She looks dead, her sides swollen and heavy. Her legs shake beneath her weight; this litter is much larger than her last, it feels like, at least in height. She breathes slowly, laboriously as pain erupts through her sides. It is time, and she is far from ready. Long strides carry her into the depth of her den, and she lets out a weak noise in summons of Syrinx and Natalya, and her own children.
The first child takes it all from her. Each contraction feels like it will end her, and the child is finally out. There is so much blood, and her vision feels blurry. She moves with al her strength, pulling the child to her, cleaning his frame. ?My son,? she breathes his name, her son whom she instantly feels love and deep affection for, and she cries out when the next child comes.
It is another boy, and she does the same, gifting this child with a name. ?Thanatos,? she announces. Another child comes, a girl, and she feels overwhelming weakness over come her. There is blood, almost too much, her thin frame not meant to handle this bad of a birth, let alone birth itself. Her contractions heave, and she clings to consciousness as best she can.

Her head collapses to the ground as she fights, the two children left within her large and painful, her body too week to push them through. Unconsciousness grips her, true and deep, blood staining far too much of the den.

A shaky summons reaches the boy's ears and he heeds the command without thought, rolling to his paws and setting out across the terra with quick strides. It's time, he knows it is. Birth is an unknown to the boy and he is at a loss at what to expect. His even gait turns into a run as he settles on feeling nervous for the birth of his siblings. Why exactly he doesn't know, but with how his mother's health has deteriorated as of late it feels justified. Reaching the den, Nemesis pauses at the entrance. The smell of blood and what he can only assume is birth wafts out to him. "Mom?" he calls in tentatively, unsure if the scents reaching him are normal. His gut tells him no and when no reply reaches him, he creeps in. The sight is enough to shred what little calm he possesses. "Mom!" The boy rushes to her side, the blood on the floor soaking his paws. He doesn't know what to do. Tipping back his head, Nemesis howls for help. "Speaking" Thinking

Her mother's voice wasn't quite right. Andromeda couldn't quite put her paw on what the issue was but there was a feeling from the quieter, weaker tones of Virgil's call that something was wrong right now. Natalya would hopefully be quick to arrive and well. Syrinx was being summoned as well, Andromeda couldn't say she knew the man too well at all and to be honest with a lack of a father in her own life hardly thought them important. Even with that thought though, Andromeda couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong with new siblings, would they make it into the world ok? Never before had Andromeda been witness to such a scene, not the birth but the blood would reach her senses first and a horrified gasp would leave her. What was happening? It wasn't until she had inched closer that she would realise one of her brother's was already here and somehow Nemesis' presence would relax her slightly, perhaps through simply realising that she wasn't alone now to deal with whatever was happening. Stepping through she would join him inside. Her mother lies far weaker than she has ever seen her surrounded by a pool of blood. The shaky feeling would return to her, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help her mother. Nemesis came to his senses first, calling more urgently and clearly for help. Andromeda's gaze would linger on the scene and suddenly noticing the three tiny pups that must be her new siblings. Should they be taken out of the blood soaked den, cleared out of way for when help arrived? Unsure though not knowing if Nemesis would have a better idea she would glance to him before setting her orange gaze back on the children. "Should we take them outside?"

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The first call had her on high alert, drawing her immediately from her den. She pulled with her a stash of motherwort and trillium, recognizing the voice that called for her as Virgil's and taking note of the pain lacing it. With a curt bark she summoned Poe to carry the herbs she dropped outside the den while she took off, knowing he could catch up quickly and that she would move faster without needing to worry about dropping anything. Another call, this one from Nemesis, reached her ears and she picked up her pace. Something was obviously very wrong. She entered the den upon arrival, stopping only to retrieve the herbs from Poe, and grimaced at the smell. She heard Andromeda's suggestion and nodded curtly, dropping the motherwort and trillium at her own feet. "Take them outside and keep them warm at any cost." Natalya approached her matriarch quietly, nudging her and seeking a response. "Virgil, stay with me at least a few more minutes, okay?" She pulled a small amount of each of her medicines toward her with a paw. She couldn't tell whether Virgil was merely on the brink of losing consciousness or had lost it already. "You need to stay awake."

The boy was ignorant to the dangers of the world. Ignorant to all except what was around him. Simply things. He was within the safety of his mother's womb, a place so warm, so comforting that he was unware that anything else could be different. He was among siblings, how many he didn't know. Things such as counting, individual thought, and personality were yet to truly begin to develop. For now he was simply a young male, and that was all he would be until he was pushed into the world that was far darker than the young male could imagine. That day, little known to the male, was upon him right this very moment.

