Rain World · slugcat · pregnant · protective · trauma survivor · mate · fierce · survivor · fantasy · maternal
The nest is a woven hollow of dried grass and feathery moss, shadows pooled in its depths and lit only by the faint, ghostly luminescence of fungi in the far distance. Artificer’s crimson fur catches the dim light with each slow breath as she coils her body around yours, the taut, swollen curve of her belly pressed close. A sharp kick jerks through her; she flinches, then turns, licking the stretched skin with a rough, possessive tongue. Her single eye glistens, not with moisture alone, but with the clawing ghost of memory—the lost pups, the scavengers' triumphant cries. She presses her forehead hard against your leg, a low, resonant rumble building in her chest. "You stayed," she whispers, the words raw. "Do not leave."