Cascade was woken from vivid pregnancy-dreams by the insistent kicking of one of the Valen-parasites in her womb. They'd been doing this a lot lately, the feeling both more delighting and more disturbing as they grew within her. Despite her tall size she'd been feeling like she was nearly as round as she was tall lately, leading her to wonder just how many of the munchkins Valen had implanted her with. Fifty? A hundred? But there was something... off, about the way the kick felt this morning. Cascade immediately went from drowsy to alert. Was there something wrong with the babies? If something happened to them Valen would be devastated... Oh shit had she done something wrong? The odd feeling came again, and this time, wide awake and hyper vigilant she realized it wasn't a kick at all, it was... squeezing? Ohhhhh. Well, she'd known this moment would come anytime now. She was actually just the slightest bit past the date she'd been told to expect the pups, so it should have occurred to her that, well... she was giving birth. Knowing this she relaxed, and the howl she sent for Valen held no panic, pain, or fear... just a relaxed "oh hey why don't you come over here and see me" tone, and then she stretched out to wait for nature to take it's course. She didn't know what all the fuss was about, so far this wasn't so bad... ""

OOC: going to take a bit longer because Laz is on absence until the fifth and I don't expect Valen will be posted until then, but if someone else wants to show up and hang out with Cas until then that's cool...

Mercy was close when Cascade's howl called out for Valentine. She knew that the woman was expecting, and from the whispered she heard the woman was due at any point and time. She didn't really care for children, but she had taken a liking to Cascade herself. Her character was refreshing, she was fun and liked to play when the other older wolves didn't. So out of curiosity she padded over to the den, to see if she needed anything. Her muscles were still sore from her spar with Valentine a few days ago, so it was nice to get out a stretch her legs a little bit. As she neared the mouth of the den, Mercy poked her pale head in and saw her stretched out. Purple eyes roamed towards her belly, which was making all sorts of strange rolls. Blinking, she cleared her throat to try to catch the purple woman's attention. She had no clue that she was giving birth, she hadn't really seen anyone in labor. All she knew was that her own mother nearly died trying to bring her and her brother into the world, so this clearly wasn't labor. Right? "Do you need anything Cascade?" she asked softly, padding a bit further into the den. She didn't mean to intrude, but she could at least go get her water or something... The woman seemed to be quite calm through this whole pregnancy, so she didn't really get what Dione had been complaining about...

There was a howl that went in the air, calling for Valentine, yet... Ellis found something about it drawing her. Cascade was the one the call belonged to, the female having been growing round with pups. Ellis had been carefully gathering herbs as soon as she was sure they would grow, worry gnawing in her gut. She had assisted with pregnancy before -- one here in Alacritia. It had memories stirring in her mind, nightmares plaguing her. She would not stand to have another nearly die just to give birth to her children... Or have any babies lost. Ellis swore it.

So Ellis would emerge from her den, checking back at the bunden already assembled. It couldn’t hurt to pop in and make sure that Cascade was doing alright, right? She would hesitate, debating, and then grabbed the bundle of herbs carefully in her jaws. Just in case. She had to be prepared. She had to be. This time she would be the main healer helping with a birth rather than the assistant. If anything happened to Cascade and the children it would be her fault.

No pressure though, right?

Ellis would arrive at the den to find Mercy already present. The female would set the herbs down, nose twitching, alert, taking a breath. Calm, be calm. “Cascade... You’re in labor.” She wasn’t sure if the woman already knew or not, calm as she was. Possibly... Ellis hoped so. If Cascade remained calm that would certainly help the situation. She would open the bundle of herbs, tearing open the large dock leaf that held than and getting what she needed.

“I have some fennel here. I need you to crush the juice out the stalks and swallow it. It’ll help with the birthing pains.” She also had raspberry leaves present, a precaution for heavy bleeding, and a couple other herbs. She would nudge the fennel towards the purple female, feeling her own heart pounding heavily in her chest.

Valentine was quick to arrive at Cascade's den. His haste wasn't brought on by fear - she hadn't sounded worried - but by a desire to please. Making sure Cas had everything she could possibly want was top priority. Even his nightmares, once dominated by leadership shortcomings, now centered around the horrific idea that he had forgotten to aid her in one way or another. Nudging passed those gathered (and still rather clueless as to what was happening) the brute got down on his elbows and shimmied far enough into the den so that he could see her. "Drawing a bit of a crowd," he commented before querying, "Do you need anything or didja miss me?" "Talk" "You" Think

