The steady breaths that fall from her lips stir the pieces of soil that rest along the den's floor. The earthy smell is almost heavenly, compared to how it had been a few weeks ago with the birth of her children. Still now she can remember the blood and the pain, knowing something was wrong and was not able to do anything of it. Weak and vulnerable. She had faced numerous enraged wolves to never fall like she had done that day, though she could never fault her little ones for she would go through it all over again to have them with her. A single twitch of her ears is seen as she listens to the snores of the little loves as they doze heavily. Sleepily do her eyes flutter, a soft grunt as she tries to shift quietly. Her body still yet feeling the aftermath of their birth as it tries to heal all the damage that had been done. Haziel, once a stranger had become an almost permanent fixture within the den. Though their first meeting had not gone well, she had come to grow fond of him. Though perhaps that is the effect of her littlest child Semele, the small girl had come to take a shine to the healer and as a mother she cannot help but find comfort in any who bring such happiness to her little loves. Still yet she cannot help but to snap at him occasionally when he refuses her requests to leave the den, he could be a very formidable foe despite his blindness. Though perhaps one day she can out fox him before he comes a calling. Just the thought of that causes a small smile to pull at her lips, for maybe just maybe the thrill of the play was more rewarding than the actual reward of freedom. To poke and prod and disobey him like an unruly patient, she had to get her entertainment somewhere right?

As her orange eyes finally pry open, the sight that greets her causes a slight laugh to choke out - biting back the pain as she looks upon her pile of pups. Semele was on top, sprawled out like some mother bird hiding her siblings despite her petite size. Panzer's feet smooshed against her face, almost hiding it from sight. Vladimir is the wall that separates them from harm, his body at the forefront as if protection from the world. Camilla was in front of her sister like some silent shield. Still yet the girl had not spoken and she cannot help but think she was mute like Reich. Reich..... It is not the first since she had waken that her mind had wondered to him. The loss of him has taken a toll on her and she knows her healing is starting to become affected by that missing piece. As just the thought of him causes a pain to rip through her soul, as she blinks back the tears, turning to look toward the dens entrance as if to collect herself. He had been gone for sometime now, but she can never forget his warmth or scent. It is carved into her mind never to forget, as if to hold forever.

As she attempts to distract herself, the sound of someone approaching causes her to still. Every instinct in her body telling her to protect as she glances back at her children before looking back. A low growl echoing throughout the den as her ears pins back, the twitching in her lips revealing ready teeth to anyone who come near. She knows it is not Haziel, he had already came by earlier and Ifrit was not one to come charging in. With delicate gestures, despite the sharp pains she crawls slowly away from the children she had been wrapped around, placing herself before them should they be the target. The constant sound of her warning growl rolling from her lips soon dies as a shadows presents itself at the mouth of the den, as she almost swallows her tongue at what her orange eyes see before her - silenced.

She is stopped mid crawl, her body tired from the effort that had been given, as she looks up into the split eyes she thought she'd never see again. He looks almost as exhausted as her, chest heaving as if he had run for miles. To her? From her? Her mouth drops open slightly from shock at seeing him, holding her breath in case this was just something she was imagining, perhaps Haziel had upped a dosage that aided in hallucinations? But when she takes a deep breath she knows it is a lie, for his scent surrounds her, comforts her, loves her. At his smile, her own lips cannot help but mimic him before spreading into something wider. Her tail swaying as if to create a hurricane within as her own eyes seem to glisten, rasped voice chokes out a whisper of awe. "My shadow stalker.." All the pain seems hidden beneath this feeling of completion to have him once again in front of her, near her does unspeakable things to her soul that she wants to stay forever. She feels almost light as a feather wondering if perhaps one touch from him will knock her senseless. Yet she cannot move forward to see, frozen where she is hoping this was still real, life was cruel though this one instant she hoped fate did not condemn her with what she wanted most in this life. Him. As her body begins to tire from the joy, leaving her immobile as she gawks at him, her tongue finally whispers what she so desperately wants to know. "You're real?... You're here?..." Orange eyes shift like lasers honing in on a charge as they look him over for head to toe. "Is this a dream?.." Her voices begs for an answer, pleading with him to show her this was indeed real. For in this moment since his disappearance there is a joy, the same joy that he had given her, the one when she had laid her eyes on her children. This joy was something she craved far more than the violence. This was her life, Reich and her children. Together. Forever.

take the fall and run to heaven

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SEVEN - MATE: IFRIT - IMPRINT: REICH - OF ASTERAIA

VLADIMIR, CAMILLA, PANZER, AND SEMELE [x IFRIT]