As she walked out of the healing den, she couldn't decide which emotion was going to win out–excitement or dread. She hadn't been feeling well over the last several days and had hardly been able to eat or keep up with her usual patrols. She felt terrible and had at first chalked it up to something she had eaten or perhaps a bad reaction to the herbs and contraceptives she had gotten from Irilyth. When it still hadn't passed after a few days she finally made herself go to the healing den in search of her former caretaker, worried that there was something in the medicines she had been given that she was allergic to or something of that sort. Not once did it occur to her that those same medicines might have failed. She guessed every cause under the sun except for the one that Irilyth ultimately had to break to her. She was pregnant. She was pregnant with Saracyn's pups. The part of her that truly believed that they were soul mates and that the Ancients had made them for one another was ecstatic, but the logical side of herself that knew the true risks behind this pregnancy and the reason behind the law that was so clearly spelled out in their beliefs was terrified. It left her feeling shell shocked and for a moment she stood outside of the healing den directionless and torn about what to do.

Without making a true conscious decision, her paws began to carry her off of the island. She knew Saracyn's patrol route as well as her own and she knew that this time of day she'd be able to find him out by Firefly Lake. She was almost grateful for that fact since the path there kept her away from the caves and dens where she would be more likely to run into someone else. She was balancing on a fine line to keep herself together and her only saving grace right now was the fact that their parents were away on their retirement vacation and most of the other wolves of the pack were out on their daily tasks. She made a beeline for the lake, her paws carrying her more and more quickly as she went until she was loping out toward the neighboring territory, not slowing until she spotted his intimately familiar red and black form walking along the pack's border on the far side of the lake. Quickly, she made her way around to join him, willing her emotions to stay in check for just a few moments longer as she intercepted him. There was no way that her twin would be able to miss the heavy, mixed emotions etched into her expression as she stopped in front of him, her dark gaze looking to the bright blue of his for some kind of guidance for how she was supposed to feel. "Sara, I'm pregnant," she told him softly, the words tumbling off of her tongue before she could even fully catch her breath as confused tears started to pool in her eyes.

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Saracyn was riding the high of life right now. Things couldn't have been going more perfect for him than they were at present! Named Commander and promoted to stand by his twin sister's side as Matriarch, the head of Elysium's fighting forces, soul mated to the woman he loved more than life itself, and living in a sex-fueled paradise with Avacyn being in heat... Yeah, what more could a young, virile male ask for from life? The Ancients had truly blessed him and Avacyn with a life many only dreamed of! Nothing could ruin this perfection in his mind. Even the monotonous routine tasks like patrols seemed to have an extra bit of luster to them as he went about his days in total bliss. Hell, the usually surly brute was even smiling more! That was exactly how Ava found him as she came to intercept him on his patrols around the Firefly Lake, a contented smile on his muzzle and a bit of a prance in his step.

Spotting the vivid violet form of his twin approaching him, Saracyn greeted Ava with a loving smile and moved forward with the intentions of nuzzling her—and perhaps thinking about sweeping her off her paws for a bit of midday mating amongst the bushes of the lush countryside—only to be brought to a sudden and abrupt stop by the heavy and dour expression painting her visage. Sara's good mood immediately melted away, replaced by concern for his mate's wellbeing. She looked like she'd just received the worst news ever. Dark imaginings began to rear their ugly heads. Had something happened to their parents while they were vacationing? Were their siblings hurt or killed? Brows knitting together, the dire brute closed the distance between them, but before he could ask her what was troubling her, Ava leapt right into the revelation and removed all of his doubt and confusion.

Pregnant. Avacyn was pregnant. The sudden reveal of what the truth was had taken Saracyn by such shock that he didn't know how to respond at first. He simply stared at his mate with wide, bewildered eyes, his brain racing to comprehend what she'd just said. But as his head started to connect the threads of what she'd told him together, a smile began to spread across the brute's face, widening as his joy grew leaps and bounds. Ava was pregnant! They were going to be parents! "Ava, that's wonderful!" he exclaimed, hurrying forward to close the space between them and throw his forelegs around her shoulders, pulling her in close for a big squeeze. But when he drew back a bit to gaze lovingly down into those obsidian eyes he adored so much and saw the tears welling up in them, his mirth began to fizzle away, his smile drooping into a confused frown. "...That is wonderful, right? I mean, we wanted to have a family together in traditional Mendacium fashion, didn't we?" Sara was confused by Ava's hesitance and austere reaction. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion for them, wasn't it? Sure, maybe they weren't 100% planned, but Saracyn had always just assumed they would eventually carry on the family line as was expected of the alpha couple, and he'd certainly been making no attempts to stall their efforts at conceiving with how much he had been all over her.

