Over the last several days Kane had done a wonderful job of helping her set up a den that was just big enough for the two of them with a bit of space to move around in down by the Shimmering Shore, the entrance of the den open to sands of the beach and the waves only a short distance away. After living in the castle for so long it was always an adjustment whenever she went back to staying in a dug out den like this, but once she had a chance to line the copy den with some plush furs and get settled in to their temporary home it did feel incredibly cozy and homey. She remembered how it had felt in the days leading up to the birth of her first litter, all of the restlessness and the need to fix her space and nest coming back in full force. This time around she didn't feel as anxious since she knew what to expect, but she was still up and down a lot, fussing with their bedding and den till she thought she might just drive Kane crazy, and pacing along the bioluminescent beach whenever she just couldn't sit still.

It was late in the evening after the sun set and she had just forced herself to settle into bed, snuggled into Kane's side. Just outside the den the beach was glowing with the waves, giving the world outside an otherworldly blue hue. All through the day she felt small cramps and lots of movement from their children, her body clearly preparing itself for the birth she was eagerly waiting for, but since there hadn't been any progression beyond that she thought she might try to get some rest. She wasn't down for very long when she started shifting uncomfortably, the tightness and cramping building again until the first hint of a contraction finally hit her, making her gasp softly at the pain and discomfort that crept up on her as her water broke, dampening her thighs and the fur under her.

"Kane!" she gasped just in case he hadn't noticed or if he was asleep, her paw resting on his foreleg to get his attention. She looked to him with a little smile as she got settled in on her side among the soft bedding. She knew there was still plenty of labor ahead of her, though it felt like at least one of their pups was trying to get into position as soon as possible. Tamsyn kept herself breathing steadily through the contractions, the waves of pressure and tightness in her core still fairly spaced out. "I can't believe its already time... to meet these little trouble makers..." she joked with a breathless chuckle between panting breaths, having to stop and grit her teeth as another contraction gripped her. She was grateful that she had Kane's healing knowledge to lean on and that they could experience this together like this, just the two of them and their soon to be born children out on the beautiful Auster shore.

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley

From the day Tamsyn had told him she wanted their children to bear the name "of the Sea", Kane had known exactly where to build their birthing den. He'd prowled the shoreline numerous times and found a perfect little nook in the side of a grassy knoll just beside the start of the sandy beach. A few days to dig it out to a comfortable size and another to fill it with plush furs and soft grasses and it was ready for them. Once he and Tamsyn had moved in closer to her due date, Kane spent most of his time gathering and preparing the medicinal herbs he'd need to help ease Tamsyn through the last stretch of her pregnancy as well as make her birth more endurable. Sure, he could have gone and raided the Hallows' stores for some supplies, but he chose to do things the traditional way, hunting the fresh herbs himself and storing them away in their den for later use while Tamsyn continued to fuss and debate over the arrangement of their temporary living space.

By now, his mate had gotten quite round with their growing children. Each day, Kane's love and wonder for her grew, and each day he found himself more and more anxious to finally meet the new spirits they had created together. As had been their usual routine, he and Tam shared a dinner before settling in for bed while evening took over the land. The ocean outside began its ethereal glow with the bioluminescent plankton and the stars danced about in a partly cloudy sky. The gentle lapping of the waves on the shore acted almost like a lullaby, and while Kane was snuggling with his restless mate, he found himself beginning to doze—until he heard Tam gasp and felt a dampness seeping into their bedding. Hazel eyes flew open abruptly and he scrambled to right himself, seeing Tamsyn smiling despite her labored breathing. It was time.

"This is it, my little blackbird. Time to do what you did best once before." Kane leaned in to plant an affectionate lick to the side of Tamsyn's muzzle before he slowly unwound himself from around her so he could gather up the herbs he'd gathered for this moment. Motherwort for the contractions and trillium to the side in case the pain got to be too much for her. He passed Tamsyn the motherwort to consume first, then moved to curl protectively around her in the opposite direction, offering his hindquarters for her to rest her head on or his thigh to bite if she needed to while he prepared to receive their children into the world. "You know what to do, but I will be here for you every step, my Moon and Stars. Deep breaths, push when you feel your muscles contract." Kane then turned bright, shimmering eyes to his lover as he added, "I can't wait to meet our pieces of the Universe."

"Kaneonuskatew"

As his mate, Tamsyn may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Kane immediately fell into the role of caregiver and comforter and a little smile lingered on her lips as she watched him get up to collect the herbs he had put aside for her and settle in with her as he prepared to receive their children. His calming nature had been something she had appreciated about him from the very beginning and it was especially appreciated now. Tamsyn took the herbs Kane offered her without question, chewing and swallowing the motherwort in the moments between her contractions. She gave him a nod as he reminded her of the process, sill appreciating his guidance even if she had done this before and did know what to expect. It took away any nerves she might have had as she relaxed into the furs and shifted to be able to rest her head on his hip. She smiled lovingly at him when he referred to their children as their pieces of the Universe. She was still learning his culture and his beliefs, but everything about it seemed so beautiful in the way they thought about life and the world and she absolutely loved it. She was already glad that she had decided to immerse their pups in this way of life as well even if they wouldn't have the security of the pack to fall back on.

