Walk | Talk | Think The golden brown female trotted with an easy gait from the Algoma Prairie onto the Obsidian Beach. Between her jaws she carried a plump little prairie dog, one that had been unlucky enough to peek from its burrow within sight of the creeping Pre- Vae- ...whatever the term her mate and his brother had decided for the title "lead hunter." No matter how many times she thought she had the term right, she still managed to stumble over it, bumbling it up and mispronouncing what she was. Eventually, she hoped, she would pick it up and be able to announce her position with pride, but that day was not today. Today was, however, a good day to visit with her sister. It had been far too long since they had had a chat together, and Anais felt guiltily that one was overdue. She brought the prairie dog as a small present, a peace offering of sorts, though she knew Lior well enough to know she would not be greeted with anger or contempt. The young girl had always been patient and kind and considerate of everyone else around her, and her elder sister was realizing now how self-sacrificing she truly was. All this time while Ani had floated along with Glacier, reveled in her new work, her little sister had not once thought to interrupt her for company. She had to be here somewhere. Anais spent a good majority of her time in the Prairie, and because Lior was rarely seen there she knew the young healer girl must have been spending a majority of her time on the beach. Trotting around to the caverns that made up the pack's dens, Anais paused and glanced around in search of her sibling, curious where in particular she was most likely to be found. Quickly she lowered her head and set the peace offering at her paws before raising her head and calling out, "Lior!" The sound echoed slightly off the rocks, and immediately the golden brown wolf's ears folded. Hopefully no one was inside napping. And, also hopefully, Lior was close enough to hear her.

Lior held a roll of soaked moss in her jaws, carrying the tightly packed bundle back to her den where all the others were. It was a tedious process that took several days to complete, and even longer for the idea to conceive after her mood fell a few months ago. The glimpse of what one needs to know to be a healer was daunting, to daunting. Herbs and their uses, where to find them, how to prepare them, how many for what. It quite frankly left her scatterbrained and a little afraid of her chosen roll in Donostrea. But as with all things there were other ways to heal and mend. Lior settled on the physical. Burns, bruises, broken bones, and blood were her self taught expertise. Leave the curing of sick wolves to others. The use of moss as a bandage to stop bleeding came from her father, the story he sometimes told of how he lost his eye. A healer had put moss over the maimed cavity and it seemed to work. If nothing else than Lior simply had a hobby, not caring with what others thought of her.

With her paws leaving the sand and onto the palm scattered earth towards her den Lior dropped her moss and looked back at the distant rock protruding from the shores of the Obsidian Beach. It was the key to her little operation, a place to dry the moss after scraping it off the rocks and cliffs of the territory. She had to be careful in her weaving, to long in the sun would render the moss brittle. Lior stepped up to her den, a fine cavern if a bit cramped. It's smooth floor offered a good place to stretch out, stacked rolls of moss and a few aloe leaves were the only other sort of furniture that decorated her dwelling. With a heavy exhale she squeezed her jaws at the same time and misted her moss rolls, a process that needed to be repeated two times a day out of routine more than anything. Lior shook her head and sat, ears suddenly peeking and swiveling to the entrance behind her. Anais! Oh her sister had come to visit! A happy bark left Lior as she turned and practically skipped out of the den. "Anais!" Muzzle beaming and tail wagging at the sight of her sister.

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think Still nervous that she might have been too loud, Anais held her breath and waited to see if anyone, sister or not, would respond to her call. There was still a part of her that anticipated seeing a grumpy Elementas poke their head out to give her a stern look, or even a grumble from within to indicate that Lior was not the only one to hear her, but thankfully it was only the desired recipient of the howl that reacted at all, and immediately spotting her exiting the den, the Donostrea hunter felt her heart leap with joy. "Lior!" she greeted exuberantly back, grinning brightly at her sibling with her own tail wagging swiftly behind her. Oh, it was so good to see her sister! It hit her again how long it had been since they had spent good quality time together, and it ate at her to think that it was so long ago. As the petite little grey wolf padded her way, Ani bounded forward to intercept her, not stopping until she was there at Lior's side and had wrapped the smaller girl in a hug. "Oh, I'm so happy you're still here," she stated delightfully, nuzzling against her sister's cheek affectionately, "I've missed spending time with you." She really did need to rearrange her priorities and fix that.