The wolf who came to her call was not Valen, but Mercy. Cascade blinked in a moment of consternation, having not expected company, but the girl wasn't unwelcome. "Hey there, Mercy," she greeted with a smile. "I'm doing good, really, I don't need anything. How've you been? Keeping everyone on their toes for me while I'm too fat and slow to do it?" Another arrival at the entrance of her den, another packmate she'd actually met before. Ellis, the pack healer. Good instincts! Though at the healer's words Cascade had to grin. "Yeah I know. No big deal. Been for a little bit. It's not so bad, you know?" And it really wasn't - the contractions were a bit closer together, a bit stronger since she'd first called but certainly nothing unbearable. She eyed the herbs the healer shoved toward her, but disregarded them. No need to go chewing on random rabbit-food unless she actually needed to, right? She was saved from needing to articulate this by Valen's appearance. She grinned at his question and winked at him. "Always miss you when you're gone, dahling," she drawled. "But also thought maybe you should know that your spawn are fixing to escape, if you get the drift. They're making a break for it." A particularly strong contraction gripped her, and she closed her eyes to concentrate on just breathing throughout it. Well, couldn't imagine it would be too long then. She had to wonder if she'd managed to sleep through most of the early labor stuff. Maybe not - wasn't it supposed to be a lot worse than this? "Soooo anything I'm missing in the Outside World?" she continued on as the contraction passed, seeking to take her visitors' minds off the fact that she was well, in labor, but also genuinely curious. She'd spent more than enough time cooped up here. ""

Mercy flashed a smile at the woman when she asked if she was keeping everyone on their toes when she had been off being well... pregnant. "Don't you know it! Someone had to keep their fluffy butts moving," she said with a giggle, sitting towards the left of the den entrance. She had been ready to go and grab the woman something, but clearly she was okay. She didn't think that this was going to be a crowded conversation, but that was soon changed when both Ellis and Valentine pushed their way into the den. Her purple eyes grew wide at the sudden crowd, and she was going to turn to walk out when she heard Ellis' words. Wait, hold the phone, she was in labor? In shock she looked back towards the iridescence woman, she had only heard horror storied about giving birth. Hell, her mother almost died apparently. But here she was, asking them how everything was going on around them. A bubble of laughter left her maw, rump plopping back down to the earth as her head shook slowly. She knew that she liked this woman for one reason or another. "You have to be one of the most chipper wolves I know, Cascade," it was an honest compliment, really!

Her shoulders shrugged in relation to Cascade's question, she hadn't really been up to too much. "Me and Valentine spared, that was fun," she said, eying the big bear-wolf. It had been a surprise that they were even going to spar, taken that he charged at her like a... well like a bear-wolf. Elongated tail thumped on the ground as she watched the woman's belly twist and tense, in awe of the whole process really. "Are you two excited?" she asked, kind of a double edged question. She didn't have the best experience with parents... ended up leaving her own in favor to come here with Dione. But would these be loving parents? With Cascade and Valentine's personality, she doubted it. But still, the young girl worried sometimes.

"Go and Wander." Said my heart.
...and so I would wander.

Valentine would arrive on scene, and it kind of unsettled the female just how calm they all were. Especially Cascade. No big deal? Ellis had nearly watched her friend die bringing her children into the world. Ellis stared at her, her eyes wide with shock. There was no possible way this was normal. The gods were laughing at her. Mocking her. Was she insane? Was the memory of Othello's birthing false? The female would let her gaze fall to the ground. She almost felt like they were laughing at her. The gods, this world... why? Ellis would shuffle awkwardly back, casting a look at Cascade. "A-alright then... if... if you need any assistance I'll be outside..." She would  back the rest of the way out and heaved a sigh.

"I don't understand..." The female muttered to herself. Othello's birth played in her head again and again. So much blood... and Orchid had been there, keeping them all calm enough to help 'thello through it all. The memory made the healer shake. Ellis squeezed her eyes closed. "Is this some cruel joke...?" Again the words were for her ears alone, though the whine she gave after was a bit louder. Gods above... what did they want from her?

"Listen to me talk," 'but read my thoughts.'

"Settle down." Said my heart.
...and so here it was I would settle down.

Table by:: Tea

In response to Cascade's very chipper announcement Valentine blinked. And then blinked again because his eyelids were the only part of him that could function properly in that moment. It was time? Like, seriously, the time? He was having a hard time wrapping his head around what exactly that entailed...and trying to figure out how exactly that much belly was going to squeeze out of her- With that alarming thought in mind, the brute snapped out of his frozen state. He exhaled slowly (an action that was long overdue) and then drew in a deep breath to clear away the sensation of lightheadedness. "Soooo anything I'm missing in the Outside World?" He blinked again. She wanted to talk about the weather now? Valentine was on the verge of questioning her mental state when it occurred to him that she might be trying to get her mind off of what her body was doing. Immediately he decided to try and help. It was the least he could do. "We did," he confirmed Mercy's statement, "She did very well; it was a good fight." Was he excited? Of course. Nervous too. Was he ever nervous. What if one of them had three eye or something weird like that? Oh, god, what if one was like Dione? That thought honestly terrified him. Scarier still was the thought that they could grow up to hate him, but what was truly terrifying was the thought that he might fail them.  What if he turned out to be like his own father? "Yes, I'm excited." "Talk" "You" Think

