Ruthgar stepped into the shrine with one word on his lips; Spooky. It was eerily white, with bare white trees and stark white stones jutting out from the snow, the Shrine seemed to be perfectly and singularly white with the exception of the glowing half frozen shrine in the center. He wandered through, his stomach twisting nervously, feeling both exposed and as if he were being watched. He supposed he would be able to see anyone coming if they approached him, unless they were white themselves, but then again he hadn’t really seen any white wolves since arriving. “Sum white cunt wouldn’ bae so bad.” He muttered to himself as he stepped closer to the pond. He had suspected something was off when he caught the scent of the girl he had run into not so long ago, and found that it was…different. The kind of different that had made his blood run both hot and cold at the same time. Pups. She appeared to be carrying pups. Possibly his pups although he didn’t know for sure, she had after all fucked him without even giving him her name, although to be fair he hadn’t given his either. He sent out call from the center of the shrine and waited, his heart clenched as he waited to see if his suspicions were true. If they were his, and he was going to be a father, then that would mean bringing the girl to Crew even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming. He wasn’t going to leave Crew for some bitch he hardly knew but he would be damned if he lived never knowing these pups. This is him talking This is him thinking This is you

She'd high tailed it out of the area not long after her meeting with Félicien. It was easier to just move, just book it than to sit and stew in the broken whirling disaster that was her mind right now. As the days went by it would start to become clear from her sudden symptoms that she was going to be carrying the results of her little interaction with the scar-faced man for some time. Admitting this fact to herself wasn't something she was all too ready to do; another reason for the running. Seemed like lately there were plenty of reasons to ditch the normally lazy aspects of herself in favor of escape from her other troubles. Naturally, life decided to throw a cheap shot and wreck her day once again. Mara had been resting at this strange yet peaceful location for a while - after all, she wasn't usually one for long walks - when it hit her. The faintest whiff of that... Urg, there wasn't even one particular name she wanted to call him right now. Laying in the snow, she tried to remain where she was. Even with a relatively thin coat she'd never much been bothered by the cold, so she found herself laying among the pale, tangled roots of one gnarled tree that stood out from the others. She could probably see the man if she looked up, but for now she kept her head down and sunk into the snow, shivering slightly from her prolonged stay in this position as well as pent up energy and emotion she didn't know how to expel. He called to her, drawing out a soft sigh of irritation while the girl he sought remained glued to the ground. After some debate, she stood, still taking shelter behind her tree of choice, and absently lapped at her shoulder to get some snow off and stall a bit as her mind screamed for her to make a choice already. She didn't know. Nothing good could come of a meeting with him. If she was... well, of course she was, but with that being the case he'd probably take some action but she couldn't know what kind. If she tried to go running off in a random direction he might follow her. Mara's options were limited now, leaving her shaking her head and growling at the fact that she both wanted to tear something to shreds right now and probably couldn't even do that since she was so off lately. Félicien was far away now, so he couldn't help her, and her brother... Well, who knew where that asshole was, and he always just looked out for himself anyways so he was no good to her. So this was what it was like to feel... alone. Eventually she crept out from her hiding place, strolling over towards him with a sort of false bravado meant to hide how she was still reeling inside. If one looked closely they might see her legs shake ever so slightly, but her personality tended to keep others from expecting or searching for hidden nerves. Tail raised to the sky she made her way to sit opposite the man, looking at him across the frozen pool of water with a single brow arched high as she asked, "What do you want?" "Talk" "You" Think

His eyes narrowed as she approached him from the other side of the pond, his lip twitching and his jaws clenched.  The nerve of some people. He sighed and closed his eyes, attempting to focus, trying to remind himself why he was there in the first place. He opened his eyes and raised his head, she was already showing signs of carrying, and there was no use beating around the bush. “’Re they mine?” He asked, a rumble of a growl in his throat as he asked. “Or ‘re ye sum dumb cunt whore?” He thought venomously. He hadn’t forgotten their first encounter, and while originally he had chalked her foul mood up to hormones, he was slowly realizing that might not have been the case. “Eff yer havn’ ma pups ye’ll bae needing tae come with mae” He said sternly. He was half prepared to call for Chaos and possibly Art to come and help him drag her back to the mountain looming behind him until she gave birth and either kick her and her pups into the cold if they weren’t his, but he silently reminded himself he always caught more bees with flowers than shit. “Ye’ll bae fed, hev a den tae call yer own, ‘n bae taken care of.” His tail raised to align with his spine as he spoke. “Eff they’re mine.” He added curtly. This is him talking This is him thinking This is you

