There was no fortune that dare bask in glory’s sin, the everlasting river standing as a veil in the wake of tragedy afoot, clinging to its life source, spouting catastrophe at the seams, and unmotivated to relent astray from its bittersweet tendencies. The rocks beneath each passing step were coated in this their luminescence, their deadly shimmer, as shrouded in their falsity of allure and gentle caress to a swollen paw was the sentence of an eternal rest. The expansive river was monstrous, nature’s fair entity even in this hazardous winter, and it thrummed to life in her earthen ears. It attempted to warn her of its potential hazards, of its unforgiving clutches, as such shedding light upon its angelic generosity, but despite its bold efforts the autumn babe could not be scared away. The probability of death did not frighten her as it should have a pregnant woman, but instead served its term as a most gracious tempt, an intoxicating promise, and therefore an irresistible persuasion that lured her as a flame did its delicate moth. The bronze vixen has always been weak towards temptation, she has always done what she saws fit, whatever she wanted was her for the taking; she shall have it by either free will or she will take it by force from their cold grasp. But the spoken of creature took flight with broken wings, its patterns of motion messy and scattered, and because of this it could not trust itself, for death awaited it most blissfully as it hummed an enticing lullaby into its eager mind. But she was not done yet, she was not yet to die and join the rest of her deserted family; she was building one of her own, one that needed her and that filled her with what one could only call bliss and harmony. She was well taken care of, the patriarchal figure; the father, was not absent like her own, he was genuinely interested in the well being of his successors and that is all she needed. They were like two pawns for each other on the chess board of life and they shall use one another to their advantage for as long as they consider fit. That is all it was and they both knew it. They both agreed to it. And it was better this way. "Speech"

She's more or less following Nephthys' scent trail, floral and delicious at it's floating in the winter air, and having picked it up on her daily stroll she can't help but to be nosy as to where the goddess is headed. It isn't usual for her friend to leave the borders of their pack; either Nephthys is up to something Leera desperately wants a part in or she's just bored. The Rio Grade is powerful, rushing with natural strength and fervor as Leera picks her way across the slickened rocks. She tastes the wet air and knows Nephthys is close, and after travelling a few lengths along the river's edge, the all too familiar mixture of Egyptian lotus and driftwood becomes strong and she sees the goddess near. "Is pack life boring you already, flower?" Leera calls gently, easily, at peace with the company of her dearest friend. She brings herself to Nephthys' side, pink eyes roving out to the river's whitewashed surface as she scans it with intrigue. speech action

Her dearest friend scent was intoxicating. She smelt entirely different due to her own pregnancy however her perfume still lingered underneath. She consisted of a scent that represented freshly cut timber, like the damp forest after a rainy day; she smelt heavenly, like fresh-scented pine and honey with an undertone of pack. Her aroma was like a drug to the autumn babe, she couldn't get enough of it. Perhaps such was the reaction of a pregnant woman recognizing another but she found joy in it nonetheless. "I heard that walking can speed things around." she purred deliciously, her timbre inviting with heavy arabic accents, foreign and exotic. Her allure was present as it was the first day, heavily pregnant, swollen abdomen and ankles could do little to undermine the nature of the siren she was. "I about have it with these creatures that press of my bladder." she gave a small joyous chuckle, shifting her weight upon the rocks, "They should be here any day now." she continued nonchalantly, the top of her elongated, luxurious tail brushing along the side of her abdomen tenderly, lovingly. The feline was watching from a close destance the interactions between the two powerful dames, crimson orbs narrowing with each gesture of his mistress; offering only a dip of his skull in aknowledge of the other lupine femme but otherwise choosing silence as his weapon unless spoken directly to. "Speech"

A smirk tugs at the corner of her slick maw at the goddess' compaints. She settles upon the surface of a large, sun-bleached rock, curling her lengthy tail around her paws and letting the weak winter light shimmer against her cream fur. Leera's own pregnancy is beginning to take a toll on her physically as well, so resting beside the roaring river will do her good. "You'll be a mother before long," the femme crones, eyes travelling once over to the companion caracal, offering him nothing but a wordless dip of the chin. Leera holds a particular prejudice against felines, in fact she holds prejudices against all other species that aren't wolf. "An exciting endeavor, to further one's bloodline." She gazes along the river's edge, not searching for anything in particular but just observing the natural watery wonder, but then she sees the glimmer of material in the cold winter sunlight and squints. "What's that by the water?" Leera stands and glides down from her place atop the rock, stepping closer to examine what strange items she might be seeing. speech action

"By the size of me, I will have my paws full." she purred softly, her melodious tones were carried away by the soft breeze. Thought of the carnal act crossed her mind, of her pact with the devil, of how well they danced and navigated around one another with so much ease. He was right that day, there was absolutely no way she could've survived this winter, pregnant and alone, without his help and the help of the pack. Though she would never admit it out loud the babe was not as foolish as to not hold gratitude, in a way, towards the semi-albino beast that blessed her with the fruits of their enamored escapades. A quick glance towards the ashen queen brought her back to reality. Her friend was departing from her side and prowled toward something just near the edge of the furious river, something burried in the white blanket of mother winter, with only its tip uncovered. Keen eyes, she made a mental note of it as she followed her friend pace towards it. "What is it?" her brow arched in question as she came to a halt next to the strange material or was it object? With a strained roll of her hips, due to her swollen abdominal region, she sat on her haunches next to it. It somehow glittered attractively in the light due to the water droplets present on its surface and all the thoughts she had earlier disappeared. "It looks like mud." she muttered more for herself than for anyone else, giving sound to her thoughts, though loud enough for the other to hear. The babe gave it a hard tap on the edge with her teacup paw and breathed a sigh in relief when it didn't shatter but uncovered more of its shape. She ran her pad over it's polished surface in awe, she never seen something like this before. "Speech"

