Briar was up unusually early—at least for her. Normally she slept into the morning, well after Artorias got up for his first patrol, but as soon as Artorias was gone for his rounds she was awake and eagerly pacing back and forth, waiting for Lia to come help her with her usual morning routine as she always did. Occasionally she'd trip herself up on her own tail as she crossed in front of the fireplace again and again, pausing periodically at the window to just double check that Artorias hadn't doubled back for some reason. She had too much anxious energy to lay back down, but too many nerves to just go find Lia and cut to the chase. There had been a slow build up to this moment with a couple of weeks of trying to get pregnant with Artorias since her heat began, but this was the first day that she was really able to notice that the symptoms of that heat had begun to dissipate and some different symptoms had begun to take their place. She felt more sure now from her own guessing and intuition, but she needed her friend to confirm it for her.

Her ears perked when she finally heard the door open and she turned, seeing Lia's fire-marked frame step through the doorway. She smiled brightly and waved Lia in, meeting her half way as the door closed behind her. "Come in! Come in! I um... I need you to do something for me." She was nervous that she had guessed wrong, she was anxious and excited about being pregnant at all, but most of all she was just happy that this was all finally happening. She smiled as she settled on her haunches in front of Lia, her tail wagging with nervous excitement while her ears flicked back shyly. "Could you... Is there a way to tell if..." She laughed a little at herself, giving a shake of her antlered head as she tried to get over her own energy. It wasn't like Lia didn't already know what they were trying to do. Lia surely would have already guessed when she didn't ask her for contraceptives as she went into her heat season. "Can you tell if I'm pregnant yet?" she asked softly, as if she was sharing a secret with her dear friend, hardly able to sit still as she asked.

"Briar Carpathius"

Lia entered to find her Mistress up and pacing. She hastened her entrance through the room door and towards the Queen who waved her in. The bright smile the tawny girl gave her eased her a little. There was certainly something on the other wolf's mind, however. She was nervous and a little uncertain. Looking for the right words to ask something of Lia. When Briar got the words out, Lia perked up immediately. Grinning at Briar. “There are ways.. May I?” She asked gently, waiting for her Mistress to agree before leaning in close, and giving a few careful sniffs. Looking for changes in her scent.

She then gently placed a paw under Briar’s right armpit, lifting her up slightly to get a better look on her underside, pressing a paw gently towards the other girl's nipples. There was definitely an increased size there, that mixed with the scent were pretty big signs. “It looks like you are… I’ll know for certain once the scent of milk comes in, but I’d say it's a pretty big chance… congratulations, Briar!” she said, looking up at the other girl, eyes wide as she grinned. Briar was going to be a mother!


Speech

When Lia asked for permission to do her examination, Briar agreed easily with an excited nod and struggled to stand still while her dear friend went to work. She didn't know exactly what Lia was looking for as she moved closer and examined her scent, but she trusted Lia's knowledge and really just wanted to know if she was getting her hopes too high for nothing. She was more afraid of telling Artorias the news only to find out she was wrong than anything when this was something they both wanted so badly so she didn't want to jump the gun, but she was also so excited that it was hard to hold it in and keep a secret. She let Lia manipulate her however she wanted as she lifted her foreleg a bit and felt around her nipples, her heart beating heavily in her chest as she waited anxiously for the verdict.

As soon as Lia began to say that it looked like she was pregnant she felt her heart leap into her throat and she had to rein herself in at least long enough to let Lia finish telling her about the more concrete signs they could look for. But as soon as Lia gave her her congratulations, Briar couldn't help the wide grin that pulled across her lips and the excited, joyful tears that started to gather in her turquoise gaze. Her emotions had been running rampant as it was, but this was just the icing on the cake to make that final tip over the edge toward happy tears. She got caught up in a fit of giggles as she turned and threw her forelegs around Lia's neck, hugging her tight and swaying with her a bit as she still struggled against her excitement that refused to let her sit still.

"Pregnant!" she gasped in disbelief as she settled back a bit, sitting on her haunches with her paws still around Lia's neck, awe and excitement all written across her features. "I'm... I'm pregnant!" She giggled again, her tail wagging like crazy and getting all kinds of messed up and tangled in the process. Normally she hated that part of her long, flowing tail, but right now she didn't even notice. "Should I wait to tell Art? You know, until we're one hundred percent certain? Or are you really sure? Or... gods, I don't even know what to think! We'll... we'll have to get the castle ready, I need to tell my parents... There's so much to do!"

"Briar Carpathius"