Alfrun had been all but den-bound these last few weeks. The illness had taken a heavy toll on her aged body in addition to the growing needs of the lives within her, and even as the rest of the pack began to recover, even as the crystals dissolved off her body and the ooze cleared up, she had only gotten weaker. Now, as she neared her time, her already-delicate form was skeletal, and the tremendous bulge of her sides would have been absolutely comical in comparison - like someone had jammed toothpicks legs into a watermelon - if it hadn't been so pitiful. It was all she could do to stumble outside to relieve her body's needs and immediately return to her warm fur nest to fall into an exhausted daze. She had been having early labor signs for over a week without progressing into the next step, but when she woke up that evening with a sharp pain, she knew it was time.

"Tanken, darling," she said softly, waking the raven by pressing a kiss to his beak. "Would you be a dear and find Jupiter, please? And... perhaps Alarr, if you can find him," she added after a moment of thought. She'd have preferred her sister attend her as healer, but alas that was not to be. Alarr was more medically experienced, anyway, and with her age and her infirmity it was more likely for something to go wrong than not, so it would be better to have him there if the raven could find him. If not, well, she'd prefer at least have her husband there to welcome his children into the world with her.

The raven cawed harshly and hopped out of the den before taking wing, off to find the blue-coated male. Satisfied, Alfrun endured another sharp pain before moving to arrange her bedding more to her liking. It was likely to be a long night.

Jupiter had spent the last season or so mired in a mix of negativity. First there was the whole mushroom/ooze thing and then when that was finally - blessedly - done with, he'd learned he was going to be a father. And he'd thought the plague was bad! From that point on he'd just felt...barfy? Was that a feeling? He was going to call it a feeling.

When the bird came to him he knew it was time and the barfiness increased. They weren't even here yet and he knew he wasn't cut out for fatherhood. What did he even know about kids? Nothing. Well, aside from where they came from, but that wasn't much to go off of! What the fuck was he going to do?

He arrived on the scene and paced outside the den for many moments. If he'd had hands to wring he would have. A tusked nudge from Bubbles prompted Jupiter to enter the den. His eyes fell on Alfrun who was tidying up her bedding. She looked...well, round. And somehow bony at the same time? He tried to remember the last pregnant lady he'd seen and, unable to think of one, decided that was what they were supposed to look like. The babies were literally sucking the life out of them, right, so that made sense. Jupiter swallowed hard and asked, "Is it time, Alfrun?"

Álarr was on his way back to Fireside. He had another pack full of herbs to dry and use for making tinctures and more. It had been a long journey and he could feel exhaustion starting to settle in his bones. It had just been him and Brynhildr. Afi had opted to stay behind in order to organize what they currently had in their stores. The cat had heard the call of the raven and as soon as he spied Álarr he passed on the message.

In all honestly Álarr wasn't sure what to do. He had never really helped in a birthing. He'd been given lessons on the topic of course but it was not an area of focus. His skills focused more on battle wounds and illnesses. Ásvor was far more skilled as a general healer. She had years of experience that he lacked but alas she wasn't here. She had passed on and he would just have to try his best. He did not feel confident. Alfrún was advanced in age. Far older than he thought could conceive and she had been ill with a bizarre new illness not weeks before.

With a sigh he collected a mix of herbs and items and moved to visit Alfrún's den. He caught the scent of Jupiter and cleared his throat. "Alfrún? May I come in? Are you well?"

Alfrun had just about finished puttering around when Jupiter appeared, looking a bit green around the gills. Just in time, too, because the contractions were getting rather intense and close together. She smiled at Jupiter as she settled herself on her newly-remade nest. "Yes, it is time to welcome your sons and daughters into the world. The return of the sun is a good omen for their birth, do you agree?" Alarr's arrival followed on the heels of her words, and so did another contraction. She endured it breathlessly until she could speak again, and called out to him. "Of course, Alarr, come in. I'm as well as can be expected. I am old for this, however," she acknowledged, "And I am glad for you to be here, just in case something goes wrong and you should have to cut the pups from me." She said it casually in her distracted, dreamy voice, as though cutting someone open to remove puppies was totally a normal and every day thing for a healer. But as far as she was concerned it was, since obviously her pups' lives were worth more than an already-spent life of her own.

And then she settled down into the real business of giving birth. You know, the messy, difficult business of giving birth to several gigantic children in a row when you're a tiny, emaciated old woman. It wasn't pretty, and a few times it got a little dicey when it seemed like one of those oversized pups might not make it out, and it took wayyyyy longer than she expected it to. And finally finished and resting, dizzy and sick from effort, to survey the little lives she and Jupiter had created, she could see why it had taken so long. Eight. There were eight little bodies squirming at her belly, when normally there would be four or five at most.

"Hm," she said out loud, weakly, "The magic was stronger than I expected." And she, deservedly, passed out.