So was this not what Avacyn had wanted as well...?

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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It felt like time stood still while she waited for Saracyn to comprehend what she had just told him, for him to grasp the fact that she was pregnant with his pups. The smile that broke out across his face as he registered what she had said and the obvious joy it brought him twisted the ache in her chest, but she couldn't refuse him as he rushed forward to embrace her. She leaned into him as he hugged her, slipping her forelegs around his torso like the anchor he was and always would be for her. She desperately wished she could be as joyous and excited as her brother was and that she could celebrate this moment with him in the way that she was certain any other member of their family would with their partner, but the worry in the back of her mind wouldn't leave her be. When he peered down at her and noticed her tears it only broke her heart more to hear his excitement begin to fizzle. All of this, everything she had ever done, was to bring him happiness and give him the life he deserved, but this time she feared that she couldn't give him what they both wanted.

"Y-Yes, of course, it's just..." she replied hesitantly, glancing away and unable to meet his gaze as her ears flicked back. "I'm... I'm just worried about our pups. There's a lot of risks and things that could go wrong for pups from... from siblings. I know some of our family's laws seem ridiculous, but there is a real reason why they forbid siblings from being soul mates and having pups." She squeezed a little tighter around him, holding onto him as she leaned her head into his chest. "Everything has to be okay, right?" she questioned softly even if she didn't fully believe her own words. "We're soul mates... They have to be okay. The Ancients wouldn't let anything bad happen to them, right?" Avacyn nuzzled into Sara's chest as she clung to him, desperate for his reassurance and wanting so badly to share in his optimism.

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Avacyn's worry and uncertainty felt like a knife had been plunged into Saracyn's chest. White-tipped ears folded back and expression grew severe. She doubted. She doubted that this was what their lives were meant to be. But how could she have doubts? She knew what being soul mates meant, what their lives would be like. None of this was a surprise to het, yet here she was, voicing her concerns for the offspring that they were always going to have by plan and design. Sara felt his heart break a little at the realization that perhaps Avacyn had never been as convinced that they were meant to be together as he had always been. Lowering his gaze from hers to look down at the ground, Sara said nothing while Ava spoke, clinging onto him while she asked over and over if everything was going to be all right. He wanted to tell her yes, but now he was beginning to wonder if she would even truly believe him if he said yes.

"If you didn't believe that everything would be okay, then you should have vowed yourself to the albino instead of me," replied Saracyn a bit curtly, doing little to hide how Avacyn's insinuations that anything could be wrong with their pups had cut him. The crimson brute turned his cerulean gaze back to Ava then, meeting her dark eyes with an intensity in his own. "This was always the path you and I were going to walk together, Ava. You and I both knew what that meant. It meant having pups and raising a family together. This was no accident. This was always our plan." Sara's lips pulled tighter into a fine line, wanting to reassure his mate, but this went beyond reassuring. This was her faith in them wavering. "This is up to you now, Avacyn. I've never once doubted that the Ancients made us for one another, that we were meant to be soul mates and raise the next generation of Mendaciums. But if you don't have the same convictions as I do..." Sara let his words trail off. He didn't want to even voice the other option available to them. Aborting their children was never an option in his mind—but if Avacyn didn't believe their children would be blessed by the Ancients as they had been, then her core fundamental crisis was not something he could solve.

