Deimos forged the trail ahead of Ikigai as they set out on their trek to visit her family in Ashen, following the thin and winding path through the mountains to get over the mountain range to the smoother land on the other side. They certainly could have taken the longer route along the coast, but he already didn't like the idea of traveling with his mate when she was pregnant so they had opted instead to take the faster route even if it wasn't as pleasant. "This should be the worst part of the trip," he commented as he glanced back at her over his shoulder, giving her a small smile before looking ahead of him again into the cold wind. "After this it will be smooth sailing." He stayed ahead of her to make sure he was picking the easiest path and so she could follow in his large paw prints through the snow, but even then it wasn't going to be the easiest trip. All he could really hope for was the snow to hold off long enough for them to get to the other side and for them to cross through the Maw before sundown.

"Tell me if you need to stop and I'll find us a spot to take shelter in," he added after a moment when he paused to peer ahead down the path as it began to branch off in two different directions. Of course all of this just so happened to take place in winter so the mountains were even less hospitable than usual, but there was nothing to be done about that. All he could do was be careful and just be grateful that he had a reason to make this trip with her at all. As always with the wild swings of fate his life tended to take he was swept from the lowest low to the highest high and he was certainly planning on doing everything in his power to keep himself on that high for as long as possible. For the first time in his life he felt like he actually had something worth celebrating and shouting to the world so that was what he planned to do with his beautiful mate.

"Deimos Medacium"

With her pergnatcy progressing, Iki and Deimos decided together that it was time to tell her mother. The woman insisted on doing it in person as she would be the first of Venom's children to have children of their own. Aside from that, it would be nice to travel with Deimos. They had grown rather close since surprising him with the good news and she felt that she trusted him now. Things had come together between them an Ikigai could admit that there was a true bond.

With her new cloak wrapped about her shoulders to shield her from the winter chill, Ikigai fell into step beside Deimos. The dire brute was her protector and navigator. She trusted that he would get them to their destination unscathed. It would be the first time traveling to Ashen's newly claimed lands. Iki had supported the move whole-heartedly. There was no need to hold true to the shrine or the supposed god that it paid tribute to.

The pair of wolves gingerly picked their way across the mountainous terrain. Iki used Deimos' larger paw prints when necessary. Her long legs made it easier to navigate than she had imagined and it wasn't terribly difficult to keep pace with him, not that he was walking fast. Ikigai's stamina wasn't close to Deimos' however and soon she began to get tired. As soon as he offered to find a place to settle down for the night, Iki nodded. "Soon," she admitted. Not only was she getting tired, but her dainty digits were freezing. The pale woman grimaced and looked at her mate a little sheepishly. "Now, please."

"Ikigai"

Deimos gave a nod as Ikigai mentioned that she would like to stop soon and was about to turn his gaze back toward the path ahead of him with she quickly added that she'd actually like to stop now, almost as if his offer allowed her to verbalize her need for it. He chuckled softly and replied, "All you have to do is say so, beautiful." He would take three days crossing these mountains if she needed it–though he might just end up carrying her if it came to that. He peered ahead of them, scanning the rocky landscape for a cave opening or at least an over hang so they could have a bit of shelter. He got his answer after walking for a few more minutes in a small opening in the cliff facing they were walking beneath. He gestured to it with a nod of his head as he said, "There, that should work."

He pulled ahead a bit just so he could take a look in the cave first, checking it for the scent of any predators or anyone that might be using this for a home of some kind. He wasn't sure what kind of creature would want to live in these inhospitable mountains, but he had seen weirder things in his time. It was less of a cave and more of a shallow divot in the mountain side, but it would get them out of the wind and snow for a while. He pulled a rolled up fur out of the pack he was carrying, having brought some supplies since he was certain they would likely need to stop for the night before they reached Ashen, and rolled it out over the cold stone for her, giving them both a barrier from it.

Sitting down on one side of the fur, he waited for Ikigai to join him before he took her delicate front paws into his own, wrapping them in his large bear paws to warm her toes. "Are you feeling okay? Is it just the cold?" he questioned with concern, gently rubbing her paws between his. If it had been just him he probably would have just charged through and dealt with whatever exhaustion he felt once he got to the other side, but Ikigai was far lighter and more delicate than he was and he refused to risk pushing her too hard when she was carrying their children.

"Deimos Medacium"

Deimos quickly set to finding a place where they could rest. It didn't take him long to find a small cave where they could be out of the elements. After placing the fur down over the cold stones, the purple giant lay down and motioned for her to come into his warm embrace. Ikigai gladly did so. Though somewhat tall, she was a slender thing and didn't have much body fat to keep her warm. Aside from that, her odd digits got cold rather quickly, so when he took her small paws in his much larger ones to share some heat, Iki gave a small groan of pleasure.

