Broken Antler Fen Nothing lasts forever but this is getting good now

Please let babies post first! Then it will be open to visitors. Tagging relevant accounts... @Diantha @Jasmine @Roswell @Eljay @Wraen

The knowledge that something was about to change, like a season's gentle shifting, hadn't yet sunken in to Ibis. She knew what to anticipate with the coming birth and the extension of her family, yet for all the physical changes which had manifested across her body she did not think towards the future; the end result, of having more mouths to feed, was too advanced for her. It was enough to know her belly had swollen as well as her teats. She was not as ungainly as before and was thankful for that small miracle, as she did not want to adjust her hidden den more than necessary.

As she finished tidying the den she thought of her daughters, the husband that left. How big would @Arielle be now, she wondered? Maybe she would have grown beyond @Lilitu and dwarfed her sister. Perhaps by now they were both small like her (or at least on the smaller side, as Lilitu was already taller than her mother by an inch). She liked to think that @Akavir had found the lost girl and kept her safe all of this time. Maybe they had made a home together and started over; that pained her to consider, so the trail of thoughts ceased.

She thought of Lilitu as she had worked upon the mountain alongside Bridget; of how capable she had become in such a short amount of time. The remaining daughter had departed the fen to hunt for her sister, having asked permission, yet Ibis could not remember the conversation. Her mind was elsewhere, seemingly always. Lost in thoughts of the past and of an uncertain future, avoidant of the present. As she fell asleep her thoughts drifted further away - to imaginings of Akavir's touch, of her girls giggling as they ran in the fields, and all was well in the false world of the dream.

In the morning there was a sharp squall and a pinch. A seeping chill had overtaken the earth where Ibis lay and together these things brought her back to reality. She woke up to a mess of fluids muddying the ground where she had sprawled herself. Another contraction cut through her as the last of the bundles came sliding free. Had she done this in her sleep? The pain came and so did euphoria to contrast it, adrenaline to dull it all, and in a hurry Ibis moved to inspect the children.

Girl, girl, and -- a boy?

Oh, my darlings... She sighed, still trying to make sense of how this could all unfold while she was sleeping. Had she only dreamed the ease in which they entered her life? Was this, right here, real? She probed at them to be sure, touching each with her nose and then the warm swath of her tongue, holding them close so they could nurse.

Good morning, babies. How she loved them. Their perfect little bodies, the slightest movements, the little sounds; even the pinch as they sought their first meals brought her joy and a dizzying, overwhelming love.