Padding through the prairie, Cae was nearly too distracted to notice how beautiful it was here. The mild temperatures and gentle rains had really given life to all kinds of plant life in these lands, not that the ivory woman was terribly concerned with the nice view. Padding over to the very shallow stream that ran through the grass, she stood with her paws in the water for a while, gaze distant. There was something she really needed to tell her... Wait, was he her mate again now? Or? Crap, this was just confusing. Flopping down onto her stomach, she let her face fall into the water and let out a groan of displeasure. This was certainly the first time in quite a few years that she'd felt so apprehensive about this topic. The first time it's been a bit of a surprise, but well received, she just had been nervous back then since she was young and uncertain. Now she was getting worked up for a host of other reasons.

No, she was going to be happy! Straightening, water dripped from her black and white skull splashing back into the stream with soft plunking sounds. Bright blue eyes flashing with determination, she lifted her muzzle to call out to Zephyr before she could get to stuck in her own head again, voice loud and sweet, requesting his presence but not too urgent. There, now she couldn't give herself to opportunity to do anything but relay the news. Sitting down in the cool water, she waited, still a little apprehensive. Pale ears flicking side to side, she waited for his approach, certain he;d be here in a minute or two - Zeph had this incredible knack for always being quite close by, sometimes suspiciously so though she never commented on it.

Even if Zephyr tried to pretend his penchant for always being conveniently close to Caelum was a coincidence, the truth was that being away from her had grown quite difficult since spending so much time with her. It was a fact he sometimes even hated to admit to himself, but certainly never commented on to anyone else. It'd be easy, and make way too much sense to simply suggest that they settle down somewhere together.. or, god forbid, simply not leave her side again. He still liked his solitude on occasion still, but those moments of respite were growing far less frequent. It was easier to be around her now; much of the tension and angst they'd been holding on to had melted away, replaced by a warmth similar to what he remembered sharing with her so long ago. It would never be exactly the same, but it was definitely familiar and comforting. Her call brought a mixture of emotions to him. On one hand, he was grateful she made a point to seek him out - she rarely called for him, so it was nice to hear her need for his company reaffirmed - but on the other hand, her tone held enough urgency to warrant worry. Not much at all, if any, but hearing her call for him was unusual enough to create a sense of urgency in his own mind even if there was none. Curious, he headed toward her. Again, he was conveniently close, and it didn't take long for him to find her, crouched in the stream and looking far too uncertain for his comfort. A slight frown tugged at his lips, but quickly gave way to a smile as he drew closer to her. "Miss me, did you?" Zephyr cooed affectionately as he padded cautiously into the stream, shivering from the slightly cool water as he leaned to nuzzle into the thick fur of her neck. "Talk" "You" Think

As expected, she didn't have to wait long before he came to her call. Simply laying eyes on the larger man was enough to cause her somewhat tense muscles to relax slightly. Returning the affection with a quick lick, there was warmth in her eyes as she gazed at him. This was how it should be; when she felt things were overwhelming his mere presence would make it better. Chuckling softly she replied, "You know it. Guess I just can't get enough of you."

There was a pause, silence hanging in the air s she realized she should probably tell him why she'd called in the first place. That might be just a little important. Stepping back a bit so there was enough room to talk comfortably, she stood for a moment, jaws slightly parted as she searched for the way to breach the subject. "I didn't just call you cause of that, though. I have something I need to tell you, Zeph." Wow, this really wasn't like any of the other times. Of course it wasn't, it's not like they were alphas of a strong pack anymore, things were very different now. Shaking her dark cranium to rid herself of distracting thoughts Caelum sought to simply get it out there. No point in getting worked up over things right now.

"I'm pregnant"

After having three litters already Cae had no doubt it was true, she knew the symptoms when she felt them. But again concerns about their situation plagued her. They were loners now, there was no pack to keep their offspring safe from harm, this would be their first time with so few adults around their pups since the West Wind pack was still small. Of course despite her whirling mind, she remained excited at the idea of once again bringing new life into the world. Looking to Zephyr, her gaze sought reassurance from him that things would be fine.

His smile grew at her returned affections, his tail waving happily behind him. Perhaps it was simply his age, but it was easily now to just exist in the moment with her. To try to put aside all the hurt and the pain that had both gone through and caused one another. He was too old and too tired to hang on to it forever - though that wasn't to say it was all completely gone. Zephyr wasn't sure it ever would be. It was obvious that something was on her mind. He fought the urge to splash a bit of water at her, and instead waded through the stream to her other side, enjoying the feeling of the water running along his limbs. It was strange to hear her bring up something serious; at least it sounded fairly serious, judging by her tone and slightly uneven expression. What it could be, he had no idea - his brow furrowed a bit and he turned to face her more properly, waiting for the words to come. Having children with Caelum had once been such a natural part of the progression of their life together that he'd hardly been surprised when it first happened. They'd sorta been intending it, after all. But now, children were the last thing on his mind. He still had yet to even reunite with Avani, and he certainly had no intentions of having more. That was why he was stunned when she told him 'I'm pregnant,', and in an almost-comical expression his jaw unhinged and hung there slack for a moment. Their last romantic encounter had been out of passion and desire, not out of the wish for more children - he was mentally kicking himself for not knowing better. "Are you sure?" He asked stupidly, though quickly shook his head. Of course she was sure. "I mean.. I.." Zephyr, always so good with words, suddenly found his mouth fumbling over the words, and finally he uttered a simple, "Wow." It was hard to decipher his expression, but his lips twitched in something almost resembling a frown but not quite - he wasn't even sure how he felt about this yet, let alone how Caelum felt. "Talk" "You" Think

