Another season had come and gone. She felt defeated since she had completely missed the chance to help Amalia have the children she dreamed of. Even though she had met Falk and had even gotten him to ask his mate about being able to do this for them, once Falk had told her the results of his questioning she felt terrible actually having him go through it. He insisted that he still would if they wanted him to, but by the time she talked herself into thinking it would all be fine the Summer had passed. Her and Amalia hadn't even talked to Pip about the possibility of them having children either and she knew that was really the first step before they took any action on their wishes. She sighed as she laid in their den alone, trying to ignore the heat that had come to bother her with the arrival of Fall. Not only had she spent all of the summer searching in vain for her family, in her distracted state she had somehow completely missed almost all of her son's disappearances. A quiet whine escaped her as she thought about it and she let her two-toned eyes close as she fought back the sadness it brought. Tiburtius was still around and she had a feeling he would be as long as Arivae still resided in Fiori, but Bacchus hadn't returned from his trip with Abby and she had no idea what had come of her other two sons. Their nest felt more empty than ever, but there was nothing to be done about it now. If she had searched a whole season or more for her scattered family and had only come up with Falk as an option how would she even begin to search for their missing sons? To top it off the thought of bringing up her having pups for them again just felt like rubbing salt in their wounds. She sighed and let her eyes open again as she peered through the shadows toward the sunlight that was streaming in though the den's entrance. Her head rested on her paws, shifting the bracelets around her ankles under her jaw. Part of her wanted to call for Amalia and another part of her just wanted to be alone... She waited to see if fate would decide which way she should go. "Burn Baby Burn"

Her steps were cautious as they brought her towards their shared den, exhaustion making her paws drag on the muddy ground. Earth was caked up her normally pale legs, and it looked like she had gone and belly flopped down a mud slide. Amalia had been digging up the roots of some marigold, and then some horsetail, the damp banks had coated almost her whole front limbs. But it was time to come home, to bring some comfort to her wife. They had both been shocked to find that their boys had gone missing, only Tib lingering inside the pack. And with their failed attempts at pups, they had one again slipped under the surface. A soft sigh shuttered out of her lips, and she didn't even bother to clean herself before she poked her head into their den. "Athena?" she called softly, blinking and allowing her eyes to adjust quicker. She knew that her wife was in there, she could smell her sweetly addicting scent, as well as the added taste of her heat. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she crawled a bit more forward and saw the larger woman pushing her bangle up and down her foreleg. Humming softly she pushed her muddy muzzle into her cheek, pulling back and realizing that she was pretty much completely caked in mud. For goodness sake it had turned her whole chest brown! Letting out a soft laugh, she shook her head and took a step back. "I think I brought in my weight in dirt, come and bathe with me?" She asked softly, dark blue eyes trying to meet her lovers two-toned gaze. "talk" 'think' "you"

Athena fiddled with her jewelry absent mindedly as she tried to clear the depressing thoughts from her mind. It was almost impossible though with this dark cloud hanging oppressively over her head. Her wife's voice cut through the gloom of the secluded den, making Athena's dark tipped ears twitch with surprise and recognition. She lifted her head just as Amalia slipped into the den. Ama's appearance was almost comical enough shake her bad mood entirely, especially when she pressed her nose to her cheek and ended up transferring some of the mud onto her. Amalia was always like her ray of sunshine just when she needed it. It was like her wife had a sixth sense and knew just when Athena needed her cheerful presence.

Athena chuckled softly at Ama's comment and question, bringing her gaze up to meet those gorgeous blue eyes of her mate. "Of course, beautiful," she replied without hesitation. For a moment at least her worries were forgotten in favor of getting her wife cleaned up. She got to her paws and followed Amalia back out of the den and let Ama lead the way toward one of the pools of water near by. Athena made quick work of the small spot of mud that Amalia had gotten on her cheek before focusing on getting Ama clean.

She gently used the side of her paw to rub over Amalia's sides and haunches, clearing away the mud and bringing water up with each movement. All the while she tried to ignore all the conflicting thoughts firing in her head. Between her heat bringing all sorts of ideas to mind that she was sure would make Ama blush to her raging harmones making her emotions go everywhere she wasn't quite sure what to do or think. Part of her wanted to cry and apologize to Ama for letting her down again and the other part wanted to pull her back to the den and keep her there for the rest of the evening.

She shivered slightly as she stepped into the water, and was about to go rolling about in the pool until Athena started to clean her with her paw. She hummed as each touch sent an electric shock down her spine, both from the gentleness of the caress as well as the shock of the cold water. Silence spread between them as the taller woman cleaned her, and Amalia looked over her shoulder to try and catch her gaze. "So are you going to tell me why you are so glum, or do I have to pry it out of you?" she asked with her usual tenderness, shivering again as a chilly breeze shocked her to the bone. It was a bad time to go digging for herbs in the mud, there was already the threat of winter in the cool air. Her tiny pale flank pushed up against her wife, thankful for her thick fur that lend her all the heat she needed. Plus she couldn't help but admit that her heat scent was lending her a whole different type of warmth. Amalia didn't need to ask Athena again, she knew her lover well and could tell when her mood was off. She had a bet on what it was, and as her pelt was cleaned of the mud she stepped forward and dug her nose into her soft neck. Pressing her damp body even closer to her wife, she pressed a few soft nips on her shoulder, stretching up to reach as high as she could get. Not that she wanted to turn her on right now, but she wanted to offer her the comfort of her touch. She was here, and always would be. No matter what, Ama would be here until her dying breath. "talk" 'think' "you"

It was impossible to keep her gaze from meeting Amalia's when she looked back at her over her shoulder. Those blue eyes were so captivating that Athena couldn't help but let her two-toned gaze meet hers. When Ama asked why she was glum though Athena couldn't help but chuckle. She should have known better than to think that she could keep anything from Amalia. Her little woman could basically read her mind. Amalia pressing her body closer to her own and nipping at her neck sent little shivers down her spine that weren't at all caused by the cool air. He had missed being with her wife like this so much. "Come on, lets get out of this cold water," she said softly as she nuzzled Amalia's neck. She wasn't ignoring Amalia's question, just postponing her having to answer it for a moment. She stepped back onto the shore and shook off as much of the water as she could before she quietly padded back toward their den with Ama. Part of her was so focused on Amalia and her intoxicating proximity and another part was just so obsessed with all of her recent shortfalls. She slipped into the den and got settled onto her side, a slight grin tugging at her lips as she waited for Ama to join her to cuddle up so they could keep each other warm. Athena gently ran her tongue over Amalia's fur, grooming her ivory coat and getting rid of more of the water while she sat in quiet thoughtfulness till she could decide what to say. "I just feel like I've failed you," she finally said softly, her large form curling protectively around Amalia's tiny frame. Athena shoved any other thoughts her heat was forcing into her head away so she could actually address the elephant in the room. "I wanted to give you want you wanted so badly and I couldn't do it. Then with our boys..." She swallowed around the lump in her throat. "I hope they're okay." "Burn Baby Burn"