Surreal Adravendi

She had slowly begun to work her way back up to only a sneeze every several hours. Not a swift recovery, perhaps because her unborn brood and the impending birthing were taking so much of her energy. For now, she was lounging, napping, and the den was empty. Kavdaya wasn’t too far away, having nipped out to grab a few herbs that might still be growing in this season with the assurances that she wouldn’t be long at all. Life never waited. It began as a few cramps, enough that her ears flicked pack, one drowsy eye opening as she monitored them. And, over time, as they began to morph into discernible contractions, she pushed herself heavily to her paws, sending Battlesong from her roost in a niche at the top of the chamber, winging out to find the Master Healer as Surreal waddled into her Alcove, settling gingerly into the deep piles of moss everyone seemed to have been hoarding to the alcove in the last few days. Inside, her brood was a roiling mass of wriggling as the cramps and contractions ushered the as yet unborn litter to take order. She had the vaguest, most shadowy memories of her birth. She wasn’t even completely sure if they really were an actual memory, to be honest. One thing she was certain of, this was going to be a hard ride. And all the former Archangel could do was hold on tight for it. Battlesong, meanwhile, had already found the Master Healer, and chose to seek out the rest of the family, pointing each one toward the event, before returning to the cave and landing on her roost. ”They are coming.” Surreal nodded, already able to hear Kavday and Regulus bounding down the ravine. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Kavdaya Of The Nomads

She was snipping at the herbs she needed in the Moor when the call from above brought her head up. It was Battlesong, and she sounded urgent. It didn't take the bird calling that Surreal was in labor to tell Kavdaya that the litter was coming. The bird wouldn't have sought her out for any other reason, with how close her cousin's due date was. A smile crossed her features, and she grabbed up the mallow she'd been gathering before taking off at a run. She nearly collided with Regulus at the mouth of the passage, and as he checked his speed, she jetted ahead, his breath heavy on her rump, too focused on the task ahead to give him a nod as she ought to for her leader. She knew he didn't give a damn about formalities at the moment, if ever. She took the steps in one bound, hurrying over to the stock piles she'd been painstakingly building up since the family had settled in after Hellstrom's defeat, deftly making her selections. Motherwort, Lavender, Cohosh, Trillium... Just a few of the several she picked out. Valerian, in a very tiny amount, for pain. She took up her choices, bundling them in a bit of deer head and padded into Surreal's alcove, setting them aside and picking the few she would need first out. The painkiller, and Motherwort, along with the sprigs of dried Lavender for further calming of the nerves. "Let's see how you're doing..." Her nose probed, taking in the scents while her paw settled on Surreal's side, also probing and feeling out the unborn, wriggling litter. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He’d been patrolling the borders, still settling into his new status as the Archangel, when Battlesong had swooped over, and said three words before wheeling away and shooting off to find more of the family. Regulus himself had whirled, patrols and new status forgotten, and charged off at a dead gallop across the plains, sending a howl calling stridently for his family to gather at the den. Maybe he might have sounded like he was calling everyone to the event, but really.. .wasn’t the pack family, too? He hit the ravine at the same time as Kavdaya, and checked his speed to avoid crashing into the far smaller wolf, letting her take the lead, though he was right on her snowy white tail as they charged down the passage, and neither of them bothered to slow at the steps. As Kavdaya went immediately to the herb stocks, Regulus hurried to the mouth of the alcove and peered in anxiously at his mother. It was much like last time, only this time Kavdaya was here, and he was the Archangel. Zuriel, Father, Baine, Faite… Hells, everybody, was out somewhere, doing things. He hoped that was what it was. Surely it wouldn’t take them long to get here? As Kavdaya bustled past, jaws full of the plants she’d need, Regulus shifted aside, laying in a spot where he could see his mother and Kavdaya, and everything that was happening, but would be out of the way.

