The full moon was in a few days. The prospect excited the Alpha and drive her forward for the day. She had to begin preparations, after all. It was a fairly standard Moon, but it was her siblings' first Moon as hunters. The role in a pack so small was grand, and the fact that they needed any was a feat all on its own.
But the pack was growing larger constantly, and the Alpha prayed to the Gods that it would continue to flourish.
There were a few new members, so there had to be interest at least! And as she said, the pack was small. Small enough that they only had three guards to cover all their land. Speaking of those guards, Airle was currently walking in her direction.
"Good Afternoon," the General greeted.
Maziwa tilted her head in greeting. "Good afternoon," she returned, and closed the gap between them. "How are you doing today, Airle?"
The General gave her a smile. "All is well so far. No mishaps or misfortunes this early in the day," he told her. He continued his slow gait on his normal path - this was normal, completely. The two often walked together, especially when Airle was giving his report of the day's happenings.
Maziwa gave a small nod, "I'm glad to hear that," she told him as she fell into step beside him. "How's my son doing?" Though the pack was extremely small, her son had recently moved into Airle's den. She wondered if the pair were planning on marrying officially.
Airle's step faltered, but he quickly returned to his previous pace. "Well, honestly, he's been a little sad. Especially with the Full Moon so close, he's been longing to see again," Airle gave a small sigh. He had been trying to cheer up his lover in other ways - spending as much time as he could with the blind male, but being the head of the Guards wasn't easy...
Maziwa gave a sigh in turn. "Once the pack grows, you'll be able to spend more time with him. You take his mind off of his sadness, even though he lacks sight - that much I know," the Alpha told her General.
Damu was a gentle pup, one that sat and could watch things for hours. He would often sit at the side of the rivers and watch the water glitter across the surface. He would collect anything that caught his eye.
His loss of sight was devastating, and with being so far from the old pack lands - it was hard on her boy sometimes. The orange dog gave a small sigh.”I hate that it happened o him, but I’m not sure how to help,” she gave a small frustrated growl.
And if Airle was honest, he could echo the sentiment in the words. He could sometimes grow frustrated, but not at Damu. Never at Damu! In his blindness, the pale dog had become quiet and often cynical.
Airle had not known him in any other way before - he had fallen for a witty, blind male with a bright smile and a gentle heart. Damu still had all those things. Airle loved him more than ever.
“You’re good for him though,” Maziwa said, suddenly. She tossed a smile at the General before walking on. He frowned, though - was he really good for the small, blind dog. He didn’t really know what to say.
“It true, you know. He stopped smiling a long time ago. When he first lost his sight, he would cry out with nightmares and wake expecting to see again,” he still had those nightmares, she knew. Damu would come to her sometimes and cry, saying his night terrors had woken his mate. He was so worried sometimes that the sobbing would drive off the male.
She knew it would not, however.
“But with you, I’ve seen him smile - even laugh! I would do anything to keep him happy,” she said firmly. There was a moment of silence between the two, before Airle gave her a small smile. IKt felt nice to know that his mate could smile again.
“Damu is strong,” he said. “And the most wonderful creature I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting,” he flushed when Maziwa giggled. She bounced a few paces forward, giggling merrily. Airle could only shake his head and speed up to keep pace with the Alpha.
“You see what I mean though, about my boy,” she said. He had retained this child-like wonder in him. Now that he couldn’t see, a new wonder had overcome him as well. He had to discover his world in a completely different way.
Airle nodded, smiling. He could only think of his darling mate in that moment. He was lovely, so lovely. And, Airle loved him dearly. He couldn’t fathom properly how much he loved the blind dog. It was one of the things he cherished in the world.
Not that Damu was a thing at all.
“He’s very special, and very dear to my heart. He’s got this way of making everyone happy, even when he’s so sad,” he agreed. He hated that his mate was sad and wished he knew of a way to draw the cynicism out of him.
He remembered that the small dog wanted children.
It was one of the things that he craved, and Airle wanted to have the power to give him that. Sadly, both of them were very male, and they could not produce children together. It made his heart ache and his self-esteem drop occasionally.
They could always adopt though. And there were surrogates, which was a thing the two of them had spoken about.
Maziwa gave a small laugh. “I’ll leave you to your patrol now, Airle, and go visit my son,” she gave him a sweet smile and turned off in the other direction. He watched her go for a moment before continuing his trek along the borders of the land.
He would have to visit Damu later. He would bring his mate a pup to love and raise if it was the last thing he did, so help the god of the moon. He swore it.
