Perfection from Nose to Tail

Gwynevere of course nodded easily to Briar's request for more medication at the half way point of her labors and when Artorias offered his help she was quick to accept it. "Yes, will you refill her water while I prep the herbs? And these cloths can be moved out of the way for now," her sister-in-law instructed him, pointing out the pitcher of water that was on a shelf off to the side and nudging the towels that had been made a mess with her cleaning off their pups. That did mean that Artorias had to leave her side for a moment, but she was still grateful that he was so willing to help where he could. They both knew there was only so much he could do, but just having him here was all she could really ask for. While Artorias went to work with the quick tasks he was given, she watched Gwyn pull out another dose of the herbs she had combined into a medicine before hand, accepting the dose that was offered to her readily. Even with the bit of honey that Gwyn had mixed into it both for sweetness and to make it easier to scoop it still filled her mouth with that familiar bitterness of herbs so she was grateful for the water that Artorias brought her.

There was thankfully a bit of a lull in her contractions as they all collectively reset and prepared for the last few of this litter to make their appearance. At the very least there was enough time for those herbs to settle in her stomach and for Artorias to take his place behind her again before she started to feel that now very familiar pressure and pain. Holding on to Artorias' foreleg once more, she fell back into the same pattern of contractions and breathing. Their fourth child gave her a bit of reprieve in the sense that their second girl was so far the smallest of the bunch and because of that a bit easier to bring into the world. While not quite as loud or boisterous as the midnight girl now situated at her stomach, the second girl of the litter still upheld the tradition set by her siblings of crying with adorable puppy squeals as soon as Gwynevere cleared her mouth and gave her a few good rubs with the soft fur. Once she had joined her siblings, evening out the number of boys and girls, Briar leaned over to see the beautiful little girl that surprised her with the lovely slate and cream coloring she had been given. She knew that half of Artorias' bloodline was a bit of a mystery so there was truely no telling what traits might peek through so she didn't know if this lighter blue shade was simply a diluted form of Art's own coloring or some hidden gene from someone in his unknown family. Regardless, Briar absolutely couldn't get over how stunning their children were.

The reprieve she was given was short lived as her contractions that were helped along by the herbs she had been given picked up yet again and she very quickly picked up on the fact that this was going to be another large pup to add to their list of children that took after their father in the height department. She was glad for her decision to ask for more medicine now as she gritted her teeth through the strain and effort she put into her labor, whining through each push and panting hard in-between. With Gwynevere's encouragement and a bit of help from her sister-in-law to pull the large pup free, she finally made the last push to free their third son of the litter. She gave a heavy sigh of relief and panted to catch her breath a bit while Gwyn tended to their newest pup. She kept an ear perked and listening for those distinctive cries, but they didn't seem to come and immediately she was on alert, lifting her head tiredly to see what was going on. Noticing her concern, Gwyn immediately gave her a reassuring smile and brought the boy closer to her and Art. "He's breathing fine, just a bit on the quiet side it seems." Sure enough, once he was closer to them Briar could hear the subdued squeaks and grunts from the large pup and she chuckled breathlessly, relaxing into Art again in response. The boy was such an interesting mix of them both with a pale coat acting as a background for blue and tan markings that were split down the middle perfectly. He had those Fatalis stripes along his back though so she felt like maybe she won out a bit on this one.

With five healthy pups snuggled into the bedding at her belly she thought that perhaps that would be the end of it. They had matched the number of pups from their last litter, after all, and even that had felt like more pups than she should have been able to carry. However, if seemed like they were forever bound to outdo themselves and just as she had begun to relax she felt that shift and movement as her body prepared for another pup to be born. After a quick examination, Gwyn assured her this was the last of them and Briar nodded a bit before settling into Artorias again. She had already gotten through five, what was one more? Of course their surprise sixth pup wouldn't make this any easier on her, turning out to be just as big as his previous brother. She was truly feeling the exhaustion of the whole process by now and every push took considerable effort. Gwyn kept encouraging her on, telling her to just keep it up long enough to get the pup to a point where she could help pull the pup free. Even that felt like a big ask, but she would do quite literally anything for her children and somehow she managed push this last pup free. Once she felt the pup come free she immediately collapsed back into Art with a heavy, relieved sigh, letting her eyes close for a long moment while she caught her breath and recovered for a moment. Gwyn proudly announced that this was another boy and Briar couldn't help but give a tired chuckle. Of course it was. It was always the boys that gave her the hardest time.

With their last boy nestled in beside his siblings, she was finally done birthing their second litter. She was too tired to lift her head to see their youngest child right away so she asked Art quietly with a bit of humor, "Does he at least look like me?" She chuckled and nuzzled into Art's foreleg as she used his limb as a pillow and waited while Gwyn cleaned her up and made sure that everything had passed as it should. It took a bit before her sister-in-law was done with her work and Briar tiredly opened her eyes to see Gwyn leaving a small jar beside her bowl of water. "Make sure she takes a spoon full of this in a few hours to help with any lingering pain and help with milk production," she quietly whispered to Artorias before she started to slip out of the room. "Thank you again, Gwyn. I couldn't do it without you," she called after her, giving their lead healer a weak smile before she let her eyes close again. "And just like that we're parents again," she told Art with another chuckle, a smile permanently on her lips.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"