+10 Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws or care for teeth)
+10 Tell a battle story

With every step she took, she felt her belly shift and twitch, and her children were becoming far more restless. They were like little vermin, sucking away her energy and sabotaging her battle endeavors. The last few days they have been especially restless, moving and kicking their tiny limbs against her sides and each other. Perhaps it was a good thing if they were already brawling for dominance, but Erna prefer they do it when they have successfully evacuated her womb.

She carried some fresh wounds etched within her mocha pelt, a sign of her recent brawl with a melanistic Scillan. She cursed her weakness for failing to end his life when she had been so close, and for letting him slip away. The mother-to-be shuffled inside her and Alaric's den, grabbing a stick and laying on the floor to chew on it. Dental care was important.

@Alaric

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Ah and here the king sought out his queen -- though the tautness of his muscles indicated a less than happy reunion. Alaric was displeased with @Erna, if only for the fact that she had little regard for the cubs she carried. Distracted though he may have been he was not blind to the marks left in her flesh, marks that he had not left himself and thus were from an outside source. A certain fury coursed through his veins at the thought of any other touching his mate in this current state, and that anger was directly at her. Returning to their den to find her (so casually gnawing on a piece of wood) he slid closer with venom in his eyes. "What the fuck do you think you've been doing?" A snarl in his voice as he moved close, invading her space with his presence, well aware that he was acting a fool. "I swear, @Erna, if any of those babies comes out harmed..." The threat was clear -- she would be held accountable.

image by moogle, code by koi

+10 Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws or care for teeth)
+10 Tell a battle story

Her shape sprawled on the stone floor of their den, soaking in whatever little cold it could offer to a fat, heavy-pelted pregnant northerner thrown in the midst of a full-blown summer. Yellowed teeth gnawed on every bit and edge of her newfound toy branch, a sharp crack-crack sound occasionally echoing in the chamber of their home as she quickly rendered the weaker stubs useless.

"What the fuck do you think you've been doing?" A snarl erupted behind her like a volcano.

Violet eyes widened into the darkness before her as the Rike woman froze in her spot, leaving her chew toy a little room to breathe. Her gut churned and she wasn't quite sure if it was the pregnancy's fault or @Alaric. Claws instantaneously freed from their sheaths, biting the hard ground below. She turned then, trying her best to quelch her anxiety at the sight of his twisted face, but her ears inadvertently folded against the sides of her large skull. She was aware he'd seen her wounds, but the seriousness of his anger was just now rearing its ugly head. A threat, then, leaves his lips. She really doesn't want to know what would happen if his future heirs were harmed, but she could only assume it would involve a lot of beating and humiliation. Outer wounds heal, she knew that all too well, but humiliation stuck forever. I — she began but quickly lost her ability to speak. The bear-like woman scrambled to put together a sentence. A Sigrun was scouting the Peak, I chased him away. Her voice was low but firm. Her eyes fluttered from her husband's face to the floor, muscles tense beneath taut flesh should he decide to punish her. Erna desperately hoped that he would understand that she couldn't just let the Sigrun spy slip away. That could risk exposing Odhgrimm's location, and she was certain failure in the Jarl's eyes would hurt far more than failure in her husband's.

_{ART — CODE}

the swamp was likely a thousand times better than the desert would have been, or the rainforest, but still the heat was a bit much. could he fault her for heading north, to the cooler mountain range? hardly. but engaging with a damned sigrun?

his growl deepened at the mention of the one she had been scuffling with -- so not just a stranger, but a sigrun? "Damnit Erna, a fucking sigrun? Don't you think they more than any would try to end this?" A wave of his paw at her rounded belly, at the precious cargo she carried. And now the Sigrun knew she was pregnant -- now they knew there were Rike babies being born.

Something like fear fluttered in his breast, followed quickly by a hot anger. "You think they wont come for the most vulnerable?" How could she have been so damned stupid?

He towered over her, uncaring for her fear, too caught up in his own fiery rage. "Tell me you at least had the common fucking sense to make sure you were not followed? And left no sign of the Mire?" He knew she would have been careful, but Alaric needed to hear it to be certain.

Truthfully, though, he knew it was a moot point -- there was a high chance the Sigrun already had heard of his ascension and the pregnant Rike at his side.

where innocence burns in flames

i'm frozen to the bones

image by yumpy, code by corvus

The bob-tailed lioness flinched as @Alaric's growl rumbled, seeping into her bones like the frigidness of the ground below. He gestured at her evident pregnancy, pointing out the verifiable truth that her fresh wounds gave. She had threatened the cubs' well-being. She could see the fault in her ways now, only because her husband's knife was pressed against her neck. In all truth, the bearish Rike cared little for the whelps in her belly, she feared Alaric's scorn far more than endangering their health. They were a heavy burden she hadn't expected so soon. Erna knew children were inevitable. Women bear children, they are the vessel for man's seed. Just like all men, Alaric wants to secure his bloodline. And she had threatened that bloodline.

However, the time to waddle around like a whale on two legs couldn't be worse. She would've despised how vulnerable they made her no matter when they had come. It was simply convenient to justify her hatred for the children occupying her womb with their timing. Now Erna glared at her husband's feet, purposefully but not intentionally making herself look smaller in front of his towering form. She would've remained mute, preferring not to aggravate him any further with what would only sound like excuses, but his direct question left no room for silence. "I masked my scent with mud and my appearance too. The cave was dark. I - I don't think he saw me." She muttered through gritted teeth, uncharacteristically low for her coarse voice. A tiny part of her cursed the failure to slit the onyx boy's throat. Dead men tell no stories. "I almost had him! If it wasn't for my bad leg I -" Gulping, her answer replayed in her head as she prodded it for any weak areas. "- I would've killed the bastard!" She bit her tongue, cursing herself for once more falling prey to the need to defend her failure.

