Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a good day. The sky was clear, the sun was warm, and winter had begun to lose its icy grip on the land. Waterfalls and streams now flowed freely and the forest was alive with activity as every animal became more active with the lengthening days. Volk silently admired the landscape as he traveled with his partner, an aging wolf that had a strong will about her. They were not mates, pre-say, but he suspected that she felt some security to be traveling with such a young wolf like himself. He was strong, muscular, large, and brave, with a thick coat and leg featherings. He was from the north, and was sad to see the winter go.

The male scouted the trail ahead of his partner, who lagged behind quite a distance.

Every part of the seer’s body felt hot, her eyes felt tired, and her paws felt heaved as they sagged through the remaining slush. They had left the Outriders for a short amount of time to find a more secure area for a certain thing…a certain thing that Lera dreaded more and more every day: the birth of her pups.

She was too old for this-right? Her once warm silver pelt had turned almost completely white, her nose become gray, and her pelt had become soft with age. But alas, nature told her otherwis as she came into heat yet again. Volk, apparently, thought nothing of it as he traveled ahead of Leradien to make sure traveling was safe. He didn’t know of her abilities. She could very well damn tell where every animal in the forest was at any time. There was nothing dangerous around here. She knew. But today her mind was blurry, she didn’t feel well, and the extra weight she carried took her strength, the growing puppies sapped her of all energy and nutrition.

Volk was a very able hunter, but Lera had found her mouth too dry to eat within the last few days.
It’s so hot she thought to herself, too hot, too hot. She stopped to sit.

Volk, had paused for a moment to sniff a marked tree. They were in another wolf’s territory. His fur prickled with uneasiness as he traveled back to Leradien to tell her, only to find her half collapsed.

“Lera?” He called, coming closer, “you okay?" he asked, his voice hopeful, but he could very well see that she was not, in fact, okay.

Leradien eyes wandered for a bit as her tongue hung out of her mouth, her chest heaving and panting. Her vision blurred, and she gently laid herself down from her previous sitting position. Volk stood over his unwell partner, her neck craned down as he sniffed the she-wolf’s face, licking at her cheek, encouraging her to say something, anything. Lera’s dry lips parted as she mumbled words, “I am unwell,” she said, as her feet and tail curled in.

Volk was at a loss for what do to. He had never encountered sickness before, let alone pregnancy. Everyone in his old tribe had always been healthy, and now, this female laid here, her face hot with fever. He paced back and forth. They were in an alien territory, in the open, with no shelter, and so Volk did the only thing he knew how to do, he went looking to take some den over with brawn.

Wooosshhh.

A spring wind ruffled Volk’s plush fur. The wind carried the scent- the same scent he had smelled on the tree- it must be the alpha. His ears pinpointed the paw steps of the approaching male, and immediately Volk raised his fur as a bluff. He stamped the ground, and went off to collide head on with the potential threat. His nose wrinkled, and his paws too high steps as his head lowered. Not even twenty feet in front of Leradien Volk came upon the resident male.

His fur was green and gray, with yellows eyes. But Volk didn’t have time to look, he had to act, and standing in front of the fallen wolf, he growled, and advanced.

Lera had always called Volk brainless, and he had always chosen fighting over talking in any circumstance. He was quick to judge, and quick to lead to accusations. But now Leradien wasn’t here to keep Volk in check, and he desperately needed to get her somewhere safe.

The green male stopped advancing, and did a showy display of flashing canines, tall tails, and raised fur. He was in a defensive position, and Volk felt he had the upper hand. An aggressor always beats a defender, he thought. The alpha yelled at him, questioning him, and telling him to stop, but Volk wasn’t planning on stopping- not until he got what he wanted.

“I need a den!” he bellowed angrily, icy blue eyes carefully watching his target as his body blocked the minty alpha’s sight of his companion. “Get me to one, or I’ll kill you.…” Death rung in his voice as his lips pulled backwards to reveal equally impressive teeth. His threat was simple and understandable, and from the look of it, he wasn’t kidding around. Volk was a master of threats and fighting, his ears showed that, but now he wasn’t fighting for himself, he was fighting for Lera and this wasn’t a normal fight, it was more like bargaining.

Volk advanced, one large paw taking in step as his tail lashed angrily behind him.

Volk had not taken any chances in his approach; he had been direct and head strong and got what he wanted quickly. Volk inwardly smiled as he watched the other male’s expression- he had won, but when the alpha looked at Lera the agouti wolf intervened, stepping in front, and letting out a low snarl. He turned to the older female, and licked her cheek once more. The pale wolf’s eyes eyelids fluttered once but then close, and she fell into some place between sleep and unconsciousness.

He knew Leradien carried puppies, her swollen middle proved that, and he knew that pregnant females should be handled with care, but did not know exactly how to transport his companion from here to the den. He bent down, and wrapped his jaws around her nape, gingerly lifting the female up with his strong neck. Her body was heavy in his mouth, but he was able to manage lifting her stomach off of the ground, so the puppies wouldn’t be damaged by nay under brush.

Lera’s head sagged as he tongue hung hopelessly from her mouth. Volk shot a stare to the alpha, his eyes wide, as if to say not to try anything funny. Lera’s body dragged under his, as he carried her like a freshly fallen fawn, being careful not to puncture her skin, and he looked to the alpha to lead the way.

Volk followed as quickly as he could, and struggled to support the weight of Leradien and he puppies. His neck strained as he dragged her along the ground, hoping that the underbrush wouldn’t cause too much damage to the female’s legs or hips. He was successful in avoiding the large obstacles, rocks, branches, and other debris, and arrived with the light green male as a secluded cave entrance at the base of a mountain. He listened to what the alpha had to say and then slowly dragged Lera into the connection of tunnels. It reminded him of a rabbit warren, but didn’t think too much of it. He picked a secretive case that was dry with a warm dirt ground and gently laid the sleeping female there. It was dark, the way he liked it, and only the tiniest bit of light came from the far away entrance, just enough so Volk could get around.

Lera’s side was dirty and wet with snow and forest stuff, and he quickly washed her side as he moved his nose to touch hers. It was hot. Now that he noticed, her whole body was hot, and her breath was unreasonably dry. Volk moved his snout over her stomach to press against the large bulge of puppies. He could feel small amounts of movement…that was a good thing, wasn’t it? He was worried, but was still suspicious of the resident alpha male. But Volk figured he owed the male their names, at least.

“I am Volk, and that,” he moved his head to the direction of the female, “is Leradien.”

But he didn’t give thanks to the alpha, at least not verbally, Volk was too busy worrying at the moment.