Sunspire Mountains Barbastella [m]

Post 600 to the poopies! Celebrations all around. -snugs the fluffballs-

It was frustrating. No doubt it was terrifying for her, but it was equally frightening and horrid to be on the outside looking in. He paced near the mouth of the den. She'd not allow him closer and it took everything within him to respect her wishes and stay away. He bristled. He wanted there to be something he could do to ease her pain and make it all go away, but he was left to linger as he listened to his mate howl.

She warred with herself. With her body. With their children. His talons scored the earth as he ran rivets into the ground with his nervousness. He'd not been on this side of a birth before. Did he have bastard children in the world? Probably. But this was the first time he'd been present for anything and he wanted to do this shit right.

He huffed and stared into the woods beyond. Hunting. He could still hunt right? He drifted, sneaking into the peripheral woods and unleashed fury on an offending squirrel, an unsuspecting chipmunk, and a rabbit that looked at him the wrong way. He returned, piling all of them up by entrance to the den as she continued to howl. For hours. Oh dear mercy let it stop.

Gritting his teeth gave himself a migraine. Flinching with her every whimper an yowl left him stiff and all the more irritable. He wasn't birthing their future, but there was a part of him that emphasized with every moan and groan and snarl as nature took its course.

She roared.

Whatever beast in there was enough to send chills down his own spine as the scent of birthing wafted towards the mouth of her cave and let him know the end of this nightmare was soon to bring better dreams. He still paced. Nervously. Excitedly. There were a number of things running through him he could not identify as he waited for the birthing to be complete.

He was drowned in silence. It all seemed to stop as he heard tiny mews and other sounds escape from the darkness where she lay. He poked his nose around the entrance, daring a look, but moving no further towards their brood. Close enough. He'd risk stepping closer come later days, but for now he did not wish for her to suffer more by tampering with her highly instinctual nature.

All boys. His heart sank. All of them? The family curse must have been passed down through his own line for nature to have been so selective. Four of them... One lost for whatever reason, and while he spared a moment to mourn for the stillborn (he had no idea his mate had already devoured it), he was thankful more had not been lost considering their circumstances.

There was a beat before he realized what she'd named their children. One. Two. Three. Four. "YOU NAMED THEM AFTER NUMBERS!?" He knew enough of their language to know what those were. "That's not creative at all!" She could do better than that, he knew. Hell, she gave every new wolf who entered their number a new name almost instantly upon meeting them. She'd known the children for just as long and they came numbered. Oh dear god. He'd forgotten he'd mated the swamp monster.