Walk | "Talk" | think

Ever since Resin unveiled their newly completed home, she hadn’t ventured much farther from it than just to get a drink of water from the river that lead into the falls. She wasn’t sure how she would know such a thing, but she had a strong hunch that these pups would finally be joining them sooner rather than later and it made her nervous to go any farther than that from their home. Her biggest fear was that she was going to be somewhere else when the time came and she wasn’t going to be able to get back here in time.

She had kept herself busy with fussing over their den, arranging the furs and things on their bed until they were as comfy as they possibly could be and making a separate arrangement of their furs that weren’t as nice or fluffy against the wall in the main, center chamber of the den. She had heard that birthing as a general rule was very messy so even though she wanted to be comfortable she didn’t want to be getting all that all over their usual bed. Instead, she created an area in the larger portion of the den where she could deliver the pups with the added benefit of leaving plenty of space for Iolaire to join them as well. She would be happy with any capable healer that was willing to help, but she knew how skilled Resin’s daughter was and she was more than willing to default to Resin’s judgement on the matter.

Even though she had been fussing with things pretty consistently for the last few days, today in particular she felt exceedingly restless. She found herself pacing back and forth around the den and messing with anything and everything she could get a hold of. At this point she was pretty sure she had turned the den upside down and put it back again at least three times. There had been a few times in the last week that she’d felt this some sort of uncomfortable cramping or pain, but it always seemed to go away after a few minutes so when she felt those same pains throughout the day today she tried not to think too much of it. However, they started to come more and more frequently and eventually went from being occasional with an hour or two in-between to being often enough that it made her stop her nesting long enough to consider them. Another contraction came over her, this time strong enough to make her legs tremble and her sides tighten painfully. Her ears flicked uncertainly and after a couple of minutes they started to follow one after another more steadily.

With a start she realized this was the real deal and while trying to keep down the bit of anxious panic that dared to creep up on her, she quickly stuck her head out toward the entrance and let out an insistent, worried howl for her lover before going back to pacing around the main chamber of the den. She tried to settle on the temporary bed she had prepared for herself, but just ended up getting up a moment later and continuing to pace. Nothing helped - not pacing, not laying down, not sitting. The pain continued to build and she whined uncomfortably while she waited for Resin to appear. Even though it had only been a few minutes at most, it felt like ages to her in that moment.

With as much as Tamsyn had been tearing the den apart, Resin decided it was best to wait outside and just leave her to it. The giantess did various things around thre general area of the den but she didn't venture too far from it. For the past few days, Resin had set the jackals to tail her lover. In return she'd fed them well, giving them an entire fat fawn all to themselves.

The small, black striped duo had noted the first contraction and She, the female jackal, knew the signs, having had her own litters. The pair tore off to find Resin. Moments later, Tams call came. Resin could hear the urgency in it. She sent the jackals to fetch Iolaire from the visitor den and made her way inside the family den.

Sulfur eye rested on the pacing form of the midnight woman. Resins own births hadn't been terrible and she hoped the same for her lover. Coming forward, Resin placed a kiss on the laboring lady's brow. "The jackals have gone to fetch Iolaire. How are you feeling?"

Her mother had requested her presence for the birth of Tamsyn's litter. The tiny healer couldn't say no so her mother brought her back to The Hallows with her via cart. Io was still very weak even though she'd stopped the treatments. Thankfully she could feel her body healing. She was confident that she'd be back to her old, barren self before she knew it. Yay...

Iolaire had taken the visitors den at the top of the falls. Her mother had constructed it for visiting family and friends. She didn't have far to go to get to the alpha den. When the jackals alerted her, she was ready.

Taking up her bag, Io quickly made her way into the den that her mother and lover shared. It didn't bother her that her mother had chosen a woman to love. Had she herself not loved an empress before her husband? Besides, she liked Tamsyn a great deal and was happy to be able to do this for them both.

Coming to Tams side, Iolaire gently rested one of her odd paws against the side of the larger womans belly. She could feel the pups squirming and could feel Tamsyns body preparing to push them into the world. The tri-colored lady smiled. "Shouldn't be long now. They're all getting into position."

Walk | "Talk" | think

The moment that Resin came into the den Tamsyn was able to breath a small sigh of relief. Even if it was naive to think so, her mind couldn’t imagine anything bad happening as long as Resin was there. That line of thinking hadn’t steered her wrong yet and with as concerned and uncomfortable as she felt right now she was happy to have some kind of stable certainty to lean on. She stopped her pacing when Resin came to stand in front of her, her worried mint gaze lifting to look at her. She didn’t really know how to answer her lover’s question since she didn’t really know how much of this was normal. She opened her mouth to answer, but a contraction interrupted her, making her wince and her ears fold back while her legs trembled under her a bit. Once it passed she sighed and replied uncertainly, ”I’m okay, I guess.”

