Walk | Talk | Think

With her vacation well and truly over, Callisto traveled back across the land bridge to the northern continent of Alacritia. She did not return to the Fern Gulley as she would have preferred, but instead made camp with Jakart in a quiet section of the Faller's Fjord, an area that he was familiar with and traversed with apparent ease. It was for the better, Calli supposed. Here there were less dangerous plants available for a curious, wandering pup to get their little mouths on, and with the terrain being mostly closed in by steep sides she figured the land would help her wrangle in her future children once they were out of the den. Not to mention, the location was rather remote, a far corner that appeared to only get the occasional visitor. It honestly was not all that bad, but the healer did miss the abundant resources the Gulley had at its disposal.

For now, for this part of her life, the black and grey wolf thought it would suit her current needs, and a new normal began to set in. Adjusting - to the territory, her new pregnant body, even the additional cat they had picked up during the tail end of their vacation - took some time, but Calli was feeling more content, possibly even happier if she had a correct view of what the word meant. Life had been chaotic for too long, tossing her about and dragging her along through a kidnapping, a forced pregnancy, months and months of paranoia, losing her pack, her longest known friend, and entwining her future with someone she would never have thought to care for so much. It was fixing to get crazier - her experience might have been limited, but Callisto knew pups would test her in every way - but at least now she was no longer running, no longer avoiding her fears, her feelings, and was stepping forward to embrace and even dictate her future. For once she felt in control, and what would come seemed less scary than she would have imagined.

As Callisto slept, peacefully tucked against Jakart, her slumbering mind drifted into dream. Strangely, she found herself here, within her new home by the Fjord, laying outside of her lover's old den - now their den - with the warm summer air silent and still. Not even the sound of the river could be heard, though she knew it was close. She looked about as she lay curled upon her side, and was conscious of a pair of small, fuzzy shapes nestled against her belly. The expectant mother did not need to look at them to know - she had her pups, and they were currently resting. In her dream, she thought about resting too, and of Jakart, somewhere within the forest with his new companion off on a hunt. She expected him back any moment, and was curious to see what he would bring this time.

The sound of pawsteps, slow yet purposeful, were heard behind her, and the healer's ears angled back to listen. Her brow quirked into a mild frown, and turning her head just slightly she spoke over her shoulder. "No luck?" It did not sound as if Jakart brought anything with him, no telltale dragging, nor did she hear the bumbling gait of the serval. Another voice, the sound of which immediately sent a chill up her spine, answered her instead. "Oh, yes," the demon's voice murmured pleasantly, carrying a calm but malicious threat, "I've got all the luck." With her heart thudding in her chest, Callisto scrambled onto her feet and turned to face the monster that had caused her so much misfortune.

She knew, somewhere in her conscious mind she knew this was not him. His image was distorted, not quite right, but there was no mistaking him for anything else but her own personal demon. He stood every bit as big and threatening as he ever did, his white coat stained in places a faint pink - blood. His black-tipped tail curved dominantly over his haunches, and even waved as if taking amusement from her panic-stricken response. And his eyes, purple and bright, stared right back at her, narrowed as his mouth stretched into a grin. "They're not yours, Calli," he told her, his tone patronizing, "they never will be." Understanding, her gaze darted downward to the ground where she had been lying, but there were no wriggling pups there. They were gone, vanished, and though she had not seen him touch them she knew the purple-eyed demon had them now. Their soft, plaintive voices echoed distantly through the trees, seeming to originate from everywhere and nowhere at once. The dreamlike vision of Lel laughed, deep and hearty, as Callisto looked around her in search of the pups, but as her gaze went back to the spot the white wolf had been standing no one was there. Just like that, he had vanished, taking her children with him.

"No!" she screamed in her dream, and with an incoherent murmur on her lips she jolted awake. Frightened, panicked, Calli violently woke within the darkness of her den, and feeling a presence beside her, touching her, she pushed away. Her breathing was erratic as scrambled to isolate herself from the figure in her den, bristling and biting back a growl, but reality was quickly beginning to bleed through the remnants of her dream. She was still pregnant. The demon was still long gone. It's just Jakart, her mind reasoned, stopping her panicked attempt at escape, it's only Jak. She repeated the phrase to herself over as she breathed out heavily, closing her eyes with another shiver. Just a dream. Just a nightmare.

