Descriptions of the triplets are in Neela’s profile. Takes place in Etheral Eclipse, fairly close to Casa
Word Count → 683
As always the Neela’s stomach, large and swollen from the litter of pups that lay within, made laying down awkward but her current perch mitigated that somewhat, letting her lay on her side without feeling uncomfortable. Neela was currently sprawled out in a sandy hollow; hiding beneath an overhang crowned by a great oak tree on one side and bordered by a gentle, slow flowing rive on the other the hollow was a place Neela had often retreated to wen she needed some time to herself to think. Being just outside Casa’s borders it was easy to access and if the weather was rainy or she wanted some shade the overhang, reinforced by the ancient roots of the tree, made up sufficient cover, though at the moment Neela had planted herself in the sun, finding the feeling of the warmth sinking into her stomach soothing.
All things considered leaving Casa territory in this condition wasn’t the best idea but Neela didn’t feel particularly threatened; this was a place she knew well and it was very close to the borders, if she concentrated she could still smell them faintly just from the near nonexistent wind. And despite the danger Neela wanted to get away from the confines of the territory. Sometime the collie felt stifled inside the territory, surrounding if not by familiar faces then by familiar scents day in and day out. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Casa but part of her yearned to be on the move, sailing onwards to find new places. Of course in her current condition – a member of a pack, mated and pregnant – she couldn’t fulfil that urge but slipping away to her little private hollow where the only familiar scents were those she brought herself helped sometimes.
Usually the clearing was fairly quiet but today it was noisy, filled with squeaks and squarks as two Peregrine Falcon siblings bickered, twirling around in circles in the air, making fighting motions but not quite going through with them. At one point the smaller and lighter shaded of the two blurs got above the other and swooped down, temporarily shifting from a flickering shape to a mere blur as it picked up speed. Despite the aggressive behaviour Neela wasn’t worried; Oonu and Marahute always bickered and the false fighting was part of it, it never actually turned physical, well at least not seriously. Knocks and bruises and pulled feathers were common between the two but they had never drawn blood, something their sharp talons could easily do if they wished to do so.
Still the noise was annoying and Neela was trying to relax so she called up to them, slender muzzle opening to produce a series of clicks and whistles that sounded completely foreign coming from her mouth, telling them to knock it off. The two grudgingly complied, flying way to different parts of the clearing – Oonu to the branches of the great oak and Marahute to a small bush across the river – to sulk. The peace was temporary, soon Oonu would tease his sister again or Marahute would decide that brawling with her brother was fun enough to risk Neela’s ire.
Nonetheless Neela enjoyed the quiet while it lasted, quietly clicking a joke about how she planned to someday tie Marahute and Oonu’s beaks shut to their sister, Skylar. The large, dark Peregrine was sitting on the sand near Neela. Always fond of being close to Neela Skylar was fascinated by Neela’s pregnancy and even now was fussing over Neela’s belly with a look of wonder about her, tugging at Neela’s fur and bumping the taunt skin with her beak.
Neela could have gotten more rest by herself but she was enjoying spending some time with the triplets. After Grynn’s death she had drifted apart from them; seeing the three birds reminded her too much of their mother. Now that old ache was finally starting to fade and she wanted to make up for lost time.
Later though. For now she wanted to doze for a while before Oonu and Marahute started up their moon-damned racket again.
