CAN YOU FEEL MY HEART

Walk | "Talk" | think

If it hadn't been for Aranea's surprising calmness as she confirmed that their pups were on the way then he probably would have started to rush around with worry and go to find one of the healers and do any little thing he could do to get them ready for this moment. Instead, he just embraced this happy, nervous energy that bubbled up in his stomach and his tail wagged behind him as they exchanged affections and he waited for her to make herself more comfortable. She surprised him again when she told him that she wasn't afraid this time and it gave him more questions that he knew he wouldn't get the questions to - at least not right now. Her past was still fairly mysterious to him so he wasn't entirely sure if there was more meaning to that statement than just to say she knew what to expect this time around. Either way his expression softened a bit and he pressed his nose to her cheek. "Good, I'm glad."

He settled in beside her, letting her head rest on his front legs if she wished and gently showering her ears, face, and neck with affections to comfort her in the only way he knew how as she went about bringing their family into the world. It was absolutely astonishing to him and he watched her in awe as one by one pups joined them in the den and eventually became the four pups that were nestled against her. They were all a mix of russets, blacks, whites, and there was even one that looked so much like him that there was absolutely no denying that this was his son. His heart was so full he thought it might burst and as he shifted how he was laying to curve himself protectively around Aranea and their pups, he wished that he could just live this moment forever. He looked to Aranea to tell her how beautiful they all were, but the tear falling from her eye caught his attention first.

His ears flicked uncertainly since he wasn't sure if it was tears of joy or sorrow, but either way he leaned toward her to gently lick away the tear and give her a sweet, adoring smile. "They're beautiful and perfect. You're beautiful and perfect. You've changed my life and I'm so grateful for that." He swallowed past a lump forming in his throat as he looked from her captivating gaze down to the pups that were pressed to her side between them, each of them enjoying their first meals and soon falling into what seemed like the most peaceful sleep he could possibly imagine. His family. This was his family. Sure, Abaven was full of various cousins and siblings of various degrees of relation, but... this was his and he loved them more than he thought would ever be possible.