[div style="margin-bottom: 4px; height: auto; font-family: baskerville; font-size: 26px; letter-spacing: 3px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; color: black;"]ARE YOU FEELIN' ME NOW?

ACTIONS | "SPEAKING" | THINKING | TELEPATHY

The past several months spent deep among civilization had changed him greatly, to say the least. His arrival in the Pitt had forced him to break out of his shell, accept that he could not do everything alone. Still, he found that his deep preference for solitude and general social isolation often interfered with his public experiences. Though usually calm and collected, there were moments in which his veil of coolness was torn off of him like a ragged cloak in the wind, exposing him. Jormungand, for a non-client instance. He still thought of that night sometimes, how close he was to breathing all of the other feline in. It was a feeling he had never felt in his entire life, a fleeting emotion that he was frustratingly devoid of the next day and for months to come.

And then there was Clove.

He wasn't sure what it was about them. Was it their carefree flair? Their eyes that could pierce one's soul? He wasn't one to go off appearances alone, but he had to admit that...they look good. And it wasn't a feeling he was used to. A feeling he had felt, sure, but not one that he found comfortable. His emotions shut themselves down promptly after an evening spent with them, though not of any fault of Clove's. It was just how he was, how he always had been. A stone wall. He could commit to nothing — not a person, not a clan, not his emotions.

An abrupt knock at the front of his jungle-side treehouse stirred Blackjack from his thoughts, his head snapping towards the wooden door. A curious caw erupted from Oscuro, and the feline nodded at his raven in acknowledgment before tentatively opening the door to reveal...

"Clove." He waited for his heart to skip a beat as it once did, or perhaps to beat too many times at once. But there was nothing, no sign his body would give to him. No emotion. "Come in, if you'd like," he finally said, moving out of the jaguon's way for them to enter his home. He waited for them to accept the invitation before shutting the door behind them, his gaze never drifting from the other feline.

"What brings you here today?" he asked, setting himself down before them and curling his tail around his paws neatly. It seemed far too early in the day to repeat their earlier eventful night. Perhaps they were in the mood for mere conversation now?

[div style="margin-bottom: 4px; height: auto; font-family: baskerville; font-size: 26px; letter-spacing: 3px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; color: black;"]ARE YOU FEELIN' ME NOW?

ACTIONS | "SPEAKING" | THINKING | TELEPATHY

Admittedly he had hoped that whatever news Clove came to bear, or whatever chit-chat they desired to have, would be insignificant, something to acknowledge but easily push away. Of course, such wishful thinking could never be the case. Of course she had to be-

"Pregnant."

Blackjack let the word rest in his mouth after he spat it out from his throat as though it were a sharp bone consumed from quickly-eaten prey. It felt unnatural from his tongue, especially in the context of it involving him. Had their last private meeting been so long ago for this development to occur? I'm a busy man. Why expect me to remember? But it didn't matter how long ago or what happened. What's done was done, and this was their new reality. Would Clove keep them? Was it worth pleading for her to do otherwise? Part of him wanted to grab onto them and shake them awake from this nightmare, implore them to find ways to bring this dirty dream to an end.

At the end of the day, though, would it ever be his choice to make?

He pondered this for a moment, rich golden hues never betraying the other feline's gaze, not even for one moment. Could the burden of parenthood be a necessary sacrifice? At the end of the day, these children would be the spawn of two strong, seemingly patriotic Pittians, raised with the right ideologies and trained to be the best of the best. The brood of a Councilman devoted to his family. The clan could always use new blood, but children born within the ravaged jungle would have a greater advantage than someone who merely appeared on the borders. They could become anything the Pitt wanted. Perhaps it was what the group needed, and Jack wondered if the same went for him and Clove as well. He never doubted the strength it took to raise a family, but this was a risk worth taking.

Finally the jaguar moved, his tail floating onto Clove's shoulder gently as a soft smile spread across his maw. An attempt at comfort. "They'll be safe here. You'll be safe, Clove." The mother would have to come first, of course.