Any Diamachi/her friends may crash

This place was quiet which made it a more than perfect land to set up her den. She hadn't said much to anyone when she'd returned here. Steel had been with her when she realized she was pregnant, or rather his sister's mate had pointed out to her as they came here. It had horrified her at first, and she was still more than nervous, but accepted the lives within her easily. She hadn't seen Mithras since the day they'd been concieved, and she knew very well what a surprise they may be. She still debated about not even revealing the father. Surely they'd look enough like Mithras though the secret would hardly last. As her mind went over different possibilities the first of her contractions would begin. The pain was not unbearable but she wasn't comfortable and the fear took back over. She was hesitant to call for anyone, she didn't want to be seen like this, cowering in her hollow of a tree in the dark wood. Scared, alone, in pain. Ria would cry out, but it wasn't a howl for anyone to come and aide her. Tears would squeeze from her eyes as simple emotions overwhelmed her, this wasn't how this was supposed to go. "Talk" "You" Think

Mithras... was a coward. That thought had sat sour and rancid inside his stomach ever since he'd run from Faria. The embarrassment of having... Spirits, he couldn't even think of it. Even now he couldn't think of it, and now his best friend in the world was lost to him. And it was his own fault, that was the really messed up part. He couldn't face her. He was too much of a coward to look her in the eye. But, that didn't mean he'd abandoned her. He knew, somewhere in the murky depths of what science would force you to call a brain (Caia would probably disagree,) that he would have to face her again. He refused to lose her, but he needed time. Until that time presented itself... Well, he'd been following her. Not well, mind you. He was terrified of being discovered and having to confront his misconduct. He trailed her by a number of days, and lost that trail several times during his travels. She was headed back south, and when she crossed into the Diamáchi lands the stakes grew that much higher. Her scent had begun to grow stronger, and Mith knew he ought to lay off for a while but then he'd smelled the fear laced in and he picked up the pace. He knew his footsteps would likely be heard from a distance and he knew that, but even so he hesitated among the roots of the towering trees. Their gnarled anchors seemed to surround him like a cage, and beneath the vines the air was cool and still. The world seemed to wait with baited breath, but as he paused, he heard his friend's labored breathing. At that point, fear for her safety kicked him into autopilot and his massive figured leaped forth. What he saw confused him, he didn't understand what was wrong. He didn't see any blood or smell any wounds. Had she been poisoned? "Faria?" The emotions inside of him were roiling and raging, and he wanted to roar his frustrations and fears out to the heavens but even so, his voice came out meek. He rushed forward, standing it her side and wanting so badly to pressed his muzzle into the hollow under her chin, comfort and embrace her, but he did not think she would approve. His hesitation led to jerky movements and pain in his eyes. "Faria, whats wrong? How do I help? Please, I'll so anything!" The words were nigh frantic, but even though, they did not convey what he really meant. I'm sorry,he thought. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... "Talk" "You" Think

Slowly she's grow less mobile, forced to cease her pacing the brilliant colored she wolf had settled down in the make shift nest that she'd created for this moment. Through her breaths and ries of pain she'd hear the sound of paw steps somewhere out in the forest. She might have been more curious if she hadn't been so distracted by the acts of her body. She'd carried these pups for the last season, and now it was the day they would make it into the world. With her rounded belly very much obvious as she lay on her side, waiting for death to come upon her or her children to be born, she would see her galactic knight and hear her name on his lips. Why had he decided to show up now? She'd needed him in the weeks prior, and when his children were being born he'd show back up. Why now? Her expression was pained as she struggled to lift herself up enough to seek out his gaze. He was more than confused about her current state, and was oblivious to Ria's plight. Now she had to decide if she should tell him the truth. How would he react? She had no doubt the last announcement she expected her to make was that she was in labor with his babies. He was very much distraught though, compared to Ria she had the level head. "I'm in labor, I'm having... Our babies." He deserved to know, she wouldn't have been able to keep that fact from him if she tried. Before when she hadn't seen him since it would have been easy to lie by omission, but now that he was here, obviously so worried about her, she couldn't leave him in the dark. "Please, just.. hold me." There wasn't much else he could do. She could have asked for a healer's help, but she just wanted him to hold her tight and pretend that everything was going to be okay. "Talk" "You" Think

