She had been preparing herself for this. Ever since her discussion with Natalya she had been stuck in the den for the most part, on a bed rest of sorts. It hadn't exactly been an easy pregnancy, but she wasn't exactly sure she was ready for it to be over either. For it to be over she would have to go through birthing and then her pups would be here and she wasn't ready for motherhood at all. Especially since she would be doing it alone. But the shooting pain of a contraction shook her from her sleep with a gasp and she knew there was no avoiding it any longer. She didn't bother calling for anyone. Helios and Natalya were the only wolves she would have called for and both of them had been scarce as of late. It was understandable, with them both trying to keep the remnants of their family together and trying to carve them out a new home, but it did make it a little difficult to find them at times. It was okay with her though. She had gotten herself into this situation, she would see herself out of it. She pulled herself to her paws and padded over to the other side of the fairly large den she had chosen for herself when they arrived at their new temporary home. She had made herself a small store of herbs from the herbs that Natalya had been teaching her with. Finding the ones Nat had told her were for birthing she licked them up and chewed them as she shuffled back to where she had been laying. Just as she as about the lay back down another contraction rippled through her, making her grit her teeth and freeze in place. They were coming hard and fast, much faster than she had anticipated. She settled back down, trying to get comfortable and failing. The herbs helped, but it still hurt like hell. She tried comparing it to wounds she had gotten in battle over the years, trying to tell herself that it really wasn't that bad, but it was. There was really nothing to compare to this awful feeling. She pushed with the contractions just like Natalya had told her, wishing now that she had at least tried to call for her sister. She whined as she pushed yet again, panting hard wondering if she had gotten herself in over her head. Finally after what felt like ages the first pup appeared and Phoebe sighed heavily with relief. Taking advantage of the brief break in her contractions, she turned to tend to the pup. Her ears flicked when she saw it, a strange mix of emotions hitting her. Quickly, she rasped her tongue over the pup to clean it up, exposing the pale fur that covered most of its little body. Brown socked covered two of its legs as well as a brown mask, all of them lined with the bright orange that could have only come from the unnamed orange wolf she remembered all too well. A girl, it was a girl. Pushing aside the conflicted thoughts whirling through her head she nudged the girl over to her stomach gently. Again, just as suddenly as they had begun the contractions gripped her again and she laid her head back on the ground, more prepared for them this time around. The second pup arrived a little more easily than the first, this one being a little smaller than its sister. Again she went to clean it, surprised by the amazing patterns that covered its body. She saw lots of the russet color that covered her own body as well as the black that obviously called back to the first wolf she had been with, Loki. So there really was no way to figure out who there father was. With a sigh she finished cleaning up the second born, seeing that this was another girl. Sisters then. She would certainly have her paws from. With the two girls resting at her stomach and her labor finished, Phoebe stared at the pups, her gaze tired but not unhappy. They were beautiful, both of them in their own ways. The first born was bigger, some how stronger looking with her markings that looked like armor. The second had the most beautiful markings across her face and somehow Phoebe knew she was going to be a sweet creature. Her silver gaze softened as she hesitantly leaned down and nuzzled the both of them gently. She felt like she would break them with one wrong move. Pride and love welled up in her, surprising even herself. "Hera," she said softly to the first girl. "And Aura," she added to the second. "Hera and Aura. Those will be your names." ""

Alectrona was finally cooled down over her bouts of anger and sadness as she trotted to meet the person who was her aunt. Alectrona didn't know her exactly but she could remember hints of her appearance enough so to help guide her to Phoebe. There was something to behold, what was happening, did she also come about like that when she was born? was this how pups were brought into the world? Alectrona became filled with questions but they would be put on hold as she went to go see Phoebe. Slowly she approached and spoke "Phoebe, hello... I... I came to see you and witnessed you bringing pups into the world... what are their names?". She was very curious and hopefully Phoebe wouldn't bite her or anything for her question as she didn't know Phoebe all that well and it clicked that she forgot to tell Phoebe her name. Thus again her young maw opened as her voice, ever so gentle and soft came about "I forgot to tell you my name... I'm sorry, I'm Alectrona, I've only really seen glimpses of you... I'm sorry that I don't really know you...is there anything I could do to help?". Alectrona was truly wanting to help her aunt, to get to know her a bit more now that there was something she could maybe do instead of feeling useless since they lost their home in the emerald valley. Perhaps she could bond with her aunt now or at least try to while maybe doing something help her. The process of bringing her pups into the world seemed painful, Alectrona moved closer to Phoebe and her pups to get a better look at them. They were gorgeous, they took after their mother it truly seemed which made Alectrona smile a bit. There wasn't much she could offer to Phoebe but she thought that a little help was better than no help or at least might bring a little comfort to her aunt. "Speech"

