Zee awoke in the early hours of the morning, her stomach twisting and cramping painfully. She gritted her teeth and squinted out past the pile of fur surrounding her. To her right was the titan Sirius, his presence during sleep a constant comfort since his night terrors had been lifted. To her left was the Empress Deathbelle, her closest friend and sister. Were the horned queen not pained, she’d have considered the cuddle pile to be one of the highest points in her life. She was safe and warm beside two of her most favorite people in the world, and the pups were desperately trying to wreck her serenity. She lifted her head carefully as to not dislodge anyone, spying Bast fast asleep on the other side of the room. With a hushed “pssst” she hoped to get the leopard’s attention without waking them, mouthing to the cat to ‘go get Iolaire.’ She knew from her healers telling her what to expect that the pups wouldn’t flood out of her without effort and annoyance and time, so surely it wouldn’t do any harm to let Sirius and Deathbelle sleep. After all, the father-to-be was about to have his entire life changed. The least she could do was give him a few more minutes of uninterrupted rest. As Bast slunk out of the den Zee lowered her head back down to her paws, shutting her eyes back tight and willing the sporadic pain to just magically vanish. "Speech"

Sirius, extremely sensitive to every breath his wife made, especially in these last few weeks,, woke as soon as he felt her movement. He woke a little sleepily, and was content to fall back to sleep. Every shuffle and change was enough to wake him, and he was accustomed to seeing that she was only shifting, and allow sleep to over take him again. This time however, she would make a soft noise, calling for the attention of feline companion. He opened his eyes without moving, zoning them in on his wife as she lay quietly beside him. 


He was a little surprised when Zee whispered for Io, and not her husband, but then, it made sense. Io was the healer. Was she feeling movement from the pups? She was almost big enough to pop, not that he would ever tell her that. Her mood swings still caught him by surprise, and he had no doubt she would deck him one for such a comment - and he wouldn’t even be allowed to wrestle her to the ground! No point tempting fate. For the moment, he was content to lay there quietly, a silent, solid support. If she nudged him, he would answer, until then, he would let her do things at her own pace. 


He watched her quietly from beneath his lashes, eyes filled with love as he took in the solidly pregnant form of his Wife. He almost didn’t notice Io’s presence, which would have shocked every wolf that knew him. She was quiet in entering, and all of his attention was on the steady breathing of the love of his life.


He was grateful that Deathbelle was already there with him, his childhood friend, the wolf he almost shared his life with. Io, the sister he had adopted, and a wolf he cherished with all of his heart. Perhaps he was feeling especially sentimental in that moment, fatherhood was giving him brain rot, but all he could think was just how happy he was to be surrounded by these wolves, that Zee could have such a solid rock of support around her in this moment.

Zee's time had been fast approaching. Iolaire could tell simply by the shape of her abdomen. The pups were sitting low, eager to make their way into the outside world. Since they were all the way across the territory from one another, it made Io a little uneasy to bo so far. If something happened... well... It wouldn't do to show up exhausted and out of breath. So she'd taken to sleeping outside of the den that Sirius and Zee shared. She knew that Deathbelle was in there with them, but cuddle piles weren't exactly her thing. She'd built a nest out of the tall grass and fell asleep under the stars. This had been her sleeping place for the past few nights and she was sorely missing sleeping beside Roan.

A soft nudge roused the little woman from her slumber. Cracking one sleepy, green gold eye, Io spied the form of Bast. "Hmm?" She said before sitting up and shaking away the sleep. The leopard wouldn't have awoken her for nothing, so Iolaire slid into her pack and moved with the big cat towards the den. Quietly, she moved inside, her eyes adjusting to the change in lighting before she moved towards Zee. She was careful not to wake the other two just yet. "Zee," she called out softly. As she passed him, she could tell simply by his breathing that Sirius was awake. Though she stood before the pregnant woman, she gave her brother a gentle, reassuring pat with one paw.

The Empress hid her disappointment when she realized Iolaire wasn’t going to be on her other side during the night. She missed the dainty healer, but she was keeping busy. With her children especially, despite feeling the need to keep a heavy eye on Pestilence the she wolf wouldn’t have missed the sleep over for the world. She held tightly to Zee with the protective Sirius on the other side. Belle wasn’t sure she had ever been warmer or more comfortable. She tried not to think about how well she might have fit into their marriage.

