He snapped his teeth at her in a possessive, demanding snarl. “Not until you come for me, Little Bird” he warned her, her writhing beneath him, the scent and feel of her. The taste of her breathless words in the air. He was too far gone to stop.


He thrust into her, claiming her. Chasing away her fears when she thought she might leave in a huff. His, always his. He bit back the coughs, shivering from both excursion and pleasure as he continued to claim her. Until the pressure built up in his throat and he struggled to breath. He knew he'd gone too far, and instead of risking collapsing on her, he pulled free and rolled over. Gasping on the floor with dots in his vision. Struggling to hold onto consciousness, and failing.

The ignoble bastard! She moaned and squirmed for him, bracing against the floor as he picked up his rhythm. The feel of him inside her again was intoxicating. She tried to push against him, get him to lie down, and still he worked up a sweat over her. Plunging within her again and again, she bucked beneath him as she surged into an eruption. Her noises escalated as she was brought closer and closer.

He was gone.
Left in a lurch she looked up and her brows furrowed with concern and discontent. He was gasping to breathe!
"Bas!" She called out, reaching for him as his eyes rolled back and he went limp on the floor.
"I told you!" She shrieked in dismay, her heart pounding pounding pounding! She headbutted his chest, slapped his nose, and bounced her forelegs over his shoulder to shake him. A panic rose behind her eyes, threatening to blind her.

She froze, she took a step back, and took a breath. One in, then slowly out. She watched his stomach rise and fall. He was alive. God's help her if he died while he was inside her. "Bastard." She muttered as she felt her nerves coming down off the double high of stressed panic and near elation.

She sent Idalia and Larimar to scout out the needs of the pack. If others were looking for the leaders the companions would come and get her. For now, she curled up beside him, laying her head over his side to feel the rise and fall of his breaths. At least the dumb brute was finally resting

"Speech"

He could hear the distant sound of Ignitas voice, and then for a while there was nothing. When he woke, he felt the warmth of Ignita curled around him. After the incident with Yara, he cracked open an eye to ensure it was her. The little form of his fiance greeted him. He leaned down and kissed her crown, struggling to recall what had transpired last.


Ah.


Not his finest hour. He grimaced, and kissed her forehead again. Perhaps it would be wise not to indulge until he was healthy, and perhaps not while Ignita was heavily pregnant. “Have you thought of any names?” He whispered softly to his learned wife. Breezing over what had happened.

She rested her head, pressed into the side of his neck, unable to close her eyes. Inhaling when she felt him inhale, exhaling when she felt him exhale. When he stirred she looked up, relief palpable as her tense muscles relaxed when she found his eyes. He kissed her and she closed her eyes as the feeling of his tender kiss melted over her body like the warmth of the hot pools.

She looked up again wondering if he would have a question about what happened, but she saw him grimace and then felt his kiss again.

She huffed at his question, her own grimace creasing her features, "I'll name your firstborn son Incorigable Bastard of the Second Degree, because you're the first!." She scoffed and pinned her ears back. "I want to smack you, you scared me so bad!" He should know that she wasn't the type to breeze over anything. Addressing the elephant in the room was her specialty!

"Ignita"

He gave her a sly mile, shuffling enough to tug at one of her ears. He wasn’t accustomed to the feeling of weakness. It took him completely by surprise, and there was a thrum of fear in his chest that he was doing a very good job of ignoring. This would not claim him, this weakness wouldn’t last.

“No, too much of a mouthful. We should take my Grandfather's favourite route. Name them… Ignita the second, third, fourth…” He was teasing her now, he wasn’t quite as foolish as the old Warlord, though he might sneak a middle name in there somewhere. He didn’t bother to ask of last names, having no doubt in his mind that they would be little Fatalis’. That was their birthright. He tugged a little at her ear again, clearly too exhausted to tease her any further than that.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She softly snapped her teeth at his cheek fur as he tugged her ear. Fine, she'll let it rest for now, but she wanted to dig her claws into him and make him pay for scaring her.

She flicked her ear at his ridiculous suggestions and rolled her eyes.
She huffed before she actually grew thoughtfully serious for a moment. "Honestly, I haven't thought about names yet. I've been so... preoccupied." She muttered and pushed her nose under his for a moment. So much to do, so little time.

"I always thought some of the characters from my books had wonderful names. There is this firey creature called a Balrog I thought would be an incredible name for a son, and another character named Elrond, and Faramir... there's so many! And I always thought having one named James or Jamie would be interesting." She crooned quietly.
"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He grew thoughtful as well, abandoning his teasing, and her ear. Instead, he brushed his tongue gently below the appendage, considering her words. “This pack is our fortress, and there is a type of fortress called a Citadel. The most fortified centre. A strong name for a child, perhaps. I’ve heard of Balrog too, and that comes from similar stories as the Basilisk.” the other names she mentioned were alien to him, but he wasn’t opposed to them. If they were names she liked.

