Wordcount: 1059
Clandestin was envious.
She had joined the Tangambili at its birth. There weren't many Klipspringers here at all, but there was enough to form a small herd of them if they wanted to stick together. Des normally stuck close to a dog called Somhairle instead, or her brother.
Her brother was quite busy though, what with Maziwa being ready to give birth any second. The Alpha had recently adopted a young pup as well, which she didn't find surprising one bit. Her dog's mate had been adopted by the leader a long time ago, after all.
Des huffed a sigh as she walked along the path towards the den of the Alpha where she was sure she would find her brother - and of course the Alpha. She clomped along, definitely not in a huff thank you very much.
When Des and Blanc were fawns, all they had was one another. What with Blanc's visions, the herd had turned them out as soon as possible. She wasn't quite sure what the envious feeling was though, beyond that. It felt like something more, something greater than that. It'd well up in her throat even when she was spending time with her little brother.
It didn't take her long to reach the Alpha's den. The pack wasn't small, but it was a familiar route and far more centralized than any of the other dens in the pack. "Brother?" She called softly into the Den. She gazed into the darkness of it, trying to pick out his shape against it.
The one who greeted her, however, was not her brother. It took a moment of watching, but the Alpha had wiggled up and walked to the mouth of the den. She could vaguely make out the shape of a single pup against the back of the den - the adopted pup, perhaps.
Especially since Maziwa was quite round with a litter.
"Ah, Clandestin," Ziwa said fondly, shifting a little as her pups shifted. It was uncomfortable, if she was honest. She didn't remember this from her last litter. "You just missed your brother, but he should be back shortly."
Des shifted on her hooves. She felt awkward coming here now. She wasn't really good at social interactions that didn't involve the few in her social circle. She wasn't quite sure what to say after that. "Oh, I'll just... go then," Des said, taking a step back, but Maziwa shook her head.
"He'll be back really soon, I think he was actually going to find you."
Des tilted her head a bit and then nodded. She didn't really have a choice unless she wanted to risk missing her brother's return. She had made that mistake only once. Still, the fact that he was coming to find her made her feel warm inside. It unraveled some of the storm in her chest, but not completely.
She wasn't sure what else it could be. Perhaps just spending more time with her brother would make the feeling go away completely, but that was a long-shot.
Maziwa gave a huff and shifted again, shaking her head. "You can wait for him anywhere around here, but I need to lay back down," the orange dog said softly. The pregnancy was weighing on her heavily, and she was tired all the time with the pups being so close to being born.
Des bobbed her head in a nod, standing in the entrance as Maziwa made her way back to her spot next to the other pup. Des felt like she was hovering as she stood in the mouth of the cave. She made her way forward after a moment, the curiosity getting the best of her.
The pup shifted, looking up at her for a half a moment, before drifting back to sleep. Maziwa smiled fondly at the pup and then looked towards Des with some curiosity. The klipspringer looked a bit nervous.
"Um," Des started, shifting on her hooves. "You don't have to answer this, but I have a question?"
Maziwa gave an encouraging nod, waiting for the question. Des was stalling though, and laid down before Maziwa. She folded her hooves under herself. Maziwa tilted her head a little bit. She gave an encouraging sound for Des to continue.
Her question, however, remained unasked. Her brother peeked through the mouth of the den and started speaking.
"I couldn't find Desi anywhere, but Damu said she came here," Blanc said as he entered. Des was dark and blended in with the dark shadows of the cave. Des smiled up at her brother, trying to ignore the question she swallowed back into her throat. She was glad her brother was here, after all.
She pulled herself up from her laying position and nuzzled against her brother. "I came to find you, but you were gone, but I knew you'd come back here," she told him. "Maziwa let me wait for you here."
Blanc gave his sister a little bit of a nuzzle in return.
"We can talk somewhere for a bit if you want? Go for a walk..." Blancun suggested, glancing towards Maziwa to see the orange dog somewhat dozing off curled around the young pup at her side. Des stared at Maziwa for a second, seeing that the Alpha was tired she sighed and nodded, giving up on her question for now.
"Alright, I found a new area with Airle earlier, I can show you and we can talk on the way there and back." She told him, nudging her brother towards the mouth of the den. "Maziwa needs her sleep."
Blancun gave a little snort and shook his head. He allowed his sister to lead him out of the den and towards whatever destination she had in mind. He loved spending time with his sister, but he couldn't always find the time away from Maziwa to hang out with her.
Especially now that she was due any day now.
The two spoke softly while they walked towards wherever Des was leading them. The area she had found over looked most of the pack. It was near the Howling Stone, but a nice outcropping that only could feasibly reached by Klipspringers or Avians. She beamed at her brother as they overlooked the pack lands.
Des leaned against her brother as they looked towards their home, finally content. At least for now.