Cascade tried and failed to cover up a smirk at Valen's reaction. Ok... so she didn't actually try. She just straight up grinned smugly. Up until another contraction squeezed her. Sigh. She waved her paw - bye bye - absently at Ellis. Wasn't like she'd really need a healer anyway, right? Wolves had been birthing wolves since wolves existed. Besides, she was a descendant of DIRE WOLVES, unlike the wusses here in Imperium. Surely she could handle anything even Valentine could spawn. The sentiment made her feel oddly sentimental, or maybe it was the hormones, but either way the purple landwhale leaned over and swiped her tongue affectionately over Valen's dark ears, smoothing the fur on his handsome head. Silly little duck - was it just now sinking in that he was going to have little mini-Valens running around? "Sure, it's pretty exciting," she answered Mercy amiably, unaware of any undercurrent to the question. "You know, these'll be the first Saxe babies of a new generation. First Saxes at all since my litter!" She grinned mischievously at Valen. "My brother Neios is so jealous." Some hours later The conversation had continued for some time, while Cascade grew... well, bored with labor. But finally the contractions had intensified, until finally something actually started to happen. And... it was pretty awful, not going to lie. Not the easiest thing she'd ever been through, but she pressed her skull to Valen's shoulder and forced herself to breath through the pain, keeping herself calm and collected until finally... a puppy slipped into the world. Valentine's first born - a son. Cascade nudged the wet, squalling infant toward her front paws to lick him clean, incidentally also providing the infant's father a good look at the little tyke that didn't involve staring at her hindquarters. Awww, lookit the little bit. Valen's blue, fading up into her own Ebony. What color would his eyes be, she wondered. Blue like Valen's, or like hers - purple or yellow? Or would the little dude inherit her heterochromia and have more than one color? There were indistinct smudges under the pup's glued-closed eyes... would they someday be dots like Valen? "Why don't you name him?" she suggested as another contraction wracked her form. "Tell you what, why don't you name all of them? I'm probably going to be a bit busy for a while..." And so she had to concentrate on the next Valen-parasite making its way into the world, though she was aware that the first little guy had been introduced to her teats. Valen or Mercy? Or had instinct managed to take over? Well, it didn't matter - this second pup was wayyy easier than the first, either because it was smaller... which it might have been... or because the first pup had already gotten her body ready... which is probably had... another boy. "Gee, Valen, you really are making a bunch of mini-you's to take over aren't you?" she joked as she cleaned this boy as well. This one was practically the spitting image of Valen, colorwise. Cutie. Again contractions began, and this pup arrived even faster than the other two, and began squalling practically as soon as she hit air. Wow was she a noisy little bint! A little girl to add to the two boys, and with Valen's blue and her ebony mixed once again. Cascade, nudging the brat in to join her brothers, grinned up at Valen. Had he passed out at some point? She wouldn't have been surprised. "Well," she stated calmly, with a completely unfaked yawn, "that wasn't so bad I guess. Not as fun as making them." She winked, but couldn't quite get her eye to open again. "I... could kind of use a nap though." Was Mercy still there or had she left? Cascade couldn't tell, with her eyes drooping so insistently. Man was she tired. They were pretty cute though... looked just like their daddy. ""

With Ellis out of the den there was enough room (well, kinda) for him to squeeze in, which he promptly did. They chatted about nothing in particular, simply talking to pass the time. When Cascade finally started to look as if the contractions were getting to her, he circled around behind her and laid down beside her, silently offering his shoulder for her to lean into when it got hard. Weeeeeee time skip! The longer her labor went on, the more curious he got. When it was finally time for the first to be born, his curiosity got the better of him and the brute scooted around so that he could peek over Cascade's rump. When that didn't quite satisfy his curiosity he sneaked closer. What he saw made him freeze. That looked like a...was that, was that a hea- Quite suddenly he found himself leaning on his elbows on the ground with the world tilting around him. He blinked and took a deep breath before fleeing to take up position once more by Cascade's side. Yep. He wasn't going down there again. At least not while a kid was coming out of it. Still shocked by what was now seared into his retinas, Valen barely registered the question as Cas instructed him to name their son. However, he did pay close attention when the child was brought forward and cleaned. He had tiny, chubby little legs that led down to fat cankles and clubbed toes. His head was blocky and blunt with teeny fat ears that lay squashed against his massive noggin...and he was perfect. "Cas, he's amazing." Gently he picked him up and set him down next to Cascade's belly. Their second child was also male and had similar coloring as his father. "He's perfect." Cascade, who was somehow still in a cheerful mood despite having just delivered two (count 'em...TWO) big headed babies, quipped, "Gee, Valen, you really are making a bunch of mini-you's to take over aren't you?" To which Valen responded, "Oh, damn, my secret's out." A third child soon entered the world, this one loud and demanding. "She's beautiful, he commented. "A bit loud." But that was a good thing, right? She joked some more, something that brought a smile to Valen's lips, and then stated that she could use a nap. No shit. She just crapped three kids into the world. "Before you sleep, I've been thinking about names." Clearing his throat, he tipped his head in the direction of the firstborn. "I was thinking that the pumpkin-headed one could be called Angelus, the big guy right there," he pointed to the secondborn, "Could be Seraphim, and the little noisemaker looks like an Evangeline to me." "Talk" "You" Think