Maybe he spent too much time thinking about what Aslatiel said to him in the very short time they were allowed to be alone together. She was actively seeking to get pregnant and bear her tribute to the Fatalis name. To quickly do her duty and be through. Indigo didn’t feel near the same. He was still abiding by Resin’s commandment. No reproduction. It was like she had seen the writing on the wall way before the young man had opened his eyes to it. Gathering up pretty girls lost in the woods? He had been so foolish, and honestly astounded that Resin had given her blessing.

Duchess remained his only partner within the Hallows, and even if she hadn’t been in heat Indigo remained nervous about their activity. He couldn’t continue to carelessly sow seeds, eventually they would grow. Indy was far from prepared for that eventuality. Thankfully the warm weather brought abundance to his stores, and he managed to create something just for his little Duchess. An insurance plan. She could refuse him, and he almost expected it, but the alternative was celibacy. He was not prepared to father any pups. Indigo didn’t enjoy letting his thoughts linger on the future, sometimes it was too hard to see himself making the great leap from where he was, to where he wanted to be.

The first step was keeping himself child-free for the time being. Maybe one day he could see himself having a pup or two running around, but even then he was having trouble picturing Duchess pregnant. The mother of his children. The thought laid over reality as he rounded the corner of the castle with his bundle of herbs and found Duchess’s languid form sprawled over the thick furs that made up the bed. A dreamy grin took over his features as he froze there at the door, transfixed as the rest of his thoughts disappeared.

Location: Amron's Castle Duchess tried to make herself worthy of The Hallows, even if her overly hard work didn't go recognized. She was generally pretty introverted, but she opened up quickly when caught in conversation. The kindness she showed Indigo was the same kind she would show everyone else, her and Indigo just shared more than that. She often rested in their room den at least once a day. While she kept her time occupied she still missed Indigo when they had to take care of their duties during the day. They still tried to get their alone time when they could, but she had to settle for their night time and early morning cuddles and kisses until they were able to go on their little mini vacations. When Indigo had come back up to the room, she hadn't noticed at first. Laid out on the pelts, watching the rays of sun through the window. She was lost in empty thought, not remembering a single thing on her mind while her eyes gently searched the sky. She wouldn't be startled when she came too, gently turning her neck to notice Indigo in the doorway, and she greeted him with a smile when she looked upon his own face. She sat up and faced him, somewhat wondering what reason he had for coming to join her in her break time. But she simply hoped, or assumed, it was just to get that extra time with her. Walk "Talk"

Sunshine streamed in the window illuminating her vibrant pelt. Indigo traced the lines of her curves until Dcuh’s dual colored eyes turned to meet his. He tried not to admit that being abstinent would be much more difficult than he first theorized. She grinned when she saw him, not surprised but obviously pleased to see him. Indigo felt the same way, left alone too long and he’d start to embrace depression while planning an escapade to find Aslatiel. Duchess kept him grounded in reality and adherent to his duties. He’d given his words to protect the Hallows and the wolves within.

Indy made himself take a few steps forward before he dropped his bundle and made himself comfortable beside her. Being close to Duchess came natural anymore, it was where they both felt the most comfortable. Or almost, in Indigo’s case. There would always be one place that stood above all else, but those moments were very few and far between. Indigo treasured them all the more. In the meantime, he found comfort and pleasure in the self prescribed drug of Duchess.

”You didn’t have to get up for me.” He teased lightly, his deep voice quiet as he spoke in hushed tones. Chatter traveled easily through the stone corridors. Indigo couldn’t help himself as he leaned in to nuzzle her cheek, suddenly feeling nervous about the topic. ”Do you have time to talk?” Was not a phrase he said to her very often, but he was really trying to come up with a better way to explain himself.

