Chocolate is good for the soul

What the male knew of life, at the moment, was simple. The pup was unaware of the world outside what he knew, the womb of his mother, the warm walls that kept him and the other two forming bodies of his brother and sister safe as they had grown. But the male, of a slightly smaller than average size compared to most wolves, as well as his siblings, had grown enough for the next stage in their life to begin. The start of it all; trials and tribulations, greatness, love, joy, friendship, hardship, loss... all kinds of things would await in the world he was going to be expelled into.

The shifting in his world, shaking and moving with force stirred the pup's conscious. His mother's heartbeat, a sound that he had come to know as soothing and to identify her by, was a bit faster now as contractions shook her body, moving the whelp. His body would wriggle, protest filling him. But in this situation protest would do the little one no good. Whether he was ready or not he was coming into the world, a last push sending him out of the warmth and into a cooler world.

A soft tongue would rasp over his soft features, cleaning him of the sticky stuff that clung to him. As he was cleaned the male would give a shrill cry, his lungs experiencing air for the first time. His ears and eyes would remain sealed for a while, however. He would squirm, whining more as his mother finished cleaning him. He didn't like this new sensation. He felt exposed... somewhere bigger than he was familiar with.

His mother would gently nudge him towards his belly, his movements shaky as he wriggled forward. Walking would come later, but for now the pup would resort to that for moving. As he neared her belly the sense and instinct would grip him, bringing the little one to search for one of her teats. He would quiet, latching on with little tail twitching in a wag as he started to suckle, getting his first taste of the rich milk that would give him nourishment so he could grow larger and stronger. He would continue to quietly feed, oblivious to the complications his mother faced.