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Avacyn craved his reassurance. She desperately wanted to believe that this was truly meant to be, that they were right in choosing one another as their soul mate, that the bond of their souls being one meant that they would be gifted the same healthy, strong family that the rest of the Mendacium wolves were guaranteed. All she had needed was for Saracyn to insist those beliefs and desires were true to tip the balance in her conflicted mind that continued to want to follow the ingrained beliefs and laws that had been tattered and skewed by Saracyn's love. Instead, his accusations and insistence that she should have stayed with Albion felt like a lance through her heart and her ears fell back against her head as her chest tightened with an ever deepening conflicted confusion. Hesitantly she lifted her tearful gaze up to his and the hurt she saw there instead of the understanding she had needed made it hard to breathe. Her hold on him loosened until her forelegs fell away from his sides as he continued about how this had always been the plan, how they had always been meant to raise a family together, and that was when she realized that they had never actually discussed having pups in all of their discussions of their future together. This had been his plan, but it hadn't been hers.

His words cut deep as he put the weight of this back on her shoulders, citing his unwavering belief in the fact that they were meant to be soul mates and that they were meant to follow the path that every other Mendacium couple followed, accusing her of not having the same convictions. As his words trailed off she realized what he was implying. It was up to her whether or not they kept these pups. The thought of aborting them had never crossed her mind–only the fear that they could be born with some kind of life altering defect if they were born alive at all. "N-No! No, I don't want that, I just..." she exclaimed, her voice trembling and wavering as her gaze fell from his to the ground as she pulled back into herself, a shaky paw lifting to rest on her belly where their pups had only just begun to form. "I'm just afraid..." she admitted quietly, still unable to meet his gaze as the tears that had been accumulating in her eyes fell over her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say more, but ultimately just closed it again as she swallowed hard past a lump in her throat. It was obvious that it didn't matter what she said, Saracyn wasn't going to see the situation the way she did. She was far too logical, too analytical, too in grained in the meaning and purpose behind their family's beliefs.

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Saracyn saw the shock and pain in Avacyn's expression when she pulled back as if reeling from the blow of his words. He never wanted to hurt Ava, nor did he intend to with his remarks, but he could not pretend that her doubts and concerns did not feel like a second guessing of all they had done together, all the faith they had put in their love and their destiny. When he finished, Avacyn was quick to interject and insist that this wasn't about her doubting their relationship. Her voice was trembling, she looked so, so afraid as she turned her gaze away from his. Sara saw the crystalline drops falling from her eyes as she moved a shaking paw to her slim belly—a belly that wouldn't remain slim for long. She was growing their children, their family. Why wasn't she as overjoyed about all this as he was?

That was when Avacyn admitted what he had figured out on his own. She was afraid. It was a fear Saracyn showed no signs of feeling. He had the utmost faith I their bloodline and in the strengths of their souls gifted to them from the Ancients. They had been meant to be together. Surely that meant the Ancients would bless their union and grace their children with bounteous gifts and power! It was the only thing that made sense to him. To even consider any alternative felt like a betrayal of that faith he had in Avacyn and in their union. He simply could not fathom that in his heart and mind. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that his mate was scared and she needed him to be strong for them both. She needed to be reminded of why this was the right path.

Avacyn had dropped her paws from him, but she hadn't moved away, which made it easy for Saracyn to scoop her back up in his embrace and pull her close to him once more. He held Ava against him, resting her head against his chest while he cradled her with one giant paw behind her head and the other around her back. "Shhh, it's okay, Ava," he spoke in softening tones as his hurt melted away into caring love. Saracyn was not a gentle wolf by nature, but for Avacyn he was the softest creature in the world. "Don't be afraid... We're in this together like we've always been. This is what the Ancients made us for. Our children will be the most blessed, most perfect Mendaciums in our family's history. It's why the Ancients gave us each a soul, so that we could make these perfect little wolves without fear." Leaning his head down to nuzzle her crown and kiss along the top of her forehead, Sara slid his paw down from behind Avacyn's head to rest over her own paw on her belly where their pups had just begun to grow. "This is a big step for us, and I'm nervous about being a father, but I know this is a good thing. For us, for our family, for Elysium." With another kiss to the bridge of Avacyn's nose, Sara added with a smirk, "You're going to be such a good mother."

