Sun Mote Copse Sweet child o' mine.

Aches and pains plagued Towhee in the week following the Battle of the Pig. Although it wasn't visible beneath her dark fur, she imagined there was an enormous bruise purpling much of her right flank, spreading across the flesh beyond her ribs. It was quite tender, particularly to the touch. Her left hip also smarted with nearly every step. Although she couldn't quite recall—clichéd as it was, everything had happened so fast—she imagined she'd landed on it when the hog had tossed her. There were smaller hurts elsewhere, though these it was these two pain points which prevented her from patrolling as much as she'd like and often compelled Towhee to dunk herself in the frigid river just to get a break from the chronic discomfort.

Rather than fading over time, as injuries were typically wont to do, the opposite proved true: with each passing day, Towhee felt worse and worse. This afternoon, the pain actually spread. It radiated from both hips and it was almost as if the bruise had sunken much further than skin deep, burrowing through flesh, muscle and bone to embed in and sour her stomach. She tried to push through the pain, foregoing the lure of her resting place at the rendezvous site and head out for an evening patrol. While she slowly walked the borders, she felt a fluttering in her abdomen and a light bulb clicked in her head. It wasn't her wounds, it was just gas.

By the time she returned to the rendezvous site, Towhee felt like she had to let out the biggest fart of her life. She settled down on the ground and curled into a ball, hoping the pressure would force it out of her. When that didn't do it, she pushed, hard, desperate for relief. But she managed only a tiny squeak she couldn't hear. It didn't alleviate the cramping and she felt lightheaded from her efforts, so she unfurled and slumped to the ground, where she lay restlessly until she somehow dropped off to sleep.

When she woke, it was well past nightfall. Towhee lurched upright, noting that @Phox, @Figment and @Fennec were asleep nearby even as she realized she was about to have an accident. Alarmed, she made an abortive attempt to move away from the others, though there wasn't time. A horrific cramp seared through her, forcing her into a squat, and diarrhea gushed out of the Regent with explosive force. She moaned, horribly certain that she'd just splattered her own family with hot, smelly feces. Before she could do anything about it, another wave burst from her. It felt solider, somehow, and ripped from her body so painfully that she screamed.

The metallic scent of blood swamped her nose then and Towhee's breath caught with fear. Was she shitting out her insides?! She couldn't see much in the dark, though she looked down at the blackish, sticky puddle beneath her and saw the hugest turd she'd ever produced in her life. No fucking wonder, Towhee thought, still scared about the damage it had done to her asshole, when she noticed the length of intestine trailing out of her body, still attached to the monstrous lump of dung. It was at that point her soul began to leave her body. R-I-P in peace, was her final, wild thought before she slumped sideways.

But death didn't take her. She didn't even lose consciousness. With her cheek mashed to the ground, Towhee was afforded a closeup view of her own excrement, which was looking back at her, because it had a fucking face, although of course its eyes were closed. She stared, dazed, as the little piece of shit began to squirm, kicking its itty bitty arms and legs, wiggling its teeny weeny tail and opening its small mouth to let out what looked like a tiny roar.

This post spans several hours, from now (mid-afternoon) until past midnight, so I'm going to date it for the early hours of February 29. Surprise! :)

if I'm not allowed to post yet I don't care

Fig had, fortunately, not been around for at least part of the more graphic parts of his mother's bodily happenings. He had come home late from patroling the borders having been distracted for a couple of hours by the scent of a coyote that had wandered too close for comfort. He hadn't found anything in the end, but still he was exhausted from all of the tracking and worrying over it. He'd come home to find Towhee sleeping soundly at the rendezvous site. At least, he thought she was sleeping soundly. He was too tired to note otherwise, and had soon enough dropped off to sleep a couple of yards away.

Her sound sleep hadn't lasted for long. He'd maybe caught an hour or so of sleep before he'd bolted upright, startled into consciousness by the sound of her shriek. Fig had lifted his head, blinking bleary-eyed and anxiously into the darkness in the direction Towhee had previously been lying. For a minute, he thougth he'd dreamed the cry up. But then, his ears were gifted with the sound of all the other stuff Towhee went through that I'm not inclined to describe and he was up and hurrying into the darkness.

