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Ignita had taken to walking the corridors of the warrens, checking on whomever she ran into, or checking to make sure the torches were all alight. She had already done the rounds in the southern warren and walked all the way across the Dreamers Col to the eastern entrance of the northern warrens. Her paws landed heavily on the ground as her large overstretched belly swung below her. Making her usually quick and hurried stride long and waddling.

The emptying of the storerooms was going well and quickly. It looked nearly done. She had sent some of the hunters across the channel from the Soul Sand Cove to the large peninsula to see what type of hunting ground it could be.

Her thoughts filled her mind as she entered the warren and turned left. She'll start heading back up to the clinic from here. She felt so wide she could swear she felt the sides of the cavern with both sides of her belly. She had to sit a moment to catch her breath. She must be close now. She didn't know how much larger her body could get!

Heaving herself back up on her paws she continued her walk. She could just see the entrance to the clinic. A strange light caught her eye just before the turn though. What's this? It wasn't hard to spark Ignita's curiosity. She pulled herself into the alcove and a waft of the new songbird also came into her nose.

"Yara? Come see this!" She excitedly called to her "own" slave. The idea still twisted in her belly and the fact that she had been alone with Basilisk, while he was sickly and feverish, rushed into her mind's eye. She squashed those feelings down while her attention was drawn up to a small opening in the cavern wall, right along the ceiling. A blue glow was emanating from a crack in the wall.



wc 317/1500 nav seasonal

"Speech"

Yara Grey

Yara's ears pricked at Ignita's call. The young songbird had been cleaning the area when she heard her Queen's voice echoing down the cavern. Her curiosity piqued, Yara quickly made her way to Ignita, her agile form moving swiftly despite the tension in the air that she felt whenever she was around the Warlord's wife-to-be.

Upon reaching Ignita, Yara's bright yellow eyes widened at the sight of the blue glow emanating from the ceiling crack. "What is that?" she murmured, half to herself.

She assessed the situation quickly. "Let me help," she offered, stepping forward. With practiced precision, Yara began to widen the crack, using her strong, slender paws to carefully pull at the edges, mindful not to cause a collapse. Her heart raced with excitement and a hint of anxiety, knowing the significance of discovering something new in their territory.

As the crack expanded, the blue light intensified, casting eerie shadows across the cavern walls. Yara could feel a cold draft emanating from the opening, suggesting a larger space beyond. Finally, with a final tug, a small section of the wall gave way, revealing a larger passage bathed in the strange, glowing light.

Yara stepped back, her breath quickening. "There's a whole cave system beyond here," she exclaimed, looking at Ignita with wide eyes. "We need to explore this."

CODE BY SIN

Despite still being sick and weary himself, he was concerned with how much Ignita was doing in her current state. More and more, her belly was growing and protruding. She looked uncomfortably stretched, and had a lot extra she was carrying. Aware of her habit to roam the warrens and check on the wolves, he went searching for her. Carrying some food with the intent of stopping her to share a lunch and possibly drag her back to their den.

When he neared the trail of her scent, he heard her call out, and shortly after some crashing and Yara’s voice. He picked up his pace, and trotted into view. “Not alone, you two aren’t He growled, remembering the last time Ignita had explored a new tunnel alone.


"Speech"

Yara came quickly and noticed the light too. Good at least Ignita knew she wasn't hallucinating. Before the Consort could suggest anything more Yara was eager to investigate. Ignita nodded and started also pulling at the rock but was winded by a few stones. They should probably check in with Bas before digging into the warrens but the energy Yara displayed was distracting Ignita from such thoughts. She had to know more about that blue glow overhead!

She let Yara take on the brunt of the work, simply because Ignita was feeling dizzy. She would have otherwise gladly helped.

As each stone was shifted away Ignita's golden gaze was locked on the glow. As the songbird stepped back and revealed the entrance, exclaiming the need to explore, Ignita was already two paws in and looking up before his sharp voice and growl made her jump back, slinking to the floor before him.

She suddenly also remembered the last time she went spelunking. Her eyes went down and locked on his claws as he came forward to inspect their work. Forgetting for a moment her title was equal to his now, an old habit.

"It's not like I can fit this time." She replied coyly, daring to glance up at his eyes. The angle brought to her attention the object of her curiosity just beyond him in the upper reaches of the alcove.

