feral!omega aerion's pack - pregnancy edition
because the dunkaerion plot bunnies won't leave me alone ayyyyy
same deal, timed writing challenge for march, so if things look/read as rough, or as more punchy than rambly, that's why
y'all know the drill, omegaverse, dunkaerion, canon!au, alpha!dunk, alpha!lyonel, alpha!tanselle, alpha!daeron, pup!egg, potentially including beta!valarr, beta!raymun, beta!red, mpreg, food things, pregnancy things, etc. etc. etc.
let's goooooo
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let's pretend that aerion's pack gets moved back to the red keep for the most part. sure, lyonel's got baratheon business to run and raymun is still part of house fossoway, but as far as things go, the trial of seven never happened, baelor's alive, everyone's pretty much fine except maekar, who's about two beats away from having a heart attack.
because what do you mean his unmanageable omega son has somehow gotten tangled up in the kind of alpha/beta/omega relationships that hadn't been seen since old valyria or at least when their ancestors had dragons. what do you mean that if things keep going on like this, the maestars at oldtown project that this was how the kingdoms were united, lords of the great houses coming together around their omegas, the royal omegas, because omegas just inspire that kind of protection and loyalty. what do you mean that makes omegas viable for the throne over alphas.
politics aside, class and social differences aside, maekar can't deny that his son is happy, his son is content. aerion hasn't flown into any kind of rage since ashford, and the whole red keep seems to be breathing easier now that aerion's been tempered a little bit, even with the previously tumultuous heats.
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and then aerion misses a heat cycle.
normally, that's no cause for alarm. aerion never had consistent cycles anyway, sometimes it'd be once a month, sometimes it was 3 months before one hit and then it was just awful all around, sometimes it was twice a month, and if it wasn't for the fact that aerion was pure misery and tears during that time, it would be a lucky thing for everyone that his temper wasn't high.
but ever since he moved in with his pack, ever since they started living in the old quarters in the red keep that got aired out and cleared out for proper pack living, aerion had had a respectable singular heat per month for over a year, practically predictable on the calendars that it would fall on, say, the third week of each month. predictable.
and the arrangement had been going well, hadn't it, even with how new everything was seeming and how everyone was still learning to get along whilst orbiting aerion like the center of their pack.
and then aerion misses a heat.
now, it wasn't a secret that aerion and dunk had been close, very close. after all, dunk was the first one to help aerion manage that surprise heat at ashford, and as such, aerion trusted him greatly.
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so it's not really surprising to anyone when aerion and dunk become proper mates. asked maekar's blessing and everything, marks and all. mostly because dunk refused to properly mark and mate aerion before things are done properly, but what even is proper anymore in these situations. the maesters seemed all for it if only for the fact that they get to see pack dynamics in action. and in the end, maekar just wants to see his children happy, so he approves it.
also not surprising - aerion gets pregnant practically within a month of him and dunk officially being mated and married and all. and you'd think that would change the dynamic a bit but no.
lyonel still lets aerion bite at him, but their whole deal had evolved into sparring for however long it took for aerion to get his energy out before going to dunk to be held.
tanselle is still pretty much the only person allowed to muss with aerion's hair, and she takes full advantage - scratching his scalp, braiding his hair when it gets long enough, introducing new oils and soaps for his hair - and then it gets picked up by the rest of the pack, and somehow extends to the red keep at large - tanselle accidentally becomes a merchant for early hair care in her own right.
daeron still rubs aerion's belly and sings or hums to him. sometimes he's reading a book and will read passages aloud while aerion's curled up against him, maybe paying attention, mostly dozing away. daeron may be the first one to notice something about aerion's belly. something about his little brother's scent, something about how aerion's reactions to someone touching his belly changed just a little. between that and his dreams of aerion carrying little flames in his belly, daeron goes and gets the maesters to check things out. and he's right!
nobody gets particularly possessive over the omega once the pregnancy is announced, not really. maybe egg, since he's the pack's pup and has gotten quite attached to aerion. even before the pregnancy started showing, egg's designated himself as aerion's protector, baring his fangs at people moving too quickly around his brother.
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wanna get to the active pregnancy part so here we go!
aerion is thoroughly spoiled by his pack from the moment they find out. dunk, of course, is by turns over the moon with joy and terrified at what this means for him and aerion, but his heavy cuddling and handfeeding doesn't stop.
now, if there is one good thing about having a variety of alphas and betas from different parts of the realm, it's that they can introduce a variety of foods and dishes and spices into the red keep.
at first, the widened menu was very popular during feast times and such, lots of new dishes being experimented with, lots of culinary innovations being made.
and then aerion's cravings hit, and it's not so fun anymore.
because aerion likes dornish spiced meats, only mixed with pulped sweet apples from raymun's family's orchards.
does house fossoway actually have apple orchards? i'm gonna make 'em have apple orchards.
aerion also likes saltfish and pickled beets, sprinkled with sugar.
