[Set before threads with other alphas, at the birth of winter]

Aurielle Adravendi

She lay curled, half asleep, in her alcove, nestled in the furs and against Red. It had taken a little getting used to after having had the alcove to herself for so long since her father had moved into a different one. It was the way of things. This alcove was the alpha’s room, and had been since Erani had revived Valhalla shortly after Chrysanthe lost the pack to a Glaciem woman’s challenge. She drew in a deep sigh, letting it out through a smile. It hadn’t taken her long to understand the symptoms she’d been experiencing since they’d returned from Auster. She hadn’t told Red her suspicions yet, wanting to be sure, but she was sure now. What would he think? She still had to make the obligatory rounds to the other packs to check in and either found alliances, or gain some neutrality, or simple trade agreements, and she toyed with not telling him until after that routine was done. Hell, maybe he already knew by the change in her scent. Her eyes, half shut, shifted to the heavy fur drapes that blocked off the alcove from the rest of the chamber. It had been a lovely idea of the primates’. It was private, warm and insulated with the polar bear fur hung up on the rod. Add the heated rocks, and it was blissful. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Red drowsed in the warmth of Aurielle's den, curled around his shimmering mate. Curled up as they were, her deep sigh woke him. The glow of her fur filled the alcove with a soft light, a light that made it easy to make out her features when he opened his eyes to smile down at her. "Thinking deep thoughts, my love?" he teased gently. On the last syllable his words turned to a yawn that cracked his jaws opem wide and curled his tongue. As his jaws clicked shut again, he shook his head - carefully, to not disturb her - to clear it of the drowsy cobwebs.

Aurielle Adravendi

Beside and behind her, he drifted to wakefulness, perhaps roused by the sigh, and a slight smile tugged at her features as he looked at her, enigmatic and satisfied. “Mmmmhm.” The affirmation hummed through her nose, the smile growing slightly. Ah, but how could she resist? But she decided to playfully beat around the bush. “About the near future. And what winter brings.” Her frame shifted, legs stretching as she surveyed him with upturned eyes, tail flicking to pool over the wool padded furs that bedded the floor of the alcove. “There’ll surely need to be a circuit of the farther-reaching packs before the winter closes off the passes and trails. And I’ll have to be careful, certainly.” She figured that laid the snare for his interest pretty well, though she kept her tone conversational and musing, as it always was when she got political, pre-planning. “The Festival will have to wait till mid-to-late spring, I think. They’ll be old enough to enjoy it then.” The last comment was off-handed, as if an afterthought, but she watched him from the corner of her peripheral, though her eyes had drifted to the alcove hangings. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Red gently aimed a kiss for her upturned face while she mused aloud. "Deep thoughts indeed, then," he agreed, fully innocent of her teasing. "We have several solid hunters this year, so we should be well provisioned going into the season. Domari is a talented hunter and well skilled in leading them. We should have little to worry about." He smiled down at her. "What do you hope to learn from your travels to see the other alphas?" He sought to sneak another kiss, then paused as her words caught up to him, suddenly blank. "Who will be old enough for the festival?" The thought struck him. He peered down at her, and his eyes lit with a sudden cautious hope, eyes flickering over her studyingly. "Aurielle... are you...?"

Aurielle Adravendi

The kiss was well-received, a smile touching her features, though she listened to his words with interest, ears perking. It was so good to hear the words ‘several solid hunters’ for once. Had she ever heard them? She was also quite glad to hear further about Domari’s success. He was carrying his high rank well. As for his first question, “Oh, the usual politics. I’d like to take several trade-goods with me. It’s been a while since I spoke with Abaven, and there are some newer packs in place that I have yet to meet with in any political manner... the usual things. Next time I may bring you with me—you are part of the Trinity, now, after all, and we have no secondary alpha yet. I’m not certain who it might be yet.” Ah, that blank look—he’d caught the intentional slip-up. She tilted her head to the side to slant a grinning glance at him before she snagged a sneaky kiss on his lips. “Do you have any names in mind?” The question was an answer, and the joy in her voice was a further confirmation, tail swishing across the furs in sweeping wags as she gave in and brushed a longer, more lingering kiss over his lips. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think