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Avacyn's breath caught and she blinked with surprise as she continued to look down at the ground when Sara's forelegs suddenly wrapped around her once more, snapping her out of the panic that was starting to grip her chest and causing her thoughts to spiral. She didn't immediately relax into his embrace as she reeled with the sudden shift from his criticism and hurt to this comfort and support, but as soon as his paw gently pulled her head into his chest she crumbled and wrapped her forelegs around him in return as she pressed her face into his chest. Saracyn was her tether and for a moment she had been adrift–a taste of a feeling she never wanted to come near again. She knew that this side of her brother wasn't one that he shared with anyone else, but neither was this vulnerability that she shared with him. She listened to his reassurances and hung on every word as she sniffed back her tears with shallow, hiccuping breaths, letting herself believe that he was right.

She closed her eyes as he nuzzled and kissed the top of her head, squeezing him a little tighter as she nuzzled into the fur on his chest with a slow sigh, slowly finding her equilibrium now that she had her tether once more. This was why she had chosen to defy the laws and traditions that she had been taught from such a young age, the ones that she had grown up knowing that one day she would be enforcing and teaching to future generations. He made her believe that anything was possible and that she could face anything that was put in front of her–including having his pups and being their mother. The feeling of his paw coming to rest on her belly pulled a hint of a smile across her lips as she lifted her head enough to meet his gaze. She hadn't even had a chance to think about what it would be like or what it would mean to be a mother, much less worry about if she would be a good one. She couldn't share in his nervousness about being a parent when her nerves were already so high about simply being able to become a mother at all, but it was so nice to just pretend that being a good parent was all they had to worry about.

"You're going to be such a good father," she assured him softly in return as one of her paws slipped away from his side to rest on top of his on her belly. Tipping her muzzle up to his, she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips as she continued to unwind the knots that had formed in her core and managed to make herself take a full breath. She was pregnant and it was all going to be okay. Everything had to happen for a reason and it felt good to just believe that Saracyn was right–that this was meant to be and that their children would be the next, wonderful generation of Mendacium wolves. "I love you," she told him after a moment. "I never want you to think that I don't or that I don't want this future for us. I'm just afraid of what could happen. But I know you're right. We're soul mates. This is how it's supposed to be."

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

The moment he saw Avacyn's head lift back so that her smiling face, slight as it was, was peering up at him, Saracyn melted for her. Avacyn was his everything. His life, his love, his heart and his soul. She was his earth and moon and stars. His heaven and paradise. His beginning and his end. Without her, he was nothing. Thinking for even just a split second that she had second thoughts or regrets about being soul mates had crushed him like his entire world had crumbled around him and he was falling into oblivion. Ava claimed that he was going to be a good father and Sara couldn't help the snort of amusement that escaped him, raising a questioning brow to her. "Really? You think your hotheaded, short-tempered mate is going to be a good father? I'd give myself 'okay father' at best," he retorted only a bit in jest just to make her smile more. "But I'll have you to help balance me out, so I suppose our pups might have a fighting chance at a normal upbringing." A naughty smirk teased at his lips as he added on, "At the very least, we'll have to try to be better than Mom and Dad were about not getting caught having sex." Memories of the time they had caught their parents coupling in the Rock Garden came to mind, making the dire brute chuckle to himself. What a wild childhood they'd had...

Feeling Avacyn's paw rest over top of his over her belly where he'd planted his pups within her brought another flutter to Sara's heart, still reeling as he realized this was all happening for real. They were having puppies. They were going to be parents! His inward thoughts were briefly interrupted when he felt his twin's lips press a gentle kiss to his, pulling a pleasantly surprised murr from him as he melted into her affections. She declared her love for him, making his bushy, white-tipped tail wag over the grass behind him like a happy puppy. "I love you too," he replied in resolute honesty. Avacyn wasn't done yet thought, and she continued on to reassure him that she did and that she did want this future for them, but she was worried about what it would look like. Sara shook his head and cupped Ava's cheek with his free paw, tilting her muzzle up so he could claim it in another, more deeply passionate kiss, letting his lips sear hers with the depths of his devotion for her.

He kissed her like this for a few long moments before he finally retreated enough to speak, cerulean pools meeting obsidian jewels as their gazes held. "This is the future the Ancients planned for us. It's why we were made together, a matching pair, our souls forever entwined. If the Ancients had any wishes for this to not happen, they've had many chances to see it ended. The fact that we're here together like this, preparing to welcome in our new family, it must mean they approve." It was the only logical conclusion Saracyn could come to. If the Ancients had not wanted him and Avacyn to be soul mated, to conceive children together and bring in the next generation of Mendaciums, they would have struck him down long, long ago.