No matter how hard he tried during each nightly slumber Jakart couldn't return to the place where his mother resided. He desperately wanted to share the news that he was alright, having left on such a questionable note, but also to tell Tahlia that he would be a father. The thought alone kept him awake even as he tried to go back to sleep. The return to slumber wasn't easy, the grey wolf resting his muzzle just next to the slight bulge of his lovers belly with his paws tucked against his chest. Sometimes he felt them move, sons and daughters fighting for room and would in a few more weeks would see the light of day past the entrance of the den. But for now they would continue to grow within his lover so that they could be strong once they arrived. The journey back north had been slower due to Callisto's added bulk and the duo had arrived well within the moderate stages of pregnancy. A suitable den was picked and cleared of any debris and was relatively close to the river so that water could easily be obtained by the expectant mother. Mismatched eyes swept through the den and peered up at the entrance to see the glowing eyes of his companion. The serval was a strange creature and by all rights the wolf should've chased the savannah cat off, although the ever amusing shows Narcissus would put on in stalking Belladonna was either on purpose or straight up incompetence. He felt Callisto shift, stirring, and as Jakart leaned up to give her a welcoming kiss she flinched, recoiling away from him and smashing a paw into front o his muzzle. Even as the male's nose beaded up with blood his first concern was his partner. Instantly his paws brought him up and his tail tucked as a low whine was voiced. Callisto appeared far from ok, the fur of her neck bristling upward and just showing the edge of a canine at him. As the effects of whatever dream she was witness to faded and a placating lick was given to her chin she seemed to recoil within herself and realize just who was in their den with her. Jakart gave a worried nuzzle against her neck with his cheek. It would seem the nightmares were not over. They would get through this some day though, he hoped. Even the joys of being with child were not enough to sooth his lovers subconscious judging by how whatever she saw had effected her. Jakart gave an anxious nip of an ear as his forelegs wrapped around his oncemate's shoulders and desperately began to try and sooth Callisto with his presence. To let her know that he was here and that everything would be alright. "Talk" "You" Think "Companion"

Walk | Talk | Think

Her body shook as she held perfectly still in place, trying desperately to calm herself. It was always hard to return to normal after seeing the demon. Even years after she had left him, years since she had last seen him, his vision still haunted her, sneaking in to ruin any sense of complacency that she started to build up. It was all part of her curse, how it strangely but innately knew when to strike and cause the most damage. Surely it must have known she was pregnant? That this time she was determined to do right by the lives she carried? It's just a nightmare, she tried to reason with herself, clenching her eyes shut and willing her body to still its shaking though it did no good. Nightmare or not, the fear was real, and by now it was deeply ingrained, as much a part of her as her blue eyes.

Those same blue eyes flashed open as she felt a tongue softly lick her chin, and she flinched before realizing again that it was only Jakart. Even so, she did not feel recovered enough to be near him, desiring instead a bit of space so that she could gather herself and return to a sense of normalcy, but he only moved in closer. Calli tensed with a strained expression, just refraining from pushing him away and distancing herself from him as he nuzzled her and wrapped his forelegs around her to pull her in against him. "Jak," she weakly protested, but let herself be drawn toward him nonetheless.

He held here there against him, trying in his own way to comfort her. Again Callisto closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, letting her keen nose pick out the scents of their den, their intermingled scent that was distinctly their own. The soothing smells calmed and helped to ground her, drawing her the rest of the way out of the nightmarish dream she had been a part of just a moment before. With a heavy exhale, she began to relax and ducked her head to press it against Jak as he held onto her. Her nose burrowed into his pale fur as his presence eased her anxiety, doing what she assumed he had intended from the start. She sighed again, shuddering just slightly as she shifted to rest more comfortably against him. "It's just a dream," she murmured in a whisper, nuzzling against him as she used his presence to chase away the last remnants of the demon that haunted her mind.

Jakart couldn't read Callisto's expression very well in the darkness but he could see her shaking. The warm embrace he wrapped around his lover would hopefully draw her away from any dark thoughts, let her know that she was safe from whatever had startled her so. And it seemed to work, all the tension he felt in his lover receding by his touch as Callisto slumped into his embrace, wriggling her head against her chest as a pup might seek warmth. Evidently it had been a dream. Nightmare, his mind returning to the time when she had been reduced to such a state. Internally he shook his head hut otherwise remained still, a paw starting to stroke her back. "Shhhhhh," Jakart began, forelegs clinging to her tighter as he eased himself onto his back and brought her with him. "Sleep now. I've got you." The grey wolf comforted with a yawn. Hopefully this slightly changed sleeping arrangement would bring comfort, paw still running through her back as eventually he would fall into a comfortable slumber, hoping with the last strain of conscious thought that his oncemate would follow suit. -Jakart is asleep- "Talk" "You" Think "Companion"