Natalya has been busy as of late, it was true. She and Helios had distanced from each other somewhat, going their separate ways to do their duties as Matriarch and Patriarch to the Olympus family. Natalya's time had been spent travelling - to other packs, to new lands - and thinking. She would claim new land for her family and she would lead them back to glory, but she had a lot of decisions to make. It had been the family's love of itself that had made them strong in the past, but now? Now more than half of their relatives were absent, having abandoned them or never joined them in the first place. The other half were primarily children, too young to provide for the pack in any way, shape, or form. What the family needed was change - in what way, she didn't know. She and Phoebe had spoken recently of plans for the festival, but they had not gone in depth. With Phoebe's pregnancy nearing its end and everything else that had happened, it wasn't the most important of things. She had not seen her sister since then but she had been keeping tabs. And when her daughter set off to meet her aunt, Natalya had followed quietly behind, not yet sure if she would interrupt her child's meeting. The queen smiled wide as they neared, noting that Phoebe had finally given birth. She stood at a distance, not wanting her daughter to notice her presence. She was curious to see what Phoebe would answer to Alectrona's offer to help, and to see how her child would act if her aunt sent her for something. The girl had always been the brightest of her children (though they all had their own strengths she admired) and she hoped that she would see that intelligence in action.

Phoebe's sensitive ears twitched from a faint noise outside and her silver gaze darted up to the entrance of her den, an instant sense of maternal protectiveness hitting her before she saw one of Natalya's children standing there. She immediately calmed down once again with a soft sigh, her ears perking up to listen to the pup's words. She blinked with surprise, but realized she was probably too distracted to notice a bystander while she was giving birth. "Hera and Aura," she said with a smile, looking down at her girls. "Hera is the one with the brown mask, Aura is the one with the small freckles." Her eyes were pulled back up to her niece as she introduced herself and offered her help. Just like the girl, Phoebe had seen her around when they were still in Olympus, but hadn't had the chance to really speak with each of Natalya and Helios's children. Now was as good a time as any, she supposed, even though she really just wanted to take a nap. "It's nice to meet you, Alectrona. Actually, yes, I would love a little water. Could you go over there to where I keep my herbs-" she motioned to the other side of the den where her herbs were kept neatly on a small shelf-like indent in the den wall, "-and find a mint leaf? It's bright green, kind of oval shaped with little jagged edges and smells really bright and clean. Then take it out to the puddle, just outside to the left and dip it in the water and bring it back. That would be a really big help, Alectrona." ""

Alectrona listened to her aunt's words with her utmost attention. She picked up the leaf gently and kept following the instructions given to her as she dipped it into the puddle and returned. She slowly placed the leaf in front of her aunt hoping that was what she wanted, however Alectrona was quite sure but she tried. Hera and Aura, the names clung to her mind now as if she were soaking up the information like a sponge "Very lovely names... is there anything else you need me to do for you, Phoebe? if there is anything else you need don't hesitate to ask me." Alectrona asked with the intention to aid her aunt in almost every way she could. She was unaware that her mother followed her to her aunt's den. However where was her father this entire time since they came to Mount Volkan. No matter what mattered at the moment was helping and getting to know Phoebe a bit more now that they were here without a proper home and well in a place like this she needed to get to know everyone who was here. Alectrona felt like she wanted to be apart of Hera's and Aura's life since they were her aunt's children, to also know what it was like to have responsibilities and such. Maybe when Phoebe was up to it at a later time she could ask her aunt if she would teach her about healing unless her aunt just had those herbs were just for show and she happened to just know about the mint leaf. "Speech"

(OOC: I apologize for the rather long wait for my reply)

Natalya waited patiently outside the entrance, listening to Phoebe deliver instructions to Alectrona and listening to her daughter comply and request additional work. She grinned, pride surging within her at her daughter's motivation. She would wait only for Phoebe's next reply before slinking in, masking the slight pains she felt with the smile on her face. "I can help with anything you need as well, dear sister," she greeted as she made her way inside. She paused to lick her daughter on the top of the head before continuing forward to greet Phoebe with a lick on the cheek. "Congratulations, Phoebe. I'm sure they are as beautiful as their mother, if not more so. I look forward to them growing up in our new home." She crouched beside the woman with a smile. "We will be claiming new lands soon. Helios has returned from his journey and we are ready to move forward."