Even the best laid plans

The warmth of Deimos enveloped her and Iki gave a soft little sigh of happiness and comfort. She agreed with his comment about her mother. No doubt Venom would be happy to hear that she would be a grandmother soon. Word had traveled to her that Venom had her own new brood, so this would be an opportunity to meet her new half-siblings as well.

The purple brute offered kind, protective words, telling her to rest. His touches were gentle and loving. Not at all how they had started their relationship. Ikigai was thankful for him every second of the day. As Deimos pulled her closer into his warm embrace, it wasn't difficult at all for the pale woman to fall asleep. She didn't dream, she simply slept. Nice, restful sleep.

In the middle of their nap, Ikigai felt the need to relieve herself. Part of being pregnant meant that there was more pressing on her bladder and she had to go more often. Mercuric eyes opened and Iki raised her head to see that Deimos had fallen asleep as well. Gently, the woman extracted herself from his grasp, careful not to wake him. They'd walked a long way and he'd carried a heavy pack, so he deserved rest as well. Tucking the extra fur around him Iki picked her way through the snow and towards a secluded place.

Wind whipped around the woman as she began to walk back towards her mate. Up ahead a little whisp of white drifted straight up into the air. Iki thought that it was simply the wind having a good time with the powdery snow on top of the hard pack, but she was wrong. As the woman came around the bend, she expected to see Deimos come into view. Instead, she saw a large, large brown bear. The beast was standing close to her sleeping mate, wisps of steam curling upwards from its hanging, parted lips. Afraid for the life of her partner, Ikigai couldn't help but call out, "No!" Big mistake.

Startled, the bear jerked its head towards her and instantly began to run at her. Iki's eyes went wide and she began to back up, though she couldn't run as the wind pushed her this way and that. If she tried to run, there was a chance that she'd go over the side of the mountain path. All she could do was keep walking backwards and hope that both Deimos had heard her, and the bear would lose interest in following. She wasn't that lucky.

The hulking ursine barreled towards her and Ikigai's heart raced. Time seemed to slow as she watched one paw raise into the air. She marveled at how large it was. It seemed wider than her body was long. Funny, the things you notice when you're moments from death. Then the paw connected with her shoulder and Iki yelped, the force of the blow sending her slender frame careening over the side of the mountain path.

It felt as though she floated in air for a long time, but it had only been seconds. The woman came crashing down, stomach first, on a large boulder aside the loop of path just below the level where she and Deimos had gone to sleep. The fall wasn't that far, but it was far enough. Pain ripped through Ikigai and she called out in panic, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. She slid down off of the boulder and onto the path, her head next to the pawprints that they had left earlier that day. At first, the woman held her stomach with her forelegs and thought that she was lucky to have landed on a smooth rock rather than one of the many jagged ones or else she and the puppies woul-... The puppies!

If Iki thought that she had felt panicked before, it was nothing compared to the fear and anxiety that tore through her when she began to worry for the safety of her children. Somehow, her limbs hadn't been broken, though there was a small gash in her shoulder from the bears strike. Thankfully, the cloak that Deimos had given her had blocked most of the claws. The woman struggled to her paws, her limbs shaking as pain forced her teeth to grit. Then she felt it.

There was moisture dripping from her back end. "No, no, no, no, no," the woman repeated, afraid to look behind her, though she knew what she would find. Her bladder had been emptied just before, so there was no doubt that it was blood dripping from her hindquarters and onto the snow beneath her. Searching for her bravery, Ikigai's neck curled and she finally did look. Blood, black and thick coated the pristine, white snow. A sob pulled from the fae and she bit into her lower lip. Unable to help herself, her legs cave out and the woman crumpled into the snow. Tears froze in the biting wind before they could fully slide down her cheeks and she buried her face in crossed forelegs. Already her body was urging her to push out the remnants and it was an instinct that she couldn't fight. They were gone. Their children were gone.

"Deimos & Ikigai"