the voice of the wind

Pregnancy did not suit the viking alpha, not at all. While some females found joy and purpose in pregnancy, she did not. It was an irritation and an inconvenience - she could feel pride in it, in the children who would carry the next generation of her family, the children of a god... but not enjoyment.

She did not let it effect her duties. She would not coddle the pups after they were born, and she saw little reason to coddle them before. There was much she did not know about the state of packs in the south, as evidenced by her recent surprise in the battlefield, so she'd set out, still with gently rounding belly, to investigate. She was idly considering making the rounds of the other packs as she paused for rest in the desert oasis - taking the shortcut through the desert was not safe nor comfortable, but winter blunted the teeth of the desert heat enough to make it more bearable.

As she lapped at the water to quench her thirst, a sound caught her attention and, though she gave little indication she'd heard - after all, the best way to counter an ambush was to bait one of her own - she turned her attention to attempting to pinpoint the sound.