Indigo insisted she didn't have to disrupt herself, but she saw no other way. If Indigo wanted to address her, she was there for it and intent. He moved forward and nuzzled her cheek, but when he pulled away to speak again her paw rose up to reach around his foreleg while she moved forward to give him a peck on his lips. Her ears folding back when she looked back at him, but through a look of admiration as he had come to see her throughout his day. When he spoke next however, a pit fell into her stomach. She tried not to look anxious or worried, but she couldn't shake the feeling that what he wanted to talk about wasn't good. That he wanted to leave her. Like Draco did. She didn't back away from him, but she pulled into herself while her tail curled around her paws. She dropped eye contact with him while considering what he was going to say, what his excuses were, why she wasn't good enough for him. She regained her connection with him again, still troubled through a forced smile, "Uh- yeah I have time to talk." She kept waiting for he bullet through her heart, biting her lip and showing clear signs of being anxious even though she tried hard not to. Her mind actually refused to go into any good memory she had with Indigo, it was hard to focus on any but she was considering that the aftermath of them indulging in each other would be the reason why he would be leaving her. They didn't have many bad memories. Walk "Talk"

He leaned against her as Duchess wrapped herself against him. He grinned down at her, no longer hesitant with his affections. When he started to speak he could tell that Duchess was uncomfortable. That was certainly not his intention and as she drew into herself Indigo became even more nervous about the topic he was trying to broach. ”Well,” he rolled the words around in his mind for a moment longer. He’d started this whole process a few hours ago and had gone over what he was going to say what felt like a million times and yet here he was hesitating again.

”Duchess, I am…” ugh why was he tripping over his words so much? This should have been a simple, responsible conversation and he couldn’t even spit out the right words to say. ”I am really not ready… to be a father.” Indigo finally finished his sentence, but struggled as he kept on. ”I don’t want to stop what we’ve been doing.” Had his fur been white the blush on his cheeks would have been obvious. Doing it and talking about it were two very different things. ”So I gathered some herbs, they’ll prevent any pregnancy while you take them.” He finally got to the meat of it, his voice lowering as he explained himself. Unable to meet her eyes as he nudged the packet of plants closer.

Duchess inhaled and held onto the air that filled her lungs as Indigo struggled to put his words together. She almost closed her eyes like she was in a nightmare and she would need to wake up when the words came to her. And she honestly had no idea what she would do next had that been the case. When the words finally came out she was entirely confused, looking at him like he had three heads. She was still processing after the big hype of thinking he was breaking up with her, he continued to talk and her brain slowly let the words settle behind his voice. When he stopped explaining, she still just looked at him, and realized that she should probably say something. She let go of her breath that she didn't know she was still holding, and instantly felt relief. kind of abruptly, "Oh, uh-" Even though Indigo and herself typically communicated non-verbally for the most part, she was never this inarticulate. Same for him maybe. "Yeah. I feel the same way." she looked down at the herbs he brought her, sliding them over to herself with her paw. "So do I... take them every day or... every time we..." Now she was getting why he was having such an issue with his words. When he was talking to her, she didn't get the big deal. Sex, he wanted to keep having sex and not get her pregnant. Easy enough. Not until it was coming out of her mouth. Walk "Talk"

He didn’t know what she was expecting but as soon as he managed to get his words out he could feel Duchess… relax against him. Like she was relieved of the words that he had to say. He almost opened his mouth again to offer the alternative, she had been staring at him like nothing he said made sense, until she was agreeing with him. Did she feel like he wasn’t ready to be a father too, or was she just as nervous as he was about bringing puppies into the world? Indigo didn’t dwell, they were both on the same page. Before this he hadn’t put much thought into the mother of his children, was that woman Duchess?

It would be a long while before he found out. The girl took possession of the offered bundle and questioned him further in acceptance. She would do what was necessary. Indy let out a little sigh, relieved mostly that she hadn’t refused him and rejected him. He worried that she would have chosen the other option, or left him all together. They both assumed wrong, and both struggled for words as they spoke about the subject.

Indigo communicated perfectly with Duchess, most of the time they didn’t even need words between them, it was much easier to talk with his body. This though... it required direct questions and answers. ”Within a day of… it. Before or after.” Why was this so difficult when the real act came so naturally to them? ”Let me know when you get low.” He had no plans to want her pregnant anytime soon, he’d have to add those particular plants to his normal cultivation and harvest. He wanted part of the burden to bear, considering she was the one subjected to the bitter tasting plants. He really had to get her some strawberries to make up for the unpleasantness.