"Mom? Are you okay?" he called as he came upon her, slowing to a stop a few feet before her. The scent of blood and fluid stung his nose in an unpleasant way that made him want to panic. He fought his emotions down and forced himself to stay calm, though his heart was pounding frantically in his chest as he tried to puzzle together just what the crap was going on.

"Mom?" he repeated one more time, unable to come up with anything better to do other than to stand there helplessly calling for his mommy while being assaulted by the scent her of various discharges and the sound of some weird whimpering thing, wait what the heck is that.

Meerkat has entered the chat.

Phox barely managed to escape the onslaught of various bodily fluids, but it was the smell of blood that got him worried once he'd woken up enough to realize what was going on. Immediately, he assumed the worst: something had gone wrong and Towhee was literally shitting her insides out. He thought maybe it had something to do with her recent altercation with the wild pig. Ignoring the smells, Phox rushed to her side.

In the dark, speaking wouldn't do him much good, but he couldn't help himself but ask. Towhee, what's wrong? It wasn't until he saw the THING that he realized what the blood had been from, and things slowly, slowly came together. Uh, he blabbered, looking back and forth between Towhee and the pup several times. Phox tried to remember what he was supposed to do in this situation.

Remembering that they had a very capable midwife, Phox ducked out of the thicket and called for @Eljay. Sorry Towhee, I know you don't like him, but he's probably the only one who knows what to do.

She couldn't stop staring at the tiny puppy, oblivious to the commotion breaking out around her and her family's concerned cries. Had that really come out of her? Towhee found herself inching tentatively toward the squirming blob, blinking in slow motion when her nosed touched it. Was it really hers? The pup's mouth formed a moue as its four tiny legs stiffened, then began flailing, reaching out to her. In some tiny corner of her mind, she noticed it was a little girl. Was this her daughter?

She was so totally unprepared for any of this, though as the shock slowly began to wear off and wonder took its place, it fortunately brought instincts along with it too. Towhee slowly pushed herself upright, some miraculous autopilot mode engaging as her teeth clipped the umbilical cord (not intestines, after all), cleaned the pup and then plucked her off the ground. The Regent paused long enough to exchange glances with her frantic brother and son, motioning for them to follow and bring Fen too as she gingerly carried her bundle to the nearest excuse for a den, which happened to be a moldering log near the outskirts of the rendezvous site.

Moving slowly, she climbed into the cozy space and gently set the newborn on the damp, mossy wood before curling protectively around her, innately urging the whelp's tiny snout toward her underside. Towhee feared she wouldn't be able to feed her own offspring; she was certain she wasn't lactating. But the tiny puppy's gummy mouth found a teat and tugged fiercely. Towhee could feel the flow before she could see it, thin white fluid trickling down the baby's chin.

At that point, what could she do but stare? She couldn't tear her eyes off the tiny, fuzzy blob as she drank from her body, the same body which had made her despite all of Towhee's beliefs to the contrary. The baby was perfect too: very small, even for a newborn, but she was quite lively (and presumably noisy), with the proper number of noses and toes, ears and tails. She suckled fiercely, her small head bobbing back and forth and her wee paws kneading Towhee's flesh. She looked just like an itsy bitsy Pippin, though Towhee didn't spare one thought for the pup's paternity.

She was hers and Towhee had never been so happy to be proven wrong.

Ears perked when he heard Phox' call. He couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong, although the initial call didn't sound as urgent -- it didn't sound like anything was wrong necessarily. Still, usually when he was called, if not always, it was because there was something medical going on. Eljay's first thought was on Niamh. Was something wrong with her pregnancy? Eljay frowned and quickly got into motion, just in case that was the case. It wasn't always as easy for other wolves to see the urgency in pregnancy problems, after all, so the fact that they didn't sound overly urgent didn't always mean anything.

By the time that Eljay got to the rendezvous site from where the call sounded Towhee had already moved into the log, so he couldn't quite see what was going on at all. What's wrong? he asked, even though he had intended to ask what's up or what's going on. He looked at Towhee, unable to see the pup because it was so sheltered and there were others all around, too. Towhee? Are you alright? he called to her, and Eljay craned his neck to see a bit closer, though he did not dare get too close because he knew Towhee could be unpredictable in these matters; if she was hurt, then it might not be as easy to get close.