When asked if she was okay, the pale woman smiled and nodded, leaning into her mate. "I'm okay. Just a little cold and rather tired." As if to prove her point, the slender fae wiggled her nose beneath the brutes foreleg, forcing him to lift it so that she could snuggle in close to his chest. The good thing about having a giant man all of her own was that he was like a giant, purple heater.

Chest to chest with Iki's smaller frame tucked up against his belly, the fae's forelegs snuck up around Deimos' neck, her dexterous digits pulling lightly through his fur. She was becoming more and more at ease with showing her affection with him. As if proving this, she raised her muzzle up to give the man a sweet lick to his chin. "Thank you for taking me to Ashen to tell my mother in person. It means a lot to me."

"Deimos & Ikigai"

Deimos was able to relax a bit more as Ikigai pressed into him and assured him that she was alright while he warmed up her toes. He would prefer if she wasn't cold and tired either, but those were things that were easily remedied. If there was something worse going on he wasn't sure what he'd be able to do for her other than just carrying her back to Elysium. As she began to squirm her way under his foreleg, she made a grin cross his lips with an amused chuckle, his expression softening as he lifted his leg enough for her to press into his chest, his forelegs slipping around her to pull her tighter into an affectionate embrace. One of his paws drifted to the edge of her cape, pulling the warm fur to keep it tucked around her as she cuddled into his chest, being sure to keep her surrounded in warmth as much as possible until she was fully warmed up again. He didn't have many things in this life that he had ever truly cared about or wanted to take care of, but with this litter Ikigai had cemented a place in his life as both of those things and he would do anything to make sure she was comfortable and happy.

With his large paws running up and down her back over top of her cloak as he continued to try and warm her, he felt her own paws slip up around his neck, drawing his gaze down to hers with a smirk. The transformation she had gone through since the day that they had first moved into their den together was still astounding to him and he still enjoyed seeing how much she had come into her own and how much more free she was with her affections. In a similar way, though, she had brought out a more gentle side to him that he hadn't originally thought possible. He had never been one to be a gentle or tender lover–finding more enjoyment in rough and more passionate moments with his lovers–and yet it came naturally with her. The lick she placed on his chin made him grin once again and he dipped his muzzle to press a kiss to the top of her head between her small horns. "No need to thank me, darling. I'm happy to make it happen for you. I'm sure your mother will be excited to hear that she's going to be a grandmother and even more excited just to see you again."

His paw trailed up to gently cup her head and pulled her into his chest, tucking his head down over hers as he surrounded her in comfort and warmth, nuzzling her cheek lovingly. "Why don't you get some rest? We have plenty of time and we can go at whatever pace you need. We can rest up here for a while and when you're ready we can keep going."

"Deimos & Ikigai"

The warmth of Deimos enveloped her and Iki gave a soft little sigh of happiness and comfort. She agreed with his comment about her mother. No doubt Venom would be happy to hear that she would be a grandmother soon. Word had traveled to her that Venom had her own new brood, so this would be an opportunity to meet her new half-siblings as well.

The purple brute offered kind, protective words, telling her to rest. His touches were gentle and loving. Not at all how they had started their relationship. Ikigai was thankful for him every second of the day. As Deimos pulled her closer into his warm embrace, it wasn't difficult at all for the pale woman to fall asleep. She didn't dream, she simply slept. Nice, restful sleep.

In the middle of their nap, Ikigai felt the need to relieve herself. Part of being pregnant meant that there was more pressing on her bladder and she had to go more often. Mercuric eyes opened and Iki raised her head to see that Deimos had fallen asleep as well. Gently, the woman extracted herself from his grasp, careful not to wake him. They'd walked a long way and he'd carried a heavy pack, so he deserved rest as well. Tucking the extra fur around him Iki picked her way through the snow and towards a secluded place.

Wind whipped around the woman as she began to walk back towards her mate. Up ahead a little whisp of white drifted straight up into the air. Iki thought that it was simply the wind having a good time with the powdery snow on top of the hard pack, but she was wrong. As the woman came around the bend, she expected to see Deimos come into view. Instead, she saw a large, large brown bear. The beast was standing close to her sleeping mate, wisps of steam curling upwards from its hanging, parted lips. Afraid for the life of her partner, Ikigai couldn't help but call out, "No!" Big mistake.

Startled, the bear jerked its head towards her and instantly began to run at her. Iki's eyes went wide and she began to back up, though she couldn't run as the wind pushed her this way and that. If she tried to run, there was a chance that she'd go over the side of the mountain path. All she could do was keep walking backwards and hope that both Deimos had heard her, and the bear would lose interest in following. She wasn't that lucky.

The hulking ursine barreled towards her and Ikigai's heart raced. Time seemed to slow as she watched one paw raise into the air. She marveled at how large it was. It seemed wider than her body was long. Funny, the things you notice when you're moments from death. Then the paw connected with her shoulder and Iki yelped, the force of the blow sending her slender frame careening over the side of the mountain path.