If getting the words out hadn't been enough to help ease her nerves, then the reaction she received to her news would have done that and then some. That slack-jawed speechless look was hardly what she'd expected to see; maybe she'd have expected shock, but not on this level. Her brows raised and she couldn't help but burst out with a laugh. It was the last thing she'd been expecting to be doing after announcing that they were going to be parents again, but the look on his face just caught her off guard! "Quite," she responded in a gently teasing tone, a toothy smile slipping over her features as she observed him with a great deal of amusement.

She stepped closer to him so she could lightly press her nose against him in an attempt at a somewhat grounding and reassuring gesture, her own worries forgotten as she switched from concern for herself and her thoughts to focusing entirely on Zephyr. "Wow indeed, my silver-tongued love." Cae cooed, attempting to lighten the mood, his in particular, poking a bit of fun at his inability to be as articulate as he usually was. How funny to see someone normally quite composed reduced to a stammering mess with a few words. Her amusement was all in good fun, of course, and Cae hoped he would come out of the uncertainty and land on the more positive side of things.

She let her front end lower ever so slightly so she was in a little bit of a play bow, head tilted, eyes shining with newfound merriment. She really did find it easier to have a happy, clear mind when she could focus on someone other than herself.

Perhaps if she had given him any other response, his reaction would've been far different. Part of him expected her to cry - the first time they'd reunited she had been so frail and uncertain, and though she'd changed part of him still anticipated her old reactions to resurface. Would she apologize? Beg for him to stay, to help with their children? Surely if she had done either of those things, he would've been inclined to run, to deny his role as a father. It was too much responsibility, it had to be, and he'd experienced far too much pain and heartache for one lifetime.. And yet she responded completely differently. Instead, she laughed, the sound falling from her lips with ease, and in turn his own features brightened. It was strange, to need her for reassurance now, and to not want to run at the first hint of surprising news. She'd been the one to run, once, and now here he was feeling exactly the same and wishing she would condemn him for his uncertainty. Her words only eased his tension further, his lips turning up in a wide grin as he found his tail wagging slightly behind him. Her touch brought him back to reality, and briefly he leaned into her, marveling at how easily she was taking this.  "Why, did you have a better reaction to finding out us old fools are having children again?" He quipped after a moment, expecting that her internalized reaction had been pretty much the same at first. He was surprised at how okay she seemed with all this, but then again she'd had a bit to figure it out before telling him. Her whole demeanor was more playful and carefree than he would've normally expected. It was hard to keep his own thoughts from racing; they were no longer in the West Wind Pack, though, and surely their children would be safe in these new lands.. right? He tried to keep his smile from faltering as he focused on her, wishing he could mimic her joy as easily. "What will we do now, Cae?" It was a serious question, one he was sure she'd already started thinking about, but it was time to discuss it.. right? He couldn't quite focus on the positive so quickly when there were too many unknowns for his mind to keep from dredging up. They weren't young anymore, and they were loners, both of which were pretty bad things for their unborn children. "Talk" "You" Think

A tiny part of her that was the 'Alpha' Caelum seemed to be returning to her after being out of reach for so long. Her alpha wasn't always terribly dominant - unless there was a need for her to be - she was in her element when she was helping others, lifting spirits, and worrying about someone other than herself. This meant she didn't have to force the happiness and positivity that lifted others spirits; it came to her naturally when she needed it. Too bad that wasn't something you could force, she could have used some of this when she was the one feeling low.

She grinned sheepishly at his question, moving to stand up tall as she opted to start out dancing around the topic in a comical way, "Well, I prefer to say 'older', I'm not quite ready for the title of 'old' just yet, thank you very much." In all seriousness she probably didn't mind the whole getting old thing, Cae just wanted to age gracefully like her parents had. "I may have done something similar, though," she admitted, fighting the urge to grimace at the very thought of her reaction during the moment she'd realized it.

