Her pregnancy is coming to a close. Nana knows this as deeply as she knows the sun will rise tomorrow - it's an inherent thing, something nature has instilled in all expectant creatures. It makes her antsy and nervous, and she isn't able to sit still, her body wired and tense enough to drag her from the safety of her birthing den.

Nana breathes deeply as she walks, her belly swollen and uncomfortable. She should be resting now, especially after the incident a few weeks ago, but she can't help it. A short stroll wouldn't hurt - isn't exercise good for her and the pups?

The sound of an unfamiliar voice catches her attention, and Nana pauses briefly before turning toward the sound, face wrinkled in confusion.

It's a man, she realizes. Short and stocky, all warm-toned and pleasant in appearance. The priestess stops short of him, blue eyes wary and confused, though she isn't unfriendly as she speaks.

I'm here, she tells him, tilting her head to the side. Perhaps he'd woken in this place recently, like she had. Who are you?

He doesn't approach her, and Nana is grateful for it. This far into the pregnancy has her jumpier than usual, and she hasn't met a stranger in a while. The apprehension is far worse now than with a packmate, though there is something about his energy that helps ease that natural caution.

Her suspicions are confirmed when he speaks again. The poor man has only just arrived here, confused and alone, and Nana frowns in sympathy.

You are in Queen's Rest, the home of Fujiwara Dynasty, she explains, taking a step forward, wishing to offer her company if nothing else. From what I understand, your experience is not uncommon. I woke here as well, without knowing where I was or how I'd gotten here.

Nana tilted her head just a touch. Falkren, she echoed, the name foreign to her. A ghost of a smile formed on her maw. My name is Nana. It's a pleasure.

Another step forward, then, emboldened by the stranger's openness. You aren't hurt, are you? the priestess asks, blue eyes more curious and worried than anything else as she looks over him.

Her expression softens further the more he speaks. This man doesn't seem a threat in the slightest, and Nana's nervousness has all but abated. There is, of course, a lingering wariness, but it lingers at the back of her mind, near inconsequential.

She dips her head after him, pleased by the small show of respect, even if she was an undeserving recipient.

I am, she confirms, her tail giving the slightest swish by her ankles. I serve as a shrine maiden, though I am on a brief leave. The reason for which should be clear enough, evidence swelling her sides and weighing her down. Another small smile forms on her lips at the next question, and her voice is a bit lighter, nearly joking as she responds: That would depend on you, I believe. It would be cruel to drive you away without cause - it's not as though you can choose where you wake in this place.

A cramp seizes her flanks and Nana sucks in a short breath. These false contractions have been a boon recently, disruptive and irritating, though the cramp is followed by a series of strange little fluttering kicks that Nana has grown fond of. There is fear in the unknown of it all, but Nana cannot deny the affection she's beginning to feel.

She sighs when the false contraction ends, settling into a seated position to take the pressure off of her limbs and allow herself to rest. Forgive my lack of composure, she tells the man, her countenance taking on a sheepish quality. There are far better wolves to be greeted by. Better faces of Fujiwara to welcome him in. Nana is unused to be the one to greet a stranger in the first place, much less while being so... cumbersome. It's a bit embarrassing, she has to admit.

Nana had been acting strange lately...

This suspicion wasn’t because of the pregnancy — he was already long aware of that. Even more so with the growth in her sides. Yet no matter what he said or asked, the priestess seemed to avoid the subject all together whenever he inquired. Ruitō had not been a man particularly skilled at picking up on social cues — was it rude to inquire on a woman’s love life?

As curious as he was, the samurai wouldn’t be nosy and continue poking around who Nana had conceived with. Yet, if his intuition did not fail him, such a topic shouldn’t invoke fear when brought up. An increasing worry settled within his bones that something bad happened that he wasn’t there for…something he couldn’t protect her from.

Yet why couldn’t she just tell him?

Once upon a time, he’d been a friend she could lean on for anything….what had changed?

He had left lady Yume’s chambers earlier in order to hunt something fresh for her. As usual, she had not been eating as well as she should have, and the man thought maybe something fresh would relent her appetite. Yet that was until he’d returned to find the figure of the very woman he’d been thinking of — Nana.

—with an unknown man standing dangerously close to her. Far too close for his liking.

Dropping the hare in his mouth at once, Ruito did not waste any time moving towards them. His strides were particularly long, seeming to cross the distance between him and the man in half the time it should’ve — and the Oni did not hide his intentions, either.

His muzzle wrinkled unpleasantly, and his hackles rose between his shoulder blades like spines. A tail rose high over his hocks in a similar manner.

“Back away.”— it was written all over his body language.

And if he did not heed his warnings by the time he was upon him, Ruito’s teeth would attempt to seek his skin.

A desert? Nana's face softens with something like concerned amusement. Then this is a strange place to find yourself, indeed, she tells him, her tail giving a slow swish. A little bit of an improvement, maybe. I've heard deserts are hot. And Nana, perhaps stereotypically given her appearance and surname, loves the snow.

The kind way he responds to her apology takes her by surprise and for a brief moment she's unable to conjure words to respond. There's even a small amount of warmth that comes to her face, foreign in nature, when he even compliments her. The priestess is unused to it, especially after so many months of her own internal strife, and so while it may have simply been flattery, Nana cannot help the way she blushes.

You're very kind, she deflects gently, and is just about to respond to his final question when the sound of something being dropped catches her attention.

The sight of Ruito is always welcome, the warmth of her affection surging from within her ribs a familiar thing, but Nana quickly reads the aggression in his posture. Her mind scrambles briefly and she realizes it must be her proximity to Falkren that has set him off.

Periwinkle eyes widen and Nana springs up with a speed she is no longer used to moving at with the weight of pregnancy keeping her down. She moves to place herself between the two, in spite of the mild flutter of fear that strikes her upon seeing how furious he looks.

Ruito, stop! I'm fine, everything is fine, she asserts, voice a bit shriller than usual. Nana desperately hopes to avoid a fight, if she can manage - there is no need for it, and what a disaster it would be to see her friend harm himself and an innocent stranger, at that!