Some time had passed and the oddly familiar feeling of her belly cramping brought about both pain and delight. Instead of the usual seasonal female motions, there was something else there. Puppies. And with puppies came morning sickness. Tenshi wasn't exactly pleased with the effects that came with being pregnant, but she wasn't going to complain either. Rather she tried to battle it.

The morning sun rose over the mountain and brought with it a warm spring breeze. It gently ticked her face as she made her way from her den down the slope of the maw. Careful to avoid melting ice and snow, she traversed the thin paths toward a valley near the bottom of the mountain. There she hoped to find some mint and maybe even some honey if the honey bees had already woken from their winter hibernation. With a basket between her jaws, she tried not to think of the bubbling bile that threatened to climb up her throat. As long as she kept moving, kept thinking, the feeling would soon pass when the afternoon came.

"Speech"

Motherhood was not anything Kiela herself had ever considered, nor aspired toward, but she recognized the incredible strength it took to take on that role. It was an important part of the circle of all things, bringing new life into the world, even if it wasn't something she necessarily thought she'd end up doing. She reflected on this as she came across Tenshi's scent, recognizing that she was indeed with child. Even if she hadn't known before it was obvious now by her scent alone, and Kiela redirected her course slightly, heading down one of the steeper slopes she'd been traversing to make her way down to solid ground.

It was a pleasant, balmy spring day - at least by the north's standards - and Kiela was due to make a trip to check on her herd. Not quite today though, but soon. She'd been asked to check out the crypt in the south as well, to see if it was a good land for Heiðinn to lay claim to, so she'd probably attend to that first. In the distance ahead she spotted Tenshi, carrying something in her jaws as she wandered. Collecting something, it seemed. Clearing her throat as she approached, husky tones reached out to her. "Good morning," she greeted her, without a smile but with all the warmth she could muster. "Herb-hunting today?"

The sound of a cleared throat catches her attention. Stopping in her tracks, Tenshi turns to look over her shoulder. A warm expression shifts the look of nausea away from her as she smiles at Kiela. Ah, how long had it been since she had chatted with the woman? To answer Kiela's question, Tenshi nods before handing the basket over to one of her snow leopard companions. Ever since she had taken notice of her condition, they had been stuck to her side. "Care to join me?" Tenshi asks, but doesn't wait for an answer before she continues down the path toward the lush valley nearby. Figuring that Kiela would enjoy the walk through the valley and the avoidance of awkwardness by just standing there, Tenshi kept her pace slow so the other woman could keep up.

"How has Heidinn treated you?" Tenshi begins the conversation as her eyes wander the scenery. The snow fading to reveal green grass and soon to bloom wild flowers. "Vidarr mentioned you tend to reindeer. Did they fair winter well?" Her accented tones carry to Kiela as she takes a glance at the woman before turning to head down the slope toward a patch of mint. Their fragrant scent is nearly overwhelming to her sensitive nose. Clenching her teeth, she swallows the threat of bile as she continues closer to the herbs.

Kiela did not know Tenshi well, but she had a lot of admiration and respect for Víðarr, so she could only trust there was a reason he'd devoted himself to her. That was enough reason for her to think favorably of the other woman. "Sure," she agreed easily, moving to join her in her descent down into the valley below. It was easy enough to pick up her pace until she was walking practically alongside her, though she kept a slight distance between herself and Tenshi, as well as her companion, who she'd handed the basket off to.

"Well enough," Kiela answered. Her manner of speaking was a little less couth than most wolves. She didn't bother hiding her words behind pleasantries, and if someone misinterpreted what she was saying, well.. that was their problem. "I do, and they seem to have had an easy winter. I was speaking to him about a female that needs culling here soon."

She paused as Tenshi redirected their course, waiting a moment to speak again. "I've decided I'll be bringing the pack together to take her down in the coming weeks." A good, hearty meal would be good for Tenshi too and the life she was growing within. Though the antlers the woman sported alone were enough to Kiela to know that the gods had long since blessed her, she knew feasting on the caribou would only bring good things to Tenshi and thus her yet-born children. It was exactly what they needed to come into this world strong. "I'm sure such a meal would do you well," she added, almost conversationally, as she cast a glance to her belly and back up again.

