[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft] Pleasant was building a bower. She hummed as she worked, happily adding flowers to the stick and grass construct. Pink, purple, orange, blue - they were all placed with delicate care. They would need to be replaced every few days as they wilted but it was worth the effort for her eggs to be surrounded by beauty.

And later, when they hatched, she would show them all the other beautiful things in the Swamp.

But only after she finally gave birth. They were certainly taking their time, her belly smooth and round. When they arrived, Pleasant knew they would be even prettier than any flower in the world. 

@Maxx

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... ncert2.png[/imgright] Distant Thunder was deeply excited by this strange new sensation - though it was hard to articulate, he knew it somehow signalled there was an expectant doe nearby, and if he didn't think about it too hard, it didn't seem queer and somewhat creepy at all.

At once, he started to gallop towards the feeling, but then realised he ought to try doing the fancy thing, and shifted into his eaglehound self - his paws were no less heavy than before in the thundering footsteps that continued towards her.

Lo, there she was - sweet and pink and very round! And lo, there he was, barrelling straight towards her as an eaglehound. He quickly tried to pull his paws to a halt, and succeeded, but his lack of familiarity meant that this poor doe just suffered a panicked eaglehound veering sharply and shearing off some of her delicately placed flowers on the lovely bower.

The eaglehound shamefully got up, and whined with great guilt at the scatter of ruined blossoms, petals decorating his pale rump.
It looked at her, then smacked its great feathery forehead onto the ground with a soulful thump.

(this buck sucks he's always barrelling into your kin @Ruriska)

“Eep!”

Pleasant’s surprised yelp was followed by the awkward hunching of her shoulder, neck pulling in and haunches dipping in a frozen foxbun defensive maneuver. Her eyes were big and wide, watching as the Eaglehound went from rushed thundering attack to smacking his head into the ground.

It was slightly less alarming than having it lunging for her throat.

Was it sick? Maybe he had a tick?

“My bower,” she sighed, looking upon the wreckage of all those carefully picked flowers, unscrunching herself slightly in her dismay.

“You naughty thing,” she admonished the creature lightly. “What’s wrong with you? Are you hurt?”

( @Maxx i consider that a highlight 8P )

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgright]The hound looked up with sad, pleading puppydog eyes and shook its head, shaking off the petals in the process.

And soon, it was a kiokote with sad, glowing, pleading puppydog eyes, balefully seated on his rump.
"I'm terribly sorry for the trouble, this is my first attempt undertaking the Motherfather's will. I'm a wretch of a Swamp-touched creature! Goodness knows if you're even with child, my intuition could be in completely disarray without my knowing it."

(@Ruriska aww! you're nicer than I am to him)

She couldn’t stay mad. Not when being looked at by such sad puppydog eyes.

And she would have tried to console the beast had it not turned into a Kiokote instead. (Though the now glowing sad puppydog eyes were still quite effective.)

“I-I am, aren’t I?” She asked him, flustered and confused. It was all a bit too much and only some of his words had made an impression. “Pregnant?” Her looked around at her own belly to check. Was it only fat? Too many mangos?

( @Maxx that's how oc's work xD )

"Hmm," he said solemnly, regarding her with great thoughtfulness and vaguely sniffing at the air as if it would help. He felt like it would.

"I suppose if you think you are and are aware of all the requisite conditions it would take for you to be pregnant," a surprisingly delicate treatment for Distant Thunder of what he was implying, "then together we should be quite sure that you are pregnant. I think it best that we take precautions and do a blessing should it so be, rather than not do a blessing should it so not. That is the least I could do after ruining your bower."

He then had to think rather hard because he was not quite sure how to do this, but he figured if he was sincere enough, the Motherfather might yet take notice, just like in the dream.

"...any specifics you would prefer?" he deferred.

(did you do the do Thunder says, @Ruriska )

Pleasant had been certain she was pregnant (having, yes, met all the requirements to become so) until he had suggested otherwise but she was too polite to point that out, and also too worried that she might have made a mistake.

“Yes,” she said, jumping on his proposal. “I think we should!”

But what to ask for? The doe didn’t really have any desires for her children other than health and happiness. They would already be wonderfully pretty.

“I hope they bloom healthy and joyous!”

That seemed nice.

(@Maxx she spends the rest of her pregnancy uncertain if she's pregnant or not)

"Wonderful!" Thunder beamed with approval at such a strong and simple request. It sounded very suitable for this lovely flowery doe and the tenuous circumstances of which they were working - not too much, but meaningful.

Now all he had to do was bless.

Mmm, bless.

No, he still no idea how to bless.

Thunder had been a buck of instinct, and experience had taught him that instinct alone wasn't the best course of action most times...and he had thought, hard, and he was thinking, hard, and she was looking at him like a sweet happy flower and he thought...

Perhaps, his instinctual sincerity would carry him through at time.

"HEAR WE, MOTHERFATHER," he called to the skies in his booming voice, "YOUR CHILDREN SEEK YOUR GRACE!"

There was no response, but he figured it would be audible enough.

"THIS DOE MAYHAPS BE WITH CHILDREN, AND SHOULD SHE BE WITH CHILDREN, PLEASE GRANT THEM THE BLESSING YOU WOULD CONFER UPON A BUD, AND ALLOW THEM TO BLOOM HEALTHY, AND JOYOUS."

He started towards her with a smile, that hastily dropped as he turned his head back to the skies.

"MANY THANKS, O GREAT MOTHERFATHER!"

Then he smiled at her, proper.

"It should carry. I, as a kin, would like to extend my best wishes to you and your potentially forthcoming children. It has been a pleasure. I do apologise for your bower."

Vaguely pleased with himself for a job...done...he bowed deeply before her, and thundered away.