Seeking Hope (Antares/Nerah)

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This brings back too many memories...

Nerah shook her head and tried not to think about what had happened before as she padded into the orchard. Part of her was sad - she had come to the orchard with this purpose before and it hadn't been the best outcome. Still, her son - while he had been in contact with her, anyway - seemed happy despite his problems. Maybe he was still alive and happy somewhere. Anyway, this wasn't going to be another Hershey, though she would still love her first-born just as much even if she never saw him again. This was going to be a completely different child, one she'd be able to keep close and protect since both parents shared a territory.

In fact, the entire situation was different. Last time had been with Arya. She had been nervous, but happy. Arya desperately wanted a pup, and Nerah had been delighted that the other canine had picked her - of all beings - to create the pup with. Nerah loved Arya as one should love a mate, and still did. Perhaps she always would. Her partner this time, however, was Antares - one of her best friends, her pack mate, and a creature she had come to love as a brother. Her love for him was deep, but it wasn't romantic, which was for the best since he and Silva were together now. What the two were doing now was more an act of friendship between all three remaining pack mates, with Antares granting Nerah what could be her last chance at motherhood, with Silva's consent. She had been deeply distressed ever since the disease took the Annab tree - the tree that had granted her her own life. Perhaps she and Ebony had been able to save it, but perhaps not. Last she had seen it, there was no apparent change to its health. If the disease was still around, it could affect the three trees, and then...and then...

No! Don't think about that!

Nerah took a deep breath, relaxing as much as he could. This was a happy time. A new life would be created today. She was going to be excited, happy, and perhaps a little nervous just like she had been with her first born. She'd sleep under the tree and spend the rest of the time the creature took to incubate guarding it with her life. Hershey's loss had hurt her more than she could have imagined. She would not lose this one. Not ever.

She stopped upon nearing the trees and turned to face her companion. "I appreciate this more than I can say. I owe you both everything."

[Aries]

"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?"

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"I will find a way to repay you guys someday, even so." Had she been a feline, she might have purred at Antares's response. She was glad to have the pack. She wasn't sure she could have survived everything without her best friends at her side. Even with Antares and Silva becoming mates, she knew she could rely on them. Perhaps she would feel a little left out from time to time, but that would fade. The pack would grow, and - perhaps - she would find her own mate someday.

When the feline asked which tree she wanted to sleep under, she studied all three. "Not the Annab tree, definitely. Hmmm..." It was hard to tell between the remaining two which seemed healthiest. If she studied both hard enough, she was afraid she'd be able to see signs of disease. Granted, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but that didn't stop her imagination from taking over reality as she knew it.

Never mind that. Which one feels right?

After a moment, she gestured toward the Tart Cerasus Tree. "Does that one work for you?"

[Aries]

"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.

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She nodded but assured herself that she would do something for the couple. They deserved it more than they knew, letting her have this chance. Something had to be done. She'd just have to think on what.

Nerah nodded. "There'll be plenty of time to talk about it after its fate is known." Hopefully, that meant after it began to recover, but she couldn't count on that. It wasn't getting better yet, and the worry that she and Ebony had acted too late would plague her until she knew, one way or the other.

He agreed with her choice of trees and padded toward it, plucking some of its fruits in the process. She giggled and padded beside him, taking her place at the tree. She went ahead and lay down, waiting for Antares to join her with his "kill". It amused her, his preference for eating plants, but if plants could keep him alive there was no reason for him to hunt, if he didn't wish to.

[Aries]

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.

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"Thanks." Nerah quickly ate the fruit and curled up, licking the last of the juice from her jaws. Even if she hunted for most of her food, she didn't mind eating plants, and fruit tended to be delicious. Not only that, it helped to further calm her nerves, and - for the first time in a long while - she truly felt as if everything was going to be all right.

Antares spoke, and Nerah wagged her tail. "Thanks again for doing this. Really." He could probably expect her to thank him about a million times. Silva, too. If this worked, it'd put so many fears in her mind at ease and give her something else to focus on to help with the remainder. Life everywhere was going to get better again, she was sure of it.

Nerah yawned and rested her head on her paws, willing sleep to come to her. After all the fear and worry and given the relative peace she was experiencing now, it only took a few moments for her to drift off.

[Aries]

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.

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"Mm?" She blinked open her eyes as her pack mate called to her. For a moment, she was confused. This wasn't her normal nest, and it wasn't like Antares to wake her up. Had something happened?

Then memories of the previous night hit her. That's right! The child! Did it exist? Was it out yet? No, no, of course not. It took time to develop. Still... Did it exist? Was it healthy? She gazed up at the tree, searching for new growths. It felt like it took her forever, but she spotted the new, small pod hanging where she was sure there had been nothing before. She let out an excited bark, her tail wagging full-force.

"I...I had hoped, but I also feared it wouldn't happen!" She was glad at least one of the trees was healthy enough for this, and the pod looked healthy as well! If they could keep it alive until it hatched...

"How long do we wait?" She asked after a moment. Hershey had taken some time to develop, but he was a full-blooded canine. For a mix it might be different, and Antares already had experience, there.