Tenshi moved in companionable comfort. Though she didn't know Kiela as well as she'd like, the moments she had had with the woman had been pleasant. If she were being honest, the uncouth style of Kiela was actually refreshing. Who had time for pleasantries and nonsense anyway?

Her eyes settle on the path ahead as she listens to Kiela speak with an ear turned in her direction. Thankfully the pregnancy wasn't taking a toll as much as she thought it would and the afternoon breeze was beginning to feel refreshing. "Vidarr mentioned that. He seemed eager to see you lead a hunt and replenish the stores,"  Tenshi nods thoughtfully, her gaze flickering to Kiela for a moment, a kind and friendly smile on her.

As they reach the valley, Kiela's last comment has her stalling. Tenshi blinks a few times before looking back at her belly. "Is it already that noticeable?"  Her brow furrows before she laughs. Well of course it was! How could anyone not notice the way her sides rounded just a little more than usual? "Reindeer sounds delicious. A good change from the sheep and deer we've had lately,"  she comments, another smile, friendly in nature, hopeful that Kiela didn't take offense or embarrassment to her initial reaction (it more of an "oh shit I'm fat!" reaction than anything).

Picking her easy pace back up, she continues farther into the valley with Kiela. "So, Vidarr mentioned a Sverre. I haven't met him yet. Is he...anyone particular to you?"  Tenshi probes lightly, not really one for gossip, but she does want to get to know Kiela better.

"Speech"

Kiela hummed softly, acknowledging Tenshi's words thoughtfully. Maybe a hunt would be pushed back a little further, depending on the needs of the pack - that was something to consider along with the needs of the herd. A careful balancing act. Managing the two things was a new challenge for her, though one she was eager to take on.

She managed a low laugh at the other woman's words. "Is not a bad thing. Children are our future," she noted conversationally. Becoming a mother was not something she herself had ever considered but the importance of it was not lost on her. "And I know Sárahkká is watching over you and your children. She is... the goddess of motherhood, according to my tribe's beliefs," Kiela explained. Her own beliefs went deeper than what she could explain; her deities were not the same ones she'd heard wolves here believed in. She knew in her heart Sárahkká had already had a hand in Tenshi's pregnancy, weaving her strength into the very womb where her children were now growing. Everything was interconnected, always.

The mention of Sverre was nearly amusing to her, only because Víðarr had asked her something similar not long ago. "Just a companion," she explained. "A likeminded soul. I thought he'd fit in well in Heiðinn." Beyond that she didn't have a lot to say. He was a friend, though she hadn't spent as much time with him as of late. "What herbs were you looking for out here?"

There was much that went into leading a pack. It was more than just sitting on a throne and listening to others complain. More than sending gifts back and forth to other packs. Leading a pack meant filling it with puppies and stocking the larders and tending to wounds. Each and every wolf in Heidinn had their specific place and because of that, she is thankful for Kiela. The woman can hunt and hunt well. They needed someone who was capable of tracking and keeping the balance between life and death.

Tenshi is more thankful of Kiela as the woman explains her beliefs. This Sarahkka sounds similar to Vidarr's Freyr. A strong woman to watch over mothers and pups alike. "I will make sure to include your Sarahkka into my prayers tonight and thank her for her blessing and protection," she answers softly, a genuine smile on her lips. Though she doesn't practice her own religion often anymore, she has tried to fully submerge herself in Vidarr's culture and those of Heidinn. It is all similar to her own cultural beliefs and helps heal the old wounds carried over from her past.

A thoughtful tsk leaves her now as Kiela tells her about Sverre. So no romantic interest? The words don't leave her mind, keeping it to herself. She wonders what Vidarr thinks of it. The man could be possessive at times and while she was confident in her position beside Vidarr, she also knows the viking cannot be controlled at times. "I hope he transitions well," Tenshi adds, a low swish of her tail to indicate she is being honest.

