dare you to move [birth]

The move had been completed, and Ashen had been relocated to its new home in the southwestern territories of Boreas. It had been a laborious task, but one that Maverick felt would be a good change for the pack. Ashen had begun to grow away from its heavily religious roots and back to the prominence of the Klein family once more, it only made sense for the pack to head back to its ancestral homelands. It was just unfortunate timing that Venom happened to be so heavily pregnant at the time of the move—not to mention entirely blind now. Maverick still didn't know what happened. Once moment, she was fine, and the next she couldn't see a thing. Her eyes were undamaged according to their healers, but that did little to reassure the worried prince-consort. Did that mean Venom would recover her eyesight eventually? Would she be blinded permanently? What did that mean for their coming family? Would their children also be afflicted? There were too many questions and not enough answers.

Between himself and his brother-in-law, Maverick and Plague had handled most of the business of organizing the pack's move. Maverick especially remained staunch and unwavering in his decision to isolate Venom until she had given birth and recovered her eyesight. None could know what had become of the powerful Ashen Empress. A show of weakness like that, coupled with newborn pups arriving, he feared that the Empire's enemies might see it as a golden opportunity to strike. So for now, none would see the Empress aside from himself, Plague, and her immediate family. They could deal with the circumstances of their future once the pups were born and they had a better idea of if Venom would ever be able to see again or not. For now, Mav's duties were to assure the protection of his fiancée and their unborn children, and he was not slacking in that regard.

Maverick didn't know what time it was when he was disturbed from his sleep. All he knew was that it was too early to be getting up, as the afternoon sun was still streaming into the old palace, and even with the heavy curtains put up around their royal bedchamber, he could see rays of golden sunlight sneaking in. The dire brute had adopted a much more nocturnal schedule since moving in with his beloved queen, so the sunlight was an unwelcome guest here. Grumbling to himself, Mav rubbed his tired eyes and stirred, looking about for his pregnant mate. He found her rolling over in bed, groaning quietly to herself. "Ven...?" he mumbled and sat upright, turning a furrowed gaze of concern toward her. "What's going on? Is everything all right?"

"Venom & Maverick"