[Aries]

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.

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Antares chided her, and Nerah nodded. "I know..it's not like me to be like this! But maybe the worst is over? Then everything can go back to normal. Well, what passes as normal with us, anyway." He said that it felt like forever for his first...pup? Kit? Whatever Shadow classified as. Nerah understood. It would feel like forever whether it was a day or a moon. "It's hard being patient. It felt like Hershey had taken forever, too..." But she hadn't been obsessive about guarding him, mostly because she knew he was safe. Nowadays, safety wasn't a given.

Nerah sat and shifted until she was comfortable. "Well, however long it takes, I'll make sure this one makes it to life outside the pod safely!"

[Aries]

"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.

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She nodded. "That does make sense." Things certainly couldn't get much worse, could they? Well, no, scratch that, they could, but surely they wouldn't? Well, it was out of her control, whatever happened. "I wish things were like they used to be..." She sighed.

When he said he and the pack would help guard the child, she wagged her tail. "Thanks. I'm lucky to have all of you."

~*~*~*~Sometime later~*~*~*~

Nerah stretched as she pulled herself from sleep. It had been shorter than she normally liked, but she didn't want to leave Antares guarding the pod by himself for very long at a time. Once the child was born and deemed healthy, she'd be able to get a full night's rest again, safe in her nest back home.

She glanced up at the pod, worried about its condition even though it had been healthy right before she went to sleep. It still seemed healthy, so she relaxed. It had grown so slowly and yet so quickly while the two pack mates guarded it, and Nerah could tell that their wait was just about over. The pod looked ready t burst and the stem wouldn't be able to hold its weight much longer. Maybe it would even happen today! She hoped so. She wanted to meet the newborn, and introduce it to its family.

Please come soon, little one. The whole world is waiting for you.

~*~*~*~POV Switch~*~*~*~

She was safe. She was loved. She knew these two things before any others, even without seeing that she was being protected. Consciousness came to her gradually, so that she was unsure of exactly when she began to think for herself, to ponder existence or any other thing. Knowledge was slow in coming. She was safe and loved. She had a steady supply of food and drink - though the two were one and the same at this point - and a warm place to rest. She...was alone, all by herself in this tiny world, but - somehow - she had a sense of other all around her, and she did not know loneliness. She was completely secure, and nothing in existence troubled her.

Then she grew. She grew, developed, became stronger. The world around her shrank until she could touch it on all sides without moving, and then it constricted her so that she could barely move at all. An uncomfortable swaying sensation took hold, and then a loud snap and an odd weightlessness took over her senses for what felt like an eternity before everything came to an abrupt, painful halt.

What was that?

Something pierced into her vision. Her mind told her i was light. She batted a paw at it, and found that she could touch the other side of the pod now. Was it broken? What happened now? Well, one way to find out. It was a clumsy effort that took several attempts, but - eventually - she was able to pull her front half out of the pod and then slide the rest of the way out, landing on a heap on the ground with a soft yelp.

What...what is this place...?

She looked around, taking in the world around her with bright wide eyes. At last, her gaze fell on the feline and canine that had been guarding her this whole time. She had never seen them before, but something inside her told her who they were and why they were there.

She should probably say something. Something impressive and eloquent that conveyed her appreciation for the life she'd been given. As she searched for the words, however, only a single, short, somewhat awkward one came to mind.

"Hi."

[Aries]

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.

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Nerah watched as the pod swayed, and then snapped, falling to the ground near where Antares was now standing. She hadn't been aware of her tail wagging until it stopped, worry for the child taking over as it struggled to free itself from its pod. Was it okay? Was it sick? Would they be able to cure it? Would it even be able to free itself from the pod without help? But wait - there it went! The young one was incredibly clumsy in freeing itself - herself, she could tell now - from the pod, but at least she had managed it at all. Nerah's tail resumed wagging. Their daughter was adorable! She was also weak, but - with time - she would get stronger. Nerah would make sure of it! She'd train the little one's muscles herself if she had to. Anything to keep the newborn alive.

When the child finally spoke, she stepped forward to nuzzle the newborn. She waited until Antares had introduced himself before speaking. "Hi there, little one. Welcome to life! My name's Nerah, and I'm your mother."

~*~*~*~POV Switch~*~*~*~

The creatures loomed over her. The first - the one she had nearly rolled into - licked her cheek while the second nuzzled her. The two looked nothing alike, and it amazed her to see them together. Was that a normal thing? Their individual scents differed, though there was an overlaying scent that they both shared, as if they met many times or possibly even lived together. There were other scents clinging to their pelts, but their meaning eluded her, so she ignored them for now.

The two creatures introduced themselves, and she stared at each as they spoke. Mother and father? So...they had created her? Had they been here this whole time?

She blinked up at her parents and looked around the orchard. It occurred to her a moment later that her father has asked her name. That...was a good question. What was her name? If they had names, then she should have one too?

"Umm..." She tried to concentrate as she searched her mind, instincts, and anything else that might tell her what she was called. Eventually, it came to her. Seraphi!"