ooc: just for my own reference, set sometimes after Leo's wedding and the Arian death match but a little bit before she's due She knew it could be any day now, but the anticipation was killing her. She wanted to have these pups already. She was so excited to have more children running around, especially since she was positive they weren't going to be as numerous or as large this time around. Thinking about her boys always brought a sad smile to her lips. She was grateful for Tib being so present and having such a watchful eye over her lately, what with Amalia not feeling well and then her adopted sister's death match... Athena frowned more deeply as she shifted her weight to lay more comfortably outside their den. She looked around at the pitiful excuse for snowfall on the ground and couldn't help but chuckle. All snow and ice around here seemed so insignificant compared to the north. Her and Amalia's children would never know what it was like to live in the north... Well, at least as pups. Not like their boys had. She had no control over what they chose to do once they were grown. That was exceedingly evident since she had no idea what had come of three of their sons. She sighed softly and let her head rest on her front paws, her ears twitching and a smile touching her lips when she felt one of her pups move. "Talk" "You" Think

Achoo! Amalia shivered as she shook her head, taking the few herbs that she had gathered for herself to ear. This is was her own fault, for going out so late in the snow and ice to make sure that she had enough herbs to keep Athena comfortable. She had kept herself in her smaller den with her herbs while she tried to keep her cold under control, not wanting to give it to Athena while she carried the pups. She smiled softly as she thought about her wife, and their little babies that were going to show up any time now. Last time she had checked on the large female's belly, she had felt as least two puppies in there. Fewer than her first litter, but it didn't matter. Not to her. She just couldn't believe that they were going to be parents all over again, after the boys they were getting a second chance. Another shot at being mothers. Sniffling, she pulled herself up and slowly sauntered out of her make shift den, she trudged out into the snow. It was getting higher, at least for the tiny female. There were a few places where she had to leap across a bank of thick snow so that her body didn't vanish into it. It was nothing that she wasn't used to though, when they lived in the North she pretty much had to follow Athena's tracks if she wanted to get anywhere, that or be lost completely in the soft snow. She giggled softly at the memory before another sneeze interrupted her. Oh boy, she better be careful! Coming to the mouth of the den Amalia peeked her tiny red head into the den, seeing Athena looking outside of the den. She yipped excitedly, bending until her forelegs nearly touched the ground so that she could touch her nose to her wife's forward. Sniffling as she pulled back, her tiny rabbit tail wagged rapidly, making her entire hind end moved with the motion. She was pretty much in a play bow position still, keeping her tiny form close to her head, but far enough away that she wasn't breathing so much on her. "How is my amazing mate doing today?" She asked, her voice squeaking slightly. ""

Athena's dark gray tipped ears perked curiously when she heard snow crunching and moment later her wife's dark russet head popped up at the den's entrance. She laughed lightly at her wife's sudden appearance as well as her excited yips. Her tail thumped against the ground of the den as Ama leaned forward to press her nose to her forehead, but she frowned when her little woman sniffled and pulled back again. Of course hearing her speak brought that smile back to her lips, but she still worried over Ama and her cold. "I'm doing wonderfully, my beautiful wife," she replied with a soft chuckle. "I'm just ready for these suckers to be here already." She glanced back at her swollen stomach, but there wasn't a scrap of irritation in her gaze, only love and amusement. "At least I'm not the size of the den this time! Maybe we'll avoid having giants this time around." She laughed and brought her gaze back to Ama, her tail wagging slowly again. A playful grin touched her muzzle and she added, "Maybe we'll have a couple of tiny little girls this time, huh? I'm sure you'd love someone to be all girly with." She frowned a little as her gaze grew more serious and concerned. "But how are you, Ama? Are you getting any better? I hate when your sick, especially when I can't be with you. I'd much rather have you in here to cuddle with than all the way over there in your herb den." "Talk" "You" Think

