far enough that he would not risk the feeling of the kicking puppies inside.