Though the pups were fathered by Odin himself, Katja was quite ready for the ordeal to be finished. Pregnancy was a trial, slowing her body and dulling her reflexes, and had confined her more or less to the pack lands for the latter part of the winter. She had no intention of coddling the lives within her, but neither could she justify the risk of birthing them far from her pack. But when she awoke in the middle of that early spring night, she knew the interminable wait was over.

She was in labor.

She opened her eyes into a night filled with color, ribbons of green fire weaving through the stars in long rippling rivers, and at first she thought it was what awoke her, and she lay for a long moment upon the ledge of her cave-den observing the splendorous sight before the strange clenching in her abdomen told her that she had not been awakened by the lights.

Grimly she rode out the contraction, then nodded sharply once to herself. Very well. It was time. It would, perhaps, have been better if Warja had not already left and if Kassander had returned... but no matter. As she had once tartly informed the so-called healers of Ebony, she-wolves had been giving birth unaided for thousands of years. She would not require the services of a healer, and if by chance she did, she was certain her nephew would do just fine. After a moment's thought - and enduring another contraction - she lifted her head and called out a low, soft note into the gorge. She may not need a healer, but she did not know how many or how fast the pups would come, and it could be that she might require assistance with cleaning and warming them.

With as much cold determination as going into battle, she settled herself back into her den to ready herself to give birth, eyes fixing on the northern lights dancing outside the cave as she focused on breathing through the pressure. Since she'd slept through the start of her labor, it did not take long for a massive effort to result in her firstborn joining her in the chilly spring night. She picked him up, bringing him between her paws to roughly clean and dry him before setting him to nurse, carefully shrouded in the gray fur of her belly. A pale, charcoal-dipped butterball, the boy clearly shared genes with Laufey from his coloring to his very size, and the faint striping barely visible in the wet slick fur of his chubby little legs was certainly reminiscent of Laufey's daughter.

Already she could feel that the reprieve granted by the birth of her son was passing, the painful clenching returning to herald the impending birth of a second child. She was more prepared, after the ordeal of the large male pup, for the pain, and accepted it and rode it until the girl-child slipped into the cold air to join her brother. Another pale, charcoal-marked pup, she was slimmer but every inch as large as her brother, but Katja stared quizzically at the auburn markings that seemed to smolder like coals in snow - like a paler Raisa, and a stab of regret and... emotion filled her at the thought.

If only Raisa could have been here, as she had been at Raisa's birthing. If only Auora could be here. The only two wolves in her life she had ever truly called... friend. Both gone from her, at least one passed from this world to the next. She cleaned the girl-child with an unusual tenderness before tucking her next to her brother, and steeling herself for the inevitability of another contraction. She may be alone now, but she was strong. She would not dishonor the memories she held of the two loves in her life, would not betray them with weakness. Still, she touched her nose to each pup gently, a silent promise made to them and to their coming siblings in the silence while she was still alone in the den, that she would teach them the strength that Raisa and Auora had possessed.

She was surrounded by darkness, floating somewhere in the great unknown, in the breath of space before life is given to a new form. That infinite pause before ignition, between what could be and what is. And then all at onces, wham! It was time. Pressure surrounded her on all sides and she was so very warm. Squeezed and jostled, unable now to comprehend anything at all, she knew discomfort. And then with a jarring thrust she was out amongst the cold and new discomfort further. She opened her infant jaws to cry in protest, but could only gurgle. She was grasped, accosted, shoved up against something wet and warm, and then- Oh. Instinct guided her jaws so that she could nurse, and those feelings of discomfort faded away, along with any memory of whatever may have come before. "Talk" "You" Think

With the whole pack denning in the Gorge there were just some things that couldn't go unnoticed, many of which were a little unpleasant; like the elimination habits of packmates; those who snored loudly; other equally unpleasant/annoying bodily noises. Thankfully, in this instance, it was something important and Laufey was very glad of the close proximity that took him near Katja's den daily. After rushing to the entrance of her den Laufey hesitated. Did he barge in? Invade her space without asking? This wasn't like with Neith or Hani; he'd had a right to them. This felt different. Through him these newborns had been given life, but what kind of claim did he have compared to the gods'? In any case Katja's space was not his own and that was enough of a reason to pause. Dropping to his elbows, Laufey peered into the darkness. He started with what he thoughts was a reasonably innocuous question. It addressed one of the most important questions and it gave him a possible way in. "How are you faring, Katja?"

