Silvershore

Chapter Fifteen

About a week had past. Sky and Kenya were no longer trainees. Sky ranked up to a guard wolf, and Kenya was now a pup caregiver with Fawn. However, she would become a hunter when Kaia became a trainee, which would be very soon.

Even as summertime nodded its sleepy head, the autumnal blooms came to sweeten its dreams. The summertime that took its throne a few short months ago now welcomed its sister to take its place, the rainbow dress of petals ushered to its slumber whilst the gown of brilliant berries at late blooms ascended. As if in rotational guardianship, the summertime took its bow and autumn heeded its calling.

The days had cooled to a pleasant breeze. The wolves bathed in the kind of weather that inspired long walks and poetry. Yet in this transition from the late summer time into the fall, the autumnal blooms pressed on as if the sun was at its fullest. The gardens in the Main Territory and forests were of gold, pinks and softest cream. Stormjay savored this, this beauty in the seasons that kept walking so calmly into the arms of winter.

"I'm still feeling off..." Bright Moon sighed. They were just hanging out in the shaman resources den, as usual, with nothing really to do. They had gathered enough resources for a while.

"Once again...are you sure you don't need help?" Stormjay asked.

"No...I'm fine." Bright Moon sighed. "I'm getting more and more short of breath, lately, though..."

"...Are you feeling nauseas, lately? Particularly in the morning?"

"I'm not pregnant..." Bright Moon told him.

"Uh...I wouldn't say that so confidently..." Stormjay sighed. "Let's go through your symptoms, okay?"

Bright Moon was very young, still, and the possibility of pregnancy was frightening Stormjay a bit. He was not in the right mental state to raise children, and, more importantly, Bright Moon's body was a bit underdeveloped for pups.

"It's...it's too early in our relationship to be thinking about kids..." Bright Moon stated.

"But if there's a possibility that you're pregnant, we have to check..."

"But I'm not. I...I just know it. I don't feel pregnant."

"You've never been pregnant, how would you know?"

"I-It's just a feeling." Bright Moon looked stressed.

"Come on...I know it's a scary thought, but...once we get it over with, if you're not pregnant, it'll be a huge relief, right?

"...Some other time." Bright Moon sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just...we just started sharing a den...I mean, already..?"

"You started having symptoms before we moved in," Stormjay reminded her. "Remember...? The cave up in the mountains that one day...? After...I told you I loved you for the first time?" Stormjay smiled a bit to himself.

"I-I know. I remember the cave very clearly." Bright Moon blushed. "But...my mother has told me before that the she-wolves in my family tend not to be very fertile...I mean, she wanted more pups, but ended up only having me. I don't think I would get pregnant the very first time we..." She paused. "And, not to mention, we literally just got out of our adolescent years. To have kids this soon...could my body even take it right now?"

"That's what I'm worried about." Stormjay sighed. "Okay...if you are pregnant, I promise I'll take really, really good care of you. Like, I'm never gonna leave you alone. You can't get rid of me. I know you don't really like much help, but...I'll make sure you're always safe and happy."

"But you won't have to do that for a while, because I'm not pregnant." Bright Moon smirked to herself.

"Oh my god, you're gonna jinx it!" Stormjay grabbed her shoulders.