know this life [birth]

Poem's birth, thankfully, passed completely without event. A breath that she had been holding for the entire ordeal (and nearly Poem's whole pregnancy) finally escaped her lips. She hadn't realized that she'd been so tense the entire time she'd been observing. Theory beamed and slowly stood up, stretching out each leg. Her muscles were sore and tight from being clenched - the alpha had spent the last few hours on the verge of an anxiety attack, poised for everything to go wrong. Blessedly, it hadn't. Did this whole praying thing really work? "Let me just take one more good look at you before I leave you be," Theory murmured, taking in the sight of her sister with her infant nieces and nephew just one last time. They'd never be this small and lovely and innocent again. Already she could feel a torrent of emotions brewing but she swallowed them down for Poem's sake. This was a joyous day. "And Lyric, as you can see - " she exhaled heartily again, glad that the incessant worry was slowly escaping her, "this was a perfect example of a natural birth. Mother and babies, all healthy and happy. We can leave knowing that sometimes, when nature takes its proper course, a healer isn't even necessary." She grinned at him and bowed her head again to the new parents. "Take whatever you need to feed her from the stores, Sparhawk. If you'd like something fresh, track Brandr down - he usually knows where the herds have been recently." Turning away from the den, Theory beckoned Lyric to follow so that the new family could have some privacy.