aerion likes boiled eggs served with onions on the side, along with sweetened nuts and dried fruits.
the cooks have never been more at a loss when it comes to their pregnant prince. if it wasn't for the fact that they'd been assured by the king and the crown prince and maekar himself that they wouldn't be punished for serving whatever they needed to serve or for letting aerion into the kitchens, the cooks may well have been terrified every time the omega trotted into the kitchens to poke around and ask for food.
fear generally gave way to doting, eventually - if aerion was going to be found anyplace, it would be the kitchens. there happened to be a spot where the sun would beam in through the windows, and anyone watching could see aerion instinctively follow that sunbeam around the kitchen, and the staff kind of flows around him as he moves. he's always getting some treat or another, as they're figuring out what he likes to eat, what makes his stomach turn - it varies almost week by week. something he enjoyed two days before may make him sick the next time he eats it. and then a week passes and he wants to eat that same combination again.
aerion also spends time in the studies or in the gardens.
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i don't know that there are many responsibilities for a pregnant omega royal besides the regular holding court. even an pregnant omega royal prince.
his sparring practice with lyonel has shifted into the easier forms and warmup exercises instead, to protect the babes.
tanselle's business is going well, and aerion offers his opinions on scents and textures of things when he's not feeling ill.
daeron's dreams haven't been a plague of late, not after aerion and egg had asked him if they couldn't be interpreted in different ways, and what different ways they could be interpreted. scary, sure, but with the understanding that dreams and visions aren't black-and-white in their meanings, that may have helped a lot.
and dunk? if dunk's not busy getting trained in royal knighthood, he's getting dragged to the studies with aerion so he can learn with his mate. or learn to read and write if he hasn't done so already, along with some basic ciphering (math).
the betas... i don't know, they're vibing, i suppose? red and raymun do get married, valarr is pretty much fielding questions about his cousin from everyone.
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aerion gets a lot more teary now too. at first, people were afraid that his emotions would turn back to anger, but no. he's in tears more often than not when the emotions start shifting.
if it's not because his favorite clothes didn't fit, it's because the food wasn't good or made him ill. or it was that dunk is so busy now. or a sad note that daeron sang, or that lyonel wouldn't spar with him anymore, or that egg has to go off to do prince things and studies. or that the hair oils didn't feel right in his hair, or that egg's scent is shifting too, or that he saw a mother cat with her kittens, or that valarr seems "off" somehow, or that he's so happy for raymun and red, even if he barely knows them, and then he's crying because he doesn't know them, and it's going to be too late to get to know them, and so on and so forth.
hormones aside, there are a lot of hidden fears and anxieties that aerion holds that are now coming to light, or at least are more easily brought forward with how sensitive he is now. lots of reassurances! lots of talking through things! dunk especially has to remind aerion that just because he's away, it doesn't mean he doesn't love aerion, doesn't love their babies. he's madly in love with aerion, in fact, and does not think that aerion's changing body makes him less beautiful. a changing kind of beautiful, sure, but no less beautiful than the day they met.
perhaps what aerion fears most of all is that old abandonment. the insecurity that he won't be enough, he never was enough, he never will be enough to keep his mate and his new pack around him. he's never enough and he's too much all at once.
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in the latter weeks or months of the pregnancy, the pack may feel the need to close ranks around their most vulnerable members. which means that more and more time is being spent in the pack quarters, cleaning things up, freshening things, rearranging things.
the fact that there may need to be a birthing chamber sends the alphas into a tizzy, but the betas manage to keep things level-headed.
maybe the alphas are excused from their duties for the imminent birth of their omega's pups? something, idk, moving on.
in the weeks leading up to the birth, aerion's usually seen with no fewer than two of his alphas at any given point, holding him up, helping him waddle around the red keep or the gardens. and it's slow going - aerion's belly has gotten quite large, and there are at least two little ones in there, and he's slowly turned a little more feral or instinctive in demanding his pack pat his belly and praise the pups. even egg is included, though egg's role is more "be a kid."
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won't get into details about the birth, but it was rough going. maesters in the birthing chamber, the knives carried in, the screaming and crying. i don't know who all would have been there with aerion, or if the maesters said he had to go it alone without his pack.
if that was how the first birthing experience went, aerion being alone, they all collectively decide as a pack that their omega will not be alone for the next birth. or any birth thereafter. as it was, dunk practically broke down the door to the birthing chambers when aerion started crying for him, and the maesters were not about to argue with a massive alpha over his pregnant mate.
anyway! there are twins! two little girls! neither one came out screaming, but they were crying and making healthy baby noises, and the maesters gave them a clean bill of health, so things are good!
the pack is eventually allowed in to see aerion and the babies, and it's a lovely thing, having everyone around to celebrate.
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50 minutes of writing! marked by the dashes at the bottom of each section, so a lot of 5-minute writing segments, some 10-minute writing segments.
