Some Sick Bastards

[[Midnight]]

There were going to be a lot of pups this Spring. Which may or may not be a good thing, Midnight worried to herself. What if Falling Moon had some sort of plan? Don't have pups this Spring so that they have nothing to worry about when they attack us. She snorted angrily, feeling frustrated at the whole situation, and began to pad in a tight circle. This was just stupid. Was she and Caerwyn being too careless? Perhaps they were getting too comfortable. Too soft. Not expecting the unexpected.

She could even see Falling Moon somehow using their own pups, if they did have pups this Spring, as live shields. Or sending them into battle way too early. Something so sick that her own belly began to stir uncomfortably.

She became so irritated that she sat down and began to gnaw her teeth on a small twig, like a stress relief sort of thing. In just moments there were tons of splinters in her mouth, but she just kept chewing on the twig, thinking of all that could happen to her family.

[Arbie]

Dark eyes watched for a moment. Roan frowned, feeling concerned for Midnight. She seemed so stressed, he wondered would could possibly be on her mind. Roan wasn't one to think of Falling Moons as sick as to use their own pups as shields or weapons, he thought there must be some love inside their little hearts for their own offspring.

"Please, try and be careful..." Roan said softly, stepping out of his hiding place. He was facing Midnight's back, so he quickly made his way to stand beside her, "Doing that might hurt your mouth." he said caringly, but only meant it in a friendly way.
He never really thought of Midnight in that way, mainly because she was his alpha and is half-brother's mate.

He looked at Midnight with a concerned glint in his eyes.
"What're you thinking about?"

[[Midnight]]

The fur on the black female's shoulders stood straight up for a moment as she looked over at Roan. She dropped the stick from out of her mouth and watched it roll away, sighing long and hard. She had almost snapped a mean remark to Roan but she had stopped herself before her jaws even eased open. It wasn't fair to be mean to everybody else just because you were pissed off at the world, especially to her friend, Roan.

"God, I don't even... I just can't help but feel vulnerable right now. With all of the mates pairing off and the pups on the way..."
She trailed off and stared into the distance, but shook it off immediately. She sat up on her rump and looked Roan in the eye. He was Caerwyn's brother, and a good friend. She could vent her worries to him without feeling guilty, right?
"What if Falling Moon attacks us while we have the pups? Or maybe even while the females are still pregnant and can't fight as well? What if..." She started pacing again, her ears twitching as if there were sounds from all directions. Then she suddenly stopped and swung back around to face Roan again. "What if they kidnap some of our pups? Good God Almighty."

As she said the words she couldn't help but realize how rediculous she sounded, but she defended herself. She was going to be a mother herself, so wasn't she allowed to worry?
She wondered if her hormones were just going wacky, she thought, thinking of her own belly which was beginning to grow swollen.

[Arbie]

Roan sat down on his haunches, listening to her worrying thoughts. Now that she said it, it seemed even more plausible, and he frowned.
"Don't worry about it too much, Midnight." he said softly, giving her a comforting lick on the cheek, like an older brother would do. He looked her in the eye for a moment, his frown slowly disappearing.
"It's Spring, you could at least have some... Positive thoughts." he told her thoughtfully and paused, as if thinking about what was positive.

He looked at his paws. Carmine was positive. But Midnight wouldn't want to speak about Carmine, Roan knew that right away, and he looked at her again.
"Pups." he stated, smiling again. He just wanted to help, but then he hesitated. She might continue on about how they would steal the pups or something.

[[Midnight]]

Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts?
No, she couldn't. Impossible. Especially now that half the pack was angry with her, too. She wondered if Roan was on her side. Had he heard about what happened? Did he think Caerwyn was never around, too?

She felt awkward as she frowned and looked at Roan's face.
"Do... Do you think Caerwyn and I are doing a good job? With the pack?"
Her tail twitched and she almost wished she had her stick back; she could just use something, anything, to gnaw her stress away.

[Arbie]

Roan's smile disappeared at her strange question. Were they doing their job? Of course they were! Roan didn't know about the incident at the border, and he was very confused. Why would she want to know?
"I think you are doing your job." he replied, pausing for a moment and he frowned, "Well... I've not seen Caerwyn around lately. But I'm sure it's nothing too serious!" he added hastily, mainly to reassure himself.

Roan hesitated, looking Midnight in the eye again, his own sparkling with worry. He couldn't hide it.
"Right?"
He wanted Midnight's reassurance as well as his own. She was his mate after all, and it seemed she was spending more time with Caerwyn than Roan was. It made him feel quite guilty, because he didn't know where Prospero was.

[[Midnight]]

His second sentance had stabbed her like canines in her heart, and for a moment, she had a pained look on her face. So, everyone had noticed. Not just half the pack. The entire pack. She felt afraid of what that could mean.
But she didn't want Roan to feel troubled with her. More importantly, she didn't want to taint Caerwyn's name, betray him in any way. So she nodded her head and put a rediculously forced smile on her face.

"Yes. Right. Of course. Caerwyn's just a hard worker."
She wished she could have put her heart and soul into it, but she was feeling more stressed out than ever. She needed to talk to Caerwyn soon. Ask him what he was doing. How he was doing.
"I'm glad that you're on our side," she told him gratefully, shifting her weight slightly.