She smiled lightly as he struggled again, her nerves calming as the seconds passed but she knew she wouldn't be able to say what he was suggesting either. It really wasn't that hard, maybe it showed their age and inexperience just a bit. She wouldn't reject the contraceptives, while she felt like she would be able to handle it had it come down on her, she didn't want to think of raising pups while she was so young. It didn't seem natural to her. Even while she was just shy of two years old. She folded the bundle of herbs and slid it to the side against the wall where she had just been laying. She barely lifted her rump from the ground and moved closer to Indigo, reaching back up for another quick kiss and resting her head on his chest. She was now fully relieved that her premonitions hadn't come true and felt silly that she had even considered. That didn't mean the next time Indigo wanted to have a chat with her about something she wouldn't feel the same way. After her cheek rested on his chest for a moment, she would look back up at him again, an almost joking grin, "It's not like you've asked me to marry you." She may have wanted to spend the rest of her life with Indigo, but she knew better than to get too far ahead of herself. "How many kids do you want then?" She asked gently but knew it probably wouldn't be an easy topic while their previous one had already made them both uncomfortable. But she did genuinely want to know what could be expected of her down the road. Walk "Talk"

Indigo wrapped one massive arm around her shoulders as Duchess scooted closer to him. Much more at ease than a moment ago as she reached up to kiss him. He almost told her to get her herbs back out as he leaned into her affection and started getting away with himself before she pulled away. He’d already decided doing anything like this was a bad idea in the castle, unless he wanted everyone and their mother to know his business. She rested her bread on his chest and Indigo held her there in the dim light.

He tried to feel at ease while she joked with him about marriage. He smiled and managed a half chuckle. Indy had no plans to ever get married, not that he thought about the future anymore than he had to. When he imagined his bride she had galactic violet eyes and sandy fur. An image that was never meant to be. With his cheeks still red from the previous conversation Duchess continued the conversation about future children.

The young Fatalis was taking her too seriously, but he’d answer anyway. He thought the hardest conversation was over now, he could handle anything. ”Oh, I don’t know.” The thought had literally never crossed his mind, he just knew puppies were not something he could handle right now. ”How many are in a litter? Two, three?” Aslatiel’s words echoed in his mind. Get her duty done and over with. One litter to do his duty to the bloodline. ”Four?” He had seen the size difference in his mother and father and hadn’t thought about it until now. Surely Zee must have been huge when she was pregnant with them.

Did Duchess want to be the mother of his eventual children? How much did he have to worry about the size difference between them. Could she handle a litter sired by someone like him? ”How many do you want?” He asked her back, finding himself genuinely curious.

Duchess chuckled while Indigo had moved into deeper kisses, but maybe she felt the same way he did about nesting in the castle. She didn't like the idea of all the eyes on her, and now that she had been with Indigo a couple times and explored herself, it would be wiser to keep them outside the castle for their farther moments. When he answered her, she raised a brow while he questioned himself. But truly, she didn't know. She was an only child, an abandoned one. If she had any siblings before or after she would never have the pleasure of meeting them. And now that she was looking back into these thoughts and memories, she couldn't even remember her own parent's names. She wouldn't let the dark thoughts plague her though, she wanted to be in better spirits for Indigo always. Of course she was sad to say it wasn't always like that. When he returned the question back at her, she pretended to be surprised. "Oh, I don't know either." She had paused, but almost wanted to not give him an answer and leave him wondering. Could it be none? Could it be twelve? She turned her face a little more serious, but still a small playful grin, "I don't want a lot. I think I'd be happy with just one litter." It could have been because she was an only child herself, but wrangling all those kids, wondering where they would be in four years or so, she didn't like the idea and it over all sounded stressful. "But not for a while. I don't think I'm ready to look after any of my own yet." Walk "Talk"