Her sleep was deep, but she was a mom to five teenagers and it didn’t take long for her to come to consciousness. She blinked back her lilac gaze as she watched Io enter the den. She could feel the tenseness of Zee’s body and made a pretty good guess. Comfortingly she nuzzled at the Queen’s cheek. She was here to support her and offer any kind of help Iolaire might need. This wasn’t the first birth the two of them worked together to accomplish.

She wondered for a moment if she might have to keep Sirius occupied, she didn’t know how he would act and nervous energy wasn’t going to help anyone in the den. For now she remained silent, maybe the titan would sleep through the hard part.

Perhaps it was wishful thinking that Zee could pretend her movements went unnoticed, though she liked to think she was being thoughtful in her attempted stealth. Regardless of her efforts Sirius’ breathing shifted from the depths of sleep to attention, Deathbelle moved to nuzzle at Zee’s cheek, and Iolaire even gave her brother a reassuring pat. There was warmth and love present in the den, and Zee settled further into the furs comfortably now that the last member of their family had shown up.

The sharp pains that clenched at her stomach ceased almost as quickly as they’d come, and hesitantly Zee opened her eyes to regard Iolaire. While she’d asked Deathbelle to be present, she trusted Sirius’ sister to take the lead in her healing. Unless a complication arose, she wanted her Empress to take up her position as Zee’s second trusty rock beside Sirius - though she knew she could never stop her sister from lending a hand in the birthing.

“I think it’s -” She began to address Io softly, working to form an apology for disturbing her with a false alarm. Suddenly her voice caught and another painful squeeze clawed at her insides. Zee cried out, her body shuddering violently and pressing in against her husband. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.” The queen swore, panic creeping into her voice. Deathbelle’s words came back to her, the reminder that she was to give birth to the children of a titan. If she wasn’t buried against him she’d might have looked for a target to bite to share the pain.

He wasn’t as subtle as he thought about waking, but he didn’t mind. His sister placed a paw against him and he nudged it with his shoulder, just to return the gesture without moving overly much. He didn’t know exactly why Zee wanted them all there with her at that moment, but all his attention would be on his Wife.

His ears perked when Zee spoke, in a whisper, but louder then the mouthing she had given Bast. Her sentence began, and then cut off and cried out. Sirius was on his feet before he even knew that he had moved. His eyes flashed, a sign of the beast that lurked within him as he pushed his upper body against Zee’s side, a protective, supportive gesture as he tried to bring himself under control.

Her ‘oh shit’s’ didn’t help in the least, and, perhaps because he knew his wife, and he knew himself, he pushed a large foreleg close to his wife. “Bite down, don’t hold back” he whispered. The pain, and the release, would help them both.

The moment that Iolaire entered the den, she had begun to look Zee over. The roiling, undulating stomach was instantly noted. Those babies were coming out. During a previous examination, just by feeling around gently with her paws, Iolaire had the idea that there might be three pups within. Now it was time to find out.

A major contraction hit the horned woman and Iolaire dumped her pack to the side, but within range. With the size of the pups and the limited space within their mother, she had no doubt that they would try to come hard and fast. "Try to remain calm," she coached. Panicking would only cause her to clench her muscles. It was difficult, but it was doable. Sirius flipped out at his wife's pained sound and jumped to action. Parents were so...dramatic sometimes. Not that she believed she would do any better in such a situation.

Now they would wait for things to start. She flashed a look into the lavender eyes of Deathbelle and nodded. They'd done this before, and recently too. The women worked well together and she had no doubt that they would do their best for this birthing mother as well.

Deathbelle might have lingered there happily beside Zee the whole morning, she was content and relaxed. For a few more moments until Zee’s panicked voice reached her mismatched ears. She tried to be a calming presence, she wanted to offer her full support to her sister. She knew that she could do this, she was strong despite her size. Though Sirius took his place beside her Deathbelle placed her paw supportively over Zee’s and gave her another affectionate nuzzle.

