Wheeling Gull Isle he has risen

@Huojin

it was painful.

it was hell.

man, fuck motherhood.

ruo took a sharp inhale as she felt the contractions slither within herself, and squirmed with each pulse.

the time was now, she was right, it had been nearly a week and they had come.

she didn't know how many, nor' how long it'd be.

but the siren used her strength to make sure they lived, that's all that mattered at this point.

perhaps a recluse, a loner, and a bitch at times, but she wasn't heartless. she had gained the motherly touch, a warmth in her heart knowing what was to come.

she desired the one, to get the fuck out however.

and as he came, she would be quick to nurture them to her belly.

sentience came with his first breath, and the seabird was alive. he rolled from his mother's womb into the cool embrace of salt-laden stone, was released from his amniotic cage, and nestled against ruo's side. instincts pushed him to suckle, which he did, mewling happily as he kneaded through her fur. 

he couldn't hear anything, nor could he smell or see, but the seabird felt the faint sting of wind brought in from outside. after having his fill, the child fell from the teat and cocooned within the fur lining ruo's chest.

and there was one.

and only one.

a boy she cradled, and wisked away the grease upon his red, brown fur.

"huojin," the siren whispered toward her son.

it had ended, so peacefully, none came forth except the singular pup she held so close.

but he was all she needed.

a fire to the soul, but as cooling as the earths metal.

The salmon clutched tight within his jaws, staining the creamy hue of his cheeks and chin in red. He trotted along the seaside of the island which he called home, a home which he had spent much time away from during Ruo's pregnancy. As mentioned, he would gift her when he could and now between relieved of his training duty, having searched for Ying to no avail, Aiolos took time to know his home whilst he held two other scouts under his guard. After all, the newly appointed Lead male was off somewhere, his Empress had four pups and Ruo? 

The scent did not touch his senses, but smacked him so hard in the face that he dropped his catch and rushed quickly to the rock formation Ruo called her own. Along the backside where the entrance lie, Aiolos peers within. Dark and gloomy, he could smell the childbirth, see the outlining of her form, but narrowed his eyes to see what other life lie within more clearly.

Ruo...? He asks, her name left in question. Should he call for a medic? Was she okay? Was the pups okay? A former life told him he didnt belong here. That he wasnt allowed here or to be a part of it. A lump formed in his throat, gingered ears falling back with concern.

ruo had decency, she could not deny the man his own child. while feelings conflicted, that her lion, had a night of mistakes.. she still brought forth, the only son she wished to have. there was no need for more, or less. happy, with just the one. perhaps in the end it wasn't a mistake, but a fate that happened too soon in their life.

she spoke, while stretching her body further more to reveal the small, bundle of fire. a cub, "huojin," she repeated his name, "your son." a smile from the siren, introducing the prince to the king.

She stretches out, revealing the single pup at her side. But one and yet one was all more then enough for him. A boy. His throat tightens. Once some time ago in a place not at all so far from here, it was custom to keep the female pups and toss the males off the cliffside into the sea below. 

His name was given, blessed by the mother's choice and to her next words he smiles just as she. Huojin. He repeats, testing the name on his tongue. His fiery eyes observing the rusty reds, the subtle brown, the creamy undersides mostly hidden in the earth. Of sun and sand. He lowers onto his haunches, front legs outstretched into the mouth of the den and his head rested on them, content to simply now watch.

despite one, it was a tiring time that had passed peacefully. the father laid down, and she said nothing, showing her little fire, a near replica to his flames. he was of the sun and sand, a mixture of the two, and the only one ruo needed. little huojin, she would dream of his days to come. with tired eyes resting, her breathing had slowed down, and the siren, was resting peacefully.