With Kane settled in with her and her head resting on him for comfort, she focused on breathing through the contractions as they came, eventually letting her eyes close while she panted and occasionally grit her teeth against the pain and pressure of her body doing the work to bring these children into the world. As their first born was worked into position the pain began to build, but not to an excruciating extent. Almost all of her children in her first litter had been fairly large so that was the experience she was expecting. Instead, as she began to push in time with her contractions, she felt the small pup slipping free from her with only a few hard pushes and a pained whine on her part. It was much easier than she remembered her first brith being, but in a way it was almost startling. She blinked open her eyes and lifted her head while she panted to look at their first born as Kane cleaned the dark furred pup, waiting with a moment of anxiety to hear the pups cries. As soon as she did she could breathe more easily. She only worried that a pup so small might have some kind of defect or issue, but no. The loud squeals of their little girl filled the small den and a grin pulled across her features.

By the time Kane had the charcoal girl with lighter flecks all across her back settled in at her stomach her contractions were already picking up again. Laying her head on his thigh, she started the process over again, steady and constant contractions and pushing bringing just as constant waves of pain that she grit her teeth through, whines escaping her with each one. The second pup was much the same as the first—a tiny little thing that came into the world fairly easily all things considered. She lifted her head again to see the pup, though a bit more tiredly this time, and blinked with surprise when she saw the pup that was crying just as loudly as the first. She gave her head a little shake just to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but no, the two tiny girls were very nearly identical with just subtle differences in some of their markings and even then she couldn't make out those differences very well in the dark of the den. She gave a breathless chuckle as she looked at the little twins now getting their first meals at her stomach, enjoying the sight of them for at least a brief moment.

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley

Settled in beside his mate, Kane gave Tamsyn one more reassuring and affectionate smile before her contractions began in earnest and she rested her head on his hip to steady herself. Kane placed one large paw on her swollen belly, feeling the way her muscles rippled and contracted around the wriggling puppies within her. He gave gentle shushing sounds in time with the waves outside, intermixing them with almost lyrical hums while Tamsyn's body performed its greatest function. He counted the seconds between each of her contractions, waiting until they were almost a constant before shifting closer to her rear to receive their first child. It didn't take long for Tamsyn to birth their first pup—a tiny black and charcoal girl. Kane cleaned her off, holding her with delicate paws while he marveled at her. She was beautiful; so tiny and perfect in every way. As soon as he'd gotten her cleaned, the girl began to squirm in his paw and squeal, announcing her presence to the world. The old hunter breathed an incredulous sigh while he stared at his daughter, turning to look at Tamsyn with tears misting his hazel eyes. "A cunksi. A daughter!"

Trying to keep himself from weeping like a baby, Kane gingerly laid their little girl at Tamsyn's belly, watching her feed before meeting Tam's gaze with a swelling love and pride in his chest. The brief interlude of love was interrupted by the next wave of Tamsyn's contractions, and Kane immediately returned to his midwife duties. He gently soothed Tam along, feeling her belly for her contractions, but just like the first, this pup was birthed without incident and fairly quickly. When he cleaned her off, he gasped and had to do a double take, for she was a near mirror image of her older sister, but in a smaller package. Kane picked up the tiny nugget of a pup as if she were the most fragile thing in the world, able to hold her in a single paw while she cried and kicked her little legs. Kane marveled at her with Tamsyn, giggling like a giddy idiot while he placed her beside her twin sister at their mother's teats for their first meal.

"Twins!" Kane said with an incredulous laugh, grinning from ear to ear while he stared at Tam and his family. "Oh Tam, they're so beautiful...! You're doing tremendous, my blackbird." Kane curled in closer to give the end of her snout a loving lick, then rested his paw against her belly, feeling gentle movement from within still. "We're almost done, my love. I think there's just one left. You can do this."

"Kaneonuskatew"

As his mate, Tamsyn may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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Tamsyn grinned and gave the end of Kane's muzzle an affectionate lick in return before she settled back down with her head resting on him as his large paw rested on her stomach once more, telling her that there was one still to go. She gave a little nod, still panting while she braced herself for the last wave of contractions. The only thing that had her slightly nervous was the fact that she had gotten pretty noticeably round which made her think that their pups would be on the larger side or perhaps at least would be around the size that she was as a pup. Since their first two daughters were so incredibly small that made her wonder how many more pups they were going to have. Since Kane thought there was just one to go that made her think that the last would be much larger than the first two. It most certainly wouldn't be the first time she birthed a large child, but part of her was a little glad that it would probably be the last.

