Perfection from Nose to Tail

While her first birth had been full of unknowns and uncertainty, this time she felt far more confident since she felt like she better knew what to expect. Of course, as was their blessing and curse with always having such large litters, she was absolutely enormous with their pups-even more so than with their first. She didn't think there was any way that they could possibly have more pups than the first time after they welcomed five children into their family, but if Gwyn was right-and she usually was-there was a chance they would break that record. At the last couple of weeks of her pregnancy, Gwyn put her on bed rest since getting around had become more and more of a struggle and to make sure that she would definitely be in the castle when she went into labor. She had been even more stubborn with her insistence on continuing her work for as long as possible than she had been with the first litter so she hadn't agreed to it without a bit of a fight, but there was really no arguing with her sister-in-law when it came to these things-especially not when she had Artorias backing her up.

Those first notable contractions had come early in the morning, pulling her from her admittedly already fitful sleep. While it was certainly a very early morning for her, it wasn't for Artorias and her husband had already gone out for his morning patrol. Just as she had wanted to continue on with her usual duties and work, she had insisted that Artorias keep up with his as well. There would be many weeks ahead of them when they would need to rely on the pack to cover for them while they cared for their newborns so she didn't want to pull from that support too early. She didn't call for anyone right away, already knowing just how long labor could take. Instead, she carefully rolled to her paws, rising from the plush bed they had made in the floor by the fireplace and waddled over to the balcony. Nudging open the door, she whistled for Willow, the falcon appearing from wherever she had been perched very quickly. "Willow, go fetch Art for me, will you? And tell him to bring Gwyn with him." With the task given, her companion took off, wheeling off toward the border where Art was likely to be. With that done, she pulled the door closed to block out the chilled Auster winter air and then began her steady pacing around the room, doing what she could to hurry the process along a bit as the contractions began to come more steadily.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"