The Empress didn’t miss Iolaire’s glance. The two of them were a great team and the best that Ashen had to offer the pregnant Queen. With the pair of them there to help her Zee and all of her puppies would surely make it through the birthing. Deathbelle was determined to see her sister through. She offered Io a quick smile, she couldn’t deny her enjoyment in working together with her once lover.

Sirius reacted immediately, standing quickly and moving close to her as she cursed. His foreleg came towards her mouth and she turned her head to glare at him half-heartedly. "Trust me when I want to bite you, I will." Sirius may have been silly in certain situations, but she could at least never claim he wasn't supported. She nosed his foreleg away to avoid the temptation before another wave of sharp pains rolled over her. The queen shut her eyes hard and gritted her teeth, seething a heavy exhale. When she managed them back open, they fell upon the two women who were uncharacteristically quiet. "Your silence is unnerving." She admitted, though the fading pain turned her tone less soft then she'd intended. "Please, talk to me. Better yet, dose me with something before it gets worse." It was a difficult feeling being so out of control, and Zee struggled to forget the fact that some very likely titanic babies were about to force their way out of her. She leaned harder against Sirius, as if she could hide herself away from even nature in his fur.

Zee gently nudged his paw away, and instead used it to push gently against her neck, offering her head extra padding and support as he looked to his sister and the Empress. They were here because he and his Wife trusted them the most, because they needed to take charge and ensure Zee’s safety and wellbeing throughout this… they were here to bring his children into the world. He had tried so hard to dwell on that thought, the excitement, the incredulous feeling of joy it left him with.

He felt his wife lean against him, and he took her weight gladly, nudging against her in return. His instincts were in overdrive, and he was very glad that it was only Io and Death in the den with them. He had a feeling he would have snapped at anybody else that dared tread upon the moment.

"Belle, you keep her distracted." The pair of women would have more to talk about than she would since they'd known one another longer. Iolaire would do what she needed to do. Of course she knew that Zee would request pain meds. Though she was loathe to start medicating her so soon, Io placed a small amount of herbs before the woman.

There wasn't much for a healer to do until the actual birthing started. Sirius could provide support. Deathbelle could keep her talking. Io would observe, focusing on the subtle nuances of Zee's body. She was prepared for anything and anticipating events before they happened was what made her a good healer.

Deathbelle tried to comfort the small woman as she entered the beginning stages of labor. They could be here a long time or it could be relatively quick. Zee was in no better paws though, and the Empress was sure Io had everything under her control. Still, she didn’t realize her quietness had disturbed Zee so much. ”Still asleep, dearest.” Deathbelle chuckled good naturedly as she teased the queen and tried to put her more at ease. She had trouble with her brood and she wasn’t near as small as Zee’s tiny frame.

”Distracted from childbirth?” She chuckled at the dainty healer as she positioned herself in front of the poor laboring queen. ”You know this will be hard, but every moment will be worth it once you see them.” That much Deathbelle could promise Zee. She kissed her on the forehead affectionately. ”You’re stronger than you know, Zee.”

Deathbelle's sleepy apology made her smile, though it was short-lived as another wave of pain washed over her. The contractions were coming faster, and along with them the instinct to push. Zee - always the argumentative type - clenched hard against the feeling, her body trembling as it became much more real to her. Iolaire barely had time to place the herbs before her before Zee snapped them into her mouth greedily, and finally the urge was too much for her to fight against. With a loud cry she felt a warm wetness slide from her, and it felt as if she might be torn in two. Swiftly her head moved towards Sirius, jaws parting to snap down hard upon whatever body part was nearest. He'd offered, right? Anyways this was all his fault, he was lucky she wasn't biting upon on his testicals to share the pain in the most accurate way.

Her cries of pain continued louder, becoming more agonized as her firstborn was brought into the world. Nearly immediately at his birth Zee was overcome with momentarily bodily exhaustion, and she wanted nothing more then to flop herself against her husband and relax until the second. However the intricacies of birth were not unknown to her, and she curled herself towards the pup to begin to clean him.

Something was wrong. Her ears pricked, her head shooting back to fix the healers with her panicked gaze. "I..I.." She whispered, leaning back so that they could see the pup.

Sirius held her tightly, and watched as Deathbelle found the words that the brute himself could not. She comforted his wife at his sister’s behest, and Sirius managed, just, to smile at his childhood friend over the head of his birthing wife.

