Avantika strolled around the castle grounds absently. By now everyone in the Hallows was aware that Art and Briar were having a litter, and that gave her a lot to think about. Always thinking, she chided herself, but half-heartedly. Sure, there was an undercurrent of anxiety running along her consciousness, but there was also hope and excitement. What would the kids be like? What hopes and dreams would they be carrying on their shoulders? She hoped they'd be healthy, strong pups. Nothing more was necessary. She loved these new Carpathians with every inch of her fiery heart and she hadn't even met them yet. Oh, gods, nothing bad was ever going to happen to them. Avantika would die to prevent that -- or kill, whichever was necessary.

An aunt! She was going to be an aunt!

"Speech"

With the news out about her and Artorias' soon to be children, she felt like the preparations for them could now be in full swing. In those first few days she threw herself into it the way she did all of her projects—coordinating extra hunts, starting to get her wine making projects either to a good stopping place or deligated to someone else, working with Lia and Gwynevere to make sure she was taking all the right herbs... and still she wondered if she would ever really be ready for them when they got here. She had no idea what to expect and it kind of made her wish that her family still lived near by. She was happy for them and this new land that they had formed into their own, but having them be on the opposite side of Boreas made it much more difficult for her to ask her mother for advice.

The not so pleasant symptoms of her pregnancy had creeped up on her a bit today, however, so all the excited, hurried preparations she was doing had been put on pause. It certainly wasn't because she didn't want to be scurrying around the castle prepping things, but her body demanded that today be taken for rest and she wasn't going to not listen to it. After all, her body was busy growing more bodies so she should probably give it what it needed. She did eventually make it out to the castle gardens, finding one of her favorite shade trees and settling under it with a sigh. It was quiet today with most of the wolves of the back out doing their usual duties in the middle of the day. She did spot Avantika walking near by and as she caught her sister-in-law's gaze she smiled and gave a little wave of her paw as a 'hello'.

"Briar Carpathius"

As Avantika continued walking, she began to think about the role she might play in the new pups' lives. Maybe she could teach them to fight. It was certainly useful -- as she knew all too well -- and although there were plenty of competent fighters in the Hallows, she figured that more teachers would provide nothing but more experience with different fighting styles and in fighting diverse body builds. It would be an honor higher than she deserved to train the little ones in how to love and defend the pack.

Suddenly, she came upon the mother, who was probably also an important part of this train of thought, who gave her a wave. Avantika smiled back at Briar and altered her path to walk up to her, greeting her with a nod. After a moment, she gestured at her inflated belly and asked, "So, what's it like?" If there was anything Briar wanted her to do to make the pregnancy any easier, she would happily oblige; she could also just listen to anything Briar wanted to talk about. They weren't friends, yet, but that didn't mean they couldn't be. Briar was Art's wife and queen of the Hallows, meaning she was deserving of Avantika's loyalty regardless.

"Speech"

As Briar lowered her paw she saw Avantika alter her path to move toward her and Briar gave her sister-in-law a warm smile. Other than Gwynevere—and Bowen, in a way—she hadn't spent much time with any of Artorias' siblings. It was one of those things she always intended to remedy, but kept herself so busy that it was difficult to find the time to do so. She supposed now was the perfect time to do just that when her own body was preventing her from doing much else. She returned the small nod that Tika gave her in greeting and then grinned with a light laugh as she was asked what it was like in reference to her currently rounded belly.

"It's like..." she began, chuckling a little as she struggled to find the right words. "It's like knowing you're going to get the best gift of all time, but having no idea what exactly it's going to be or when it's going to get here." That was the best way she could think of to describe this mix of excitement with a slight edge of anxiety. She gestured for Tika to join her if she'd like as she added, "Right now it's just a lot of resting and trying to not let the queasiness get the better of me. It's a bit of an adjustment for someone like me who's always on the move and working."

"Briar Carpathius"

Briar talked first about the emotional impact of being pregnant -- describing it as waiting for the best gift ever -- and Avantika nodded. That was good; it was reassuring how much Briar already seemed to love the children she would birth. Before even attempting to, a pros and cons list seemed to materialize in Avantika's mind. Not about having pups, but about Briar. She felt a bit bad for even trying to pass judgment on someone else's relationship, but she couldn't help it. Her brother was married to this woman and she had been... far less than present, in the nicest words, during the majority of their relationship. Maybe this weird attempt -- not that she would ever actually try to break them up -- was just her way of trying to protect Art. Of regaining her place in the lives happening around her. Of making her months of disappearance up to him.

She sat beside Briar when the place was offered, smiling a little more in agreement when she said that it was an adjustment for her to rest so much when she was so used to being on the move and working. "I get that," Avantika replied. "I'd like to have children someday, but I wouldn't want to carry them. I couldn't imagine having to take a break from my work." With Audra, Avantika had thought quite a bit about children; despite the hot spark of anger and hurt that pricked her heart at the memory, the ideas still made sense to her. She wanted to adopt, first of all, but if her future wife wanted to have biological children, she would have to be the one to get pregnant.

"Speech"

If there was one thing she certainly wouldn't have known about her sister-in-law it was her sexuality, but when Avantika mentioned that while she wanted to have kids one day she wouldn't want to carry them, Briar quickly put two and two together. Her expression showed a bit of surprise, but quickly shifted into a warm smile of understanding. "Well, I certainly don't blame you," she said with a chuckle. "I also like staying busy and having something to be working on all the time. It's definitely not the most convenient state to be in." Briar gave a small shrug as her expression grew thoughtful, considering the fact that despite the fact that she would have to spend several months on limited and light duty, despite the fact that she was going to have to deal with queasiness, tiredness, aches and pains, and of course the birth itself, she had still gone into this without hesitation. She had wanted this and it made her think about how different things would be if she had made a hard line that prioritized her work the way Avantika had. "Well, if being a parent is something you desire then I hope you get to experience it—whether that's with a partner or otherwise," she said with a smile as her turquoise gaze refocused on her sister-in-law again. "Honestly, I'm just so grateful that they will have so many family members to grow up around here. Moving away from my family was difficult, especially when I thought about having a family of my own, but getting to know you and your siblings has helped a lot." Her smile grew into a grin as she added, "They're going to have the best aunts and uncle a pup could ever ask for."

"Briar Carpathius"