He had sensed that something was amiss, surely, within his little haven. The area around him seemed smaller, tighter, closing around his body. It was moving too... strange, jerking movements. The small boy would shift, facial expression twisting into something that showed he was not at all pleased. He was struggling, trying to shift back to where things were comfortable. Back to the way he had known. Yet the strange movements continued, until suddenly one of the forms next to him was moving and then... gone!

What might the boy had felt if he knew how much pain his mother was going through? How much blood she spilled in trying to bring his siblings, as well as himself, into this world? The feeble, small struggle would continue. He was just a little thing, and so young, it wasn't as if he had much energy to throw about. But soon he too was expelled from the womb, laying upon the den floor in a world that was far too cold.

But there was a bit of warmth. Something rasped over his small furry body, cleaning him and warming him. He would let out his first cry. Though he was small the cry was strong, something that would be the opposite of how the boy would grow to be. His mother would say something as well, his name, though it would not yet be understood as such. Thanatos. He was Thanatos. But for now the boy would lay at his mother's side, nuzzling about as his nose caught onto the milk scent. A scent that meant life... one that he should naturally know.

Yet the boy did not instinctively move towards the milk. Instead his small body wriggled around, blind and deaf, letting out another cry before laying still. He was still breathing, but the newborn was tired. The little creature began to shiver, feeling the rumble of the voices of his family as they try and help his mother. But for the newly named Thanatos, sleep is the highest priority right now and then, later, would come the need for food.

Natalya would arrive in perfect timing to hear Andromeda's question. Orange eyes would glance towards her great aunt, her worry clear within them. She had been only really been this scared once before, during the time that she Hephaestus and Nemesis had been ill with that dreaded sickness that had swept through the lands, unaware what was wrong with them and if they would ever be ok again. The similar thoughts were in her mind now, would her mother be ok? These newborn siblings? The golden girl certainly hoped so. With Natalya's response, Andromeda would carefully set to work. Gently she would lift the pups one by one and remove them from the bloody den. Setting the last pup down just outside, Andromeda would face the entrance of the den as she curled around them, doing her best to keep her little brothers and sister warm. From her spot she could still see inside, still hear her great aunts words but despite that she still wasn't overly certain what was happening. All she could do was stay here with her siblings, silently praying to the Gods that everything would be fine.

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Gaia would hear the pained call of her mother and an immediate rush of worry would overtake her emotions. Was her mother alright? How were the babies? Was it time? She?d push herself from the earth and she?d hurry her dainty paws towards her mother?s den. She wanted to hurry, so her clicks would be forgotten, not that they would have helped her anyway. In her haste Gaia would forget the mass of roots that had tripped her up more than once. She?d done well to learn her way around Olympus but today she would be delayed. The roots would grasp her paws and cause her to stumble forward, her body crashing into a bramble of thorns. A quick whimper would be drawn from her lips as she struggled with the vine like plants. They would stick to her pur and prick her skin harshly before she was able to find release. Hurry was still evident in her step as she continued, but her pace was much more cautioned now. It would take a good amount of time before she could hear whimpers of hungry newborns as she felt the worry and tension in the air. A soft click would be uttered from her lips as she found Andromeda?s side, a look of worry written all over her features. "Andi, what?s going on? Why are the babies out here?" Walk "Talk" Think

Hemera is unmoving, even as the first sibling is moving beside her, the fluffy feel the only thing she knows for now. And the warmth. When her sibling is gone, the warmth gone, the only female kicks out blindly, probably hitting something, but, what it was, she doesn't know. The moving continues, the pup moving a little, shifting as she moved weakly, struggling to get back into the comfort of things. It is too small, as she gets pushed closer towards something, and she kicks out again, on instinct, not knowing why it was so small. She shakes a little, an unknown breeze ruffling her fur slightly as she was pushed closer and closer, the other thing beside her moving. The warmth of the other thing beside her slowly slips away, until it is gone entirely, leaving her all alone in the too small space. Hemera is pushed closer and closer to whatever the thing is, kicking out a final time, struggling to get back into the comfortable space. But, because of her too small body, and the fact that she does not have enough energy, she soon loses the short battle as the movement pushes her out into the open. Instantly, she dislikes it, the cold breeze making her shiver as she blindly crawls closer to her mother, feeling the liquid underneath her tiny body. She tried to keep warm, a loud noise already escaping her, pushing herself against anything that was even remotely warm. When she feels herself dangling from something, the pup opens her jaws, a silent wail escaping the pup, her voice now lost. The cold made her shiver, and soon she felt warmth around her. There would be no rumbling to signify anything about her, but her markings would make her stand out easily. Or if they didn't, then, her eyes, when they changed color, probably would. But, for now, Hemera wails, hunger tearing at her, as she pushed herself against a stomach and searched for the scent of milk. "Hear Me Talk," 'Read My Thoughts.'