[Arbie]

Roan gave her a little, encouraging smile. He didn't want Midnight to be down like this, she was pregnant after all... Right? Deciding that mentioning pups again wasn't a good idea, he kept quiet as he listened to her speak.
"I'm on your side? Well, of course I would be, but who's against you?"

Roan found it ridiculous that someone would go against Midnight and Caerwyn, of all wolves. Of course, they were the alphas, but still. He blinked confusedly, wondering what had happened. Was someone thinking of an uprising and Midnight found out? His imagination was now running wild, but, again, he didn't say anything.

[[Midnight]]

Midnight smiled and quickly shook her head, suddenly feeling in better spirits. Things would calm down. She just needed to be stronger.
I'll learn, she kept telling herself.
"Ohh, it's nothing, Roan. At least nothing that you have to worry about."
With her sudden mood swing, she felt a lot less stressed, and the once-appealing twig resting just inches away suddenly reminded her of the stinging splinters now lodged in her gums.
"Okay, enough about me and Caerwyn and yada yada. How have you been?"

[Arbie]

Roan sighed softly, but nodded to show he understood. He wanted to help Midnight with any problems, but she was just too kind to let anyone share the problems, in case it put weight on their shoulders. That's what Roan guessed, anyway.

"I don't mind, Midnight." he said softly, "I want to be able to help you."
Giving her a smile to show he was telling the truth, Roan hesitated. What was really going on in his life? No problems, no mates, no pups... But then he remembered Carmine. Beautiful Carmine
"I've been okay. No... No big problems."

Thinking of Carmine made him feel happy inside, butterflies fluttering about in his stomach. Not wanting to get caught in a daydream, he tried to forget about Carmine just now.

[[Midnight]]

She thought she saw a change in his face, how he fell into deep thought and seemed to try and fight some distant memory. Her mother did that a lot lately; usually she was thinking about Shaddix and the days when she was happier.
Midnight could tell her mother was very lonely. But she was hanging in there.

She turned her head at a sharp angle and gave Roan the 'eye'.
"What are you thinking about?" she said, almost teasingly. She wondered if big-teddy-bear-Roan had found himself a companion yet, and part of her almost wished he didn't. Getting a mate changed people, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Midnight just hated the thought of seeing Roan change at all.
Then again, Roan didn't deserve to be alone the rest of his life.

[Arbie]

Roan blinked and looked at her, staying quiet for a moment. He felt nervous now, knowing she was probably joking, but couldn't help it.
"I wasn't thinking about anyone!" he said, although it came out more like a squeak, and he went slightly red beneath his fur. He looked at her and sighed softly, it was obvious now that he was thinking of a certain someone but Midnight wouldn't know who Roan was thinking of... Right?

He paused.
"Erm… Someone." he frowned, Midnight wouldn't be interested, or so he hoped, "It's nothing, you wouldn't be interested…"
Or maybe Roan did want her to ask about it. Roan wanted to talk about Carmine with someone, but Roan had a sneaky feeling no one would want to.

[[Midnight]]

Midnight giggled. She knew he had something on his mind, something important. Obviously it was a female who had someone stolen his heart. Well, Midnight sure hoped that the female was worth it. She better take good care of Caerwyn's brother!
"Well, I would be very interested to know more about this person, but it's your buisness. You don't have to speak a word to me."
She sat back and rolled her tongue across the side of her mouth, afterwards spitting out a small splinter.
"But listen, Roan, Spring is nearing an end. If you've got someone on your mind, you'd better find the courage to say something if you haven't already."
Of course, that was only if Roan planned to have pups anytime soon. She never assumed that he didn't; after all, what kind of a fool would pick a mate and not want pups?

I sure am jumping ahead of myself, she chastised in her secretive thoughts, watching Roan curiously. Maybe he wasn't even ready for a mate. Maybe he had already been rejected.

[Arbie]

Roan smiled, she was in good spirits now. Roan was glad. Slowly, he lay down on his stomach and crossed his front paws, listened to her words of wisdom. Roan was just too shy to go up to Carmine, he had no idea if Carmine liked him like that or not. He wasn't even sure if she thought of them as best friends.
"I don't know if I could... But I know Spring's ending soon. I can't ask her... Maybe during Summer or something..."

Roan sighed softly again, but his smile didn't disappear. He watched the splinter, then he looked back at Midnight.
"I have no idea if she likes me back..."

Roan was afraid of being rejected, even if it was done gently, Carmine might feel awkward around him afterwards. Of course, that was only if she didn't like him. Roan sighed again.

[[Midnight]]

Midnight nodded. She had felt the same fear before she confronted Caerwyn. But someone had said something that gave Midnight the last bit of courage she needed, and the result was evident.

She looked away and glanced down at a wandering ant, and sighed.
"It's a tough situation. You don't want to do something you regret, but inaction might be something regrettable, too. You'll just have to trust your instincts."
She shrugged and looked back at Roan, smiling a tiny grin. Fortunately for her, things had gone smoothly with Caerwyn and she found herself waking up to be a new Alpha of Dancing Stars the next morning. Love wasn't always that simple.

"I don't know who couldn't love you, though, Roan. You're just lovely."
She wagged her tail for her friend.