Altum Base

Alpha Hiro awoke the next morning, a playful blade of grass tickling his wet nose. The cold bite of the early Spring had seeped into his joints overnight, the brute's broad shoulders aching as they supported the heavy body attached to them. Flicking his back right paw gently to remove a bit of moss as he lightly stepped, the brute exited his den in a quick motion. The dazzling sun had begun to rise above the thick pines, only just visible under the dark canopy.
Although Hiro loved the light, it brought his eyes to a watery, scrunched state as they recovered from the sudden change. Dewy blades of lush, green grass greeted the brute's large paws. Drawing in a deep breath, the Alpha could feel the crisp air touch the very bottom of his lungs.
He, unbeknownst to αℓρнєѕѕ ρσρρι, had plans to spend the day with her; he did not get this opportunity very often ever since she had fallen pregnant with his pups. Hiro missed her. They had only really been fond of each other for a day or two before managing to conceive. Although the brute was fine with this, Poppi seemed shocked about it all. He liked having this special bond of pups between them. She seemed weighed down. After all, she was the one carrying them.
Shaking his thick fur, Hiro sat back into his hips and stretched his forelegs. His mighty jaws parted in a large yawn that shook his large body. Springing up from his stretching position, Hiro stood to watch the sun rise further.
The scent of Kemansi of Lumen lingered, but she was nowhere to be found.
Good, Hiro thought, Poppi cannot seem vulnerable during her pregnancy.

Hiro's red-dusted ears swiveled as αℓρнєѕѕ ρσρρι fell, his head following soon after. Hiro's tail, held high, began to sway back and forth as he saw her, tongue lolling out. The brute turned and padded to her, ignoring any soreness he had previously felt. She smelled of their nest. Drawing in the relaxing scent, a small growl surfaced in Alpha Hiro's throat. This was almost like a purr; he was happy to see her. Swiveling his ears back in a relaxed state, the he-wolf brought a warm, coarse tongue to meet his mate's black forehead.
"Good morning, my Alphess," he said between swift yet gentle strokes of his tongue, "you are simply glowing today."
It was any day now that their litter of seven would be born.

Alpha Hiro's near-white face turned upward in a faint smile. After one last affectionate lick was planted upon αℓρнєѕѕ ρσρρι's small black face, he turned to the Eastern side of the clearing (if you could even call it that, and drew a deep breath of the cool Spring air. Coughing gently as he took in only the bitter scent of the Lumen territory, Hiro's dust-red ears perked in the direction he faced. Although he had not thought of it in a while, the brute came to the conclusion that he had not seen Kestrel much since she confirmed Poppi's pregnancy. Now turning his large body to follow his head, Alpha Hiro called out to the fae.
"Kestrel, where are you?"

Hiro smiled at the fae as she trotted out of her den.
"Good morning Kestrel," Hiro said warmly before resuming a commanding tone, "a check-up for αℓρнєѕѕ ρσρρι would be greatly appreciated, yes."
Personally, Hiro had never enjoyed being sick. No wolf did, he supposed, but he had a spectacular hatred for it all. No running, no hunting, no leaving the den, and, worst of all, getting prodded by a healer constantly.
Healers always seemed to have paws too cold or too warm, too dry or too wet, or something along those lines, thought Hiro. It was for this reason that the brute stood right beside his fae during this.