"Lawrence, I'm in need of some new clothes." Holo walked into the next room to find her husband staring out the window.
"New ones? But I just bought you some last month." He stated. He turned around and saw Holo in front of him, with her shirt barely covering half of her large belly. She glared at him.
"Alright, alright. I'll get you some when we're out today. But in the meantime, we can't have you looking like that, so wear this. "He tossed over a piece of clothing to Holo. She took off the shirt she was wearing and put it on. It turned out to be one of Lawrence's sweaters. Holo held up the sleeve to her nose. It smelled of Lawrence and she loved it.
"This will be perfect! "Holo declared.
"Keep in mind, that's just temporary until we get you something prettier."The shirt was huge on her, but she still loved it.
They both finished getting ready and headed into town. Lawrence did some haggling and managed to find Holo some new clothes at a decent price.
"There, that's much better than my big 'ol shirt." Lawrence smiled and wrapped his hand around Holo's waist. She sighed. "What? You don't like them?" He asked
"I'd much rather wear something that smells like you, but this will do." They both laughed and continued to walk through town. Their pace was rather slow, but Lawrence did not mind. He was happy to be walking the streets with his pregnant wolf wife, Holo.
Later the night, they headed to the pub and enjoyed a nice meal of lamb chops and apples, of course, for dessert. Holo found herself beginning to get sick off of so many pints of ale recently, so she kept her drinking to a minimum.
"Holo? Are you alright?" Lawrence asked. With both eyes nearly closed, Holo said a faint, "yes" and then fell forward onto the table. Lawrence chuckled and stood up. He paid for the food and then scooped Holo into his arms. The barmaid was worried about her, but Lawrence simply told the truth; Holo was asleep. He carried her out into the crisp autumn evening and held Holo a little tighter for warmth. Lawrence could also feel Holo's tail twitching beneath her skirts while he carried her home. He laughed and braced himself against the wind. Holo stirred and then softly fell back asleep, quietly snoring. Lawrence gazed down at his bride and smiled. He couldn't believe how lucky he was and decided it was truly fate that brought Holo into his cart that day long ago.
When they reached the Inn where they were staying, Lawrence laid Holo on the bed and went to start a fire. He pondered their journey ahead. Tomorrow was a traveling day and their last stop was just a week's time away. They had decided to settle down in a town called Riazan. It was a nice, large village with plenty of things to do, and it's biggest export, was apples.
After the fire had started to grow, Lawrence took off his shoes and joined his wife in bed. She was on her side facing him with her tail in-between her legs. Her large stomach took up half of Lawrence's side so he snuggled up close to her. He looked at her once more. Their baby would be due in less than a month and they were moving to their new house in a week. Lawrence couldn't believe how fast everything was happening. He always wondered if he'd continue his life as a traveling merchant or if he'd ever settle down. Now that his future was just ahead if him, he felt like he had made the right decision. Holo suddenly turned over and Lawrence then spooned her from the outside. Lawrence happily sighed and drifted off to sleep with the fire crackling in the distance.
"Holo..." A voice said softly. Her ears perked up. " It's time to get up." She slowly opened her eyes and let out a big yawn. Holo stretched her arms above her head and sat up.
"Good Morning," Lawrence kissed her. "We'll be leaving shortly, but I made you some oatmeal for breakfast." He handed her the steaming bowl . She smelled it and then frowned.
"No goat's milk?" She whimpered.
"No, I'm afraid they didn't have any today."
Lawrence went down stairs to get his horse. Meanwhile, Holo gulped down her breakfast and got dressed. She started to think to herself that she hadn't turned into her wolf self in ages. Sure, the body of a human was weak and slow, but this is what kept her connected to Lawrence. She sighed and rubbed her ample middle. But being a pregnant human was very difficult indeed. She heard Lawrence call her name so she gathered up her things and went to go meet him.
When they started traveling, Holo slept in the back of the cart with the tarp over the top. It was a very foggy November morning and Lawrence could hardly see where he was going, but continued on while he could hear Holo softly snoring in the back. He smiled to himself and pulled his scarf a little tighter around his neck.
A few hours later, Holo poked her head from under the tarp.
"Ah, finally awake I see." Lawrence had noticed that recently, a lot of Holo's free time was spent sleeping. She usually slept quite a large amount, but this was even more if he could hardly believe it. But as such, he didn't question it.
"Yes, I had a wonderful nap." She yawned and sat up. "Lots of fog today."
"It hasn't cleared up since we left this morning. Our pace has slowed because of it too." He seemed disappointed, Holo's ears noticed.
"Lawrence, I shall like to ride up front with you." Lawrence stopped the cart and stepped off. Normally, Holo could have just climbed over, but for the past few months, it had been difficult to maneuver. Lawrence walked to the back of the cart and helped her out. Then she stepped up to sit in the front.
"There," she said happily. Holo placed her tail on Lawrence's lap and he immediately felt warmer.
"Thank you." he smiled. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments when Lawrence placed one hand on her stomach.
"How do you feel today?" he asked. Holo leaned into her fellow companion. "Alright, I suppose. I am in the mood for an apple."
"Holo, you're always in the mood for an apple."
"I know, but that does not make it wrong, does it?" She sat up straight and glared at him. Her tail was jumping back and forth under the blanket.
"No, I'm just commenting." These days, Lawrence was very careful on not to upset his dear wife. She had gotten quite testy.
" Holo, I'm not going to sugar coat it, we have a long journey ahead. About a week's worth of straight traveling. There isn't another city until we reach Riazen. Are you going to be alright with that?" Lawrence said, changing the subject.
"Yes, I think as long as I am with you, I will be fine." She snuggled up next to Lawrence and for the moment, everything was perfect.
So, it's just a start, but how do you like it? It's an idea I had in y head for a couple of days. I don't know if I'll continue yet…if I do end up writing more, I certainly have a lot of things to think about! Anyway, tell me what you think :)