He could not wait to see his children, he couldn’t imagine anything he wanted more in that moment. To welcome their children into this world, surrounded by the people that would love them the most. He already knew that Deathbelle and Io would be the two wolves he would entrust their lives to. If something ever happened to the King and Queen, the Empress and his Diplomat would raise them.

He could feel Zee’s pain, and it distracted him from the warm thoughts of children, he turned to her, eyes a little wide with worry, before her teeth latched down upon his shoulder. Her teeth dug in hard, finding fur and skin as she clenched into him. He gritted his teeth, bracing himself, and knew the pain he felt was nothing to what Zee was going through.

Mortis Fatalis The abyss of his world was a comfort, he knew warmth, and fullness of his belly. Everything was soft and padded around him, with the sensation of something he could not describe in the world beyond his own. Voices he would later learn. The sounds of his parents, and the soothing lilts of their tones. He was not alone in his world, but he could not say he knew what was around him, only that they were like he. He knew and understood little, but he was happy, and content. The violent expelling into the world was not something he would have asked for, the heave that pushed him against the walls of his world. The feel of little nibs about what could only be described as his shoulders would catch, and he would fail to be expelled. He tumbled back again through the rolling Abyss, until the heave came again, shoving him forward. He was thrown against the wall, this time his angle was better, but something caught about him. His airways cut off, and one of his comforts was immediately lost to him. The comfort of oxygen. He knew, for a moment, the world. The light shining against eyes that would not open for ten days, the chill of air against his skin the violence of the rough ground that fell up to meet him, and then nothing. The vitalness of oxygen would be known to him in the first moments of his life, as he was denied his first breath of ait, the choke of something pulling against his throat a brutal sensation, he would be glad, if he had a choice, that sleep would take him before he could fully develop an understanding for pain. "Speech"

The time was upon Zee before she even knew it and the first heavy, pushing contraction seemed to come as a shock to her. That was usually how it went. An 'Oh, this is how it's going to be' moment. Io encouraged her brother's wife as she expelled the first of the birthing water. Things would happen quickly now. There was too much within the small wolf and gravity would have its way eventually.

As the first child was ejected from its warm cocoon, Iolaire was there. She was ready and waiting for anything that might happen. As soon as Zee moved her tail away so that the dark healer could see, she jumped into action. The pup wasn't breathing. "Stay calm," she ordered the mother. Moving forward quickly, Io untangled the seemingly lifeless pup. With no qualms about looks or decorum, Io placed her mouth over the pups nose and mouth and sucked. Turning her head, she spat out viscous liquid that was blocking its airway.

Then it was time to gently pump the boys chest, for it was indeed a male. All of the others in the den disappeared. In that moment, it was just Iolaire and her lifeless nephew. The rest of the world went dark. She willed life into the boy as she pumped his tiny ribcage, working to jumpstart his heart and get him to take that first, sweet breath of life. Io poured every ounce of her will into him and... in the end.. was graced with a powerful, yet annoyed, squeal of life. Iolaire grinned and released an involuntary laugh. Wasting no time, she pinched off the umbilical cord, then severed it easily with her knife that she'd already had prepared.

As she placed the boy against his mother's belly, she couldn't fight the grin. "He's gorgeous." Though this one was born, there were more to come. She was just as ready for them as she had been for this little miracle. "On to the next."

Deathbelle managed to bring a smile to the laboring queen’s face, but it didn’t last long as real labor began. Deathbelle didn’t like to think about the actual birth of the five pups. She had been uncomfortable and in pain, and she was much bigger than Zee. The poor woman practically writhed as predicted Deathbelle wasn’t able to distract her with gentle words. Belle was mostly forgotten as she focused on biting Sirius and expelling the first of their children into the world. Much like her own children the boy seemed to be shaped differently than a normal pup. She couldn’t quite tell yet, and giving him life was much more important.

Deathbelle pet Zee’s paw to keep her calm as Iolaire worked fiercely with the newborn. She was at him for a long time, and just before she was sure to lose hope the tiny boy squealed. She let out a heavy sigh of relief as child was put to his mother. Their focus could continue onto the next baby. ”Be strong, Zee. We’re here for you. You’re doing so well.” She wondered if Zee would be eager to bear Sirius another litter after this experience. ”He’s beautiful, they’re all going to be beautiful.”