Lior stepped outside and towards her sister. She had never smiled as much in recent months as she had now. Anais had always been a busy wolf in Donostrea, pack life, something Lior always wanted but could never integrate fully into despite being in one, had never been an obstacle for Anais. She fit right in even being promoted to lead hunter while she was left to struggle by herself for the most part. The two sisters practically leapt against each others sides, Anais easily curling against her sister in an encompassing embrace as Lior nipped and licked her older siblings jaw. Happy whines left her muzzle as her ears pinned back. She behaved as if she was a pup, a happy excited ball of energy at seeing a friendly face. It took a few moments but she brought her feelings under control, taking a step away to stare up at her sister. "As have I. Wha-what brings you to me today? Is the pack finally all fed?" Lior had been so happy for the promotion her sister had received, only wishing something such as this moment they were sharing was a frequent occurrence.

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think Seeing her little sister's excited display pulled at Anais's heartstrings. She had spent too long away, let her relationship with Glacier and her new position as lead hunter occupy too much of her time. She had, guiltily, forgotten to make her family a priority. I've been worried so much about his family, the golden hunter thought, that I stopped thinking about mine. She hated to admit it, even just to herself, but she was going to need to change it, and vowed then and there that she would. She would start with Lior, and then perhaps branch out and pay her brothers a visit too. They were nearby, after all, just across the border on the other side of the Prairie. And her nieces too. She had lots of family to visit. Her smile was bright and earnest as she smiled across at her sister once they had separated from their embrace, giving the younger girl a once over look just to make sure she was well. She looked alright - Anais hoped she was taking enough from the pack's food cache and not only picking from it - and it was painfully clear her excitable nature had not changed. Did that mean she was happy here? Was she enjoying having the chance more thoroughly explore pack life? Was the pack treating her well? Question after question rolled through her mind, but she said not a one, allowing Lior a moment to ask one of her own first. "We're a big pack, hunting is never done," Anais responded through a chuckle, not at all complaining about her work but stating it simply as a fact. She enjoyed what she did, and so it was never a chore to provide for Donostrea in this way. "But I'd been thinking about you and wondering how you were. Whether you were settled in okay, if you liked the pack. How your healer training was coming along." The last line she said with a little nudge of her muzzle against her sibling's shoulder, eager to hear anything and everything that Lior had to say about her training. She hoped it was coming along well, and was excited for her sister to get the chance to study something that she found such a great interest in.

Lior fidgeted anxious from side to side as Anais made a comment about hunting never being done for Donostrea. Hearing that made her ears flick back, realizing that after all this time that perhaps this was the only chance she would be able to see her sister before winter took her away to hunt the sparse game that kept everyone away from the grip of starvation. Anais question about how the pack was and if her training was going alright. That... that made Lior pause her furious tail wagging and try and think. Was she happy here? Orchid had left, and so there was nobody experienced to fall back to if she had questions. Terre seemed like he knew some things but for the most part she was on her own. Again.

"It's going fine," Lior lied. "I've made moss compresses and got a bunch of Aloe leaves." Did she mention that the pack was as quiet as a ghost town? How the ache of being alone was getting to her? Lior had seen her brothers a few days ago and had nearly wept at the sight her family. "I, I saw the boys recently. They were off to be by Mom and Dad..." The grey healer trailed off, looking in the southern direction her siblings had went off to. "Also, Jak seems to have a girlfriend..." She whispered as she turned her attention back to Anais, clearing her throat and scanned her sister from paws to ears to make sure that her sibling hadn't been damaged by prey. Something was off about how her sister looked though. Some slight weight gain. "Ana, are you bulking up for winter?" Lior commented on the slight outward bulging of her sisters abdomen, inhaling her sisters scent. It had changed slightly. Hmmmm. Hopefully bloat wasn't taking ahold of Anais, and if that was the case she would need to ask Terre on his opinion of what to do.


