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In Plain Sight [M] [DragonSong]

Started by Juno, January 19, 2016, 04:25:14 PM

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Juno

He gave an amused huff, leaning down to kiss her forehead and reaching out to pull her closer to cradle against his chest. The shifter was quite pleased with himself for being able to give his mate a comfy spot to rest by merely existing.

He settled in again, looking around them as light leaked into the den more and more, just watching their wolf companions in quiet amusement. Once he was certain at least fifteen minutes had passed he lifted a hand to gently rub along her arm, hoping he wouldn't startle her awake at all. "Probably time now, Brenna," he whispered, bowing his head to pepper her face in playful little kisses ghosted along her skin.

DragonSong

"Mph!" Brenna wriggle and crinkled her brow, but she was smiling sleepily, eyes still closed. "Stop it, ge'off," she laughed quietly, shoving blindly at her mate's shoulders. "Don't wanna wake up yet..."

Juno

He was a wall against her shoving, completely unmoved and really it only encouraged him more. "Aw, c'mon, you've slept enough!" he groaned, snaking his hands down to her waist and playfully making to lift her up slightly off his lap. "You're worse than tree sap."

DragonSong

"Nooooo." Brenna ducked her head against his shoulder to hide her grin and wrapped her arms and legs around him.

Their jostling woke her brother, who grumbled and snapped at them lazily in protest.

Juno

Chris grunted at the unfairness of her tactics, relenting and deciding she could stay if she really wanted, but he wasn't going to make it easy. He reached out an apologetic hand to stroke along the wolf's side but then wrapped an arm under her butt for support and made a sudden move to stand. "You can just come along with me if you're going to stick to me like a briar but it's time I get up," he teased.

DragonSong

Bryn squeaked and had to cling to him tighter to avoid falling. But she laughed, growling playfully and nipping at his shoulder in retaliation.

Then a pained grunt from her foster mother drained the playfulness from her and she practically sprang away from her mate, kneeling next to the alpha and whining in concern.

Another pained huff. A sharp yelp from her sister. The males suddenly stiffened while the she-wolves clustered around their alpha.

Brenna stared up at Chris, eyes wide. "Pups coming- how they hurt her, made it happen soon. Early." She couldn't remember words, she was panicking.

Juno

Chris froze, watching her with the wolves warily and not really understanding what was going on until it had been explained to him. Being the baby of his family he'd never been around for the birth of his sisters. Or anything else for that matter.

"Oh. Pups," he mumbled distractedly, moving closer to her but not really knowing what to do with himself. Was it even appropriate for him to be in the den? Could he do anything to help?

"Should I leave?" he asked apprehensively, reaching out to brush her arm.

DragonSong

"Yes." She would probably feel bad about how curt she sounded later, but she didn't have time for it now.

The beta wolf snapped at the males, chasing them out of the makeshift den, and turned to growl at Chris, ears back and hackles raised. Even Icefang was shooed away, leaving Brenna with her foster mother and Bright-Eye.

Juno

While undeterred by the growling and aggressive displays the shifter understood the seriousness of them and made to leave after giving Brenna's arm a small squeeze of assurance. "I'll be outside if you need me," Chris promised, voice a little shaky with uncertainty about the whole situation and its suddenness.

As he stepped out into the snow rubbing the sleep from his eyes he realized he was actually a little scared, having never been a part of anything like it before. He paced about to pass the time, not even realizing how nervous and anxious he was.

DragonSong

The male wolves seemed to be in a similar state, pacing and growling, while Icefang curled herself up in the entrance to the den and whined nervously.

Brenna had no idea what she was supposed to be doing, but she wanted to help. Bright-Eye gave her direction, and she did as she was told.

Snowfur was in labor for some hours, longer than her first litter by long enough that her mate had begun to howl quietly, tension in every line of his body. Finally, the beta female crept from the cave, a tiny, limp body held by its scruff. She paced some ways away, ignoring her pack, and started to dig.

Brenna followed, two more of the pups cradled in her arms and tear tracks down her face. Longclaw howled and darted into the den to comfort his mate while his foster daughter joined Bright-Eye.

