welcome to existence

Walk | Talk | Think

The piles of herbs that she had formed inside her freshly dug den were neat and tidy. And large. She had gone out of her way to ensure that she would have enough of everything that Erani had suggested she keep on hand, fearing that somehow just a normal amount might not be enough. It was too much, she knew it, but it comforted her just the same. And she needed all the comfort she could get. The task of putting the finishing touches on the den that she had found, closely situated near Ocena's, had been done by her alone, without the help from her mate, Awaken, that she would have liked. He had been oddly scarce lately, to the point that Mercianne had to wonder whether he was even still around or not. He had made no mention of leaving, for any particularly length of time, and so his absence wore heavily on her nerves. It was difficult. Being heavily pregnant with pups as she was, she couldn't go running off in search of him, but neither could she let herself linger on it either. She needed to think of their children first and foremost now.

She stood back, crouched within the den and admiring her handiwork regarding all the herbs and plants the wolf Erani had instructed her on, able now to name them all by sight and even by smell. She smiled, a sweet little gesture, as she thought of how very soon none of it would be needed. Very soon, both she and Ocena would be mothers, blessed with pups to care and live for. Everything would change, and not all of it would be easy, but somehow they would do it. Somehow she would do it. Even if Awaken continued to distance himself, even if he might never return, the little lives that dwelt within her were her responsibility and she intended to take care of them as best she could, no matter the circumstances.

And all too soon that fateful sound came, Ocena's pain-wracked howl requesting her assistance. Merci turned her head, staring wide eyed and breathless outside of her den, feeling suddenly as if her insides had sunk low and gone cold simultaneously. It was time. "Oh boy," she murmured to herself, hurriedly returning her attention to the plants that lay sprawled in their separate piles before her. Hastily she made a grab at some of everything, the plants mixing between themselves despite her efforts to keep them separated, and hoping enough time would still be given so she could organize them again she turned on her heel and crawled her way back out of her den, a difficult feat what with her own stomach stretched wide with pups, and made for the other female's den.

The other mother was already curled up in the back of her den, adjusting herself as the painful spasms began to take over. A bit of nervous energy raced through Mercianne's frame in the form of a shudder, but she didn't lose her cool. She had prepared herself for this, for both of them. She knew what to do. Head low respectfully to the distracted Ocena, she quietly entered the den and moved aside to the space she supposed had been dug out specifically to make room for her. There she lay down the plants she had brought, quietly rifling through them with her muzzle and nosing them back into their separate piles. "Everything okay so far, Ocena?" she asked as she moved the last of the plants into their proper places, dark brown eyes shifting upward to look back at her expectantly. But she was not worried. She knew what to expect; she would take care of them both.