Outside was a rather pleasant Autumn afternoon, it would of course have been a pleasant time to take a walk, albeit a rather slow one given how late she was into her pregnancy, instead though Emer was safely inside where sleep had somehow found her. Night after night the memories of the male that had done this to her would plague her dreams, if anyone else was present they would hear the whimpers and whines that left her agitated body until finally she would wake for a start, freeing herself from the nightmares but never from the reality. It wasn't all a dream, it had happened and not only that but she had been left with huge consequence on top of it all. She hadn't been asleep all that long, her dreams still currently in a calm and relaxing state, free of that terrible black wolf. The rest would soon be interrupted all the same as contractions suddenly grasped her body in the real world. She awoke with a gasp of pain, suddenly worsened in the real world rather than the sleeping one. So far there was of course nothing to worry about, there were no shocking abnormalities that would need immediate attention, though all the same fear and worry would grip Emer. A first-time mother she'd never experienced any of this before though hearing stories of the pain female's went through when giving birth she could only figure that she had indeed gone into labour. Even though still not currently here, Emer suddenly realised once more that she wasn't ready for this. She was supposed to have had a loving mate to comfort her at her side, not awoken to her lonely den with nothing but worry. Fortunately her fear clouded mind would clear enough to allow her to realise one thing. She needed help, Erani, or any healer really would do but she surely wouldn't be able to achieve this alone. A strained howl would leave her lips, urgently beckoning the Queen to come. Given her experience and knowledge Erani would probably realise what the call meant but such a thought hadn't crossed her mind. Pain would grip her once more and all she could think about was how unprepared she was for this all, how could she be a mother? The wolves of Valhalla had helped her a lot throughout her pregnancy and there was no way she could have done it without them, she probably would have died and if that was the case, what hope did these pups have with her being their only carer through such crucial points of their life?

image by serendipity

Erani Adravendi

Erani had been waiting for that call. In fact, she?d already been on her way. Her jaws were stuffed with the plants she?d need; Motherwort, among them, Blue Cohosh another. She?d made sure Emer would be supplied with the two during the last weeks, these being among the gifts set upon Emer?s den front. As the call came to her ears, she picked up her pace, closing the last sixty feet before the call finished. Quietly, she slid into the den, uttering a muffled woof through the plants in her jaws, dropping them beside herself as her belly met the earth. In the light from the den mouth, she separated the plants, and nosed a leaf parcel of tiny black seeds toward Emer. ?These will ease the pain. Poppy Seeds. This dose should be enough to stop the pain, but not enough to affect you in any odd manner.? She nosed the Motherwort and Cohosh to Emer when she was sure the female would have the seeds down. ?These will strengthen your contractions should you weaken, and stop hemorrhaging.? And by Luna?s grace, may these pups survive better than Twigs daughter had. Lavender was pressed to the place she felt Emer?s nose would rest when she laid down completely. ?Breathe into that. It?s Lavender, and should help keep you calm and focused.? Her eyes turned to the female?s belly. How many were in there? Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

ooc: Time to post those pups! Tea, Sea and Lolaf you can decide the order amongst yourselves if you wish.

It didn't take Erani long but as the contractions and pain continued, it felt like it had been longer than reality before the Queen and Healer finally appeared at the entrance of her den. Emer looked towards the white female now ready to inform her that she thought the pups might be coming though it seemed that Erani was already on the ball informing Emer what she should eat and what they would do to her. At this point Emer placed her trust entirely on the Queen, the explanations weren't needed she would have simply taken what she was told. Obediently she would follow Erani's words eating the various herbs that were placed before her. As another contraction gripped her, she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for the plants to kick in and work their magic. Hopefully soon. Her gaze would fall to the lavender as Erani now placed that down. At the mention of calming she would waste no time in lowering her nose towards the herb. The presence of the far more knowledgeable woman was comforting, though still not quite enough. Whilst Erani would get her through the birth, Emer still feared what came next. As the labour progressed, instinct began to kick in. She would begin to push and at last the first of her children would grace the world. Lifting her nose from the lavender, she would glance towards the pup a little hesitantly at first she would twist around to reach it and start cleaning the tiny thing. A second and finally third would follow with little difficulty and she would clean and nose each one to her side, encouraging them to feed though well and truly exhausted herself. Two girls and one boy, each one already beautiful. Although the worry for bringing them up would likely return, the worry of her feelings towards them had been long discarded. These were her children, and she already loved them deeply.