“Jamie Fatalis, Balrog Fatalis the Great…” He teased lightly, moving a paw to cup lightly around her stomach. “I wonder who they will be, these little lives you're growing.” he paused, hesitating. “I want to teach them to be strong, but I will not give up on the weakest. I don’t want to be my father.”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Her eyes softly closed to his tender brushing under her ear. The earlier tension eased out of her muscles. He spoke of an interesting name, Citadel. She hadn't thought of using a word like that for a name!
"Citadel Fatalis..." She tested the name, "Yes I like that."

She laughed softly as he drew his attention back to the growing brood within her. Saying their names out loud. When he added the Great to the end of Balrog it sparked another name, Iskander, an ancient war hero who conquered many human wars. In their tongue, he was Alexander the great, but in the area, she was from, he was Iskander. She leaned her head into him, his warm paw over her stomach kept her safe and secure. His last comment made her brow raise in concern and she didn't get to bring up that name option just then.

"Oh no... What do you mean, give up on the youngest?" She asked sincerely. With how he pushed her to learn how to fight, she had no doubt all of their children would know how to defend themselves and fight for their family.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He paused for a moment, pulling back just enough to look at his fiance. Had he not told her about his siblings? He had told Hazel. It had been well known among the two of them, and she had used it to push him into breaking ties with his father. But he had told Ignita, had he? He sighed softly, finding it still painful to speak of despite the distance of time.

“I had quite a few siblings when I was born. One whose coat was a twin in patterns to my own, except red instead of blue. One who had allergies to the world around her, and another girl who never mastered the art of fighting. Calypso, Makara, Morgawr. Three girls, myself, and Levi. He took Calypso away one day and returned without her. Makara and Morgawr vanished some time later. They were weaker, and didn’t learn fighting as fast as me and Levi. His frustration with them was obvious, and one by one they vanished. I don’t know if I'll ever learn what become of them.” and the sibling that was left was the coldest of the litter, the hardest to bond with. “Like he gave up on his children, he gave up on the Armada, too. That’s how I became Warlord.”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Sympathy echoed over her features as she caught the subtle pull of his pain on his lips. This was an old pain still bruised within him. She placed a comforting paw over his arm as he regaled her with the story of how his father had treated the weakest of the litter. Her face opened into shock and sorrow as she learned of their fates.

"Bas, that's terrible," She sighed, "If that were me I'd always be wondering if I were next! That's awful." She nuzzled her nose into his cheek.

"I've seen you with Spider and how Spider adores you, and even-" She huffed half-heartedly, "-Even in our early days, you treated me like a daughter sometimes. I think you'll be an excellent father." Maybe even better than she would be a mother.
"I just hope... I hope to do better than my own... sort of mother." She shrugged and half laughed. Leaning her head on him. She never had any siblings... That she knew of.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He gave a slight cough at that. “I was the strongest, I was more concerned with earning his approval than assuming I'd vanish next.” He admitted. Azure had been proud of his size and strength. The mention of Spider reminded him of how much he missed his kid. He wanted more than anything to march over there and drag them home. To where they belonged. The week he had given Spider had long since finished, but he had no choice. He had to keep his distance from his kid.

“Well. I’ll treat my daughters differently, I assure you…” He said, voice dry. They would not be treated as songbirds, nor as Consort. That was for certain. “You are in no way like the woman who raised you. Look how much you’ve fought for them already, before they’re even born”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Ah yes, he would be the strongest, and he was just trying to survive. She didn't think it was strange that he was more concerned with approval, she had been in a similar boat with her own... "mother".

"I have no doubt in my mind that you will." He had promised her that their children would be royalty, and he treasured his bloodline for certain. She smiled gratefully at his praise, she had been fighting for them, fighting for them before they were even a glimmer in her eye.

"I... Thank you. I think I needed to hear you say it." She said, reaching forward and grooming a lock of his fur on his shoulder. He needed to rest, and recover his strength. And she needed to save her strength in order to deliver these kids eventually.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He gently rubbed her belly some more. Swollen with the lives within it. He worried about them, about the timing of their arrival. What state would the pack be in? If Ignita were to get sick now, would that be devastating? He sighed softly, trying to push the doubts from his mind. At the end of the day, the choice wasn’t his. He didn’t get to choose if Ignita would get sick, or if the blight would heal. They just had to roll with the punches as best they could.

“You have so much to teach them. I can see that shaping their curious minds.” he said with a small grin, leaning forward to kiss her. He wasn’t going to try for anything more strenuous, for either of their sakes. But he could kiss his fiance whenever he wanted.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"