You'll Blow Us All Away

Briar smirked softly at the immediate anxiousness that colored her mate's expression when she asked him to call for Gwyn, Art immediately picking up on the fact that it was time for them to finally welcome their pups into the world. She stepped through the door of their room and went over to the large, plush spread of furs that they had set up in front of the gently crackling fire place, settling down onto them with a long sigh. She did her best to fight off any nervousness or worry, reminding herself that Gwyn would be here and that she was the most talented, skilled healer that she could have hoped for, telling herself that everything was going to go smoothly and all of their pups were going to be healthy. It was a mantra she had been telling herself as they counted down these final moments until she finally went into labor and she told herself all of this again as another contraction made the muscles along her sides tense and ripple before she could get settled onto her side. She winced and waited it out, letting the feeling pass before she shifted and rolled onto her side with a sigh. By then Artorias had gathered up the bowls of water, one near her for her to drink and another within reach of where Gwyn would be working. A slight smile pulled on to her lips as Artorias settled behind her and she leaned back into him, glancing back at him with a grateful smile as he held her and offered her whatever she needed from him.

Just then Gwynevere walked into the room, nudging the door closed behind her and setting down a bundle of supplies she had clearly preprepared for this moment. She had already been giving her various herbs and treatments throughout the day to prepare her for this moment so there wasn't much to give her right this moment, but Gwyn still pulled out her supplies and herbs and gave Briar a dose of the honey-sweetened paste as the contractions really began to take hold. Briar washed it down with a bit of water before she rested her head on the upper part of Artorias' leg again, feeling Gwyn's paws move over her round belly as she felt the pups and how far along she currently was. "It won't be long now," her sister-in-law told her, Gwyn lifting her paws away to start unfolding and preparing a few cloths and furs to dry off the pups as they came. "Just breathe through the contractions and I'll guide you through when to push, okay?" Briar gave a little nod to her instructions, glancing up at Artorias again with a little smile while she tried to just focus her attention on anything besides the little creeping bit of anxiety that was nagging at the back of her mind.

The contractions very quickly began to come one after another, the time between them growing shorter and the intensity of them getting steadily more painful as they went. Briar did as she was told, making herself breathe through her contractions even as some of them made her breathing come as short gasps through her teeth as she grimaced and whined softly at the feeling. Eventually the pressure and pain in her lower belly had gotten to a point where every instinct was telling her to push and that was when her perceptive healer placed her silver-tipped paw on her belly again, feeling for the pups with a small nod. Gwyn instructed her to push with the next contraction while helping to support her hind leg and keep a bit of the pressure off of her pelvis and moving her braided tail out of the way to help keep it from getting too messy in the process. Briar nodded quietly, panting lightly while her paw came up to find Artorias', holding onto him and bracing herself as she anxiously waited. As a particularly strong contraction gripped her and made her sides clench with painful tightness she let her instincts take over and she pushed hard, her teeth gritting and ears falling back against her head with a pained whine, not letting up until the contraction had passed and she relaxed again for just a moment with panting breaths. She could only imagine what this might have felt like if she didn't have all of Gwynevere's herbs and treatments and it only made her all the more grateful to be here in her care.

They went on like this for a while, but Briar couldn't be sure how long. The contractions all started to blend together after a bit as they came almost back to back and her pushing was near constant as their first born pup was slowly and painfully brought into the world. At the very least she could feel the progress she was making and that became her encouragement as she felt the large pup moving further and further toward their goal. Finally, with one tremendous push that pulled a loud grunt that evolved into a scream from her she finally pushed the pup free, the immediate relief making her fall back into Artorias as she panted and caught her breath from the effort. Blinking open her eyes, she lifted her head to see their first born, spying the familiar blue-hued fur even as Gwynevere was rubbing the pup down with one of the cloths. A couple moments later the distinctive squeal of an angry pup filled the room and Briar sighed with visible relief, a huge grin pulling across her lips as she glanced to Artorias before looking eagerly to their pup. Gwyn declared it was a boy as she placed their son on the soft furs at her belly, revealing the little boy that was a perfect blend between the two of them with his coloring and the striped markings that covered her back and hips. Her chest swelled with pride and love as she looked at their little boy, dipping her head to nuzzle him gently. She knew there wasn't going to be much time to celebrate right now, but now that she had accomplished one it gave her the motivation she needed to bring his siblings into the world as well.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"