image by serendipity

The world was dark, and warm and all she knew was the presence of things beside her and the contentment that encased her wholly. She did not exist as an individual, but almost more like an idea and a floating entity that drifted across without fear, thought or worry to the currents of the world. She thrived on three things: Contentment, which was to live in a world without pain or hunger and to know no strife. Love, for the presence's she could feel about her, brush against, exist beside her and without even understanding could love unconditionally. The final central point of her being was continuation, that throughout all of her existence nothing had ever changed, she had existed, she had floated, and had loved and never had she thought that there could be more to life then this. Then, the first harsh lesson of reality would be installed upon her being, she would feel a gentle push, a nudge guiding her elsewhere. She did not know any other realms had existed but for this one, she had not known there was anywhere else she could go. But this guidance presence clearly did, and in her existence of love she trusted it wholly, she was guided by it and pushed gently at first, then harder, and harder and she could feel the confines of all her being in that single moment, pushed and moulded together... and then she was free. Her first thought of the real world, was how vast it was. She could stretch out her... her being... her limbs? And she still could not feel the constraints of her previous world. She could not see, and the world was still in darkness but she could feel the expanse, the open air and the nothingness. For a moment her heart would leap and she would cry out in fear and surprise at this harshness she had been forced into. Then a touch would be upon her, rasping across her body in gentle and loving strokes and she would somehow recognise this presence, if not the touch. Again, she whole heartedly trusted this being and responded to this touch with a sucking, happy noise that emitted from her gums. She had a second realisation, that her belly craved something, and every pucker of her libs drove that driving feeling every bit more. Then she was gently pushed forward by that loving presence, and something hard and firm was before her, something that smelled sweet and inviting. She opened her mouth to pucker again, but this time they did not close on open air, but upon this thing and nature would kick in, drive her to suck, and suck she did. She was filled with the delightful taste of the substance, her first real taste in this new reality, and she loved it, she would suck into her belly was bulging and full and that feel of contentment would return. Only one aspect of her being was gone from here, the continuity, but already she was forgetting it for the pleasures of this new world. She would curly against the warm of the being beside her, nuzzle against that soft fur and fall into the most content sleep of her being. "Speech"

There was no him, no siblings just life and those that lived with him. There was no knowledge of what those others were or who they would be only that they were there and he cared for them, there wasn't any word for it in his dormant brain. He cared for her too, the voice he heard and vaguely knew as his mother's, though the caring was slightly different than what he felt for the other tenants of his little world. There were changes but nothing like this. The flexible walls of his world pushing in around them and then snapping back. They were shifted, pushed along by these flexible walls. Then almost as sudden as the changes started he felt an opening, one of the tenants that had been there but a moment ago was gone. Then he was being pushed along and the other tenant was gone but he realized this was different. There was space and cold, and sounds and scents and while there were no sights there was enough overload to his senses that he was stunned, quiet unmoving... But then there was a warm soft thing rasping over him. He was becoming self-aware. He was hungry! The boy let out a loud cry just as he was coming closer to the sweet smell of food. There was warmth at his side, his sister. Gaping maw closed around his mother and he suckled till he was full. Taddeo had been born. "Speech"

Forever she'd been floating in nothingness, just bumping against the other shapes that lived in the nothingness with her. But lately the quarters had been quite cramped, and the Others were constantly pressed against her. She squirmed and kicked out at them almost constantly for invading her space, but though they squirmed and kicked back there was no moving them. Now the world around them was squeezing in around them, slowly at first and with increasing pressure. One after the other the other shapes were gone, and she would have reveled in her new space to stretch her tiny legs had the world around her not been squeezing her ever more strongly, forcing her into an even more cramped tunnel. She fought and squirmed and protested, but it was inevitable, and she suddenly found herself out in the cold, dry world with her weight resting on something solid. Something flooded into her lungs that wasn't fluid, and she cried out in protest. Her furious squalling had no effect except that something very large began to lick her clean, all the while nudging her to move. She squirmed, but all that happened was that she ended up on her back on the solid thing until the big thing nudged her again. She suddenly found herself back among the Other Shapes, and there was some smell, some wonderful delicious smell, that called forth a suckling reflex. She squirmed forward toward the smell, rooting around until she found the source. Then... warmth! Fluid! Once more flooding into her, until her tiny tummy was round with it. It made her drowsy, and she curled up among her siblings, content to fall asleep. She couldn't see that she, the last born, was by far the smallest of the pups, concerningly tiny compared to them. She wouldn't have even cared; all she knew was blackness. Ooc: This made less sense than I wanted it to but there! Signy has been born! "Speech"