Moments later Iolaire entered into the den and she gave the monochrome healer a grateful smile. If something did end up happening she felt even better knowing that she was there. She nodded to the statement that the pups were on their way and getting into position, making a nervous, excited flutter of butterflies go through her stomach. Tam waddled over to the bed she had prepared for herself so that she could settle there before another contraction came since they threatened to knock her off of her feet as it was. One contraction came after another and for a while that became the status quo. She shifted and moved restlessly for a while, but kept herself from getting up again while she waited impatiently for things to move along. She leaned into Resin occasionally, especially when the pain was particularly strong when she would bury her head into Resin’s fur in some kind of subconscious attempt to escape what was happening.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been like that for, it could have been a few minutes or it could have been hours - it all felt like it had begun to blend together and it certainly felt felt much longer than it actually was. Eventually it got to the point where the contractions were coming so close together that it felt like they were nearly back to back. She whined and glanced back and forth between Resin and Iolaire, looking for some kind of instruction or guidance for what came next.

The ashen woman nuzzled into her lover's cheek reassuringly. "Everything will be okay, " she promised. Both times that she had given birth, she had done so entirely alone. Tamsyn would have the comforts of home, someone who loved her at her side and the attention of renowned healer.

Once Io arrived and Tam laid down upon the bed of furs, Resin placed her larger body behind her, giving the dark fae a sturdy, soft surface to lean against when she needed to. Though she was no healer, the one- eyed woman could see the progression of the contractions. She cast a glance at her daughter and the tiny dame offered her mother a reassuring smile.

Gently, Resin nuzzled behind one obsidian ear again. "I'm with you," the giant, grizzled warrior spoke softly into the ear of the woman that she'd chosen. She would be right her with Tamsyn through all of it.

It was an interesting thing to see such tenderness in her hard, no-nonsense mother. Iolaire couldn't remember a time when she'd seen the massive woman be so gentle and caring. Sad to say seeing as how Iolaire was her child, but she'd forgiven her mother for her ineptitude long ago. She was glad to see this change and was glad that Tamsyn was the one to bring it about.

As the dark lady settled on the furs Iolaire kept watch. She timed the connection, watched the undulating sides of the woman and kept her eyes peeled for water and blood. After what seemed like a particularly harsh connection, Io came forward. Green-gold eyes started into Tams wide, minty pools. "You're almost ready. When your body tells you to push, you push." Io offered a smile of reassurance once more. "I can't wait to meet them." She was rather excited, though she was also a little sad seeing as how she couldn't have her own.

Walk | "Talk" | think

She couldn’t express how grateful she was to have Resin and Iolaire there with her through this whole process. Just having her lover’s steady assuredness and Io’s kind, reassuring comments did wonders to keep her worry at bay and help keep that excitement for these pups at the forefront of her mind. Tamsyn glanced back at Resin at her quiet reminder that she was with her and she managed a small smile despite how she was feeling. She then looked back to Iolaire and gave a small nod of acknowledgment to the healer’s instructions to push when her body told her to. Even though she didn’t really know what that meant, she trusted the advice all the same. She just hoped that maybe these pups had kept them waiting long enough and would finally stop putting her through all of this soon. Another quick smile touched her lips at Io expressing that she was excited to meet them and she gave a slightly breathless chuckle before replying, “Me too.”

Only a few moments later she began to realize what Iolaire meant as her instincts took over and she began to push with the strong, painful contractions. She gritted her teeth with an occasional strained whine escaping her as she squeezed her eyes closed with each push, panting hard between them and fully reclining into Resin’s side. It was hard and exhausting and one of the most painful things she had ever experienced, but as soon as their first pup was born it all felt worth it. There was a momentary rush of relief and as much as she wanted to lay there and catch her breath, she wanted to see their child more. Quickly lifting the upper half of her body enough to twist around to reach him, she carefully licked away the mess to reveal a boy that was almost just as much black as he was blue. He seemed awfully big in her eyes, but her frame of reference for pups was pretty limited and it was so hard to tell what he really looked like right now with all of his little puppy furs wet and wrinkled. A moment later those first little squealing cries filled the den and her heart swelled, making her glance back at Resin again with a huge grin and a renewed energy.

Of course she wouldn’t get to celebrate this little victory for too long since just shortly after getting their little boy nestled into place those pesky contractions picked back up again and she slipped back into the painful rhythm of them. At least she knew now what it was supposed to feel like and what to more or less expect from it as she went into the birth of their second pup. The second pup seemed to go a bit faster than the first and it didn’t take long for her to feel that momentary relief again as their second pup slipped out into the open. Even though she knew she had help there, she still felt the need to quickly get to the pup herself just to make sure it was okay and see what the little slippery thing looked like. This time she was surprised by a much smaller pup than the first, this time a little girl colored with white and patches of brown. Somehow the blue had seemed less surprising than the brown, but she absolutely loved the warm hues of her daughter’s coat. She couldn’t wait to see what she looked like once she was fully dry and all those fuzzy little puppy furs could really show off their beauty. Once the loud, squealing pup had been placed at her side next to her brother, Tamsyn settled back against Resin, looking up at her lover with excitement and love - though there was certainly a fair bit of exhaustion mixed in there as well.

