By now, all of the Hallows was abuzz with activity in preparation for the coming litter of Artorias and Briar. Naturally, Syanna had learned of the alpha couple's pregnancy well before it became public knowledge, thanks to the virtue of working so closely with Gwynevere, who was of course the attending physician for Lady Briar. While many of the other Hallows wolves busied themselves with gathering supplies or crafting things for the arrival of the pups, Syanna used her skills to focus more on the present—namely the care of the expecting mother and her unborn pups. Gwynevere was heading the checkups and neonatal care for Briar, and Syanna would take charge of providing the young mother with all the supplements and herbs she would need in order to ensure a smooth birth of healthy puppies. In a way, this was good for the vixen-like wolf's own psyche as well. Not knowing if she'd ever have the chance to have her own puppies some day or not, this very much felt like a way she could get as close to that experience as she could while helping out her pack family along the way.

Syanna was holed up in the castle kitchens, boiling a pot of water for a tea for the Queen. She had found that many wolves disliked taking herbs and medicines straight, and by infusing the neonatal herbs into a herbal tea, it made them much more palatable. Plus who wouldn't like a nice, hot cup of tea on a cold winter's day? While waiting for the kettle to boil, Syanna was pressing down some elderberries and blueberries into a pestle and mortal, squishing them into a juicy pulp to infuse into the tea for flavor and antioxidants. Every so often she would glance up from her work, waiting to hear the telltale whistle of the heated kettle.

"Syanna"

Ezra walked back up the castle path with four rabbits tied up by their hind legs and draped over his back along with a peafowl that he carried by its neck in his mouth, making his way back up to the main focal point of The Hallows with today's spoils in two. Aquila and Canis had actually caught the majority of the rabbits so he was going to have to make sure they both got a treat of some kind later when it got to dinner time. As he stepped into the castle the eagle swooped off through the sky to go to his usual perch near Ezra's window and Canis turned to go return to his usual post near the alpacas. That just left him on his own to walk down the castle halls and into the main dining hall so that he could head to the cellar to stow away his kills for later.

Everyone in the castle was gearing up for the birth of Artorias and Briar's first litter, bulking up their stores of supplies to compensate for the extra mouths to feed and making sure the castle was ready for the invasion of tiny pups. He was certainly no exception and he had been doubling down on his hunts since Fern and Rudy had left for a trip, leaving him one of the few experienced hunters left in the pack. It did mean he had to bring home mostly smaller game, but his companions were good hunters in their own regards so he was usually able to bring home quite a collection of them each time. He hoped they would be prepared by the time the pups got here, but he knew they would figure it out. The Hallows was nothing if not resilient.

As he neared the kitchen he picked up on Syanna's scent along with the sound of her grinding something with a mortar and pestle—a sound he had grown familiar with after all the times he had sat with her while she worked. A little grin tugged at his lips around the game bird he was carrying and before he went into the room he quietly sat down the peahen and the rabbits just outside the kitchen door so that he could sneak into the kitchen, creeping with the practiced, sure steps of a master hunter as he made his way behind her, hoping that the sound of the boiling water and the scrape of stone on stone might keep her distracted enough for him to slip up behind her and surprising her with his forelegs wrapping around her sides and his lips pressing firmly to her cheek with a comically loud kiss.

"Ezra Adravendi"

Ezra would get his wish today, as the silent steps of the veteran hunter would not be noticed by the focused healer. So diligent was she in her work that between making sure she didn't over crush the berries and listening for the kettle, she didn't hear the quiet click of claws on stone. All of a sudden, massive paws and strong arms were wrapped around her sides, making the petite fae gasp aloud and very nearly swing around to sock whoever had grabbed her in the eye, but the swift and sloppy kiss pressed to her cheek make her realize exactly who had ambushed her and what was going on. "Ezra! Knock it off!" she chided her obnoxiously affectionate boyfriend with a squeal and a flail of her paws at his face. "I'm trying to prepare some tea for the Queen and you're not helping!"

Syanna would continue to squirm and thrash in Ezra's hold until he either restrained her tighter or let her go. Either way, she would huff and turn a playful glare back over her shoulder to her dire wolf lover. "What am I going to do with you? Have you at least gone and done something useful for Artorias today?" she asked him. She'd become used to being the responsible one in their relationship, having to keep him on task when his one track mind because a little too one track, which happened often, much to her frustration and delight. He was a big dopey wolf, but he was her big dopey wolf.

