A Pleasent Sleep

[Taint]

At the very back of the first cave lay a large brown lump of fur. It twitched every so often and its sides rose and fell heavily. It was the distinctive form of an adult wolf. The belly of this particular wolf bulged greatly, for it was a femme, who was with pups.

Taints orbs flickered open and her maw streched into a wide yawn. Raising her head, she smiled to herself.
Yesterday had been an eventful day.


Sighing, she rested her crania back on her paws and tried to remember the details.
Sky, the former alphess of these lands, had fled the terra, bringing her two uncles with her. The reasons were unknown, but Taint had been dubbed alpha the very same day, along with her mate, Keeper.
She grinned as she remembered the last part. She had not know Sky or her uncles very well, so their leaving didn't mean much to her. But her, an alphess! With Keeper by her side, things couldn't get any better.

Sighing with content, she grinned down at her huge stomachs. Having pups on the way were the cherry on top of her fantastic luck. She slowly levered herself to her feet and amde her way to the front of the cave. Settling on her haunches at the entrance, she scanned her new terra for signs of her mate, she was still unsure if he knew of her pregnancy and she was dying to inform him, along with celebrating their knew positions in the pack.

[Keeper]

Keeper lumbered back to the cave, his sides heaving. He ahd watched the old alphess and her uncles leave and wanted to make sure they were gone. For good.

He sighed and shook his head, for there were rumors, mysteries in his head that would go unsolved. He sighed and made his way to the first cave to tell Taint, his love, that the boundries were now set and marked.

Keeper shook his head. He had risen early this morning and tried to get her to follow, but she had been impossible to wake. He sighed as a feeling of unease washed over him. Is she okay? Is she ill? Why does she get so out of breath easily? He winced and remembered their journey from the river. It had been snowing and she had slipped several times, almost falling. He had used his body as a brace as they stopped several times to rest.

Keeper's heart lifted as he neared the cave, for he saw his love's beautiful maw poking out. Joyessly, he raced over to her and greeted her with his usual affectionate lick.

"They're gone, milady. No trace or spoor of them to be seen."

[Taint]

Taint smiled at her mate, who had just come rushing up to greet her.

"That's wonderful!"

She exclaimed, she examined him carefully, but he seemed not to of noticed her larger than usual stomach.
Or maybe he's just not saying. How sweet of him.
She thought happily, she then grinned and licked his maw in return.

"And I have even more wonderful news, Keeper. We're going to be parents!"

She explaine happily, her grin broadening. She nuzzled his shoulder affectionately and then gazed down at her stomach.

[Keeper]

Keeper looked towards Taint, his ice-blue orbs widening in surprise as he gazed at her round stomach.

"You... What? Us?" He stammered.

A great smile crossed his maw and he leapt in the air. "Pups!" he exclaimed as his paws touched the Earth. He crossed over to her and nuzzled her aud happily. "Our pups... We're going to be parents."

Chase edged out of the bushes and watched her brother leap into the air. Wow, he's happy. But not for long. She thought grimly as she moved closer to the new alphas. Must be string. she muttered, biting her lip.

[Breeze]

A wolf slunk slowly next to Chase. She gave a soft yip of greeting, not loud enough for the pair in the cave to hear. She creeped closer, sniffing cautiously.

Another wolf edged away from the cave, everything she knew was changed. Feathers had been skittish enough already, but with the sudden changes... she quieted her cubs, who were playing lazily on the ground. (Chase, you can take Ghost from there, since he's your charrie! ^_^)

[Taint]

Taint grinned at Keeper and nodded happily. She licked his maw again and then sighed.
Her auds pricked as she heard rustles, and she peered out of the cave. Noticing a blur of colour in the nearby foliage, she gave a short bark, asking whoever it was to show themselves.

Her dial then swivelled back around to face Keeper and she grinne dagain, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Everything's goig so well."

She murmered peacefully.

[Keeper]

Keeper sighed and closed his eyes, only to flicker open agian once he saw his yither, Chase. He barked a friendly greeting to her, and licked Taint's maw.

Chase smiled at her brother, but the smile did not reflect in her eyes. She sighed and moved forward, trudging slightly, for she was not looking forward to giving him the news she was about to give. She stopped and looked at Feathers sadly. Poor thing.. she thought.

Ghost sat up and looked at his mother, his eyes holding a question. He got up and pounced on her paw, only to dart back and look into her orbs agian.

[Taint]

Taint smiled at Chase, who had just emerged and greeted Keeper.

"Good morning, Chase!"

She exclaimed with a wide grin. Her smile then turned into a frown as she noticed that Chase looked worried.

"What's wrong?"

She asked, snapping out of her happy trance. She glanced at Ghost and smiled dreamily, soon she would have cubs of her own, then turned back to Chase, her expression once again sombre.

[Keeper]

Chase smiled at Taint.
Nothing milady.
But once agian, her smile was fake. She turned and made her way towards Keeper and bumped into him.
Follow me. she whispered in his aud in a barely audible voice.
Keeper Looked at his sis and nodded. He turned and looked at Taint and licked her maw affectionetly.
"I'll be back, milady." he whispered and followed after Chase.

[Taint]

Taint frowned curiously after the two siblings, but soon turned her gaze away, thinking of the pups to come. As she had begun to think of names, her stomach strained. She tilted her head to the side at the wierd sensation, but then came the pain. Gasping, she surled in on herself, whimpering pathetically. Glancing around, she realised she was now alone and whined.

The pain subsided and Taint breathed easily, but she knew her comfort would not last long. Hauling herself to her feet, she began to pad heavily towards the sixth cave, having to hault several times as stabbing pains returned to her stomach.

Despite the pain, Taint's maw was stretched into a wide smile. She knew what these pains meant, they meant she was about to give birth to her family.

[Keeper]

ooc- aww crud, I have to go.... C ya tommorrow!

[Taint]

ooc: Bubi!!!!

[Keeper]

Keeper loped back to the cave his heart heavy. He sighed and entered the cave, but it was empty.
"Taint? Taint, where are you?" he whimpered.
Now i've lost her... He thought sadly, backing out of the cave. He spun around and noticed a white wolf watching him, his head co-coked quizically.
Taint? Where did she go? asked Keeper.

The wolf got up and moved around, his nose pointing to the sixth cave.

Keeper yelped. The birthing cave! Of course! He spun on his haunches and with a leap he was off.

Ghost sat and looked at the deaprting alpha. He snorted and shook his head.

[Breeze]

Feathers, who had been cringing silently, at these alphas whom she didn't know well, or trust, sighed in relief. She then barked softly at the pups, telling them to come with her. She was tempted to pick them up by their ruffs, but she'd tried that once, and her slender jaws still ached from their combined weight. || I really need to eat, I'm terribly weak! || She thought, and desolately headed towards the second cave, hoping to crave her hunger pangs there.

Blue, seeing that Ghost was unaware of him, silently creeped behind him, then attacked, with a large bark to frighten his brother, as he pounced.