Having been in the process of sorting out a bit of her own discomfort, Niamh had been. Striding through the pack's territory near the centre of the claimed territory when she caught sight it Phox bolting through the woods. With a bark, she called him over- and as he grew near, the scents that followed him made Niamh recoil for a moment. She was only given a hasty explanation before he went off in search for Eljay- and left Niamh stunned for a few moments. 

Towhee had had a puppy!?

As she didn't know where to direct Phox, she wasn't sure if Eljay would make it in time so she decided, then, to go to Towhee in case she could be of any help. Having had children once didn't make her an expert, but she couldn't keep herself back. She followed Phox's tracks which led her to the site of Towhee's birth, though her tracks led away from that, and toward the nearest shelter she could find- a log. Fig was there, and Eljay had been found too, so she suspected Phox would turn up shortly. She gave Towhee a respectful distance, but leaned forward, peering over the shoulders of the others until she finally saw it- a healthy, beige-ish baby, nursing at it's mother's side. She grinned from earto ear, and couldn't contain a soft "Awwwwwwwwww!"

Fig stared blankly at the squirming thing that had stolen the attention of his mother. The look on her face was just as intense, though he suspected his was far more bewildered. He felt relieved when his father showed up, but not relieved enough that his voice wasn't panicked when he asked, "Dad.. What is that??" in a pitch that was embarassingly high-pitched, or would have been if it had occurred to him to care in that moment.

It didn't seem to take long for the crowds to gather. Fig continued to look around in bewilderment at his packmates as Eljay and then Niamh arrived. He backed out of the way awkwardly, but set himself somewhere to the side facing the crowd as his protective instincts kicked in. He still didn't fully register that his mother had just had a miracle baby, but he did recognize that she was bleeding and distracted. That fact centered him somewhat and he focused on watching his packmates, though he couldn't help but steal periodic sidelong glances at the wriggling pup that had appeared out of no where, HOLD UP WHAT?

single post cameo bc fomooooo strikes at lunch

Fennec was abruptly wakened to the chaos, and without sight, had no clue what was happening.  Weird sounds and smells, mostly panicked, had her already backing out of the den when they moved, but she followed, only starting to ask a quiet What's... before shutting her mouth again and tucking her tail.  She didn't know where they were going.

Towhee didn't sound hurt, but she didn't want to be in the way for whatever was happening.  So while the rest of everyone crowded around to see the new pup, Fenn remained outside and a short distance off, waiting for the family to clear and for someone to tell her what was happening.  Her ears were twisted, trained on the den to catch whatever she might be able to hear of what went on inside.

feel free to pp her, but she gets overwhelmed with lots of things around her <3

Feel free to skip me!

In the time between his call and Eljay showing up, Phox checked the immediately surrounding area, making sure there was nothing that looked blatantly out of place. Niamh was there, too, although Phox only gave her a quick lick on the cheek before answering Figment's (and Fennec's implied) question. That, kids, is your new sibling.

With Eljay here, Phox stepped back and stuck as close as he could to all three of his other family members: Niamh, Figment, and Fennec. What a wild past few months this had been.

When Towhee could finally tear her eyes away for a moment, she was a little startled to discover many sets of eyes staring in at them. Without being aware of what she was doing, she curled more tightly around the newborn, her tail sweeping up to shield her from view, her own included. She could still feel that tiny mouth tugging at her teat, such a peculiar but somehow welcome sensation, as she forced herself to address her audience.

She shot Eljay and Niamh a quick, distracted smile, though she craned her neck, her orange eyes scanning the darkness behind them. "Phox? Fig? Fen?" she called. "Come see your..." Well, there would be time to figure out where exactly this surprise member of their family fit. Meanwhile, Towhee could hardly wait for them to come look at the life she'd created, without even realizing it, even despite her own convictions about her inability to do so.

