Blackfeather Woods blood, guts & glory [birth]

THE MOMENT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. 
Birth order is: Atshen, Keelut, Astrid, Abraxas. Don't worry, this is forward dated a day to the 10th, so you don't have to go changing birth days. This round ends on August 15th. 
Welcome, lil fuck ups.
We have been waiting.

 

She rose that morning, to the sun bursting through the confines of the familiar den, though her family had since risen hours before. Qilaq, she assumed feeling the emptiness of her form that would curl against her side, had taken her walk; with or without Kove by her side. It worried her, the child roaming on her own. She did not know the dangers of the dark forest as Nemesis did, and did not have the mind to understand. Yet, she continued on the rest of her day as normal, a breath of held relief as Qilaq returned and soon nightfall was upon them. Kove had not returned, yet it did not bother her. In fact, as she pondered his absence, she pushed his presence away. It irked her, becoming restless from inside the den with the very thought of him laying beside her. With a swift movement she could handle it no more and without a glance to Qilaq's sleeping form as she broke free from the den. The moon had risen by then, only it's pale light guided her way as she fought out the empty den in which she was to give birth. Thunder cracked above her, foreboding with what was to come. It did not help her mood, sending her waves of agitation that she could not contain, though she pressed forward. She did not make it far before her tongue lolled out her mouth, panting at an uncannily rate though it was not from the movement itself, rather the foretelling of what was to occur that night. An itch formulated at the back of her mind, one of restlessness that the lope could not satisfy; it was not soon after the pain came.

As she slowed to a stop outside of the empty den, a brief yet stabbing pain jolted from her abdomen, a kind of pain she had not felt before. It was unexpected, a faint yelp coursed on the wind as she recovered from the shock. The rain came next in a heavy down pour and by each second that came by, all surroundings in the distance became blurry with the downpour, soaking her pelt to the core. Paying no attention to the storm clouds thickening above her, she paced with an anxiousness she had not formed herself. It came to her, ebbing at her emotions till she felt nothing but anticipation. Her paces became sharper, until the pain came again yet this time she did not flinch. With this, instinct took over and she found herself inside the den, retreating as the pains came coursing closer together until she knew it was time.

A dark one came first, (@Atshen) and through her pain she brought it close to her, licking away the access goop that had followed it on the way out. Never had she looked upon another being with the love she displayed at that moment, nor had she ever thought herself capable of feeling that way. She loved Kove, Xan and Qil; there was something in that moment that caused her to feel more, unlike she had ever had. But it was short lived, pain racking her body as another shot out, this time, the opposite it's older brother in colour (@Keelut). "Boys .. oh dear," She managed to sigh, for her experience with little boy children still managed to produce her a headache.

Yet, she hardly felt it as the next one came, it being so small and deformed she felt she could hardly lift it without breaking it's bones. It gave but one tiny, miserable breath of life before nothing; she pushed it away from the others.

Without a second thought to it's presence, pain came again, perhaps the biggest trouble of them all. With this one, the pain did not stop and she found herself elated, exhausted as she struggled to free it from her. Worry set in, fearing that it had become stuck and without oxygen it would surely suffocate. Tears fell as the struggle waged on, and with a groan did the next soul-sucking being come free from her body and she pulled it close (@Astrid). A girl. "of course," she managed a scoff, if it was anything like her it would have given her the trouble on purpose yet she did not stop to notice that the blood had not stopped flowing.

It was only when pain racked her body again, a different kind this time, did she look down to see the crimson liquid leak at an odd rate from her body. Uneducated, she could not decide if it was normal or not, and with that she assumed the birth was over.

Lightning cracked in the distance.

But it was not, while the pain was still prominent, the familiar jolt of agony cracked through her body, clenching her teeth harmfully together in the process. No, this was not right. A glutteral scream came from within her, exhausted, for with the blood loss she had little energy to push another. Yet, she felt it come. I can't, she cried from within her mind, the blood soaked into her fur. I have to. A crack of lightning in the distance and her next son broke free, feeling the emptiness of her abdomen with a long awaited sigh (@Abraxas). Leaning downwards, she lifted the last child from it's place in the puddle of blood, through the horror dawned on her as it was unmoving. The storm brewed, thunder filling her ears as she looked upon it’s form. It looked peaceful, but she would not have it, "no, no no no .." she ran her tongue over the small being, nosing it's chest with her snout where she could; any attempt to bring it life. Her heart faltered. She prepared to nudge it away with it's other dead sibling before she froze, the small almost non-existent thump of it's tiny heartbeat ringing in her ears. She blinked, watching as it's tiny figure heaved with struggled breaths. It lived.

Pulling her children close, she lay her head down. More blood had been shed than normal for a birth, leaving her in a state of utter fatigue; she dared not close her eyes. Instead, they wandered to child that did not live, it's body cast aside in the shadows of the bloodied den. Anna. It would be Anna. While name would always stay with her, her attention was for the living and she nudged the remaining children to the overflowing teats they struggled to locate.

The storm did not cease yet inside the den was a contagious warmth that could not be found anywhere else at that moment in time. Her head collapsed in exhaustion as the stormborn children wriggled about themselves; listening to the rain from the heavens crash to the darkened ground below.