There was a brief pause in the contractions which Tam happily took advantage of, but she knew she wasn’t done. That proved itself to be true when her contractions kicked back into high gear and she started working the third pup out into the world. This one felt considerably more difficult than the second and she was actually a bit surprised to realize that each pup could go a little differently. It was honestly hard to tell if this was the same or harder than the first since now she had the added difficulty of being tired to deal with, but it did feel like this one was taking longer than the others. Eventually though, with a pained growl, she finally delivered another boy, this time covered with patches and speckles of various shades of gray. She was amazed by how different they all were so far with none of them sharing similar patterns or colors. The only slight connection was the gray and white tones in his marbled coat, but he was very unique in his lack of distinct patterns.

With three pups tucked against her stomach feeding happily, she flopped back down into Resin’s side with a heavy sigh. Their fourth pup thankfully come uneventfully soon after, unveiling yet another different set of patterns with a mix of darker and lighter grays. This time the patterns were far more regular and angled than the one before it. The den was filled with the sound of squeaks and grunts from their four little fuzz balls as they nestled themselves in together, one occasionally climbing over another and just adding to how unbearably adorable they were. Her heart was so incredibly full and just seeing them together like this made every moment of this beyond worth it.

Even though this already felt like a big family for her and Resin, she wasn’t done yet - she could tell. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but her body and instincts hadn’t steered her wrong yet. Sure enough, she fell into another steady rhythm of pushing and contractions after a few blessed moments of rest. By now, every push felt like a chore and a strain. Even though she was certain she had to be in the home stretch, she had gotten to the point where she didn’t know how she’d get to the end. Of course she knew she would because she had to even though she was very ready to be done. After what felt like ages she finally brought their fifth and final pup into the world and she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Tiredly she sat up to help clean up the little pup, a dark nearly solid black little girl with just some silvery ticking and angled markings across her little face. She expected to hear those squeaky little whines after a few good licks like her siblings had done, but that wasn’t the case. Her exhaustion fell away for a moment as worry took its place, looking to Iolaire with concern as she continued to clean and nudge the silent pup. It felt like her heart stopped when she watched the healer take the pup for a moment, her eyes wide and worried.

After a heavy, lengthy moment of silence, their last daughter finally spoke up and assured her that their last born was okay. She sighed again and smiled a little once their little girl was placed among her siblings to get her first meal. “Thank you,” she breathed to Iolaire before looking up to Resin with a relieved smile. Their family was finally here and she couldn’t be happier.

One by one the little balls of wet fluff came into the world. Resin was ready to take charge, clean and place them if she needed to, but it was important for a mother to clean her own children, she'd been told. So the big woman watched and waited. She provided support for her lover, whispering encouragement every step of the way. Tamsyn had two, then four, then a fifth was arriving. So many children. Resin felt a little disconnected as the numbers rose, but she snapped back into the present as the fifth child emerged quiet and somewhat lifeless. Her gaze flicked to Iolaire. She knew that her daughter would do what was necessary. "Don't worry," she whispered to the exhausted woman beside her. "Iolaire is the best midwife I know." Had she not saved other pups as well since joining the Armada? Resin had no doubt that she would save this one as well. Moments later a cry came and the scarred woman wasn't disappointed. With the pup back beside its mother to nurse, Resin nuzzled behind Tams ear. "You should rest while you can. I'll keep watch." "Speech"

The birthing was going surprisingly easy. She was quite happy about that. Tamsyn wasn't losing a lot of blood. The pups were coming out whole and well. The contractions didn't even seem to be very harsh. Tam was lucky. A lot of first time mothers had it a lot worse. With each pup, Io inspected it, gently extracting it from its mothers grasp after Tam had cleaned them up. She wanted to make sure that each one was healthy and while. The little healer was amazed at the different fur colors and patterns. Who had her mothers lover gotten involved with exactly? It was remarkable. When the fifth and final pup emerged, it was silent and unmoving. Wasting no time, Io snatched the puppy into her paws. Using one of her elongated digits, she cleared the pups mouth of fluid then began gentle compression's. It took a short while, but eventually the tiny pup squealed its protest at being handled so roughly. With a grin, Iolaire placed the pup with its siblings. "Well done, Tam." Again the small woman grinned. Reaching into her pack, she extracted a care package which she sat close to the mid-sized fae's head. "Willow bark for pain. There's a mixture that you should take in tea daily that contains extra nutrients and vitamins. It will help you heal faster and will benefit the pups as well." Settling back, she looked down upon the large family. One might think there would be a bit of jealousy involved, seeing her mother with a slew of children when her own blood-born children were dead and gone. There wasn't though. Io was happy that her mother had found happiness again. Hopefully she would be less harsh with these ones than she was with Io and her siblings. "I'll leave you to rest." With a pat to Tams paw and a smile to her mother, Io collected her things and moved across the main chamber into the visitors den. She wouldn't go too far for at least a day or two just to be safe. "Speech"