Eljay was utterly confused. Niamh showed up and started to fawn over something, and it was then that Eljay wondered for the first time if it could be a pup, the little wriggling thing with an off colour that looked like a wet potato. But then again, Towhee hadn't showed any signs of being pregnant at all so how could it be? He frowned as he watched and Phox confirmed his twist of thoughts by saying they had a sibling and Towhee then inviting the others -- her brother, his children -- closer to see.

He was surprised but not so much that he wouldn't respond, as a midwife and all. He glanced at Towhee and the pup and asked, How are you feeling? Is there any... Is there bleeding? How's the pup? Or mostly, did the bleeding stop after giving birth? He knew these must not be the sort of questions she was waiting for now, but he just wanted to be sure she was healthy and everything right now.

In the meantime, whilst taking what few moments she could to get a glimpse of the small, beige pup at Towhee's side, Niamh mostly stayed out of the way, tripping lightly with surprise as Figment made to do the same and make way for her. She cast him a kind of awkward grin- but gestured for him to move forward, as it was his place to be close. She knew she would get lots of time with Towhee in the future- and it would never, ever be enough- but that she should step back and allow her closest relatives and their medic in closer. 

So that put Niamh being toward the back of the group together, lingering for a bit near Phox's flank, before moving back to allow his two children to move forward and be alongside him as they got their first moment to see their newest little sibling.

Fig's eyes focused on Fen while their packmates flooded around the newborn. She stood off from the others, similar to the way he did. He thought of abandoning his self-appointed guard post to join her. He suspected she was feeling alone and left out in that awful way her disability did from time to time. But before he could move, Phox was speaking and introducing him to the squealing, wet, mushy thing that his mother was cradling.

Sibling?

Fig turned to peer at it, even as he was shuffled further back to a place near Fen, Phox and Niamh. As always, he looked over at Fen for a cue as to what he should be doing in all of this. Towhee called them over then before he could get much out of his sister's face, but he could only stare uncertainly at her. There were so many wolves around, it was a bit overwhelming. Part of him wanted to drive them all away so he could keep his mother and their new squishy safe. But he reminded himself that this was family. They were safe.

So, he stayed quiet and let the medic tend to them, all the while tense and ready for... Well, for no reason.

This was going to be a cameo but...

Fennec couldn't see her brother's eyes on her, or her father's movements between them.  She remained in her place, a few yards back, and laid down where she was to wait.  The healthy distance let her calm down, so when Phox called for them to come see, Fennec shot back a response with more ease.

In a bit.  She wasn't going to shove into that mess, but would wait until they cleared out.  It seemed like mom was fine, and no one was panicking anymore, so she'd chill where she was.  Instead she laid her head down and focused one hundred percent on listening, allowing all the sounds of all the wolves to wash over her and trying to pick out on the racket what was going on.

now she's skippable!

Niamh retreated even as Phox and Fig slowly moved closer. Towhee noticed Eljay still hovering nearby, distractedly noting his questions. "We're okay, I think," she replied, not entirely sure. She should have him take a look, though it would have to wait until a little later. She didn't mean to be rude but she proceeded to ignore anything else he said as her eyes bounced between her brother's and son's faces.

"Where's Fen?" she questioned, trying to glance past them. She caught a glimpse of her elder daughter (what a crazy thought) hanging back. Towhee wished she would come here, though she understood that maybe Fen wanted to wait for the hubbub to die down a bit. It might be best if she was given a chance to meet the newest member of the family one-on-one, considering.

Peering up into Phox's soft eyes, Towhee said simply, "Can you believe it?" She blinked over at Fig too, her cheeks aching with the smile spread there. She moved her tail to afford them (and herself) a better view of the newborn again, lowering her head and nuzzling the pup's fuzzy, pale crown, drawing in her smell. (Definitely not poop.) She exhaled, a joyful little sigh that carried away all her anguished bereavement of yore as Towhee clung to her tiny miracle.

Last post from me. Feel free to post again. I'll archive it in a few days. :)

Towhee said that they were okay but she didn't sound like she knew for sure that they were okay. Eljay frowned with worry, but he knew better than to push his help on a new mother. He stayed his distance and paced back and forth a bit, trying to get a grasp on the situation. Eventually, Eljay decided that he would leave and return later, when the busyness had cleared out and he could more easily speak to Towhee one on one.