Her ears perk then as she looks from Kiela to the surrounding valley. "Ah, I'm in search of mint," she starts and then turns her nose to point toward a rather large gathering of a bright green plant. Turning to move off the path to lead Kiela over to it, she stops a few feet away when the scent of it starts to become overwhelming. "Mint is good for quelling nausea. Peppermint is best, it is a weaker mint so it doesn't taste as bitter as Wintergreen mint does," she reaches out to tug a few leaves off the plant and hand them over to Kiela. "You can eat it straight from the plant, but I prefer it in tea. If you crush the leaves, they will express an oil that you can rub under your nose to help mask strong odors as well," Tenshi then drops a few more leaves onto the ground before using a paw pad to gently press the leaf until the oil is covering her skin. Turning her paw over, she shows Kiela the glisten of oil over her skin.

"Speech"

Kiela had learned a lot about herself since joining Heiðinn. When she was young, her future had looked very particular - she'd expected a mostly solitary life, following her herd and occasionally banding together with like-minded wolves when necessary. Never had she expected to settle down somewhere, not for any extended length of time. Now that she was here though, she had a hard time picturing herself anywhere else. There were wolves here she cared deeply for, Víðarr in particular. Her feelings for him were strong, at least in comparison to how she felt toward most wolves, though she'd never bothered trying to classify them or put them into words.

Romance wasn't something she'd ever thought much about. She'd never really had the need for it - nor the time to develop it - until more recently. For now she'd bask in the warm feelings when they happened to strike her and not think too deeply about such things. She was far more prone to just live in the moment and not dwell too hard on things otherwise.

The conversation shifted to the herbs Tenshi was searching for today. Mint she was vaguely familiar with, knowing it as a plant her reindeer tended to be repelled by. Its soothing scent made sense as an anti-nausea medication, no doubt something Tenshi valued these days. Once they reached the plant she took an offered leaf in her mouth, sniffing it first before tasting it. It wasn't a bad taste at all and she could immediately imagine the benefits in the way it felt going down her throat. "Shall I collect some of these, then?" The plant was a large enough one that they could both begin to gather it, and Kiela was glad to help where she could.

"Do you mind if I ask, were children with Víðarr something you had been hoping for? Or did it just happen?" Kiela wasn't generally the nosy sort, and truthfully she wasn't even asking for any other reason than for conversational curiosity. She'd never herself considered bearing children, though the idea wasn't something that bothered her either. She wondered how it had happened for Tenshi.

"Yes, if you'd like to help," Tenshi replies warmly, a smile on her lips as she continues to collect enough mint to fill the basket up. Surely they would need more at a later date, and if they were able to dry some, she could store it for next season and the season after that. She wonders if Ulfr would want some for his mead. A warm minty mead for when the days are cold? It sounded splendid.

Content to be in companionable silence, she is surprised when Kiela asks a personal question. Her previous interactions with the woman hadn't delved into personal matters, but Tenshi doesn't mind. Others were sure to be curious about the woman Vidarr called his wife. "Any question is an acceptable question," Tenshi speaks earnestly, her gaze moving over to Kiela to glance over the other woman. She could see what Vidarr saw in her, she didn't blame him for being drawn to the reindeer herder.

"Children have always been in my life plan. Before I came to Boreas, an unfortunate event ended in the extinction of my entire clan. Including my mate and pups," her voice hitches, a pause as her face steels for a brief moment before the emotion sweeps away. No one ever said the pain would completely go away. "I had not come here in search for a mate specifically to have children. My original intent of travel had been to find the man that is related to the cruel leader that took out my pack. If I found him, I wanted to either take him back and use him as blackmail or kill him myself before taking him back, dead or alive didn't matter," there's a hint of laughter in her tone now, "Unfortunately for me, my blind rage subsided the moment I met Vidarr. I did end up finding the wolf I searched for, but he proves to be someone who has nothing to do with what happened in my past," Tenshi's shoulders shrug before she continues. "I thought that perhaps I might have fallen for that man, but I think it is because he reminded me so much of my late husband that I sunk back into what I was familiar with, but Vidarr never really left my mind," she sighs wistfully, the shadowed Viking King was always a fond thought in her mind. "When our paths crossed again, I knew then what I had been missing and it was him," Tenshi looks to Kiela, feeling a tad embarrassed for rambling on. "Apologies, I tend to chatter on sometimes," she laughs, trying to brush off the awkwardness she felt now.

