Kaitlyn had thought for sure that during her children into the world she was going to die. The pain had been so much… but then, as she lay there pushing to bring her first child into the world, Kait had realized she did care if she died. She wanted to live. She wanted to stay with Clay. She had told him, for the first time after those children were born, that she loved him. That she didn’t want to lose him… or lose herself and lose him in that sense. Kait was going to keep fighting… fighting against Mad and Proxy, to keep the family she wanted safe.

And the other two had been desperately trying to surface, but Kaitlyn had been doing all she could to fight, and the one time Proxy had slipped out for a while it had been short lived. Clay had found her, and with both of them fighting, as well as an herb Kait had found, the two alters hadn’t had much of a chance. But Kaitlyn feared it was only a matter of time before they came out around the kids.

Kaitlyn woke early, slipping outside the cavern to watch the sun rise. She knew the kids were curled up with each other, and Clay was with them, so what was there to worry? Kaitlyn breathed in slowly. Clay was her world, as were the kids. She couldn’t be happier with her life, finally feeling like she was on the right track.

Kaitlyn closed her eyes as the first rays of warm sunlight fell on her face. Her tail curled around her paws, smiling. Hearing something behind her, judging by the gentle footfalls she figured it was Clay. The femme didn’t open her eyes, speaking up softly.

“Morning~ How did you sleep?”

He had been sleeping, curled around both her and the three children comfortably. The first couple of nights had been difficult to sleep his emotions had been all out of wack. It started with the birthing, feeling helpless and pained to see Kait in such state. It turned to worry as the realization that this birth could go vary wrong and Kait may die from it. He was extremely greatly and ever thankful for Chinook's help that got Kait through the birthing safe and sound. Then to top it all off he felt like he had been on cloud nine when Kait told him that she loved him. To know she had the same feelings for him as he did for her made everything else seem to fall away in his world and he felt even closer to the smaller brown female.

She had been his world for quite some time now and he felt scared to tell her how he truly felt especially with all that she had been through, but now everything was out in the open and it had taken a lot of emotional weight from him. The first couple of weeks things seem to go better then ever, he was successful in bringing meals home to keep Kait well fed so in turn she could provide to her pups, but as they got bigger and more mobile anxiety began to eat away at him again. He had never been a father figure to anyone, and he had only ever helped out with pups his own age back home, so everything was so new.

He began to stir as his side where Kait had been began to grow cold, stirring the large man from his slumber. He was careful, not wanting to wake the sleeping forms of the children. Yawning he pulled himself of and stretched before fallowing Kait outside of the Cavern. The first rays of sunlight were blinding after spending the night in the dark cavern, but he still managed to walk up beside Kait and sit down just as she greeted him.

"Pretty good, how about yourself," he said with a smile before gently attempting to nuzzle her neck just below her ear and jaw line.

"Speech" & 'Think'

Sleeping wasn't really his thing. He liked to pretend he was though since it made his mom and dad worry more. Though he slept, or at least he thought he did, he couldn't really remember. All he knew was sometimes he was curled up with someone and the next he was waking up.

Though right now his pretending was about to stop. Dad was up and mom was too. It made the world colder, though he didn't mind that so much. He was more curious of what they were doing. He was quick to get up and displace his siblings from sleeping on top of him, likely waking them up. Then with the stealth of a bull in a China shop, he moved to follow them.

He stepped out and had to blink a few times to adjust to the sun. It was bright unlike the cave they lived in. The mushrooms never got that bright and no matter how many time he got one to chew up his mom seemed to already be aware of what he was doing and took them from him. After he adjusted to the light he rushed over to run head long into his dad's haunch. It was more to get the attention of his father who seemed to pay him no mind. "Where go?" he was still learning to speak clearly but they'd get the gist.

Kaitlyn couldn’t help but smile a little at Clay’s words. “I slept alright. I’ve just been doing some thinking, since I’ve awoken.” Kait felt happy, feeling her heart beating faster in her chest. As she felt him next to her she leaned into the male. Little things, like being side by side like this, made Kaitlyn more than happy. The small female wasn’t expecting the kids to be up any time soon, and she figured it was safe to talk about Proxy and Mad.

“I’m a bit worried… wondering what might happen if Proxy or Mad happened to come out around the kids.” Kait confessed, though she wasn’t as worried as she might have been in the past. “I don’t want them to be scared of them… I don’t think they’d do anything to the kids but…” Kaitlyn furrowed her brow, opening her eyes slightly as she gazed at the ground.

“I’m just glad I have you by my side. The kids adore you so much, daddy Clay.” Kaitlyn nuzzled up against the male. Her ears perked some as she heard little pawsteps, not that it was hard to hear when Leigh was on the move.

“Leigh?” She peered around Clay, seeing their son holding onto the brute. “We just went outside for a minute, sweetheart. We’d never go far.” Kait spoke in a soft tone, moving to the other side of Clay to give her son a quick lick on the head. “Did Romanov and Aikia wake up too?” She asked, glancing into the cavern.