It hit her all the sudden, like she had walked in front of an on coming train. She had been worrying around her den for the last few days, making it just the size she wanted, getting comfortable, making sure there was water near by, the like. Nesting she thought it was called. Finally, as she paced around the clearing around her den in the early morning, her water broke and the first touches of contractions started. She stopped in her tracks, her mind reeling as she realized what was happening. Her ears flicked back uncomfortably and she waited with a soft whine for a contraction to pass before lifting her head to call for Vereux and Amalia and Devin. Oh of all the times to send her husband out to hunt. She had been spending time with him that morning, feeling a little guilty for spending so much time with Amalia, but in her need to get everything set up she had sent him to get them some food for later. Hopefully he hadn't gone far. She slowly moved back to the den, grimacing and pausing for a moment at each contraction. Once she was inside she quickly settled herself onto her stomach with a sigh, only to grit her teeth when her muscles tensed painfully once again. Rolling on to her side, she panted lightly, silently praying that someone would come soon. If anything happened she didn't want to be alone. She really had no idea what to expect and she could only guess at how many pups she might be having considering how huge she had gotten. Pain ripped through her again and again, her ears pinning back and a pained whine escaping her. All she could do was follow her instincts and push with each contraction, but the more she pushed the more tired she became and she still had no pups for her efforts. She looked toward the door of her den, begging for someone to come through it. Speech Thought

A shiver trailed down the man's spine when he heard the call. He had never been around a woman when she gave birth, so it was something completely new to him. Dropping the rabbit from his mouth he only cautiously approached, half not even wanting to enter the den. The thought of it just grossed him out a little. Sure a lot of wolves would beg to differ with the beauty of new life, but his eye widened and he'd be terrified let alone want to lose the lunch he didn't have. ?Just hold on Athena I'm sure Devin will be here soon.? he cornered himself a little ways at the edge of the den. He tucked his tail softly between his legs he'd only enter if he needed to help her in one way or another. Just part of him didn't want to see the saks come out of... that part of her. ?I speak?

Devin was more than prepared, after all it was easy for him to tell when a woman was near the time to deliver. When Athena called he had been gathering the herbs needed for the event, and rose his ears towards it. He picked up his pace a little faster before carrying the herbs over to her located. Raising an eyebrow to Vereux who seemed to be cowering near the entrance of the den. He had seen worse women give birth, his friend had a wife who practically screamed bloody murder and nearly took off his leg for such an event. Athena would probably be fine. He brushed past him and approached Athena. "You're fine, just relax." he said in a stale manner. Picking up a herb and putting it in front of her. "Chew on that and keep pushing." he instructed before looking at Vereux chuckling lightly. "It looks like the man is terrified of his own childrens birth." he teased before sitting down looking at Athena carefully. She was perfectly healthy so he doubted anything would go wrong with the birthing. -I don't have much muse for a birthing thread, rivvy thinks their icky so I'm sorry >.<

cait at btn

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Finally after what felt like hours she heard Vereux's voice, but he didn't come in. She blinked with confusion and whined, but moments later Devin arrived, mentioning that her husband was sitting outside, afraid of her birthing. Her ears flicked back and her hormone, pain-ridden emotions flared, making her glare and growl in Vereux's direction, but any anger she might have felt got caught short by another heavy wave of pain. She gritted her teeth till the worst of it passed and then she followed Devin's instructions and lapped up the herbs he had placed in front of her. She pushed any thoughts out of her frame of mind and simply let herself fall into a steady rhythm.

It took far longer than she had anticipated for the first of her children to be born. She strained with each push, but she tried her best to relax like Devin had said. By the time her first pup was born she already exhausted. She quickly realized why when she turned her head to clean up the first born. It was easily one of the largest pups she had ever seen. Oh she hoped they all weren't this big! She cleaned her first son the best she could with long rasps of her tongue, seeing the lighter shade of slate-blue that covered him along with the silver markings on his back, legs, and face, the colors clearly reminiscent of his parents. She smiled and gently nudged her squealing newborn toward her stomach just in time for the contractions to take hold again.

With a tired groan she started pushing yet again, but luckily it seemed that her first born would be the worst of her troubles. The next wasn't quite as large as the first, but after she got the silver pup cleaned off she saw that this was another boy. All sons so far it seemed. This one looked very much like herself with a mostly silver coat and a few darker markings. She guided her second son over to lay next to his brother at her stomach and gave each of the pups a small lick before resting her head back down on the ground. By now the rest of the world was blocked out of her senses. She didn't know if Vereux had joined her or if Devin was still there or if Amalia had finally come. She had fallen into what felt like a trance, mechanically pushing with each contraction that gripped her tired body and letting her instincts take over.

The third came without much struggle, another boy. This time the slate-blue almost gray coloring took over the most of his form, looking much more like their father than the other two. Pale gray touched his paws, tip of his little tail, and the bridge of his nose. Each of them looked very different and yet had enough similar characteristics to make it very clearly that they were all siblings. Three healthy boys. She thought that surely that would be the end of it, but her contractions said otherwise.

Four. Four fairly large boys. Gods, that would explain why she had gotten so large. She tiredly cleaned up the last of her first litter, intrigued by her youngest's split coloring. The top of his body was a lighter gray color while his legs were the darker blue-gray that ran heavy in their genes. He also had touches of white on the back of his neck and the tip of his tail along with darker gray on his ears. Quite the mismatch of colors. With all four of her sons resting along her stomach she sighed and gazed at them with a mixture of exhaustion and pride. Her sons. Her and Vereux's first litter. They were finally here.

She had taken too long to get there. She hadn't been in the area, she had finally found her mother. As she was nearing the border, the call rang out. Russet ears perked forward as a gasp rushed out of her black lips. She picked up her pace, short legs dragging through the snow as she tried to get there as soon as possible. Her little legs were so stubby that it took awhile to cut though the deep snow, but at last she made it. Tossing a look at Ver, who was standing outside, she pushed her way in without second thought as blinked at her lover on the ground. There was some blood and not so pretty stuff -- but Athena had never looked as beautiful as she did now. "Oh my love..." She whispered, almost falling to her knees in awe of her. She was so magical, giving birth like this. She had never seen something like this before, and she wasn't afraid or repulsed by this. She was in complete and utter awe. Her blue gaze roamed to the back of her, settling on the children that cried from there. Bending down, she picked them up and placed them close to Athena's belly, placing loving licks on their damp forms. Tears welled up in her eyes as she met Athena's gaze, so much love and adoration pooled in them. "They are just wonderful... have you any names for them?" She asked in a quite voice, sounding as if it was going to shatter from the sobs that lingered there. ""