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Avacyn smirked a little at her mate's own self-deprecating amusement at the thought that he might be a good father. "I do," she replied resolutely when he questioned whether she really thought he was going to be a good father despite his temper. She knew that if their father could become the amazingly supportive and loving father that he was now then Saracyn was undoubtedly going to do the same. If he was even half as caring with them as he was with her then they were bound to have an amazing upbringing with a wonderfully devoted father. She couldn't disagree with the fact that she was going to be here to balance him out regardless. They were two halves of the same coin–so similar and so different at the same time. Between the two of them maybe they might manage to give these pups the upbringing they deserved. He managed to pull a slightly sniffly bout of laughter from her as he joked about making sure they were better about not getting caught having sex like their own parents, making her grin up at him gratefully for the moment of levity in among all of the heaviness.

Still, there was a nervousness fluttering in her stomach as his paw rested over her belly and her paw rested on top of his. The future felt so uncertain, but with Saracyn's reassurances and confidence she found herself feeling more and more hopeful. She hummed softly with surprise at the passionate kiss that he caught her lips with, but she quickly melted into the affection, letting it sweep her away and reassure her in a completely different way. She knew that no matter what happened Saracyn would still be here and their love for one another wouldn't waver. That was enough to lift her spirits even before he broke their kiss and began to reaffirm the fact that if this hadn't been the Ancient's plan all along then they would have intervened sooner. She couldn't be sure just how much the Ancient's could influence this world beyond the birth of their soul mates, but she had to believe he was right. They were just following through with the destiny that was designed for them and soon they would have the chance to add to their family just as every Mendacium wolf dreamed of doing.

She tipped her muzzle up and nuzzled into the side of his neck, smiling happily as she relaxed for the first time since the diagnosis left Irilyth's lips. "I can't wait to meet them," she said as she gave his paw that was resting on her belly an affectionate squeeze. She knew the upcoming weeks were going to be the longest of their lives, but she didn't want to miss a single moment of it. She began to leave a trail of tender kisses along his jaw, the beginning of a thank you for being the rock she had desperately needed when she had been thrown into a tailspin, but just as she was beginning to lean into him more she felt her stomach starting to turn. After fighting with her fickle stomach over the last several days she immediately knew what was coming and she pulled away from him quickly, hurrying over to the nearby brush before she lost what little bit of her breakfast she had managed to keep down that morning. After a few long moments of retching, her stomach began to settle once more and she gave a shaky sigh as she walked over to the edge of the lake to take a drink and wash out her mouth. Turning her gaze back to Saracyn with an apologetic flick of her ears and a shy smile, she said, "Hopefully that part of the pregnancy doesn't last too long... I should probably go lay down. Walk back to the den with me?"

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Saracyn couldn't help but smile back at Avacyn when she squeezed his paw and expressed how much she wanted to meet them. Seeing the shift in her demeanor around their unborn children had lightened his worried heart. So long as Ava believed just as strongly as he did in this design by fate, then he knew nothing could go wrong. "I can't wait to meet them either," he agreed. Nuzzles and little affections were shared, but before too long he felt Ava's body stiffen up and knew something was wrong. He looked back to her just in time to see his twin go running off to a nearby bush and heard her vomiting. He cringed, a mixture of sympathy and uncertainty, but not disgust. He knew about faes getting sick during pregnancy so this was nothing new to him. It was simply a side effect of Avacyn's body growing their perfect family.

She returned to him after cleaning her mouth out with an apologetic look which Sara dismissed immediately with a crooked smirk showing he understood. With how sex positive the Mendacium family was, nothing of this was new or out of the ordinary for them. How many times had they seen their own mother suffer morning sickness after her and their father had their fun? Saracyn walked over to join Avacyn by the water and nuzzled her shoulder with a bump of his head. "Sounds wonderful, my soul mate. Let's go lay down. You could probably use a nap anyway." Sara stayed by Ava's side all the way back to their den, offering his shoulder to lean on if she needed his support, but also knowing how capable she was to handle herself.

"Avacyn & Saracyn"

Warning: Saracyn is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
Saracyn's designated wolf to protect as a Bodyguard is Avacyn. She may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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