After a brief rest her body started building upon her contractions again, the tightening and pull of her muscles easing the last pup into the right position. Very quickly she realized that her hunch had been correct and she gasped at the first difficult wave of pain as the large pup started stretching her body, making her whine and cry out in pain at each hard push. One of her paws gripped at the fur on Kane's side just to have something to hold on to, her face burying into his fur as well as she gave slightly muffled screams the longer her labor went on. Briefly the thought of the other herbs Kane had set aside crossed her mind, but she was already in too deep and by the time they took affect it would already be over. In the last few pushes when she was struggling to put enough force behind them to get the pup's head and shoulders to slip free, she bit into Kane's thigh, her body trembling under the effort of each push. She didn't remember the largest of her oldest children being this difficult before, but she was also older than she was back then and she knew she had to take that into account.

As she gave a muffled cry of pain while she was biting into Kane's thigh and tearing at the fur on his side, she put all her remaining strength into one last push that finally freed the final pup. As soon as their youngest had slid free she collapsed back into the bedding, releasing Kane's thigh and panting hard as she laid her head on him again, hardly able to lift her head this time around. It wasn't until after she heard the pup's cries, which admittedly weren't as shrill or angry as the first two, and Kane had put the large boy at her stomach that she had finally caught her breath enough to lift her head and see their completed family. A tired grin pulled at her lips when she saw the boy that looked so much like Kane that he nearly could have been Kane reincarnate.

It was kind of funny seeing the large boy next to his much smaller sisters, but they were theirs, their perfect little family. She looked up at Kane with a joyous, loving smile, tears shining in her mint gaze as she looked to her mate, the one that had made this all possible. He gave her a second chance at love and family and now they would get to raise these perfect pups together. "They're so beautiful..." she marveled softly with a breathless laugh, her paw gently rubbing their backs while they enjoyed their first meal at her stomach, curled up safe and sound between their parents.

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley

As Tamsyn's contractions started up for a third time that night, Kane had much of the same concerns that his mate did, namely around the size of their third child. Given how small their two daughters were and the size of Tamsyn's pregnancy belly, the last one had to be fairly sizable. Tamsyn's gasp was the first alert that this time would be different, and her pained whines sent his heart into a panicked flurry. He felt Tam grab onto his fur tight, holding him with all her might while she buried her face into his side. He tried to soothingly shush and hum to her again, but this time would be no picnic for the older fae. He heard her muffled screams and did his best to remain calm, rubbing her contracting belly gently to reassure her that he was here for her. "You're doing wonderful, little blackbird. Keep going, you're almost done." Kane cursed himself for not insisting Tamsyn take the trillium in advance, wondering if it would make any difference if she did so now.

The birthing process took longer for this third pup, her body having to work harder to bring it into the world. Kane grit his teeth with a low growl when he felt Tamsyn bite into his thigh to steady herself in her labor, grunting and bearing the pain with her. He continued to rub her trembling body, singing a soft hymn in his language. "Almost there, Tamsyn. It's almost done. Just a bit more." With one last scream from Tam and her fangs sinking into his thigh while she clawed at the fur on his side, Tamsyn birthed their third pup. Kane hurried to clean the pup off, inspecting him and beaming when he realized the boy was his spitting image in almost every regard. "A cinksi! We have a son!" he announced to his exhausted mate before placing their son amongst his sisters at Tam's belly.

While Tamsyn recuperated and watched their children, Kane placed his paw on her belly, gently probing and feeling for any more little ones on the way. When he felt nothing and felt Tam's body beginning to relax, he glanced at his mate with a look of love and pride, giving her an approving nod. "He was the last one. You did it, Tamsyn! I'm so proud of you, my love!" The earthen hunter slowly extracted himself so he could turn around again, ignoring his bleeding thigh for now in favor of tending to Tam and their children. He replaced the trillium with alfalfa and meadowsweet, urging Tamsyn to take them while he filled a bowl with fresh water from a skin hanging off the den wall for her. "They are beautiful... They take after their mother," he agreed with a fatherly smile to his little family, only half focusing while he made sure he tended to Tam's needs.

Once he'd gotten her everything he knew she'd need, he settled in to complete the loop around their new pups once more, pressing a bandage to his thigh to stem the bleeding while he cuddled with his mate and watched their children feed. "Thank you, Tamsyn. You've brought me more than I could ever deserve." Kane leaned in to plant a long, loving kiss on his mate's lips, content to curl around her and their new family.

"Kaneonuskatew"

As his mate, Tamsyn may enter his threads not marked as Private.
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