"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think For some odd reason, Anais's question about healer training prompted the excitable grey wolf's tail to stop wagging while her look went suddenly thoughtful, almost serious, and the elder sister noticed. That's weird. She was sure bringing it up would make Lior even more excited, and start her on an hour long, one-sided conversation expanding on all the new plants, techniques, and remedies that she had learned about. It was supposed to be a happy thing, not something that she figured her sister would need to think on first. Did this mean her work had become less fun somewhere along the way? Was she unable to share what she had learned because of some secretive healer's code? Or was there a possibility it was not truthfully going well enough to warrant an excited response? Her own look lost some of its joy as worry began to creep into her thoughts, though Lior assured her things were fine. Moss compresses and aloe leaves sounded like a good start, and though the hunter was unsure what their uses were for she was happy to hear it and wagged her tail with relief. That was a good sign, right? It meant her sister was learning something, and making herself ready to help anyone who showed up in her healer's den in need of tending. "That sounds great," she said with her smile still intact, though she cast a quick glance over her sister's shoulder toward the shadowed interior of the den Lior had claimed. Maybe, perhaps even that day, Anais could convince her sister to show her how she had set up her space and everything she had gathered to fill it. The conversation changed, moving on to talk of their brothers beyond the border of the pack lands. The news that they had moved further south was a little disheartening since it meant visiting them as she planned would send her further from home, but knowing they were closer to where their parents rested eased some of that disappointment. If she visited her brothers, that meant she would be able to visit the graves of her parents too, and that was something too special to pass up. It was, however, the news of Jakart's possible girlfriend that piqued her interest the most. "What?" Jakart had a girlfriend? "Since when? And who?" Oh, she hated being so outside of loop with her siblings! She really, really needed to change that now. She was practically bouncing in place with excitement and curiosity, full of even more questions that she wanted to bombard her sister with to drag every ounce of information she had out of her. But before they began tumbling out, one after the other in an endless stream, the golden brown wolf was floored by her sister's observation. Bulking up for winter? Anais blinked, her expression blanking, as she seriously turned her head and body to evaluate her frame. "I didn't think I had..." she muttered, though as she looked and took notice of herself more closely for the first time she thought she saw it. Was she really gaining weight? She was nowhere near as vain as their mother had been, but she did feel a bit of embarrassment from having it brought to her attention. "I don't even eat most of the things I catch," she admitted helplessly, while the look on her face began drooping under the weight of a new worry. Was this bad? Was something wrong with her?

It was funny seeing Anais react to the news that Jakart had found someone since the last time the sisters had seen him. A choked back giggle left Lior at her sisters voiced confusion and demand to know who it was. Though it was a bit of a small world, Anais had already met this mystery she wolf. "You know when we were back in Ebony a few years ago?" Lior was trying to bring her sister's thoughts to all the members of that pack. There was no way she would guess who it was, her squirming expression all Lior wanted to see before relenting in her answer. "Its that dark pelted healer with the grey streaks beneath her eyes. Her name begins with a K I think." She was far to excited for her brother and not sharing the news with Anais would've been agonizing if she withheld the information any longer.

It was more amusing to see Anais suddenly inspect herself at Lior's observation. Yes the brown and black hunter could've been sick and a more serious demeanor would have to be taken in regards to treating her but the healer was growing more and more curious. Anais hadn't come here for help, which was touching because they were seeing each other in a relaxed way for the first time in a while. But... Anais's season was a few weeks ago. Lior continued to stare at her sister as Anais recalled that she hardly fed on prey. "Hmmmmm." It left few options of what this could be and one was certainly growing more and more suspect by the minute.

