Little Fiery One
Birth!
Defender
Bloodletter
05-02-2022, 07:53 PM
Once she alerted her husband and handmaiden activity broke out around her with Alastor hurrying to gather extra furs and fetching a bowl of water soon followed by Irilyth rushing in with her herbs and medicines. She smiled a little past her light panting as she watched them, her aqua gaze following them both with grateful affection. She was a proud woman, but not so proud as to believe that she could have done this entirely on her own. They both reminded her of her boundaries and were there to help her without her needing to ask. As Alastor settled beside her and draped a foreleg over her midsection, she leaned back into him just as she had as she was birthing their first litter. The gentle movement of his paw was at least soothing between the slowly building contractions, but more than anything she was just happy to have him here with her as always. "You know I am," she replied with a slightly breathless chuckle, giving her mate a grin. "And I'll certainly remember that if need be."
Irilyth brought her a medicated drink of some sort and Manea took it without question, trusting her beloved handmaiden to give her what she needed. She only knew the very basics of what herbs were needed during birth so she knew of mortherwort and trillium, but she hadn't she slightest idea how Irilyth made them into extracts. No matter how she had done it, Manea was impressed. During her last birth she had forgone the trillium until it was too late for it to do any good so she was glad that Irilyth was making her take it now this time around. Manea had learned a lot about herself over the last year and as much as she knew she could go through this without the help of the additional herbs, she also knew she had so much more to live for now and there was no need to put additional strain on herself when it wasn't needed. "Thank you, Irilyth," she replied as she sat down the now empty bottle before leaning over to get a quick drink from the spring water Alastor had gathered to wash down the herbal taste that had filled her mouth.
With that taken care of she settled into Alastor once more, glancing toward Irilyth as the small healer felt her belly and the wriggling pups within. Manea nodded to her instructions, remembering well the rhythm of things she had discovered the first time around. For a little while the contractions were more akin to dull pains and uncomfortable tightness as the muscles around her midsection naturally started to work the pups into place, but the longer that things progressed the more intense and painful the contractions became. She rested her head on the upper part of Alastor's foreleg as she leaned her back into him for support, panting and grimacing through each contraction while things continued to progress as they should. It didn't take too long before the building pressure and pain finally told her it was time to push. She drew in a steadying breath and timed it with the next wave of contractions, her claws gripping into the fur bedding and a low growl rumbling in her chest as she began to bring their first born of this litter into the world in earnest.
She caught quick breaths and panting between the contractions that were now very close together as the first pup was worked steadily out into the world and with each hard push her growls and grunts of pain got louder. She could feel the difference between this time and the last time with the trillium in full effect, but it still was by no means a pleasant experience. Towards the end as the pain reached its peak her paw shifted from the bedding to Alastor's foreleg in some attempt to hold onto something solid as she dug deep to finally push free this pup that was very clearly taking after its parents in size. Her claws sank into his skin as her toes flexed and gripped, a short scream that was muffled through gritted teeth escaping her as she gave that last hard, final push to birth their pup.
She immediately relaxed with a shuttering sigh and released Alastor's leg as her body gave her a bit of reprieve, lifting her head so that she could see their child as Irilyth cleaned them up and brought them over to her side. It only took a moment before the cries of a puppy filled their den and a grin pulled across her features, glancing back at Alastor happily before giving her full attention to their pup. She didn't have time to fully inspect the pup that Irilyth had declared was a girl, but even with her damp fur Manea could already see the vibrant fiery colors of her father and the distinctive patterns that he carried and she could practically feel her heart melt. She had a soft spot for those vibrant red hues and this girl had them in spades. She didn't have much chance to celebrate though as her contractions quickly picked back up again after only just a short breather, signaling the next round of labor as her siblings eagerly began to make their way out to join her.
"Manea Mendacium"
Irilyth brought her a medicated drink of some sort and Manea took it without question, trusting her beloved handmaiden to give her what she needed. She only knew the very basics of what herbs were needed during birth so she knew of mortherwort and trillium, but she hadn't she slightest idea how Irilyth made them into extracts. No matter how she had done it, Manea was impressed. During her last birth she had forgone the trillium until it was too late for it to do any good so she was glad that Irilyth was making her take it now this time around. Manea had learned a lot about herself over the last year and as much as she knew she could go through this without the help of the additional herbs, she also knew she had so much more to live for now and there was no need to put additional strain on herself when it wasn't needed. "Thank you, Irilyth," she replied as she sat down the now empty bottle before leaning over to get a quick drink from the spring water Alastor had gathered to wash down the herbal taste that had filled her mouth.
With that taken care of she settled into Alastor once more, glancing toward Irilyth as the small healer felt her belly and the wriggling pups within. Manea nodded to her instructions, remembering well the rhythm of things she had discovered the first time around. For a little while the contractions were more akin to dull pains and uncomfortable tightness as the muscles around her midsection naturally started to work the pups into place, but the longer that things progressed the more intense and painful the contractions became. She rested her head on the upper part of Alastor's foreleg as she leaned her back into him for support, panting and grimacing through each contraction while things continued to progress as they should. It didn't take too long before the building pressure and pain finally told her it was time to push. She drew in a steadying breath and timed it with the next wave of contractions, her claws gripping into the fur bedding and a low growl rumbling in her chest as she began to bring their first born of this litter into the world in earnest.
She caught quick breaths and panting between the contractions that were now very close together as the first pup was worked steadily out into the world and with each hard push her growls and grunts of pain got louder. She could feel the difference between this time and the last time with the trillium in full effect, but it still was by no means a pleasant experience. Towards the end as the pain reached its peak her paw shifted from the bedding to Alastor's foreleg in some attempt to hold onto something solid as she dug deep to finally push free this pup that was very clearly taking after its parents in size. Her claws sank into his skin as her toes flexed and gripped, a short scream that was muffled through gritted teeth escaping her as she gave that last hard, final push to birth their pup.
She immediately relaxed with a shuttering sigh and released Alastor's leg as her body gave her a bit of reprieve, lifting her head so that she could see their child as Irilyth cleaned them up and brought them over to her side. It only took a moment before the cries of a puppy filled their den and a grin pulled across her features, glancing back at Alastor happily before giving her full attention to their pup. She didn't have time to fully inspect the pup that Irilyth had declared was a girl, but even with her damp fur Manea could already see the vibrant fiery colors of her father and the distinctive patterns that he carried and she could practically feel her heart melt. She had a soft spot for those vibrant red hues and this girl had them in spades. She didn't have much chance to celebrate though as her contractions quickly picked back up again after only just a short breather, signaling the next round of labor as her siblings eagerly began to make their way out to join her.
