500+
The answer that came was one that the woman expected, and she nodded in silence, her gaze falling to her hands that rested upon the swollen belly. "No," came a quiet sigh. And she understood. There were other things than wolves as well that would pose a threat to the young that have yet to be born. And the woman knew that. She realized that it was selfish of her to consider such a thing, and the warrior didn’t like that she had allowed such a thing to taint the warrior’s control that was once so easily held. Perhaps, in the time that she would be without war, she could rebuild what the crow wolf had broken—or what she had allowed him to break. If she must spend that time in idleness, and she knew that she must, the black fae would put that time to use in whatever way that she could. And so she became resolved to properly carry out her new set of responsibilities.
"What could be more important," the quiet melody countered herself, "than the lives I must protect?" The pups, just as the members of the pack, were under her protection. And unlike the members of the pack, the pups would be completely helpless. She knew at least that much. It was simply that she was not accustom to such a thing, but for that, she must let go of her own needs so that she may provide for the need of the litter that, despite everything, belonged to her. "I am not used to being so... idle," the quiet song explained, her gaze lifting to find those golden eyes. Perhaps Alexey could understand what she meant. But for the entirety of her life, the actions of the woad warrior had never been so quieted. And those songs that moved her soul with the passions of war had fallen silent. Even that new and strange song of love had grown quiet, made uncertain by that dark smudge upon her soul and by the very lives that were now in her care.
"How does one know when one is ready to give birth?" A smile moved the corners of her lips, although the smile, while warm, held a quiet amusement. How very little she did know about this path in life. ‘Mother’ was not a title that she had ever intended to hold. But now that she would be taking up such a task, the proper preparations needed to be taken. Just as there was practice before battle, this obtaining of knowledge was the practice before her life would change. But what would be the signs? And she knew that there must be such signs, but she was unfamiliar with what they would be. How would she know that it was time to birth and not some other foreign pain that she was accustom to enduring. And yet, at the same time, she was sure that she would know. Would not instinct aid her as it had always aided her? "I don’t mean to trouble you with such things, Alexey," the warrior apologized quietly. But how unfamiliar this battlefield was.