"Are these--?" Her voice dropped off as a familiar scene opened up before her. "Glow worms! I haven't seen a colony since I was a pup!" She said, bringing herself into the new slender opening. She pushed up onto her rears and looked closely at the slowly shifting bright glowing blue worm. A strand of mucous slowly dripped down to a pool below. A glimmer beyond the passageway spoke of more. "There will be more through there! At the oasis, there was a huge colony of these guys! Some of the patrons and guests would try and make silly drinks and even some of them thought that eating them would make them glow too." She was on a roll, "I can't believe there are some here! They're actually worms! And this mucous is their excrement! It's the larval stage of a bug typically, I'm surprised they're growing here in the cold!" Her tail was wagging swiftly back and forth until a pang in her swollen belly brought her back down to all fours.

With a grunt, she grimaced. Her head getting woozy again. She slowly brought herself back out of the opening and leaned against Bas, her body breaking out in a sweat. She grunted again and clutched her stomach. It's too early! She didn't know about the phenomenon of false early contractions.

They might have to continue exploring without her.




1136 / 1500

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Yara Grey

Yara's golden gaze widened with concern as she watched Ignita's excitement turn into discomfort. The sight of the Consort's swollen belly, and the pain etched on her face made Yara's heart ache with worry. She seemed much too small to be carrying the pups of the Warlord, but it wasn't Yara's place to comment on that. She just hated seeing Ignita look so vulnerable.

Stepping forward, Yara gently nudged Ignita's shoulder with her nose, trying to offer some comfort as Ignita seemed overwhelmed with pain. "You should rest," she said softly, her voice tinged with genuine concern.

Turning her attention to Basilisk, Yara dipped her head respectfully. "I am sorry, Warlord. I got carried away with curiosity," she apologized, her ears flattening slightly. "I just.. wanted to help find out where the glowing was coming from. I've never seen glow worms before."

She glanced back at Ignita, worry still clear in her eyes. "I can stay and help explore if needed, but I think you should go back and rest," she turned to Basilisk. "What do you think? This isn't safe for her. I could see to it that she is kept comfortable and stay by her side, instead of exploring. I don't think she should be alone." Yara had never experienced any wolves going through a pregnancy around her before, so it was safe to say she was more than just a little concerned.

CODE BY SIN

The tangient Ignita went on was a familiar thing for his Consort, and he couldn’t help the flicker of amusement at her words. When Ignita broke out in sweat and clutched her stomach, he was quick to move to her side. Drawing her closer to him in a movement shockingly gentle against his size. Ignita’s movement’s had reminded him of why he had come here in the first place. To limit Ignita’s movements. Ground her, if he had to.

When Yara ventured just a hair too close in her concern, Basilisk bared his teeth at her. Ignit’s pain and the vulnerable swell of her belly left him feeling overly protective. Yara wasn’t a threat, but in that moment he would have ripped her paw off if she touched Ignita with it. He turned back to his fiance, the scowl in his voice. “You're doing too much. You need to be still and resting.” He growled. “You're vulnerable right now, the more you do, the more you put yourself and the pups at risk.”


"Speech"

Despite her pain, sweating, and grimacing she still wanted to see the worms. What had let them set up shop here in the cold reaches of the Armada? Was it the miasma from below the mountains? Keeping them warm? But the cool draft from within was similar to her old drafty den. Was this a new species? Another grunt of pain took her breath away and she had to close her eyes against the image of the fascinating worms. Will they still be there after the tunnel is excavated?

She pressed her face into the Warlord's fur with a moan. She missed the exchange between Warlord and Songbird, she just wanted to lie down.

Yara's words were hurried and muffled in Ignita's ears, the concern palpable. She wanted to reassure them both that she was okay but she knew she was not. She must have strained something when she had stretched up to get a closer look at the strange glowing worms she knew as Arachnocampa luminosa.

Bas's voice close to her face was clear as a rumbling bell. She knew that if she ignored his warning he'd just scoop her up and take her to the den anyway. At this point, she had no strength or words to brush him off. She nodded, she was close enough to them coming she may as well start nesting properly.

"Yea..o-okay." She relented. Maybe they could get someone else to help dig into the tunnel. Yara was right, they needed to explore it, if not just to make sure it wasn't open and might let another tiger in.

She was close enough to the clinic that she could grab Vesper or one of the healers to help her back to the den. The stairs on the path to the den were a little daunting.

"Don't... Destroy them. Important ecosystem. Vesper can tend me for now. Until... Yara available." She said breathing harshly through the pain. Would she even make it up the stairs before she collapsed?







Year 21 Spring group Nav seasonal 1500 words

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.