Excitement flooded through her as she thought of her pregnant mother. She was going to have more younger siblings! Granted there was no telling when they'd actually be born but she hoped it was soon. She found herself growing impatient to see what they looked like. How many of them would there be? Would any of them be brown like her? What if there was another albino like Baine? That would be so awesome! While she thought of her soon to be new siblings she trotted along the edge of Celestial's border. She'd noticed new faces at the meeting and she was eager to get to know the newest members of Celestial. With the pack growing maybe that meant Varda wouldn't be the only hunter and she wouldn't be the only Legionary in the pack. She felt she still had a lot to learn and while she knew Regulus and her mother could fight she certainly would have felt better with more wolves to fill the ranks. Most of them were family by blood, but some strangers to bring into their home wouldn't have been a bad thing. Battlesong roused her from her thoughts and she stared up at the bird with curiosity. A grin tugged at her face as she took off careening towards her mother's den as fast as she could. Up the ravine she went and she didn't slow until she barely avoided crashing into the den. Claws tore into dirt and stone as she stopped herself her sides heaving as she tried to shove down some of her excitement. Wanting to stay out of the way though she moved next to Regulus and lay beside him barely able to sit still as she watched. "I wonder how many she'll have?" She asked curiously to her crimson coated sibling. "I hope there's a lot of them." Walk, "Talk" Think

Falk's ears perked when he heard Battlesong's voice screech above him, his head tipping up toward the sky. What was Battlesong- it suddenly hit him and he scrambled to his paws, frantically making his way back toward their dens. He wasn't all that far from their ravine really, but it wasn't like he could go running without risking running face first into a tree. He went as fast as he safely could. Once he neared the ravine entrance he could move a little more confidently, trotting down the corridor and following the freshest of the scents left by his children. He smirked a little when he walked up and heard Faite mention that she hoped there would be a lot of pups. "Not too many," he told her with a chuckle as he passed her and Regulus. "I have my paws full with all of you as it is." He followed Surreal and Kavdaya's scents as he padded into the alcove, careful not to bump into Kavdaya. He made his way around to lay behind Surreal, close enough for her to lean on him if she wanted, but still giving her the space she needed to move and breathe. This wasn't his first rodeo. He was still as nervous as he was with their first litter, but at least he knew what to expect now. He inched forward enough to find the top of her head, giving her forehead and ears several reassuring kisses. Speech Thought Others

Zuriel blinked as she looked up from the plant she was examining, watching Battlesong whirl above her head before heading back toward the center of the plains. "Oh!" she exclaimed as it dawned on her what her mother's companion wanted. She knew her mother had to be due soon, but it seemed that today was the day! She abandoned the plant she had been studying, bolting for the ravine she and her family shared. It seemed she must have been the farthest from the den or the last one that Battlesong came to tell since she ran in and saw Faite and Regulus already there waiting just outside of their mother's alcove. She slowed to a trot till she was standing next to her siblings, peeking inside to see her father and Kavdaya already there with their mother. She settled down next to Regulus with a soft sigh, glancing to each of her siblings with a smile. They would have more siblings soon it seemed! She kept an eye on her mother both to learn and to be on the lookout to see if Kavdaya needed any help or needed her to fetch any herbs from her store. She doubted that she would, but it was the least she could do. "Talk" "You" Think

Báine hurried toward the den as soon as Battlesong came to get her, arriving just in time to see Zuriel disappear into the ravine. She slowed down as she came to the beginning of the ravine, hesitating and coming to a stop when she looked up and saw Zuriel, Regulus, and Faite all sitting together outside of the alcove that she was sure her mother was in. She hadn't been expecting this wave of nerves and uncertainty that rolled in her stomach. Tornach should be here too so she could sit with him, leaning into his side like she always had. Her ears flicked back against her head. She didn't want to admit it, but she was so afraid that she would feel even more separated from her older siblings once their younger siblings were here. She felt so different from them all somehow... She gave herself a quick shake and took a deep breath, shoving all those thoughts away. That was nonsense! Right? She trotted forward, coming over to sit near Faite to wait for her younger siblings to be born, putting an excited grin on her face as she peeked around the corner curiously. Speech Thought Others

When Battlesong came to gather him, as well as other members of the family, Castiel rose quickly to his paws. It was time; the coming of his next set of nieces and nephews. Castiel was oddly nervous. It wasn’t even his litter and yet... He felt the worry gnawing at his gut as he rushed to the scene where Falk, Kavdaya, two of his nieces and Regulus already present. The white male settled to the earth as he looked between them all in turn before laying eyes on Surreal. He curled his tail around his toes, ears shifting backward as he took a breath. This would be fine, he told himself. Surreal would come through just fine.

Castiel looked away from everyone else, taking a slow breath as he tried to steady his own thoughts. It was funny, he thought, how he and Surreal were getting along in years now. She was already having her third litter while he had yet to find someone to spend his life with. Funny how things worked, right? His golden eyes would shift back to Surreal, staying quiet for now.