MITHRAS AERIS Faria's words hit him like a bull moose. Their mere sound were the antlers, catching him by surprise, and their meaning was the bulk of the creature, pushing the air from his lungs and rushing him. The world seemed to slow to a halt. That one night... Just one night, that was all it took? But it was an accident, didn't the world know that? His breathing stalled, he choked on it, and it felt like his heart stopped too. At once his vision began to narrow into a dark tunnel and the world spun around him because no, this couldn't be happening. And yet, Faria remained there in front of him. Her suffering continued despite his shock, and he could not spiral into denial and leave her behind like this. For one dark moment we wondered... Were they truly his? How could she be so sure? But the thought felt dark and evil, and he was at once immensely ashamed for giving it life. Faria said they were his, and that was that. It rebelled against every fiber of his being, this notion of parenthood, but mistakes had been made and he would not run from this fight. The odds seemed stacked against them but the alternative was abandoning Faria, abandoning his- no, their children. He grew nauseous and the thought. His voice was hoarse as he slid down beside her. "I'm here," he said. He gave her back a gentle lick, hoping to give her even a small bit of comfort during what he could only imagine was terrible pain. "I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere." It was a promise he would make certain to keep. He'd made mistakes in his life, but abandoning her would be tantamount to throwing it away. He would not be able to live with himself if he did, so instead he watched in fascination as time wore on. "Talk" "You" Think

Why was he even still around? The fact that Faria had gotten pregnant, by anyone, hadn't settled well with him. He'd gotten quite close to her after finding her shortly after his parents had passed - hell, she'd been the only one he'd really spent time with in quite a few seasons. It wasn't necessarily that Steel had expected her to be his or something, and kids were definitely not something that had ever crossed his mind.. it just didn't settle well with him. The thought of being a parent had never once crossed his mind and he felt as though he didn't belong in this world that Faria had begun to build around her. He didn't know how to be friends with someone who had children with another man, and he certainly didn't know how to deal with children. Still, he didn't usually stay far from her side. Her children were due any day, and he ought to be there, even if he was of no help. For some reason, she liked him, and seemed to want to continue to stay near him. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. His attention was immediately captured when he heard her. Even if she hadn't intended to alert him to her discomfort, but she had.. though Mithras had heard it first. Quickly, but quietly, he would rouse from sleep and hurry to where Faria had made her den. Mithras was already there, embracing her - he made no effort to silence the sound of his pawsteps as he approached, coming to a halt near them and settling on his hindquarters. What good could he possibly do here? Still, he waited, to see if he was needed.

She didn't want to look at his face as Mithras took in the news. She knew there had to be the possibility of him leaving her again, he'd done so pretty easily the first time, but he was true to his word. He would do anything, and as his shocked form nestled around her the laboring she wolf would lean back into him as another contraction took her. "...I'm not going anywhere." She'd heave a sigh of relief through her body's attempts to rid itself of her children. She'd cry out again though, unused to the painful waves. As it left her she'd open her brilliant blue gaze to find Steel. Unlike Mith he had been with her for the majority of the last few seasons. Her expression would brighten considerably at the sight of him, and her tail would even wag a few beats in delight. He'd been there for her, no matter how weird the situation was or how uncomfortable it made him. She didn't know what her relationship with either men would be like once everything returned to a more normal state, but for now she felt good knowing how close he was. She wasn't able to offer him anymore greeting than her smile and excited tail, another contraction made its way to her, and this one really hurt. She didn't hesitate to open her jaws and bite down on the closest part of Mithras she could wrap her jaws around. This was for getting her pregnant in the first place. She hadn't been able to curse him during the pregnancy but she was sure going to bite him during the birth. Ria would push, her effort obvious in the strength of her bite. Her efforts paid off though, and with much struggle the first of their children would be born. .ooc. gonna let you guys decide birthing order so I'll be vague about who's being born when. "Talk" "You" Think