It hadn't been her only fight, and Erna would argue that the battle at the Badlands had a worse outcome. A strange girl saw her, then another came to her rescue. Then a chimeran Scillan stuck her nose where she shouldn't have, joined by a second Scillan. Was it her fault these vermin were crawling on every corner of the map? The worst part was her failure to mask her appearance back then. Thankfully, the wounds from that day had already healed. She was grateful because it gave her the opportunity to not even mention the accident to Alaric, who would be far more displeased about her fighting, not one, but two lions, the latter of which was possibly a Sigrun. Back then she had pushed it too far, her unborn children retaliating against her, which ultimately caused her retreat.

unable to help himself, he paced before her, his anger needing some outlet if he to not strike her down then and there. he was livid, a rage that rose to mask the fear, and his claws scraped at the soft floor of the den as he stalked one way and then the other. "you wll stop," he hissed, with a venom and poison in his voice, coming to a stop again before her. alaric pulled himself up to his full size, lording over her, his body trembling with the barely restrained fury.

"you will stop this fucking bullshit, @Erna. give the children time to grow, to thrive, and then go get yourself killed if that's what you want." he was dangerous, then, more than she had ever seen in him before. even as he spoke the words, as if it did not matter, he felt the lurch in his chest that told him he cared. too much for the bearish woman with the death wish, but to hell with her if she thought she'd take his cubs down with her.

his head lowered, his eyes piercing hers as he spoke in a low tone. "you will stop this fighting, or i'll break your goddamned leg myself." then she really would be caged -- and by the look in his eye he meant every word. maybe she would see the truth behind the threat -- that he did not want to see her hurt -- but more than likely she would think he only cared for his cubs.

and good; better she know nothing of his weakness.

where innocence burns in flames

i'm frozen to the bones

image by yumpy, code by corvus

Erna could see how difficult it was for her mate to restrain himself from punishing her with the strength of his fist. She felt her gut churn once again, perhaps for once thankful that she was pregnant. Who knows what he might've done if she wasn't pregnant? How hard his claws would tear into her flesh? Erna didn't want to know.

You will stop. The bearish Rike swallowed her protests, knowing that it was in her best interest to sit the fuck down and only nod in agreement. And so she nodded, curtly, silently.

@Alaric is evidently worried for the children, he doesn't really care about her well-being. Why would he? His heirs were far more important. They were irreplacable unlike herself, who can be replaced by another woman of child-bearing age. At this subtle realization, she muttered: I will stop. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, purposefully unwilling to make eye contact with the furious Starke man.

"...or i'll break your goddamned leg myself." She froze, fear evident in her eyes but she otherwise showed no signs of it. Flashbacks of Saga butchering her once good hind limb haunt her, the months of recovery reappearing in her mind. No. No. No. Not again, not ever. I will not fight. I will not. Now she seeks to make eye contact with him, a hint of pleading to be trusted evident in her tone.

_{ART — CODE}

fear scented the air, and he huffed, glad for it. let her be afraid of him -- let her know that he would not hesitate to strike her down and force her to stay. alaric would chain her to the damned den if he had to, but he was under the impression she would heed this warning.

"good," the word is bit out, short and sharp, and followed by a growl that served to release some of his tension. his pacing stopped, though the venom in his gaze did not entirely dissipate. "do not forget it." a harsh reminder, as his gaze flicked briefly to her leg in a less-than-subtle threat.

just as suddenly as it had risen it disappeared, and the king sat before her as if he was non-plussed. "i have given you a pride," he reminded, though his tone lacks the fury of moments ago, "and you will see my cubs safe in to this world." an arched brow as he studied his wife and the marks on her flesh.

where innocence burns in flames

i'm frozen to the bones

image by yumpy, code by corvus

Her skin feels hot to the touch beneath the plush of her mocha fur, the fear, and anxiety reaching a boiling point. Thankfully, @Alaric seems to calm down after she assures him that she will do nothing else to receive his harsh punishment. She feels like a little child again, cowering in front of her disappointed mother and father after another defeat against her siblings. She knew what failure to follow orders meant back then, and now it felt very much the same.

Another nod at his stern reminder to not forget her promise. He shifted, then, sitting before her. The wheat man was right - he had kept his promise. I will, she responded verbally this time, before shifting down to her big belly and continuing to chew on her stick. Her teeth pressed hard against the wood. Standing up to Alaric was no option for he was her husband and the father of her children. At least the stick was an easy target. It crackled and popped between her strong jaws.

_{ART — CODE}

alaric is reminded then, that she is a good wife. obedient and deferential, even if he is also reminded that she may need a shorter leash. all the same he has no wish to punish her further, he will give her this chance to prove her word and keep his future protected.

as she lays down (all but dismissing him) he does, too. beside her, and then in an unexpected gesture he slides close and begins to clear the wounds of hers that he can reach. his tongue is rough but he does the job well, ridding her cuts of any dirt or debris that may cling to them.

and when he is done and she is safe from any potential infection he will stretch out beside her, content to linger in her company until the night brings its blanket of sleep. idly he wonders if she will feel as if he is her keeper, watching her, and decides he does not mind if she does. whatever it takes to keep her them safe.

-exit via staying put xD-

where innocence burns in flames

i'm frozen to the bones

image by yumpy, code by corvus