Best Babysitter

Aliana cheered and laughed softly while she and Rusalka made a game of building up a small pile of pillows for her to scale like a mountain and then dive off onto the soft mattress they were both lying on. It was a simple little bit of fun, but Rusalka seemed to be having the time of her little life! In this moment, Aliana had never felt more like she'd found where she was always meant to be. She had a home, a family, a bright future, and a belly full of very rambunctious puppies! She felt the wind leave her lungs as one of them gave her side a mighty kick, bringing a petite snowy paw to gently pat her rotund stomach to try and soothe the little troublemakers. Not even born yet, and already causing their mother grief! Earlier in the day, Rusalka had been checking out her pregnant belly, fascinated by it and even patting tiny paws on her to try and play with her children inside her, which while adorable, did result in a bit of a kick fight between Ruse and one of her unborn children.

The sound of the bedroom door sliding open on its tracks caught Ali's attention, the clouded queen greeting Dalila with bright eyes and sweet smile. "Look who it is, sweetie!" she whispered to Rusalka, who immediately burst into happy squeals to see her mother. "Oh, she's been a delight. Well behaved and very sweet. She must get that from you though." Ali giggled to herself. "How was your day? How does it feel being the fearless leader of Fenmyre?" Though mostly said to tease her, Ali was genuinely curious what leadership was like. She was very much a follower, and even the thought of being a queen herself still made her balk from time to time.

Aliana's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by another forceful kick to the inside of her womb, making her gasp and lose her breath with a gentle "oof". She stroked her paw over her stomach, still marveling at the size of it, and looked to Dalila with curiosity. "They're very active today! But... do you think I'm looking bigger than last time?" She was just a week or two shy of the point in her pregnancy where she'd lost her first litter, and even though she'd been large then as well, she'd been carrying five pups at the time. Now she seemed even bigger! Or maybe that was just her hormone-addled brain playing tricks on her.

"Aliana"