Athena's worry did not go unnoticed by the small woman, she knew that her mate was concerned over her being ill. It was just a bit of a cold though, but she had still insisted that she sleep away from her wife. The worst thing for those babies would be for both their mothers to be sick! Plus, it was going away slowly, she had been able to sleep off a large chunk of it. At the larger woman's comment about wanting to get the pups out of her belly she couldn't help but giggle, even though a small wave of jealously washed over her. It wasn't that she was overly upset that it wasn't her carrying the whelps, either way she was becoming a mother all over again with a woman that she loved to the moon and back. But Amalia knew that she was destined to be a mother, and she was slightly jealous that she would never know the feeling of being pregnant or giving birth. Shaking her russet head to scatter the negative thoughts, her dark blue eyes followed Athena's gaze to her belly. She wasn't as large as she had been with the boys, but from what she had felt there weren't as many pups in this litter. That should be a good thing, while she hadn't been there when the boys had been born, she had showed up right after, Athena had told her all about how hard it was. Hopefully this one would go a lot better! When Athena turned back to her and commented about girls, she let out a squeak and stood up taller, nearly hitting her head on the side of the den. Oh, to have little girls! "You know how I have always wanted girls." she barked with a laugh, her rump shaking with her tiny rabbit tail following behind. "It would be adorable if one of them had a short little stumpy tail!" she teased, even though she knew that the chances of that would be low. Amalia had not been born with a stumped tail, no she had once had a long flowing white tail. But the hurricane that terrorized the land had taken that from her, leaving her with a little stump in its place. She missed her tail sometimes, but that had been years ago. She was used to it by now, but her butt muscles hurt from all the moving! All joy drained from her features though as she saw Athena's face grow more concerned, worry quickly taking over Ama's face. She was about to ask what was wrong when Athena answered for her, asking her how she was feeling. The tiny woman smiled again, snorting softly. "I am fine my love, there is no need to worry so much! I am slowly getting better. And I would hate to stay here and get you or the babies sick, you know that that would kill me." She said in a more serious tone, sitting down at the mouth of the den. "I'm lonely at night too, but we both know its for the best. You can't get sick this close to them coming into this world, its a lot harder for them to fight it than you or I." Sure it was just a common cold, but it could very well claim the life of their little ones. ""

Athena couldn't help the fit of giggles she got after watching Ama's reaction to the idea that they might be having girls and she laughed even more at the thought of one of them coming out with a short little tail like Ama's. She didn't think that was entirely possible, but she honestly wouldn't be that surprised if it happened. For goodness sakes, she was having children that her wife's brother helped them produce! And that was only after they had finished raising four giant sized boys that she had while she was married to her brother. Much stranger things had happened in their lives without them even batting an eyelash. A stubby tailed pup would be a funny coincidence compared to all that. Her expression relaxed back into a smile at Amalia's insistence that she was getting better, even if it was slowly. She gave a mostly joking exasperated sigh before replying, "I know, I know. I just miss my little wife so much when she's not here." Her ears perked and she chuckled softly as one of the pups wiggled again, disrupting her thoughts about Ama being sick. "Come here! The pups are moving," she said as she shifted a little more onto her side. "Hold your breath if you really have to," she added with a grin and a little chuckle. "Come say hi to your potential little girls." "Talk" "You" Think

She had to admit that Athena was right, it was hard not being by her mates side during the night. She grew lonely in her herb den, and she was pretty sure that her coat now would forever stink of herbs. But then again... that wasn't really anything new, was it? She pretty much constantly smelled of herbs. Amalia was about to reply to Athena's comment when she watched her wife's head turn towards her belly again, a small laugh leaving her lips. Blue eyes grew wide as she said that they were moving again, and ever so slowly the woman crept forward. It was going against her own better judgement to enter the den, but the temptation of feeling the little ones wiggle around was just too much. "Just not for long!" she said softly, as if her loud voice would make the pups stop their movements. Pulling herself as close as she dared so the larger silver woman, she flopped on her belly and extended her short little legs forward all the way until the very tips of her toes brushed against her stomach. It was quite literally the furthest away she could be from her while still being able to touch her swollen belly. Gently she moved her paws around, waiting until she felt the brush of movement against her paws. Amalia squealed softly, pressing a little harder to feel the retreating form of the pup. It felt almost like Athena's muscles were quivering, but to a much stronger extent. "Oh Athena..." she breathed softly, tears welling up in her deep blue eyes as the little ones moved against her two different coloured paws. "That's so amazing! Does it hurt?" She asked, almost breathless as she tried to contain her excitement. ""

She watched her wife with joy and love as she quietly slipped into the den and made her way over to lay by her side, laughing a little when she saw how carefully Amalia maintained as much distance as her short limbs would allow. She felt one of the pups shift again and immediately she heard Amalia squeal in response. Seeing the joy and amazement on Ama's face was all she needed to make her entire day and confirm that every moment leading up to this pregnancy was more than worth it. This was all she wanted in life. She only wanted to see Amalia happy. Her wife had done so much for her, from stepping in to help raise the boys to giving her unending love, Athena just wanted to repay her by keeping that beautiful smile on her face. Athena laughed softly and shook her head at Amalia's question. "No, it doesn't usually hurt. It hurt a little more with the boys cause they were bigger and there was more of them, but with these two it's been a breeze. At least by comparison," she commented with a chuckle. "I guess I got the hard pregnancy got of the way the first time around, hm?" She shifted a little, stretching out on her side a little more to get more comfortable, letting her hind legs stretch out to the side while her front legs kept her front half upright. "What do you think we should name them?" she asked curiously. She had been tossing around a few ideas just to keep her mind busy, but she didn't know if Amalia had any ideas. "Talk" "You" Think