A gentle smirk graces the corner of Leera's maw; yes, it looks as though it will be true that Nephthys will have her paws full, but of course, she won't be alone in motherhood. Leera has already decided that she'll do anything that Nephthys needs her to do, whether it be going out to hunt to feed her family or simply watch over the pups when she just needs a break. She'll act as though the children had been conceived inside her own womb, sewn by her own blood. "You need not worry, flower. You'll have myself and Hannibal to see to your sanity," she purrs, nodding gently to the ornate wolfess.

The shimmering pieces of material do resemble slabs of dried mud, Leera notices. Teacup paws trod gingerly across the slick rocks and when she reaches the materials she pauses and leans in to sniff at them, curious of their existence. Only then, when she's close enough to make the connection, does a suppressed memory surface, a memory of a tradition that had been whispered to her many seasons ago. A tradition that had played a part in her own life. "These are birth plates, flower. Well... not yet they are, but when they are painted with images and presented to a mother on the day of her litter's birth, they are said to bring good tidings to the litter." Leera isn't one to believe in magic or superstition, but the coincidence that they have discovered the plates must mean something.

Gazing around, Leera quickly spots a patch of wildflowers sprinkled with hues ranging from bright yellow, fluorescent pink, and even deep blues. With these to use as dye, she could have a birth plate for Nephthys created in no time. "This means I must paint one for you, dear. For good luck over your first litter."

Leera speech

As the autumn babe listened to the words that feel from her friend pretty maw her right paw went towards the piece they found once again. Her paw began to dug up the roughly made mud piece and turned it in the light to see the brownish glazing all the better. As she did so her fiery orange eyes followed her friend's movements, studying her facial micro-expressions. She let her beautiful face flood with a smile. "It is a diamon in the rough." her sultry purrs offered as she voiced her opinion, "It has a rustic charm. I would treasure it forever, Leera. Although," she paused as a smirk made its way toward her features, pulling at the corner of her maw, "..I will have to present one to you as well. We can both have identical pieces." her shoulder blades rolled backwards as she straightened her posture. Her gaze followed Leera and in due time she recognized the flowers that she had been glancing at. "We can break it in half and use that to decorate them." "Speech"

Black, glistening lips flicker upwards at the corners. The autumn girl's joy is contageous; her own heart flutters with something warm, something golden. Leera picks her way closer to the pieces, touching her nose to several before choosing one to her liking and taking it between her teeth. Nodding to Nephthys' suggestion, she uses the strength of her jaw to gently break the slab in half, so that each wolf could have one. "This is yours," she says as she places the piece at the goddess' paws. From there, she invites the other woman to take it and decorate it as she pleases.

Deciding to hide the painting process so that the gift won't be revealed too quickly, Leera finds a place within the grasses to sit and paint several designs on her piece of the slab. She chooses bright oranges and violets, hues that remind her of Nephthys' captivating bi-colored orbs, and creates something that might resemble the night sky.

If Nephthys has chosen to do the same and paint her piece, Leera rises when she is finished and carries the birth plate back to the earthen girl. "For you. This is what the night sky looked like in the desert the day we met. It shall bring protection upon you and your young."

Leera speech

Her optics followed the movements of the dearest woman and she could swear she felt something warm move within her very being; it was as if heat was radiating from them and the connection they had built became deeper, more meaningful and inseparable. There was reason love was invisible, undetectable with anything but our minds, she remembered her Mother tell her once. It was because they were not evolved enough to be trusted with it. People would try to engineer it, alter it, use it, weaponize it. Aren't there always great reasons to do immoral acts? Or are excuses to allow us to follow our more basic desire for dominance? Power addiction was always the wrong route to escape fear. The only way to understand love was to feel it, embody it, embrace it, she often said. And it was love that she felt for the woman thought what kind and to what extent she could not know. The moment auditory system caught the sound of the pottery bring broken within Leera's jaws was the moment she returned towards Planet Earth. She would only nod towards the woman as she departed to paint her own piece. Leaning down, her pretty maw picked the pottery half between her ivory canines are bagan to move towards the flower within a leasure pace before she came to a halt in front of them, several tail away from the other. Just in time. Auditory system flickered on top of her regalia as Leera approached and fortunate enough, she also finished her birth plate. Her gaze fell upon the painted pottery and she could not help a smile spread across her full, succulent lips in joyous mannerism. Getting sentimental, love? she questioned with a smirk ever so present as she pushed her own piece of the place towards her paws. She did not pick the day they first met however she chose symbolism, an egyptian symbol to be exact, containing the eye of Horus in a multitude of colors, from green to purple and red, and her paw print in the right corner. "It is an egyptian symbol of protection, power and good health. I vow to watch over all of you and aid you to the best of my abilities. she mused softly as she gazed upn the sky before her optics locked on her own. It was getting dark and they should have been back by now. I will treasure it. she promised before picking the plate Leera offered to her and turning on her heel to head towards the pack lands but not before she brushed her cheek on Leera's in an affectionate gesture. exitus "Speech"