"Syanna & Ezra"

Ezra grinned with absolutely zero guilt as Syanna scolded him for interrupting her work, chuckling as he had to pull back some to avoid her flailing paws. It most certainly wasn't the first time he heard her chiding and squealing and it by far wouldn't be the last if he had anything to say about it. Reluctantly he let her go as she squirmed away, but he didn't move from behind her as he continued to give her a wide, lopsided grin. She was always the best part of coming back home after a day or hunting and patrolling. It was like the best reward he could possibly imagine to come back to his beautiful girlfriend and it was something that motivated him to work hard so he could get back to her even faster. Well, that and he also knew she'd just send him back out again if he hadn't completed all of his usual tasks.

As if on cue she asked if he had done anything useful for Artorias today and he chuckled, replying, "Of course I have!" He turned and trotted out of the room, returning with the two ropes that had rabbits hanging from them and the peahen all dangling between his jaws. Dropping his kills onto the counter, he looked back to Syanna with one of his signature grins. "See? Aquila, Canis, and I made off pretty good today." He started untying the ropes off of the legs of the rabbits so he could go put them in the storage cellar and he added, "I'm going to have to find at least a couple of hunters to help me bring back some larger prey, though. The pack is too big to just live off of small game... and it's just getting bigger."

"Syanna & Ezra"

A sharp glare was playfully shot back at her incorrigible boyfriend as Syanna proceeded with her work. No matter how serious she tried to make him be about their duties to the pack, he seemed fully incapable of ever being able to resist distracting her. It was really kind of flattering, even after all this time, knowing that she was enough to break Ezra of his focus, even if it did come at the price of sacrificing her own productivity from time to time. She hoped he never lost that boyish charm to him; it really was endearing in an obnoxious sort of way. Ezra exclaimed that he had, in fact, done some work to help the Hallows. He left the kitchen for a moment, then returned with a bundle of hares and a peahen.

The thud of the carcasses on the counters beside her snatched Syanna's attention away, and she looked over his earnings for the day before looking back to him wearing that proud grin. "Well congratulations, you're able to do the minimum of your role," she teased him, smacking at his shoulder with her fluffy tail as she turned to step past him to bring her mortar full of crushed berries over to the stove and began emptying the contents out into a cup. "Well, when two of our main hunters—one of them being our Lead Hunter too—go off on their honeymoon and leave you in charge, maybe getting some more paws on the ground isn't such a bad idea. Not that you aren't a capable hunter, but like you said..." She gestured to the rabbits and single fowl he'd caught. "We're gonna need more than that, especially Briar. Pregnant faes need all the nutrition they can get."

The kettle began to whistle then, and Syanna carefully picked it up by its handle in her teeth to move it from the heat before it boiled over. With the water hot and ready, she just needed to get the herbs to mix with the berries and the tea would be done. "I'm going to go get some herbs from the pharmacy while you put away your award-winning kills, Champion Hunter." Syanna shot Ezra a smirk from over her shoulder while she stepped back out of the kitchen and made her way across the length of the great hall and down the corridors to the familiar space of the pharmacy. She pushed open the door and made her way down the rows of shelves cluttered with fresh and dried herbs of all kinds to pick out some alfalfa, motherwort, and lavender for the Queen's tea.

"Syanna & Ezra"

Ezra gave Syanna a smirk and a playful glare as she congratulated him on doing the "minimum" of his role, nipping at her tail as it flicked across his shoulder. He knew she was just ribbing him and giving him a hard time and he always enjoyed their banter. Still, he also knew she was right about needing more paws on the ground if he was going to make up for their two missing hunters while they had a pregnant queen and soon many other mouths to feed. He hoped Rudyard and Fern were having a lovely time on their honeymoon, but he also hoped that they hurried back so their usual crew of hunters would be back at full force soon.

His thoughts were disrupted as the kettle Syanna had been boiling began to whistle, pulling his attention back to her and her work. He of course admired how dedicated she liked to be to her work, but it always made it all the more tempting to distract her from it and pull her away into much more fun activities. He never stole her away enough to fully derail her entire body of work, but most certainly enough that she would occasionally scold him for it—though that was more than worth it to get to enjoy his incredibly attractive girlfriend as often as he did. When she said she was going to go get herbs for the tea while he put away his kills, he shot her a grin and replied, "Alright, beautiful." He watched her go, his ice blue gaze watching the sway of her hips and tail before she entirely disappeared past the doorframe.