Zee allowed Iolaire room to work at her pup, her heart hammering hard as she wondered whether the healer could help him. She knew very little of birthing, having been present for more than a few litters in her youth but always outside the den while her healer mother worked. Whatever was happening to her firstborn didn't seem normal, and she gritted her teeth while she waited impatiently to hear that first cry. Belle's paw came upon her own and Zee put her second one on top of the Empress' own. Sirius still held her tightly and it was good thing, because some instinctual part of Zee wanted to knock Iolaire over and try to see to her unbreathing child herself.

At long last the child cried and Zee let out a sigh of relief with her sister. Her head flopped back onto Sirius heavily, exhausted now not just physically but mentally too. "I don't want to go through that again." She whispered to her husband, eyes squeezing shut. The pup was placed against her belly and for a short moment her fatigue was forgotten. She lifted her head off the direwolf and curled it in to look at the pup, leaning forward to place a small lick upon his back as he rooted for milk. "He is beautiful." She agreed softly, lifting her eyes from the child long enough to give a smile to both her sisters.

Her period of respite did not last long, and with the same intensity of the first Zee felt the sharp clenching pain start up once more. She focused hard upon the child, willing his presence to wash away her pain. Unfortunately it did little to dull it, though the boy she'd birthed already cleared the path to a slightly less painful second-born. She cried out once more, and with another hard push felt the second bundle slide from her. Instantly her ears perked to listen for the cry, her body curling protectively around him as she vigorously worked to clean him with hopes that his entrance into the world be less dangerous. It took very little time for him to squeal, and she pressed her nose into him to let out a shaken sigh of relief.

She'd seen what Iolaire did for the first, and swiftly moved to crush the cord with her teeth. Gently she moved the pup to her belly beside his brother, resting her head over both their bodies protectively as they fed. After a few moments of holding them like this, she pulled back so that the others could see. "He's alright, I think." Though regardless she leaned away back into Sirius so that if they wished the healers could look over him. Her head angled upwards to look up at her husband. "Mortis, and Azure?" She confirmed softly. They'd had the discussion of names, but she wanted to be sure the direwolf was still happy with their selection.

Throughout his time in the warm, wet darkness the constant that comforted him was the others pressed tightly beside. Their heartbeats lulled him to sleep, their poking and prodding limbs teaching him about annoyance and discomfort and personal space. Through it all they were there, and then one moment the world got emptier. Something tugged on him, stronger and more insistant then he'd known from the paws that sometimes tickled and poked. He felt himself pulled, moved further from those he'd known all his life. It got colder, and then not too long after it got much colder. The feeling of sliding - being pushed now, not pulled - was something he couldn't fight against. Everywhere the air touched him was uncomfortable and dry, not familiar in the slightest. He squealed angrily and the noise startled himself back into silence. Before he could vocally complain once more, a soft touch was upon him and he felt himself moving through the wide open world. His fur brushed up against another, familiarity in the scent and voices and warmth. The smell of milk was not familiar, though it was intoxicating and he wrestled against that other to try and find the source first. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

The moment the pup was born, it was clear he would have to fight for his life. Io was quick to act, even before Sirius could bare his teeth and growl, the pup was freed from the restraints that suffocated it, and she worked quickly to breathe life back into his little fighter. He proved himself then, proved his desire to live, as he came back to them, a healthy, heavy cry on his lips as he let loose his emotions for this world. His first born.

“He has your tenacity” Sirius said, offering her a smile, relief in his tone as the pup was placed beside her, alive and healthy. Sirius understood what she meant, he had emotional investment in these pups, he needed them to live.

“Mortis.” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the tiny creature's body. He couldn’t aim for a brow, there wasn’t enough present for the giant to kiss. “Our first born.”
The second pup was easier, with less danger as he was pushed free, and cried with the strength of healthy lungs. Zee placed him next to their first, and Sirius smiled as he nodded to his wife. “Mortis and Azure.These two boys will shape their own future.” after all, they were of his and Zee’s blood. He couldn’t see them possessing anything other than strength and determination.