It had gotten really crowded in here lately. Not that she knew where "in here" was, or could fathom the passing of time, but she could understand that she was very uncomfortable when she hadn't been before, and that the other inhabitants of "in here" were pushing annoyingly close. She flailed and kicked out at the closest of her fellow inmates in protest but it did little good as she was being squished closer and closer to them. Wait, where'd they go? She was suddenly alone and being pressed and squashed from all sides but could do nothing about the discomfort. And then... freedom! But freedom brought with it a host of strange sensations, of gravity and the sudden inevitableness of a solid surface, of cold and uncomfortable wetness - wetness had never been uncomfortable before! And what was this filling her chest as she gasped from the tumult of feeling? She expelled it again in a loud, angry squall of indignation. What was this?! What was this and who had done this terrible indignity to her?! She did not like this, not one bit! "" ""

The infant didn't have much of a concept of time or space, warmth or cold, discomfort or otherwise because for all that her under developed mind could process nothing had ever changed. It was warm and she was as content as instinct allowed her to be. All at once, things began to change, and perhaps in that instant she understood anger for the very first time. It got tighter and she was jostled against the other things. Her own little bubble which made up her entire world was compressed again and again until she fell forth in coldness, which was yet another first. Her world burst, she felt a chill air, yet without functional eyes or ears she could experience so little of it. The tiny creature mewled out her infantile rage, and began to crawl forth, seeking the warmth and comfort that had so recently been torn from her. What she found was soft and squishy, her tiny teeth knew to latch on and she began at once to nurse. Perhaps this world was not so bad... But seeing as all she could really comprehend was "warmth" and "food" she would withhold judgement until her tiny brain developed a bit further. "Talk" "You" Think

This was all happening so quickly. Mithras wasn't quite sure how to comfort Faria... He'd seen shewolves give birth before back in their homeland but he'd never been a part of it! He'd never been the father!! He gave her comforting licks when he thought she could use them, little good that it did, but before long he was distracted by the arrival of a male. Faria seemed happy to see him which was for the best, because for one instant Mithras was filled with a protective rage. Once he processed her friend's wagging tail though... Well. He didn't quite know what to make of it. He vaguely remembered her telling him that she couldn't come south until she wrapped up some unfinished business with a friend, but he had no way of knowing if this was that same guy. Well, he'd deal with that later. If Faria didn't mind, neither did he. He let out a surprised yelp when Faria's teeth buried themselves in his forearm. He didn't pull away (he knew better than that) but it didn't stop him from letting out a small string of curses. If she didn't look like she was in some serious pain he might have been miffed but honestly? He wouldn't trade places with her now if given the option. Well... he pondered, giving it some thought. I wish she wasn't suffering at least. Then, all at once, their first child was born. She came forth into the world with a dark coat. At first Mithras was perplexed. How had they made a pup with such a dark coat? He didn't exactly know the specifics of how it all worked, but he knew that his other siblings had all looked pretty similar to him. He didn't know much about Faria's extended family of course but- he shrugged. Perhaps the little one's color would come in with age. He could already see a lighter patch on her neck. He propped himself up, and arched his much larger form over Faria to grasp the little one by her scruff, putting her closer to Faria's belly so that she could nurse perhaps, or so that Faria could get to her if she wanted. It was not long after that another pup came forth. This one was a dark blue, and splotched with a lighter cerulean. Mithras gasped, realizing at once that she looked almost exactly like Faria herself. Her friend had her own little mini-me. Gently, Mithras moved to grasp that one as well but she began squirming and crawling her own way, nosing along Faria's body until she found her midsection and then began to nurse. Mithras resisted the urge to lift a brow. Was this normal? Was any of this normal?! He looked up at the strange wolf to see if he had any impact. He wanted to ask for advice, but- Well, he didn't exactly know the nature of their relationship and was more than a bit concerned with doing or saying something awkward. Instead he looked back to Faria and asked, "Are you doing alright? Do you need anything?" After all, she was his first priority now, and the rest of the world could wait. In the meantime he eyed their children with a mixture of fear and awe. The world really was an amazing place. "Talk" "You" Think