Impolitely and rather suddenly Lior stepped forward and dipped her head under her sisters chest and snaked her muzzle forward. An ear rasped against the grey fur of her belly as she squirmed to get comfortable and listen. It she could hear lemmings and mice moving beneath the snow she was damn sure she could hear what this suspected problems was. "Hold still and breath normally, you will make it more weird." Lior knew this was a rather unorthodox way but... she heard them. The tiny heartbeats hidden beneath the breathing of Anais and the beating of her sisters lifeblood. Alright, she knew enough. Lior wiggled back away and stood before her sister. "Alrighty. Terrible news," Oh gods, maybe she didn't even believe what she had found and that was why she was able to keep such a straight face as she brought Anais's imagination along for the ride. "But I think we need to tell our brothers that Nako isn't the only one with young in our family now." The grin spread across her muzzle as she gave her sister a gentle nuzzle.

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think Anais listened intently, poised on her toes and practically wiggling in place. Who had managed to catch the eye of her brother? It was easier to see Nako taking a fancy to someone - he was possibly the boldest out of the bunch and had proven that by being the first to father children - but she could not fathom Jakart picking up a girlfriend somewhere and the girl being around so much that her family would notice. As Lior mentioned the pack they had previously been a part of, Anais's mind was already trying to fill in the gaps. "Yeah?" she answered, more query than statement to keep the conversation going. Was it someone from Ebony? There had been a few, she supposed, and the alpha had a few daughters that she remembered... Her train of thought visibly derailed as she blinked her golden gaze at her blue-eyed sister. The healer? It took her a moment to place the girl, to recall what she looked like, though as soon as she did she remembered more. The young healer had been standoffish and distant, always exuding a cold exterior that, Anais supposed, had intended to keep everyone away. "What?" she questioned, her blank expression suddenly taking on a puzzled, disbelieving frown. "Are you sure?" It had to be someone else, right? That healer girl had been unwilling to make any sorts of friends as she far as she remembered, and the only company she ever seemed to tolerate had been the dark coated male that had taken her on as a student. There had to be some mix up somewhere. As for the observation Lior made regarding her recent weight gain, worry was quick to replace the skepticism. Something had to be wrong if her sister was pointing this sort of thing out, and it must have been something concerning from the puzzled, discerning look that the younger wolf took up as Lior thought it over. Anais's ears tipped back, pinning themselves to her head, and continued to watch her sibling as she swallowed back her panic. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe she was getting scared over nothing. Maybe-- She made a sudden noise, a yipped note of surprise as the petite grey wolf pushed herself rather forcefully beneath the elder wolf's chest, causing Anais to raise a foreleg in order to give her sibling the room that she needed to work with. Awkwardly, she balanced upon three legs while Lior pressed a listening ear to her gut, and, as if it would make a difference, the nervous golden brown hunter held her breath. Please don't let it be anything serious, she prayed quietly to herself when at last her sister drew out from underneath her front half and righted herself again with an expression that could only be described as serious. Anais gulped, preparing for the worst, and continued to hold her breath...as her sister mentioned puppies. Her eyes blinked, her nervous expression remaining, and for a few seconds she could do and say nothing. When at last she could, her voice was desperate, serious, and there was a soft glistening of tears as they began to collect along the lower lids of her eyes. "You're serious? You're not joking? You can't joke about these things, Lior, you better not be joking," she said, the words tumbling forth and becoming sterner with each phrase. Puppies? Already? She knew she was ready for them, knew she was excited for them...but in that moment all she could feel was raw, flustered nerves that threatened to do away with her composure and turn her into a sniffling mess of joy and surprise.

The fact that Jakart had taken a fancy to someone was minor news compared to what Lior had just announced to her sister. She could see that Anais didn't quite buy it, the same disbelief that her sister showed was matched to the mentioning of the Ebony healer now in the company of Jakart. To the mentioning of pups, Anais looked unsure, almost frightened as Lior saw tears gather in her sister's eyes and caused her own ears to pin back. Had she even been intimate with Glacier? Anais's heat was over so there was no way of telling if her scent had died off mid season due to pregnancy.