Lyndvarr was just returning to the packlands when he heard the call come whispering on the wind. He'd been out taking advantage of an easing in the weather to do a bit of traveling and learning before the next winter storm wound it's way through the north. Spring was never an easy transition here and it would be another month or so before he'd feel confident that the newest season was settled into the terra. Jaws tightened over the plants in his maw as he raced back into Yfir, stopping at his den long enough to deposit his gathering and pick up knew ones. He knew well his aunts wishes that she wished to give birth unaided but Lynd would feel much better at being prepared for the worst though surely that was unlikely? If the gods had wished Katja to have pups surely everything would go smoothly? But perhaps it was folly of him to try and predict how the gods work. He arrived near the den to see Laufey and hear the mans question. Lyndvarr dipped his head in greeting and settled outside the den. Laying down his herbs. "Freyja be with you Katja, you can do it!" Walk, "Talk" Think

Inga repositioned her fangs over the fawns throat as she eyed Hárekr. The pair had been out hunting and managed to snag a young fawn though she knew the man was more interested in eating it himself than sharing. After a few sharp words on her part he slipped back into the night with a grin on his face. Strange, that man. Inga's sturdy legs began to move as she dragged the kill back to the den site. She heard Katja's call and picked up the pace. She was in labor?! Of all the time, eyes tilted to the northern lights in the sky above. This was a holy moment she was sure of it!

Inga quickly stashed her catch. She did not want to drag it to close the dens. For spring meant waking and very hungry bears. If Katja wished to eat after birthing she would send someone to tear off and clean a piece to bring to the new mother, or as she imagined with Katja, would look after the pups for a few moments while Katja refreshed herself on food and drink.

Laufey and Lyndvarr were already present and Inga quickly made her own presence known. "Katja, I am here. Please, let me know if you need any assistance."

"Speech"

She'd licked both pups dry and had curled around them and was enduring another round of contractions when Laufey's cautious voice reached her. "Well enough," she called back dryly, shifting with the discomfort. "You needn't stand at the door all night, Laufey. Come, keep the pups company." The convenience of living in a cave system - the dens were quite often easily large enough for many wolves to fit comfortably, and she had exercised her right as alpha in this to commandeer a large one. She had done so in order to meet with pack members in bad weather, but it might prove necessary now as well - Lyndvarr and Inga's voices joined Laufey's, and she tilted her head in acknowledgement of them both. "Feel free to join us if you wish." She was not shy, and the body heat would be welcome for the newly birthed pups.

Speaking of, she was suddenly quite distracted by the demanding entrance of two more pups in quick succession, two more girl-pups, both light in color as well. The first was nearly identical in many ways to her sister Auora, and the second held her coloring as well, and Katja was pleased to see her sister live on in her pups. She lifted one between her paws to clean it, wordlessly offering the other to Laufey, grateful the male had chosen to make his presence known when he did.

Darkness swirled before her eyes in all it's muted colors, as it had since the beginning of time. Dark that was not dark. Dark that seemed to be giving her life and sensation. Naudir could feel her senses stretching out, feel the disturbance of her previous equilibrium as pressure began to build and the world around her started shifting and writhing. Visions swirled in her head, things she had no words for and not enough understanding, all was darkness and color and sensation.

Her body shivered as she bridged the chasm from warmth to cold. She could feel something massaging her, moving her next to the warm fur of a being she instinctively knew as her mother. She drank in the scent but not the milk and would only snuggle next to the warmth of her mother.

"Speech"

Compared to the other four, once the contractions began again the fifth pup seemed to take very little time to slip into the world. Little wonder, too, as the pup was easily the smallest among them, hardly more than half the size of her firstborn daughter. The pup was unusually quiet, and Katja had bring her between her forepaws to inspect her carefully to see that she did indeed breath. That close inspection also revealed a misshapen twist to the girl-pup's mouth, a cleft in her lip and palate. She hesitated a moment as she stared at the pup between her paws. It seemed unlikely the pup would survive, let alone thrive. Traditionally such a pup would be brought far from the den and left exposed to the elements, trusting that the gods would take her or spare her as they saw fit, so that a weak pup did not drain resources from the healthy. Coolly she weighed that option, without the emotions and maternal instincts that might cloud another's judgement. In a world as harsh as theirs the tradition made sense. But surely Odin would not have fathered these pups only to have that effort wasted in a small sickly thing - there must be some plan for this. She would give it time, she decided. She had until the pups' eyes opened to decide - at that time they would be accepted into the family, and named. If the pup even survived until then... she would have until the ceremony to decide her fate. Very well - she would treat it as she did the others, and if it improved she would be welcomed beside them. She set to cleaning the gray fur that so resembled her own, nudging the bright red marked pup at her side to encourage her to nurse as she did so.

OOC: I'm pretty much done with this thread - feel free to reply or not as you want, I just wanted to fit in the last pup.