It wouldn’t be long now before the pups were born. Sirius had surrounded himself and this pack with healers. Perhaps that was a coincidence, since he had needed to upp his members, and healers had been what he had found. Or perhaps not. Either way, there was plenty of wolves about to give their help, herbs, and opinions should anything go wrong. Of course, only Io and Deathbelle will be in the actual den at the time of the pregnancy. And perhaps Bird, since he lived in the den, and could fetch and carry if needed. His presence was a gentle thing, there was nothing overpowering about the small healer. Puppies and healers played a large part on the Warlords mind as he made the small bridge that looped over the shallow stream that lapped a few meters from the den. It would give the puppies something more to play on, and even if they fell off the little bridge, they would not drown in the shallow water. Building was an enjoyable pastime for the Warlord, putting his paws to work in crafting as easily as he did to killing. "Speech"

永程

He chanced upon the great Warlord himself muddying his paws building a... bridge? Yong Cheng, more skittish than ever, poked his head out of the currently-shared den he had turned into a sleeping-place. Sirius and his wife had kindly opened their den to the boy, and he'd taken every opportunity to tuck himself into small corners and dark places. Cheng blinked away the sleepiness in his eyes, then blinked again in surprise at Sirius' actions.

He didn't know that Sirius was capable of anything other than violence and intimidation. The Warlord, in all his hulking glory, had always seemed a distant, towering figure to the boy. Even when Cheng had pushed himself into the depths of his and Bast's embrace, he'd still felt Sirius loom over him, shadow completely covering Cheng's frame. Seeing Sirius out there, in the sunlight, working at a relatively peaceful activity, seemed so at odds with what Cheng knew the wolf to be.

He felt his breath catch in his throat, then darted out to stand lightly by the Warlord. Yong Cheng opened his mouth, trying to ask why and what Sirius was doing, then felt the words tie his tongue into knots. Despite everything, the fact that he was still a slave burned his lips, and Cheng suddenly could not speak. Despite sleeping in the same place as the two highest-ranked wolves, he was still beholden to their service. And once their tremulous peace was broken -- when Zee had her children -- what then would become of him? He'd be removed from the den, almost certainly, and who knew what else would happen?

Suddenly wary, Cheng looked quietly at the Warlord's massive frame, and stood a little bit back.


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OOC:

IMAGE BY ANTHONY CANTIN ON UNSPLASH

He heard the movements of the small wolf as he darted free from the den and towards him. He ignored the young healer, concentrated instead on the building he was putting his mind to. Wrapping vines about the wood that served as the planks, tying it tightly with his teeth, and pushing it gently to test the sturdiness. No bridge of his would break under his young children when they were old enough to leave the den.

After a moment of silence, Bird still had no spoken, and the first parts of the bridge held steadily. Sirius released them, and turned his attention to the small wolf, casting a quick glance up at the sky, knowing what made the boy nervous. Sirius had cleared out every slightly large nest within miles of the Weeping Woods. He had likely decimated the bird population, but he had also hopefully ridden them of whatever anomaly had tried to take his wolf. “Bird, good to see you out and about” he commented, raising a brow as he cast his full attention to the healer.

永程

Sirius knotted vines with dexterous movements. Yong Cheng watched curiously, from a safe distance, as the Warlord poked and prodded his creation. No doubt it was for the soon-to-be-born puppies; Zee's midsection was now gently rounded and protruded like half a melon from her usually slim underside. Yong Cheng wondered idly what it would be like to give birth, then thanked his lucky stars that he would never have to give birth. He shuddered at the idea. Then, like a knife piercing through his thoughts, Sirius' words cut through the tenuous silence that stood between the Warlord and the Healer.

They were conversation-starters, the boy recognised, and nodded slightly in acknowledgement. His toes poked skittishly into the ground, over and over again. They left indentations in the soil, little holes dug into the earth, that he smoothed and started poking again. "I -" he began, a slightly stutter still creeping into his voice, "I -- I think I'm okay now."

"Thank you." Yong Cheng said quickly, figuring that he should at least sound grateful to his leader. And he was! Birds had been showing up on the prey pile that Sirius had introduced on his first day here; all sorts of dead birds, and sometimes eggs. "It's a lot. It's a lot safer. So um."


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OOC:

IMAGE BY ANTHONY CANTIN ON UNSPLASH

He called the boy out, pointing out he knew that Bird was there, not that the quiet healer had been hiding, but he didn’t seem terribly certain of himself when Sirius turned to him. The Warlord sat, patient and quiet, his nature calm and more easily dealt with now that he was a father-to-be.

It didn’t take too much longer for the hesitant healer to speak. His nervous movements did not go unnoticed by Sirius, but he was polite enough not to call him out on it. The boy apparently wanted to show that he was more confident - not that his actions or words gave that same message.

“That’s great news” Sirius said, if Bird wanted to be confident, owning up to it was the first step, perhaps reality would follow will. “Your welcome to continue to stay in our den as long as you please, if you wish to move back to your own, let me know. In the meanwhile, I’ve been meaning to tell you - i’ve changed your rank to Combat Medic, you already have a garden to grow herbs in, but consider yourself a full member of the pack.”