jet black sky before the rain; Wolfbane

[Lepis]

I had asked Wolfbane for a family and he had readily done his part to fulfill the request. We both had, really; it is startling how quickly my inhibitions had fallen away in the face of unquestioning acceptance. That is the part of love I hadn't expected, after all, the part that I had never experienced before, that I had never considered possible. The haze of passion still hasn't entirely faded, though the widening bulge of my barrel suggests that our efforts at starting a family have already come to fruition.

For days I had denied it, twisting my head to the side, staring at my reflection in the still pool beside my cave in Loess to examine myself from every angle. Only when I was sure, without a doubt sure, would I share my news with Wolfbane.

(The nausea had been the final clue, of course)

Yet the day that I was to tell him was the day the dappled King of Sylva arrived, the day that the plague was unleashed on Beqanna, the day that the world shifted. The day was already full enough. And so was the night that followed, when I'd held my lower so tightly that there was no room in my for fear. Time has dragged on, and only now is there a moment of peace, when I might find him away from the others, from responsibilities.

I stand in the snow, shivering slightly in the early evening wind, and turn to look behind me at the crunch of hoofsteps.

@[Wolfbane]