Kavdaya Of The Nomads

She’d been taking it easy – as much as a healer with a pair of very ill wolves could take it, at any rate – since her body had swollen with life. Admittedly, she felt as bloated as one of the deer carcasses she’d found the previous year along the river on the southern border of the pack land. Her unborn brood wriggled and squirmed most of the time, now, and at times, it was quite uncomfortable. Sleeping was difficult, between the waning health of Surreal, and now Falk, and the constant movement of the pups she carried. She wasn’t about to complain. This had been a dream of hers since she was young – to have a family, see her children running, playing, learning, laughing, and finding their way in the world – and she would take any sleepless night, or constant running to the outside of the cave to relieve herself over another year closer to being unable to attain that dream. This dream. She was strolling back from a short distance expedition to find a few herbs before Autumn could roll in and kill off the best herbs when the first cramp struck. It took her breath away, and she paused, waiting until the spasm eased, counting under her breath. Another swept in, and she knew for sure. She waited for the spasm to pass, then hurried forward. Her alcove was already ready, piled with moss and grasses from the plains, not to mention furs from her growing stock. Creed shared the alcove with her, naturally, and as she alternated between hurrying toward the cave, and pausing for the contractions, she lifted her head, calling for him, as well as the rest of the family. She didn’t foresee any complications to the birthing; everything had gone well, as they should. In all, she was looking forward to the hours ahead, pain or no pain. She finally made it to the ravine, into the cave, and to her alcove, settling with a careful sigh and relaxing, having set the bundle of herbs aside on her way through the opening. Now all there was to do was wait. Skip to the action! (OOC I want to move this along so that puppies can be posted, even if we don’t have to finish the thread.) Labor was well and truly underway, and she rode out the contractions as best as she could. She was vaguely aware of the giant red frame of Regulus outside the alcove, watching from a distance, but for now, her world revolved around pain, contractions, and remembering to breathe. She’d taken the herbs needed to ease the pain, strengthen the spasms, and help for an easy birth, but the pain was still intense. But she was near the goal. The first was coming now, and she focused on that feeling, settling into a rhythm of push and breathe, push and breathe, until at last, the first pup arrived, encased within his slippery sac. She sagged briefly before twisting around to free her new child, lathering love and strokes of her tongue over his form. A boy, and big. She cleaned him up as best as she could before nudging the wriggling form to her belly, taking the time to rest. She knew there would be a short time to get her breath and bask in the triumph of becoming an official mother. That moment ended, and she tackled the following arrivals with joyful tenacity, almost settled into a trance as the next pup, and then the next, and then two more arrived, cleaning each one as it came into the world, until at last, she sagged, certain nothing but the afterbirth remained to be expelled, and sought out Creed’s shoulder to press her nose into his fur. “Beautiful, Creed. They’re beautiful. Perfect, every one of them.” (Birthing order shall start with Eve/Fable, and then whomever posts next, ending with Glory/Prestige, since they’re the smallest. Family and friends welcome to post ^^) Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

F A B L E A N C O R A

All he knew was nothingness. There was no constant stream of thought within his mind, but yet he still heard the voices outside of his confines. He knew his parents voice, but didn't know that he knew them. It was all just a part of the blissfulness of being unaware. But soon everything would change, as he barreled into the world and out of the only thing he knew. Cold, cold cold. The boy let out a pitiful whine as thr warmth he had not known was there was taken away, the need for its comforting embrace filling him with a desire he had never known. He blindly bumbled through the world until the solid yhing at his paws was gone, tiny legs flailing to find it once more. He didn't know what it was, but it was no more. He wanted it back. Twisting in his mothers jaws, he settled once he was on the solid plane once again. There was something before him, and instinct called him forward. Not knowing quite what it was, but knowing it was what he needed, thr pup groaped forward with open jaws, small sounds escaping the damp bundle. Soon he found what it was that he needed, and he ceased to make any further sounds. Well, besides the loud suckling that transpired. The large newborn felt whole and safe, warm and right away he knew what comfort was.

Soon more squealing bundles were put beside him, and even though they had shared a womb he knew not who they were. But no fear entered his new mind as his siblings joined him in the folds of their mothers belly. As soon as the little one had drank his fill, he scootched his paws around and kneeded his mothers belly. He wanted more, more of the delightful substance that made his already round belly even more so. But he had lost his spot. His noce bumped on something warm and wet, but he knew what was before him. He relatched, not knowing that he had pushed a sibling out of the way. He was a greedy one, this large boy. His belly was already full, but it was the comfort that he sought at his mothers teet. There was so many new things around him, too much for his fresh new mind to comprehend. He fed until he could feed no more, very ungracefully flopping over to his side. His overly round flank moved up and down, and the boy once again entered the darkness that was known as sleep.