Two pups had lived, but they were tiny, born too early, and their was no guarantee they would even last the night. Brenna sniffed, wiping at her eyes as she helped Bright-Eye hide the tiny bodies under the snow, as was custom.

Juno

The wait felt like an eternity made even longer by having no idea how long such a thing could or even should take. The anxious energy of the rest of the pack around him did nothing to calm his nerves but he did finally sit upon some nearby rocks, scratching his shoe through the snow to pass the time.

When movement finally happened and he raised his head with hope it took Chris longer than was comfortable to realize Bright-Eye was not coming out to present the pup to them but to bury the unmoving little body. He swallowed back against the lump in his throat as he watched Brenna follow with more, his heart dropping in his chest to see how upset she was. It was a loss for the whole pack, he was realizing, not just Snowfur and Longclaw.

He followed after her but kept his distance, wanting to allow them privacy but too anxious not to hover nearby as he desperately wanted to offer support to his mate.

DragonSong

She could almost feel how close he'd gotten, and without a word Brenna whirled into his arms, hiding her face against his chest as she cried silently.

The wolves had clustered together, giving Longclaw and Snowfur space in the den as they huddled together outside, howling and whining softly.

Brenna was shaking, clutching at Chris like a lifeline. "T-two," she finally managed to gasp out. "There are...two."

Juno

Relief washed over him to know she was willing to turn to him in a time of weakness. He hugged her close, rubbing gently at her back and trying to help her calm down. He was sad for her, sad for her wolves, but he wasn't quite sure how to express such a thing when he was very new to them all still.

Two? He'd seen three little pups, had she missed the other? No, she must have known. Unless...  "Two...what? Two pups?" he tried gently, glancing towards the den sadly as he listened to the wolves in mourning.

DragonSong

Bryn nodded, sniffling, and kept her face pressed against him, hands fisted in his shirt. His scent was soothing, and she didn't want to break away from it.

"Two," she repeated. "They're- they're so small. They'll need help..."

Juno

The shifter sighed heavily, a deep frown creasing his face as he continued rubbing at her back and just holding her close. He wasn't quite sure what sort of help baby wolves like that might need, he'd never even really seen how normal wolf pups were raised. "I'll help with anything you need. Or I'll just be here for you if you don't need my help," he assured her, kissing at her hair and sighing sadly. "I'm sorry...for the others."

DragonSong

Another sob caught in her throat and Brenna nodded helplessly against them.

"They can't- they can't stay here," she whispered. "Not enough game. Too open. They won't...survive."

She whimpered, clinging to him. "But we can't go back. The hunters will come again, they'll-" She shivered.

Juno

A troubled look stuck to his face, eyes sad to hear his mate's explanation. He agreed with her, it really didn't seem like an ideal place for a pack let alone one with pups to shelter and care for, but what were they do to?

"Should we...find somewhere else for them to go?" But somewhere else would mean further from his home, a home he wasn't sure he was ready to give up. "They need a better home. I'll help you find one," he promised.

DragonSong

She nodded, but it was vague and forced. She couldn't deal with this right now, there was too much.

The wolves had slowly been tricking back into their temporary den. She pulled away, sniffling, and muttered, "I should...be with them."

Juno

It was something they could worry about another time. Really, he was just trying to distract from the pain of the moment. It wasn't his family, after all, but it still left him with an uncomfortable, empty feeling in his chest to know how his mate hurt for them now. With four losses in such a short amount of time in addition to being uprooted from their home... It was a lot of stress on them all.

"Sure," Chris mumbled, releasing her and giving her a last touch along her arm before he stepped back. He wouldn't intrude. He assumed they needed time as a pack now and he wasn't really a part of that.

DragonSong

Brenna hesitated, then pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before she crawled back into the makeshift den.

Snowfur was curled tightly around her two living pups, her mate wrapped as much around the three of them as he could manage. The others had given them as much space as possible in the tiny den.

Brenna shifted forward to curl up between Icefang and Chaser, glancing toward the mouth of the little outcropping again. "Chris...you can come in, if you want."