If there hadn't been anyone for her to be strong for, no one else to reassure aside from herself, she'd probably still be worrying and working herself up. As it was, she was strangely okay now. This was her forte, the one thin she knew how to do with ease was be okay for somebody else. That was half of parenting anyways, and she'd been around the block more than a few times. His next question did strike the all too raw nerves within her, but they were soon silenced as she went to work doing what she did best. "First... Decide where we wanna be. I never did mention this but I met a man named Ganta a while back, he offered a position in the pack he was close to building. We could always go there if you wanted. If not, then we find the best den site that's easily defended and set ourselves up there." There was an air of certainty to her words, her previous concern erased by the fact that she could now discuss things aloud and make plans with him. There was hardly a doubt in her mind that they could do okay if they worked together. Her mind briefly flicked to the possibility of speaking with Avani about help, her oldest daughter who'd once been so good with pups, but she had no idea where the girl had gone off to...

Seeing her old demeanor return to her was deeply reassuring to him. He still remembered how angry her timidness had made him; how quickly he had felt rage building up inside of him once he'd seen tears streaming down her face. He wasn't sure if he would've reacted the same now, but he didn't have to figure it out -- the easiness with which she delivered the information had caught him by surprise and eased many of his worries. She retorted that she preferred the word older to old, and he nodded in understanding.  "Whatever helps you sleep at night, my dear," Zephyr teased her lightly, leaning over to nip tenderly at her cheek and then place a loving lick there. Her strength was admirable, and something he had always been quite fond of. It was nice to see her back to normal - things would never be exactly as they were, he knew that now, but even a semblance of familiarity was enough to keep him grounded. She grew a bit more serious at his question, mirroring his own worries a bit, it seemed.  "Wherever you go is where I will be," he promised her easily.  "Our children, and you, would likely be safest in a pack. So long as this place is somewhere we'd want our children to be?" Perhaps it was his ego, but it was hard to imagine raising children in a pack ran by anyone but themselves, but maybe - just maybe - finding a decent pack might be better than existing as rogues. He was sure they could survive just fine on their own, but Zephyr knew now, especially when their future children were concerned, that there was much more to live than mere survival. "Talk" "You" Think

She snorted at his comment but only responded by sticking her tongue out at him and feigning exasperation. He was just lucky that cheeky face of his had a place deeply rooted in her heart. That and the gentle nips and easy affection was pretty nice.

His promise made her smile come back, reaching all the way to her pale blue eyes. Thank you, Zeph," Cae smiled, still tempted to continue his favorite game of smart comebacks and teasing but for once she was a bit overwhelmed with how glad she was that things were going so well. "I think it is, Ganta was a very kind man. He reminded me of my father to be honest, I like his passion and determination. Like I said, the pack wasn't made yet when I met him but I have a suspicion it will be by now. Couldn't hurt too much to check it out at the very least." The way Caelum saw things, there weren't a lot of wolves she had any desire to follow. Ganta had made n impression though, so whether his pack had been brought into existence might be the difference between Caelum deciding to take the position offered, or try toughing it out as loners. Not knowing any of the other alphas in the area left her feeling disinclined to bother venturing across the land to check them out. It would be a long process to go looking for a suitable pack, an endeavor that might prove fruitless in the end so she was already pretty sure it was Dragoste or nothing.

The slightly amused demeanor he had worn, following his look of surprise and utter bewilderment at the sudden news, slowly shifted into something warmer. Thank you? She wasn't quite sure exactly what she was thanking him for, but he shrugged his wide shoulders somewhat nonchalantly. He had no intentions of doing anything about staying and dealing with whatever issues they had created - however unintentionally - though he was half-amazed his reaction hadn't been to run immediately. She spoke of the man who ruled the pack, and Zephyr nodded in understanding. Passionate and determined - sounded like good qualities for a leader to have, definitely the sort of leader he wanted to rule the pack his children grew up in. He pursed his lips and considered it for a long moment.  "Then I suppose we'll be checking it out, won't we?" If she was intrigued by this man, he was willing to give the pack an honest consideration. He knew it would be significant effort to scout out the other packs, let alone wonder if they would even be good fits. Either way - they would figure out what would be best for their children. Thinking of that, he leaned down slightly to press his snout against her belly, wishing he could feel them kicking inside, but he knew it was far too early. "Talk" "You" Think

Maintaining the playful vigor that had swept over her, Caelum straightened a little, tail fanning the air. Mentally she was holding onto this moment with a death grip. A warm moment to hold onto, one of the few fresh ones she could consider good. Things were on an upswing and she intended to hold tight to ever second of these better memories. Maybe someday she could begin to smother bad memories with more recent good ones. One could hope. Her eyes glittered with happiness and hope when he spoke, body electric with energy. She grinned and let him touch her stomach, taking a moment to be excited about the little ones they'd be raising, then looked back at him and chirped, "I think so," giving him a sidelong look she'd add, "Glad I won't have to figure out how to carry our pups and you." Though her words were followed by a sly wink, they left one thinking she'd be more than willing to do just that if she had to. Trotting to the shore, Cae stood on the bank, as close to Zephs height as she'd ever be with the few extra inches it gave her. Quirking a brow, she beckoned for him to follow. They probably wouldn't be making it to the pack today, or super soon, but they could make some progress in attempting to find it, and she was sure she could amuse them both somehow as they traveled. -exit- SPEAK