A howl interrupted his nap under the sparse shade of a tree. Eyes flicked open groggily and he was confused for a few moments. He knew the howl belonged to Kavdaya, but it took him a few minutes to realize what that howl actually meant. They were coming! The pups were coming now! He wasn't as groggy then. Leaping to his feet, as fast as an old wolf could, he rushed to the den. She had already settled into the alcove and he noted that she was in pain. Pain was normal for birthing so instead he went to her and settled down to lay behind her. Occasionally he'd lick her fur to flatten it in some areas and in others just to soothe her and try and distract her mind a bit. He'd watch with interested eyes as five pups were born in total. She'd cleaned each one and after it was all said and done she leaned into him. He accepted her weight eagerly and nuzzled her. "They are." He murmured, watching as the squirmed by her stomach. Pride welled within him. He had children! A little late in life, but still here all the same. Walk, "Talk" Think

An unhappy and quite angry wail left him as he was forcefully evicted from his warm home in the womb. As soon as he was cleaned it'd left him and it got worse when he could no longer feel something firm beneath his feet. Confused and upset he wasn't happy until he felt the strange firm thing underneath his feet once more. Crawling blindly, he felt the form of his larger sibling and then settled in next to him and instinctively found something he needed. Settling in and quieting down he began eating his fill before eventually dozing off. All the excitement and confusion was tiring. Walk, "Talk" Think

As he was released from his gooey prison, he nuzzled into the licking and quickly found his place among the warmth of his mother's belly. Other than a few grunts, the infant's vocal chords remained unused as he quietly and calmly allowed his paws to tell him what his eyes could not, pressing delicately against the warm fur he'd been nudged into. His underdeveloped ears barely caught the sound of anything happening around him, but the change from the white noise of his womb to the minor changes in pitch now that he had been freed. One thing did strike him as familiar, and if he hadn't been so cold he might have tried to expend all the strength within his newborn limbs that he could. That was the bass to his father's words, and to which he would lift his head and toss it in the direction the vibrations were coming from. The blind and mostly deaf newborn could only hold it for so long before his neck weakened and forced him to lower it back against his mother's teat, oh well. He would discover it again another day. For now, he returned to his very first hunt: the one for his loving mother's milk.

One moment he was curled up in his cozy little existence, warm, comforting and unchanging, and the next he was squirming around in an endlessly expansive space. The warmth of the only home he'd known disappeared, and he cried out in displeasure and fear. What was happening? Unable to see, or control his environment, he had no way to figure out what to do. But any sort of fear he'd felt dissolved when he felt his mother's tongue caress him, drying him and comforting him on a level that required no thought. Although he'd never experienced his mother's touch before now, it instinctively brought him a sense of safety. Squeaking in delight, he squirmed, realizing that his paws could grasp the strange, solid surface beneath him, and he was able to move - another instinct told him to follow the scent flowing through his nose. It led him to his mother's belly, where his toothless mouth opened up, finding a teat and suckling contentedly.

Oh, this was bliss. He'd thought that his life before, in the dark comfort of the womb was all that there was - but in his short moments free of the confines, he'd realized there was so much more. The warmth of his mother's touch, the ability to move further than he'd ever gone before, and the pleasing fullness of filling his belly on mother's milk. Through small, nearly deaf ears, he heard his mom and dad's voices. Intuitively, he knew their voices. Another delighted squeak left his tiny jaws as he squirmed up next to his siblings, his fluffy fur nearly dry, and his belly full.

The last and smallest pup was not any more prepared for his sudden exit from the womb than any more of his siblings and as he found himself suddenly forced from his warm snug home he released a high squeak in protest. He was blind and nearly deaf and very upset and disoriented and overstimulated. The soothing feeling of a hot wet tongue lapping at is fur, though he knew not what it was, was calming and instinctively he found himself moving forwards. Being nudged forwards he found himself among the squirming and mewling forms of his siblings. He nosed at his mother's stomach struggling to find the source of the warm smell. He squirmed between them, pushing in beside the biggest of his siblings, latched quickly onto his mother's teat before being shoved aside, to which he protested loudly. Luckily his siblings were quickly falling asleep around him and he latched quickly onto a new teat and fed to his hearts content. Lulled to sleep by the muffled but familiar sounds of his parent's voices. Speech