He lingered there for a moment, glancing between the prey that was laying on the counter and the doorway that lead back out into the hall. Sure, he could be good and put away his kills and wait patiently for her to return, but what was the fun in that? He waited for a moment longer to take sure she had enough of a head start that she wouldn't immediately notice him following her. After a few beats he peeked out of the door to make sure the coast was clear before he made his way out quietly and stealthily, following her all the way to the pharmacy while keeping a good distance between them so she wouldn't catch on to his plan.

He peeked around the corner and waited till he saw the end of her white tipped tail disappear past the pharmacy door before he kept going with a sly grin on his lips. This wasn't the first time he had ambushed his darling girlfriend in here and it certainly wouldn't be the last if he had anything to say about it. At least this time he already knew where the piece of wood was in the corner that he could lock the door with. He stepped inside and quickly pushed the door closed before any of her protests could be heard by anyone outside, shooting her a grin as he pulled the piece of wood over the door and wedged it into place before he strode across the room to her and claimed her mouth in an insistent kiss, a quiet rumble sounding in his chest while his paw slipped up to rest on the back of her head.

"Syanna & Ezra"

Syanna hadn't been in the pharmacy storage for more than a minute before her collecting was interrupted by the sound of heavy paws on the floor behind her. The foxlike fae turned to catch her boyfriend following her into the room, watching him with wide, surprised eyes while he kicked the door closed. "Ezra?!" she remarked with a start, catching on quickly to what he was doing when he picked up the wooden board he'd used to lock the door the last time they'd been in here together and once again wedging it against the solid oak door. "Ezra, you horny boy! Now's not the time!" she snapped back at him, but it was far too late to chide him or convince him otherwise. Ezra came up to her with quick steps, his dire form dwarfing hers in the small storage space. "Ezr-!" Syanna tried to scold him and his overactive hormones again, but her voice was cut off with a muffled sound when his mouth claimed hers in a deep, insistent kiss, making her whole body go rigid as he grasped her, one massive paw cupping the back of her head to keep her from pulling away.

Despite her protests, Syanna couldn't deny the way her heart raced whenever Ezra got this way with her. Knowing that she was the object of his desire, that her mere presence alone set his primal instincts off so much that he simply had to act on them right away was a sense of power and a huge turn on. Still, she resisted playfully, giving muffled sounds of protest while her paws slapped at his broad chest, her fluffy vixen-like tail swishing and wagging like crazy. Eventually her fighting slowed, beating paws instead gripping to fistfuls of his fur while her muffled shouts turned into low murrs, her emerald eyes gradually disappearing behind fluttering lids. Syanna kissed Ezra back, giving in to his insistent passion and returning it back in kind to him. With how small she was in comparison to him, it was easy for Syanna to wrap her forelegs around his neck and hoist herself up to wrap around him, forcing him to cradle her body to his while she made out with her boyfriend in the quiet, isolated closet. She knew what would be coming next. She also did nothing to stop him.

"Syanna & Ezra"

As always, any of Syanna's protests fell on deaf ears. If anything, her scolding only made him want her more and made the amused grin on his lips grow wider. At the end of the day, if she ever truly told him no or was actually in the middle of something direly important, then he knew better than to interrupt, but right now the worst he would do is make her have to warm up the water for her tea again. He knew he was horribly horny and insatiable and all of the things that she reminded him of frequently whenever he interrupted her day to sneak away with her or—in this case—steal her attention from her tasks in order to have his way with her. He didn't see any of this as a problem. He knew that she secretly loved when he was like this and he would never apologize for loving her the way that he did. He had the absolute honor of having this sexy, smart, sassy, strong, beautiful, foxy woman to be his girlfriend—the real question was how could he not be all over her all the time?

He only held her tighter as she protested and hit his broad chest with her much smaller paws, the corners of his mouth still turned up in a grin as he kept his lips locked with hers. It was a familiar song and dance for them now, but he never tired of it and he didn't think that he ever would. After a few moments she began to relax into him just as he knew she would and he was able to more completely wrap his forelegs around her and pull her smaller frame into his, cradling her against him as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and pulled herself up into him. That was all it took for him to be completely lost in her, hidden away with Syanna in this quiet closet. Without letting his lips leave hers, he leaned forward, supporting her body with one strong foreleg and holding himself with the other, lowering her to the floor under him. He tasted her on his tongue, her scent filled his nose, and everywhere that their bodies touched felt like it was on fire. This could have been their first or five hundredth time having one another like this—he would have been just as enraptured with her either way.

- fade -

"Syanna & Ezra"