"Speech"

Kiela nodded agreeably. She had no doubt that there might be a time in the future that she required the services of one of the pack's healers - as begrudgingly as she might take that help - so helping keep the pack stores well-stocked seem a fair thing to do when she was able to help out. Leaning forward to work from the other side of the plant, she mirrored how Tenshi was collecting the herbs and made to do the same.

The question wasn't something she might normally ask someone, but she'd changed in quite a few ways in her older age. She was growing far more social than she'd ever expected to be, which wasn't saying much for her considering how much she'd kept to herself before joining Heiðinn. Asking questions simply because she wanted to get to know someone better was something still a little strange to her, but she was glad that Tenshi didn't seem to find it so.

Kiela hummed softly, acknowledging Tenshi's explanation. She couldn't relate to her desire for children, not in the same way Tenshi explained it. In a small way she too felt compelled to ensure that there were still wolves here in Boreas to tend to her reindeer, but it mattered little whether those wolves were blood or not. She felt she could see the appeal though, thinking about things like that.

"Strange how we go looking for one thing and find another, isn't it?" It wasn't a terribly profound statement, just a reflection that Kiela had experienced something similar. She'd thought her purpose in Boreas had been singular, but it had become much more complex than that, though her reindeer were still at the heart of it all. "I met Víðarr many years ago too and always found my mind returning to him. He certainly has a way of not being forgotten," Kiela jested lightly. Not that her feelings for the man necessarily were comparable to those Tenshi shared with him, but she did understand why Tenshi had come back to him in the end.

Tenshi's expression is warm, humored by Kiela's comment. "I never truly believed in destinies, but now that Vidarr is a permanent fixture in my life, I find myself believing in them a bit more," she smiles with her words as she looks back to the mint bush they stand before. Were they always meant to be here today gathering mint together? Was Heidinn and the mountain always her end goal? It was a curious thought process that Tenshi would think on later. Not that she wasn't happy with it, she was more than pleased to be here, but it had never been what she had imagined her life would end up being.

Kiela's next words just lightly and Tenshi can't help but laugh and nod in agreement, her eyes crinkling lightly at the corners. While it may appear to others that Tenshi and Vidarr were the only ones for each other, she knew that Vidarr's wild nature made it difficult to hold back. Their souls belonged, but the fire within him and potentially hers could belong to many others. She knew it before they had solidified their relationship and those feelings never soured. "He does have a way of sticking around in one's mind and heart, doesn't he?" Tenshi replies, her gaze moving back to Kiela with a hint of question, a silent way of asking if felt more than just friendship toward the Viking King.

"Speech"

Kiela smiled, the expression faint but discernible, and genuine all the same. The reindeer herder supposedly she believed in something like destiny, though putting it into words was a tricky thing. It was less that everything happened for a reason and more so that everything was cyclical, connected in some way that was far greater than she could really know. There were no accidents in this life, nothing happened that didn't have a reason to. "I understand that," she mused softly, between moments of helping gather more mint leaves until their pile was plentiful.

Another nod was given to her words. She was not the least bit possessive, though she didn't know Tenshi enough to know how she felt about such things. Not that she'd spent a very long time dwelling on her feelings for Víðarr. She'd always been the more rational, analytical sort - not spending much time dwelling on how she felt about anyone. She couldn't help but feel like Tenshi was gently probing on the matter. "I suppose he does. I don't feel that way about many wolves. He is yours, though," Kiela added, as if promising Tenshi she was no threat when it came to matters of the heart. Not that she herself believed in monogamy as a principal... but she was not the same as most wolves here. The last thing she wanted was for Tenshi to view her as any sort of threat, since such things were not high on Kiela's list of priorities.