A hot breath slipped through her maw, hitting the cold air and floating away as a small cloud-like puff. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to charge at him and continue what they started or just leave like she'd planned before. No, running wouldn't work. This idiot was a pack wolf, he could chase her down with the help of his little friends and she wouldn't be able to do much about it all by her lonesome. The question though, that was just annoying and she lifted her face skyward, inwardly questioning why she hated herself enough to have let this man anywhere near her. She held her tongue though, staring at him sidelong for a while as he kept talking, tacking on more babble and clearly trying not to send her packing despite his clear dislike for her. At that little thought she couldn't help but smirk. Her ears would flick back against her head, betraying the indecision and... Whatever else these twisting feelings were in her gut were. She soon fixed her posture to try and exude a confidence she didn't feel, head held high as her words were spoken in a slow drawling manner. "I don't make a habit of letting anyone lay a paw on me," she began slowly, hesitating a moment before finishing with a short, "They're yours." Admitting she was growing tiny creatures inside of her felt strange, it kicked up her damn nerves again and her breathing quickened a bit. Her life hadn't been thrown into limbo and uncertainty like this since she was quite young, and she didn't like it one bit. It made her feel slightly vulnerable like suddenly she could be hurt in entirely new ways outside of the physical to which she was accustomed. She backed up a step, gaze falling to the ground and legs spreading slightly to recover her balance. Mara suddenly felt like she was gunna hurl. Her flight and fight responses were warring with each other, upsetting her already delicate senses and leaving her spinning. Like any trapped animal she had to make some choices, her first response when she recovered balance and control of herself being to turn and stare him down, hackles raised. "Who says I want to be treated like some invalid? Taken care of..." she scoffed at the idea; no one took care of Mara except for she herself! Though it was clear with such a harsh winter, and pups on the way she'd probably struggle to support herself alone. Even with Félicien, should she manage to find him and get his help again, it wouldn't be easy. Still, her mind rebelled against the idea. Somewhere in the swirling chaos in her head that lazy part enjoyed the idea of being able to lounge about, but it was stomped down by the rest of the fiercer parts of her personality. "Shit," she hissed, brows furrowed deeply, posture wavering. She sat somewhere between wanting to fight and run, suspended there for a long time as it continued to set in that she was trapped. Then she was just frozen, like the snow and ice around her, heart racing in her chest though she still fought to hide it all as best she could. She didn't want to feel weak, not in the presence of a total stranger she'd gotten it on with in a moment of desperation to find relief from her hormones. What a dumb mistake. Now she had to worry about this guys pack, and having kids. The thought made her shudder. "I don't know or like you, the fuck kind of reason do I have to take me and my young anywhere with you," she mumbled softly, the venom seeping out of her words as they almost became a whisper by the time she was done speaking. She was almost talking to herself more than to him. She knew she was stuck, but she didn't want to accept that. When she'd been trapped in a cave with a damn badger she still came out on top, yet this honestly was freaking her out a whole lot more. "Talk" "You" Think

His eyes widened as she confirmed what was both dreaded news and his wildest dreams. He was going to be  father…If she stayed in Crew that is. He didn’t give a damn if she stayed or not after the pups were born, but if she refused he would have to cut all ties to them, and that simply wasn’t going to happen. "Who says I want to be treated like some invalid? Taken care of..." and she cursed. He felt his patience wearing thin. “I don gev a damn eff yer pampered o’ a slave, yer coomin’ wit mae.” He snapped, his hackles raising. Her stance faltered and a more basic part of his mind screamed that it was the perfect opportunity to lunge for her, but he knew that no matter what happened he wouldn’t do anything to risk giving her a miscarriage. "I don't know or like you, the fuck kind of reason do I have to take me and my young anywhere with you," His jaws parted in a fierce snarl, his ears pinned back and his head raised with the intent of charging forward.“Becooz thar mah cubs tae!” He snapped, his tail raising. The pond might slow him down if the ice on its surface proved to be too thin and he fell through, but if she did escape he would return to The Maw and get Chaos to help him drag her back. “Ye hev two choices lass…” He said, his lip still raised. “Com with mae ‘till the pups ‘re barn o’ run ‘n All bring the fires o’ hell doon on ye. Wat ye dae aftar th’ pups are weaned’s up tae ye.” He said, his eyes staring her downblazingbefore, he wouldn’t let it happen again. This is him talking This is him thinking This is you

Her hackles instinctively shot up more, all down her spine to her tail. The hair around her shoulders and rump telling a story of a wolf fighting fear. The hair went up, then laid down partially, her posture becoming hunched, then straightening. The battle was on, and while this man was sure as shit the one who initiated it, it seemed her biggest opponent right now was herself. What the absolute fucking hell was this? There was a narrowing of her eyes, suspicion and defiance lighting up her orange gaze like burning sparks ready to light that man on fire with all her frustration and tension. His words served to make her fury burn brighter while also further solidifying the reality that she was trapped, entirely without a doubt trapped. Shit. "Just-" she tried to say something, make her choice, attack, run, anything! Why was nothing happening? Clearly she was too proud and stubborn to let someone else force her into anything in life. Maybe that was going to be her downfall in this situation. What would her dearest mentor say right now... He'd probably tell her to calm down and not get so emotional when she was stuck like this. Okay, calm. Slowing her breathing to an overly steady deep, slow rhythm the woman ignored her adversary for a few heartbeats to regain her composure. "If you want this to go over smoothly, you'll need to hear my request." the last word was stressed as she altered her choice of phrase at the last moment, trying to maintain some semblance of diplomacy in order to keep her cool. Really it was a demand, a requirement, something she would get one way or another. "Talk" "You" Think

His head snapped back indignantly, he had half a mind to tell her to get fucked and just call for Chaos, but his mind whispered; More bees with flowers. He slowly lowered his head and allowed his hackles to smooth out. “Ahm listnin’.” He said gruffly, his voice a low rumble of irritable thunder. He allowed his ears to swivel forward and let his tail go slack, attempting to calm himself much like she had. His lip still twitched over where it had been torn, as it always did when he was irritable. Ruthgar was usually more conflicted and there had been a point where he might have given a damn if he was being overly aggressive, but that was on the way out as he moved toward re-inventing himself, and casting off everything he had learned from Isis and Orsus. There might have been a point where he would have groveled and perhaps resorted to begging, but that was all far beneath him now, and she was the only thing in the way of something he desperately wanted. TEXT "Talk" "You" Think

Watching the man go from hardly restrained to a begrudging sort of calm set her slightly more at ease. He held her freedom quite firmly in his grasp, a fact that while deeply disturbing was entirely undeniable. Of course she had a suspicion he'd be slightly more likely to listen than not, after all, if he were to drag her away screaming that wouldn't do good things to the ones all this was being caused by. If she were a more manipulative kind of woman she might try and twist things and see how far she could go since she held a certain kind of power here. Luckily, that kind of crap was one of the few things Mara was above. "I have a... Close friend, I guess you could say," she started, made hesitant by the idea that she might be unable to see the friend in question, "I want to be able to visit with him, and to have him present when I have the pups if possible." Mara wasn't sure if that would be something this guy'd let happen. He had zero reason to trust her, she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him... It took a moment of silence and some internal fighting before she tensely added at a much softer volume, "Usually, one's family shows up and does that stuff. Félicien is- well he's like family." Those words would probably never grace the older man's ears, but they were true. Besides, other than a certain sibling who wasn't exactly the first on her list to hang around youngsters, she had no family. She turned away, embarrassed and annoyed that she even found herself having to ask someone such a thing. This shouldn't have happened. She didn't even like kids that much... However, she wasn't going to let any offspring of hers grow up without being taught some of what she'd grown up with. More evidence that her life was about to change drastically, possibly forever. "Talk" "You" Think

"I have a... Close friend, I guess you could say," He could already tell he wasn’t going to like this, and as she continued to speak he could feel her words grating against his nerves. He was in no position to let a loner into the territory, particularly not if he intended to come and go as he pleased. He supposed he could discuss having him join the pack with her, but for now the situation was far too tenuous to say anything other than what she wanted to hear. He gave a soft grunt. “Ahll dae whut a keen.” He said quietly, and allowed his fur to settle completely. “Ahll needs tae take it oop wuth th’ boss, buh ahll dae all a keen.” He said adamantly. He didn’t particularly like that she was making demands, but in truth the demand she had made was far from excessive and he could certainly allow her to visit him after the pups were born, it as having him there for the birth that would be difficult.  For now, it seemed the power struggle between them was over. He stepped aside to allow her to leave the Shrine and would take the lead back to the Maw and the Steppe once she did. "Talk" "You" Think

The feelings that came in waves after his reply left her feeling more nauseous than before. Some sickening mixture of relief and growing distress. She shoved it all down, buried the tumultuous anxiety growing in her chest under a mountain of steely determination. Come what may, Mara was done with this emotional crap for now. Pregnancy be damned, there would be no more sight nor sound of her inner struggles before strangers if she could help it. The woman didn't intend to lose herself in all of this. Mara moved reluctantly, forcing her legs to begin taking long slow strides forward, following the man wordlessly. All this talking, the emotional bullshit, every bit of it was leaving a sour taste in her mouth. Time to face change with the kind of inner fortitude she'd not had to find within herself since the days of training that were long gone now. Head held high, she approached and followed. Let us see what this pack of yours is all about. "Talk" "You" Think