Seeking Hope (Antares/Nerah)

"Anything for a packmate, dear." Antares smiled at the canine, they were the best of friends, and always had been since birth. He loved her like he would a sister, this was the least he could possibly do for her. He was honored when she had asked if he would father what could possibly be her last pup, and Silva was absolutely fine with it. Though his heart would always lay with his mate, Silva.

He knew it would be tricky to guard the pod with Silva while giving the rest of his family the attention they would still need, but he knew he would be able to manage. Another pup would mean a new playmate for Shadow, especially with Jamie being so cold to him - to every one. It would be good for the whole pack.

"Which tree do you want to sleep under?"

"Having you as a friend is more than enough." Antares chuckled, he was glad he had friends like Nerah and Silva who put up with his rambling about everything. If he was one of them he'd have surely gone mad by now. Life without insanity would be boring anyway.

"I agree, I heard about it being sick, but lets not talk about that." he sat at she stared the two remaining trees to choose from, trying to see which is the healthiest. Both trees seemed in perfect shape, so either would be fine with him. He understood her concern about the trees though, she seemed rather traumatized after the incident with the Annab tree. He would have been too if it happened to him.

"Yep, absolutely~" he began padding towards the tree, plucking a few of the sweet fruits off of it in the process for the both of them to eat before settling down. There's no use in going on an empty stomach with food being so easy to get.

Antares flicked an ear at her giggling, he sometimes forgot that his plant eating preference was odd to most. He didn't care much though, killing simply put too much guilt on his conscience for him to do it on a regular basis. Plants didn't fight to live like animals did, and as far as he knew they didn't feel pain, so he'd rather eat plants. The taste of plants have more variety too, but to each their own.

He rolled a couple of the fruits to her paws, quickly eating his fill before laying down next to her on a soft spot of the moss. "Here goes." the feline yawned, settling down for sleep. He always slept well at the Orchard, but his anxiousness made it harder to sleep.

the next morning
- - -

Antares raised his head sleepily to the early dawn light, yawning widely as he got up to stretch his stiff limbs. He slept solidly after finally falling asleep. His sleep was dreamless and sweet just as it had been when he and Silva slept under the Kata-hal tree. maybe it was a sign. He looked up, searching for any new pods. Sure enough, a tiny green pod, no more than a night old was hanging from the branch above them.

"Nerah! Nerah!" he wasn't very delicate as he was about waking her as he usually was, but he knew she'd want to see this immediately.

Antares smiled at the canine's excitement, he was glad he made her happy. If one pack member was miserable, everyone would be, and that would be unfortunate. Everything would fall back into its normal, happy routine soon enough. Or at least after the pup was hatched. They have a lot of long days and nights guarding it.

"Shh.. No doubting!" Antares chuckled and flicked his tail over her muzzle. "I honestly lost track of time, but it felt like forever. It probably wasn't as long as it felt like though." the feline sat firmly on his rear, thinking about how he's going to balance his time. Maybe Silva would help them with the guarding so that food could be gathered. The fruit of the orchard gets boring after a while and the mice weren't very filling.

"Well, things can only get better after they hit their worst, right?" he smiled at her curling his tail over his paws. "Yeah I agree. It's hard to keep occupied when you need to keep guard. The Orchard always seems safe, but you never know with all the chaos that's been happening lately. The Annab tree, the plagues. Who knows what will be next." the feline rambled. Everything was peaceful for so long, it was time for some folly he supposed.

"Don't think I won't be guarding it with you, I'm sure the rest of the pack will help us as well." he laid back down on the moss. He'd be here for a while, might as well get comfortable.

time skip: the pod is ready to fall
- - -

Antares laid sprawled among the roots of the Tart Cerasus tree admiring the pod Nerah and him guarded for so long. It was large and round now, almost looking as if it would be ready to burst. He knew it would be falling very soon just telling by the strained stem it was hanging from, looking ready to snap any moment.

The feline pondered what the kit would look like; would it be a mix of them both, or just look like one parent or the other? Would it be male or female? He secretly hoped for a girl, if he counted his adopted sons (Jamie & Imperial, though he was more a mentor to Imperial) he had three boys. A girl would be nice.

Antares was on his feet as soon as the pod began to sway, standing just out of the way of where it would fall. The stem snapped, and it plummeted to the soft moss with a loud thump. He could see the pup struggling to get out, and was tempted to help, but the first struggle to life was the most important to left alone. After what felt like forever of watching, the front half of the pup popped out of the pod, then the second half, sending her rolling onto the moss almost hitting Antares due to how close he had been watching.

The feline gave her a gentle lick on the cheek to welcome her into the world. He stared at her gorgeous splotched and striped coat. It was the most perfect mix of his and Nerah's coats. Antares grinned softly as spoke her first word; it was short but still sweet in his mind. "Hi there dear, what's your name? I'm Antares, your father." he smiled down on the little pup, pride glimmering from his crimson eyes.