Perfection from Nose to Tail

Familiar with this song and dance by now, once Gwynevere had placed the firstborn of their second litter at Briar's stomach to nurse Artorias settled in with Briar to await the arrivals of the rest of their new children. As if on cue, her contractions resumed, and with some strain and pushing, Briar birthed another boy into the world. Artorias lifted his head up over his mate's side to spy the black and brown boy as he was placed beside his brother to feed, a perfect blending of his sire and dam's colorations. Art gave a loving smile to Briar, knowing she'd be pleased to see her coat coming out in more of their children. The darker fur genes he possessed seemed to be the dominant of the two when it came to passing on their genetics to the next generation, as evidenced by their slew of dark coated children. He was still glad to see more of Briar's family traits being represented in this litter so far.

The proud parents barely had any time to fawn over their second son before Briar was gasping and wincing and the third round of contractions began without warning. Art blinked in surprise, but quickly reassumed his position of comforting and support for his Queen. It seemed like the pups weren't willing to wait any longer and they wanted out now. Holding onto Briar's paws as she squeezed his forelegs, this pup arrived with much greater expedition and racket, their third child announcing her presence loudly to the world as soon as Gwyn had her cleaned and prepared. Their first daughter in the litter. Artorias gazed upon the smaller girl of midnight blues and blacks accented with Briar's turquoise markings. She was beautiful. A softie for his daughters in particular, the Aegis' heart melted immediately.

Briar asked Gwynevere how many more she suspected there would be, and after a quick examination, his sister forecasted another two or three at minimum. Artorias cast Briar a bashful grin of apology, complete with ears folded shyly back when she gave him a teasing glare. Hey, it wasn't entirely his fault he and Briar were so productive! Briar asked for another dose of medicine to help her get through her labors and immediately Art was back to comforting his wife, nuzzling her neck and scruff while he held her close. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked neither Briar nor Gwyn in particular, just polling the room to see if he could be of any use to either of the ladies. He could see the exhaustion growing in Briar's expression and wanted to do all he could for her. There was nothing the Aegis hated more than feeling useless or sidelined, even when he realistically knew this was Briar's trial to face.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"