It felt as though she floated in air for a long time, but it had only been seconds. The woman came crashing down, stomach first, on a large boulder aside the loop of path just below the level where she and Deimos had gone to sleep. The fall wasn't that far, but it was far enough. Pain ripped through Ikigai and she called out in panic, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. She slid down off of the boulder and onto the path, her head next to the pawprints that they had left earlier that day. At first, the woman held her stomach with her forelegs and thought that she was lucky to have landed on a smooth rock rather than one of the many jagged ones or else she and the puppies woul-... The puppies!

If Iki thought that she had felt panicked before, it was nothing compared to the fear and anxiety that tore through her when she began to worry for the safety of her children. Somehow, her limbs hadn't been broken, though there was a small gash in her shoulder from the bears strike. Thankfully, the cloak that Deimos had given her had blocked most of the claws. The woman struggled to her paws, her limbs shaking as pain forced her teeth to grit. Then she felt it.

There was moisture dripping from her back end. "No, no, no, no, no," the woman repeated, afraid to look behind her, though she knew what she would find. Her bladder had been emptied just before, so there was no doubt that it was blood dripping from her hindquarters and onto the snow beneath her. Searching for her bravery, Ikigai's neck curled and she finally did look. Blood, black and thick coated the pristine, white snow. A sob pulled from the fae and she bit into her lower lip. Unable to help herself, her legs cave out and the woman crumpled into the snow. Tears froze in the biting wind before they could fully slide down her cheeks and she buried her face in crossed forelegs. Already her body was urging her to push out the remnants and it was an instinct that she couldn't fight. They were gone. Their children were gone.

"Deimos & Ikigai"

The warmth he gathered for Ikigai quickly began to pull him under into sleep as well and despite his best efforts to stay awake and keep watch he found himself napping along with his mate. His last thought before he slipped into the peaceful darkness was of the fact that they hadn't seen a soul this whole trip through the mountains so surely it would be fine to let down his guard for just a few moments to get some rest as well. It was a long trip and it was better to be prepared and perhaps wait out the high winds a bit than risk wearing themselves out. Who knew when he might need to defend or carry Ikigai, after all? With his head tucked down over Ikigai's he slept wonderfully with just wisps of dreams flickering through his mind of black, white, and purple marked pups in amongst memories of his mate.

He didn't stir until Ikigai's voice calling out a sharp 'no' yanked him out of sleep as if someone had dumped cold water on him. His aqua gaze flew open with a gasp, spotting the flash of shaggy brown fur as the large bear turned away from the den and rushed back out into the snow. Deimos scrambled to his paws, his heart immediately pounding as adrenaline hit his system his mind reeled and he tried to make sense of what was happening in his still sleep-muddied state. His paws struggled to find purchase for a moment as he sprinted out of the small den, slipping a bit and getting delayed by the need to right himself on the snow-covered, narrow path. His gaze darted up, finding the brown bear as it charged up the path and all at once it felt like everything froze and his heart stopped when he saw Ikigai standing on the opposite side of the bear from him, backing away fruitlessly from her attacker. "Ikigai!" he gasped as he rushed forward to stop the ursine, but it was too late.

Just before he managed to get within range of the bear, he watched as that massive paw that was so similar to his own slammed into Ikigai's delicate shoulder and he could only watch as her thin frame went flying over the edge of the path. Immediate rage roared hot through his veins and he slammed into the side of the bear with a growling snarl, catching it off guard as his own bear-like claws hooked into his shoulder and his jaws crushed down around its throat as he knocked it down onto the snowy, craggy path. His shove pushed the bear into the cliff face opposite of where Ikigai had fell and into a sharp spike of broken rock, the stone impaling the bear through its ribs while he made quick work of ripping away at its throat and tearing through flesh. It didn't take long to finish off the bear, but by the time he managed to scramble back from the now perished ursine and turn to look over the edge of the cliff, panting and covered in the bear's blood, all he could see was Ikigai laying on the lower path below him, a pool of blood staining the snow around her. From where he was standing with her cloak covering her body he couldn't tell where the blood was coming from, but he could see that she was moving and that was the only thing he needed to get him moving again.

He scrambled down the path, moving as fast as he could without sending himself careening over the edge as well. As desperate as he was to get to her, he was at least cognizant enough of his actions to understand that injuring himself as well would only hurt them both in the end. It was only a few more moments of picking his way down the cliff on small platforms and cracks in the rock till he was at her side, panting hard as he managed to gasp, "Iki?" He reached for her, falling into the snow beside her to gently examine her, moving the thick cape aside to he could get a sense of where she was injured so he would know what to avoid touching so that he could get her home. Quickly he realized that there were almost no open wounds or lacerations or even any noticeable broken bones–but there was a lot of blood. Too much blood that was all coming from one place.