Lior gently pressed against her larger sister and draped a leg around her shoulder in comfort. Her muzzle came up past Anais's cheek to whisper a question that would dictate if the healer had been right or somehow mixed pregnancy with steady sounding bowel movements. She cursed her inexperience even as the words left her lips. "Have you and Glacier been intimate?"" Lior stood on her forelegs as high as she could to wipe away the tears and comfort her sibling with the current predicament that was offered by a novice's diagnosis.


"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think The flustered nerves she felt were immediately mistaken for panic, and Anais could tell by the worry that settled across her sibling's face that she was conveying the wrong emotion to her. No, no, this was possibly good news, really really good news! If it's true... She hardly knew what to say what to think, and her thoughts whirled as they tried to piece everything together. It was not like she and Glacier had deliberately sought to make the puppies, but risk of them during her season had stopped seeming like a risk at all. She was ready - they were both ready - and they had been willing to accept the consequences of their actions. Her body felt jittery as Lior scooted in closer and reached up to drape her foreleg around the hunter's shoulders, and the elder sister hunched down slightly to make the reach easier on the both of them. Puppies... Her thoughts continued to echo the word, over and over, and only stopped when the little grey healer at her side posed a personal, but no less relevant, question. Instantly Anais felt her cheeks heat beneath her fur, and her ears managed to pin themselves more tightly to her head. Goodness, this was not a conversation she had planned to have with her sister...but if she was going to have it with anyone, she supposed it should be her. "Well...yes," she haltingly answered, fidgeting where she sat and averting her golden eyes from Lior's. "But we didn't... It wasn't..." None of the right words seemed to be coming to her, and she could feel her embarrassment worsening by the second as she tried to explain that they had only given in to the moment. No, that was an irrelevant detail now. With her cheeks still burning, Anais tilted her head and leaned it against her sister's, whispering now herself. "I told him I was ready to start a family. We stopped...worrying about it after that." Puppies... "You really think I could be pregnant?" There was less worry now, and instead more wonder and awe, as acceptance took place of nervousness and the fate of her future was defined for her.

The smaller female wrapped her white limbs even tighter around Anais as she awaited an answer. This was big news! For both the pack and to tell her brothers. The thought of spreading the word was lessened as Anais confirmed that yes, she and Glacier had mated, and Lior gave a small nod even as he sister tried to fumble out a other explanation without much success. "It's alright Anye." It must've have been so overwhelming for Anais. Lior shushed her sister even as the hunter tried to go into further detail about her and Glacier's decision to try for pups. Oh this was overwhelming news to the grey healer also. Anais would now need to be monitored for any ill effects, Terrae would have to be told and asked on what actions would need to be taken. All these thoughts sent her tail wagging as the joy began to return as Anais asked if she really could be pregnant. Since having confirmed by Anais that her and Glacier mated, Lior was certain even if inexperience had played a part in the guessing of her condition. "Yes. Now go and tell your man sis. He needs to know. Our brothers need to know." Lior broke away from her hug and gave her sister a quick peck on the cheek in comfort.

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think The tension of the moment was quickly abating, and Anais sighed as she thought about what this meant for her. She and Glacier were going to have puppies. They were officially starting a family of their own. She would be a mother, and he a father, and whatever sons or daughters they had would need their constant care and attention. She had always supposed she was naturally inclined toward this sort of caring, nurturing role so she had no worries of slipping right into it. Glacier seemed to have his reservations, but she had every faith that he would become more comfortable with the role once the children arrived. With her own joy returning, she could see the same beginning to settle again within Lior's expression as the petite grey wolf confirmed her diagnosis with confidence and an order to spread the news to the future father. Anais took a moment to breathe as she considered how that conversation would go, how thrilling and nerve wracking an experience it would be. He'll be happy, she told herself, I know he will be. She needed to believe it, or else she feared she would not be able to get the words out. And she knew her brothers would be no less ecstatic. "Okay," she agreed, taking a moment to steel herself for the task as her sister kissed her cheek, "okay." She could do this. She could tell Glacier that she was pregnant, that they would soon have puppies. She could manage to get through the whole thing without losing her nerve or succumbing to tears. Her thoughts were already beginning to play out the scenario inside her head as she turned it to glance in the direction of her own den, and in doing so she noticed the small, furry shape that she had dropped upon the sand when she first came to seek out her sister. "Oh!" Remembering suddenly her peace offering, the golden brown hunter left her sister's side and trotted back over to the prairie dog and picked it up gently between her teeth, carrying it back over to deposit it at Lior's feet with a sheepish grin. "I almost forgot," she explained, "I got this for you on my way here."