The realization hit him hard, making it feel as if all of the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Wide aqua eyes filled with disbelief and heartache moved to his mate's face, seeing the tears that were falling from her silver gaze and immediately clumping into sparkles of thin ice on her cheeks. All he felt was pain, a deep, fathomless pain as he carefully pulled Ikigai's smaller frame into his own, clutching her to his chest with her back to him, much how he had imagined laying with her whenever she would give birth to their children. While he wasn't as well versed and adept at anatomy and healing as she was, he was at least aware of what needed to come and he wrapped his large forelegs around her, giving her his upper foreleg to use as a pillow, while he licked away her tears and kept her cloak covering her body as much as possible to fend off the cold in any way he could. Tears stung at his own eyes, but he swallowed them back behind anger and rage, holding her a little tighter as he quietly contemplated going back up the cliff to tear that bear apart limb by limb though he knew it wouldn't do him any good and it wouldn't bring their children back.

"Deimos & Ikigai"

The moment that Deimos touched her, rough sobs tore from Ikigai's throat and she buried her face against his chest. "They're gone," she cried, though he would know. The proof was written right there on the snow. The very thing that had brought them together so closely was now extinguished. Gone. Fear and worry flooded the woman's mind. Would he turn her away now that she wasn't bearing his children? If her stomach hadn't hurt before, it instantly wrapped itself in knots at the thought. Iki wanted to think better of Deimos, but right now her mind was reeling. She was in shock and nothing made sense.

Iki's paws gripped her mate tightly as she continued to cry against his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the bloodied woman repeated herself again and again between sobs. As the adrenaline faded within her body, Ikigai realized how much it hurt to breathe. She'd landed so hard upon the boulder that she imagined a rib or two was broken in the process. It served her right. She should have been more careful. She shouldn't have asked to stop. Had she just kept pushing herself, this wouldn't have happened and they'd be halfway to Ashen by now. Her children would still be...

"We need to go home," Iki whispered to Deimos. Her teeth began to chatter as shock continued to take hold of her body. "But please... just hold me a little longer." The woman's sobbing had died down, but she was unable to move just yet. Her eyes were wide and unblinking as her forehead was placed against him. What was supposed to have been a joyous journey had ended in tragedy. In that moment, Ikigai didn't know how to go on and she needed Deimos more than ever.

"Deimos & Ikigai"

Hearing Ikigai’s sobs and her cry of how their children were done cut threw him like a knife. Even though he knew without her having to say it still hurt all the more hearing his mate’s anguish. It was maybe the only thing that could have cut through his own emotions and kept him focused to prevent him from storming off in some sort of rage fueled rampage so in some twisted way he was grateful for her gripping to him and her endless string of apologies. She kept him tethered here, mentally and physically, as he held onto her and she held on to him.

He shushed her gently at her apologies, cradling her while she sobbed and they mourned their loss together. “It’s not your fault,” he rumbled quietly every time she said she was sorry, vehemently denying her self placed blame. He wished that there was something or someone other than a dead bear to point the blame at, but there wasn’t. Fate had given them everything and in the same breath had taken it all away. Still, he could never blame her. The only thing she had done wrong was be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only bit of guilt he could find to put on her was the fact that she hadn’t been able to defend herself, but that thought quickly turned back on himself as he shamed himself for not teaching and preparing her.

As her sobs began to settle and she mentioned how they needed to get home, he nodded quietly in agreement. Already there was dread in his gut at the thought of having to return home to face his family and share this loss and defeat with them so soon after sharing the first thing he had to be proud of. He had been about to get up when she stopped him, asking for him to hold her for a little longer. Wordlessly, his large forelegs wrapped around her more snuggly and his head tucked down over hers, wrapping her up as much as he could manage. The scarred man stared out over the empty, snowy landscape as he held like that for a time, feeling empty as the rage fizzled out into a low, dull ache.

Eventually, the cold began to even get to him and make him shiver so he carefully began to unwind himself from Ikigai, but he didn’t go far. He gently shifted and rolled onto his stomach and then lifted and pulled her onto his back. He made sure that her forelegs were around his neck, one of his paws clasping hers and making sure her dexterous toes were gripping his fur. “Don’t let go.” Deimos got to his feet then, but before he could walk away he noticed the bloody mess in the snow behind them. “Don’t look,” he insisted firmly. “Just keep your face in my scruff for a minute.” He didn’t turn until he felt her do so and then he moved toward the remnants of their would be children, his expression grim as he began to carefully burry it in the thick layer of snow. It was the best be could do with what little resources and time he had, but it hardly satisfied what he wanted to give them. With that done he finally began to retrace his steps to retreat back to their home with Ikigai on his back, not stopping until he had her safely back in their den.

"Deimos & Ikigai"