Anais seemed to buy the prognosis with only a moment of convincing needed. Lior became relieved that her sister didn't question the signs pointed out by the grey healer and her own visible uncertainty, however much that showed. If only she knew more she could've shown more enthusiasm for her sister as when their mother had told the two of them that more siblings were on the way. It had been a single child, their brother Espirit, and the grey woman wondered if there was a way to tell just how many pups there were going to be.

Anais parted for a moment and returned with a gift. A prairie dog. Lior supposed it would be a nice break from fish, paw scooting the snack next to a hind leg to save for later. "I'll take it. But whatever you catch for me from now on you have to eat. Gonna need lots of food to bare healthy pups." Lior honestly didn't know what else to say as she looked out over the ocean. They had both changed with pack life. Family dynamics were no longer so simple any more, no brothers to laze about with and instead a routine needed to be followed to make sure the whole thing didn't come crashing down and dissolve. "Now shoo. I need to do... things, and you need to break the news to that blue husband of yours." It was best to let Anais do this now, get the pack in the mindset to welcome more lives as Lior waited for her sister to make her goodbyes.


"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

Walk | Talk | Think It made the golden brown hunter beam when Lior tucked her offering around her side to keep it, not at all bothered by the fact she was not going to eat it now. Being so close to the ocean, and after growing up with a mother who preferred to fish, Anais could only assume that her blue-eyed sister made most of her meals out of fish, whether caught herself or pulled from the pack's cache. It pained her a little not to know for certain which was her sister's favorite, if either of them were, but she was already making promises to herself to come visit her sibling again, especially just to visit once she became too pregnant to hunt for Donostrea anymore. Again she was ushered off to tell Glacier of the wonderful surprise, and Anais's thoughts were thrown right back into the scenarios her mind had been walking her through just a moment ago. Her stomach felt as if it flipped within her gut, and nerves resurfaced even more frazzled than before, but she managed to chuckle through them. "Alright, alright, I'll go tell him," Ani promised, already backing away a step before she stopped, hesitated, and darted back toward Lior again to wrap the smaller girl in another quick hug. "Thank you, Lior," she murmured, placing a quick kiss to her sister's cheek, "I'm glad you found out first." They needed more special things like this, things that only they could boast of. Feeling a little better, she smiled, backed away from her sister, and turned to trot back toward the direction of her own den on the beach, still pondering the best way to break the news to Glacier. -Exit Anias-

Lior listened as Anais promised to go tell Glacier the news as soon as possible and made the motions to leave, the healers head dipping slightly as she reflected on her own fertility and the quality of desire any normal man saw in her grey fur. Needless to say when Anais came back Lior felt slightly better about the whole situation and what it now meant for her as a virgin. Lior was wrapped up in an embrace by her sister and the kiss was received with a prideful smile. Before Anais's own cheeks could retreat away Lior matched her sisters gesture with a wagging tail. At least her family still loved her. "It was my pleasure sis." They needed to do more sisterly things some other time in the future once the pups were out and dependent. But for now, as Lior watched her sister take her leave along the sand towards the other dens, they would have to wait and see. The Prairie dog was scooped up and taken back into the den as Lior digested all the information that had been exchanged. Perhaps Terrae's know how would be prodded at tomorrow but for now she ate her gift in comfortable silence and then set out to gather more moss for bandages.

-Exit Lior-

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn