Redhawk Caldera you seem like kind of a maserati.

I'll be out of town tomorrow so come on out, @Tywyll @Cinder! Forward-dated to tomorrow morning :) All welcome, but Fin will bite your face if you come too close - unless you helped create them @Elwood ;)  

Finley couldn't remember any of her last pregnancies seeming to have gone by this quickly. One moment, she was telling Elwood the news. The next, she was here - panting, pacing, aching, and completely ready to pop. @Raven and @Lagan both had hovered determinedly over her all of the prior day. She had sent them away that night, but they hadn't gone far. She knew they rested nearby the den where she had whelped all of her children. She might've felt bad for their exile, but they had each other for company. And just before dawn, another joined them - Elwood, who had been given the boot the moment Finley sensed that her time had come.

Much like her pregnancy had been quick, Fin was pleased to discover that the delivery was quick as well. Or maybe it was that birthing only two of them took half the time of birthing four. In either case, the dark one came first, and not long after, came the lighter. And by the time the fourth-time mother was lying on her side with two little, black-striped beans squirming at her side, the sun was sitting just on the horizon. She felt exhausted, but happy as hell. She had worried that something would have gone wrong since she'd been pregnant during her fight with Blackfeather. But no, the pair seemed perfectly healthy and ready to make the world their bitch - Just as Blackthorns should be.

It was quite pleasant in the dark little enclosure of warmth at first. He could eat, sleep and move around every now and then at his every whim. Then as time passed by and he grew he realized that there was another with him and it got cramped. For a time being he was okay with sharing but then just as suddenly everything got to be too small and he began to be pushed free. He was a mess of emotion and sensations, delight at this first taste of unknown adventure, contempt that he was being so harshly shoved and pushed through some tight wet thing, determination to be the first one to figure out what the hell was happening. 


Then he plopped out onto the ground and lay still for a moment. It was cold and hard and he'd bumped his nose against something hard and it had hurt. He squealed loudly to show his annoyance but just as suddenly his shrieking turned to small squeaks of curiousity and need as instinct kicked in. He wriggled and rolled toward an invisible source of heat and bumped his nose right into his mother's belly. 


New thing discovered he nudged and grunted at this belly, unsure whether he wanted to fight it or not. Then his maw hit a teat and he growled, a high pitched pathetic little sound as he opened his mouth and bit down. All gums and lips were used as he chewed at the teat,earning a messy squirt of warm liquid into his mouth. what the hell was that?he asked himself though his thoughts weren't exactly coherent yet. He repeated this action and found the fluid to be quite delicious and gummed at it in earnest, little gurgles and whines showing that finally he was satisfied. Perhaps this liquid would be enough to soothe the anger he had at being birthed.

<3

At first there was the usual, comforting darkness. It surrounded him like a warm blanket - he didn't even mind the other squirming body inside, the warmth and familiarity was enough for the unborn boy. He was a peaceful soul taking residence in a place he was content never to leave.

That was, until something changed. 

One second he was lazing around in the only home he'd ever known, and the next there was a sudden burst of cold. Even with his eyes squinted shut and tiny ears folded atop his head, it was uncomfortably new and bright. He squeaked in fright, panicking as he sought out the warmth he'd once known. After a good few moments of fruitlessly failing, he at last found his mother's side (which was unbelievably welcome). He much prefered her familiar presence over the wide and empty spaces around his tiny body. That was all far too scary.

The boy began to nose at her fur until he found a teat, which he promptly latched his little grey jaws around to start suckling. The liquid that came out was strange and unknown, but it was delicious and that was all his young mind cared about, content at last now that he claimed the warmth again.

Yayyy!

This was not the first, second, or even third time that Elwood had experienced this. It was the fourth, and while he had eight other children, it was still as nerve wracking as ever when Finley went into labor. He wasn’t surprised when she banished him from the whelping den, and he resigned himself to hours of anxious pacing — but before he knew it, he heard the cries of his newborn children and then the contented silence that indicated that the babies and Finley were all doing just fine.

He paused and poked his nose into the den, ears pressed forward with excitement and heartbeat fluttering in his chest. ”Everything okay in here?” he asked, even as his eyes adjusted to the shadows and his gaze fell on the sight of two tiny puppies suckling at Finley’s side.

When X swooped down from the sky in the middle of a boring patrol—so boring, in fact, that her eyes had glazed over and she was running entirely on autopilot—Towhee jolted. She blinked several times and shook her head at herself. She wasn't being very vigilant, was she? But she didn't have long to dwell on it because the bird had landed directly in front of her and was doing a silly dance.

Although she was tempted to smile at his antics, Towhee knew he was trying to relay something urgent. When she finally understood X's message, a grin bloomed across her face. "Race ya!" she hooted at the raptor even as she pivoted and broke into a gallop. She laughed loudly when she saw his shadow race ahead of her, easily staying abreast of her even as the Alpha pumped her legs as hard as they could go.

She arrived at the den site to find Elwood, Lagan and Raven all hovering nearby. "How is she? Are they here yet?" she breathlessly barked at the medic, unaware of how loud and abrasive she was being. To her credit, the caregiver didn't react to Towhee's unnecessary screaming and simply smiled and nodded, then pointed as their uncle slowly approached and poked his head inside the whelping den.

Towhee hastened toward him, though she stopped a solid two yards away. A great breath gusted out of her. -Congratulations!- she signed emphatically at him before her orange eyes shifted eagerly to the den's dark doorway.

Eljay had been pacing back and forth for some time around the den until it was time. He had brought Finley some herbs that @Raven had helped him gather -- it'd been a quiet sort of gathering with little interaction, for Eljay still thought Raven might be mad at him for leaving and he'd decided to just focus on the task at hand -- in case she needed it during or after the birthing to keep the pain to a minimum. He longed for when he had been allowed in the birthing den but he'd been feeling well for such a small time that there hadn't been any time to ask mommy about such things now, and somehow he felt a little uncomfortable still, as if walking on broken glass shards, and didn't want to stretch the hospitality of his parents too far too soon. So for now he opted to just not be in the way too much and make sure from the side lines that everything was going well. Eljay wasn't too sure he would be able to do anything anyway, should it be needed, if he were in there; so he would just have to go through the nervous process of waiting outside and hoping everything would turn out okay and mommy and the pups'd be healthy.

He waited alongside daddy, sharing the nervousness together. Eljay told daddy that everything'd be okay once or twice and surely he got back the same once or twice, too. When daddy called into the den, Eljay's ears perked forward nervously and he waited for an answer. Towhee arrived at that moment and Eljay peeked out from behind daddy to see her approach. He smiled briefly though turned his attention back to the den again at Towhee's question, hoping that mommy'd answer soon and let them know everything had gone.

Sebastian had limped towards the den of Finley and Elwood when she was close to giving birth. The crippled male had been close but not in sight. He was used to sleeping outside curled up by a tree. But once he heard all the commotion Sebastian limped toward the den. It took him less effort to hobble on three legs. His wound was considerably better than it was before. But the wound was very deep and it would probably take a while for it to heal. The male might be sporting a slight limp forever.

He noticed that he wasn't alone. Elwood was there clearly excited and Eljay was there too. Wow he hadn't seen him for a long time! Sebastian couldn't remember when Eljay returned to the pack. Oh well. Towhee was there too, Sebastian just plopped down to celebrate the excitement with the other members. He was happy for Finley and Elwood. He wondered if he would ever have pups again. Still, the birth of new pups was always celebratory and for the first time, he wasn't thinking of Andalusia. "Congrats!," he hummed.

Finley didn't lift her head at the sound of approaching paws. She knew that it was Elwood. She did slide her muzzle across the ground so that her nose was pointing towards him as he entered so that he could see the smile that stretched lazily across her face. Her tail bounced tiredly against the ground at her haunches in spite of her weariness, but otherwise the pair of squirming brothers at her side claimed a majority of the show of energy in the den at that point.

"We have toes and ears and noses," she told him before wincing slightly, "And freakin' raptor jaws." They were hungry little beasts, jeepers. There were voices outside of the den that brushed against her attention, but for now she ignored them and looked expectantly at Elwood, inviting daddy closer to say hi to his new little boys.

At first it was difficult to get the hang of how to properly ingest this liquid. It dribbled and dripped from his mouth as he tried to work his maw properly to swallow and suck at the same time. Then he figured it out and began to eat in earnest until his belly was round and he was filled with the blissful warmth of being full. 


The feeling made him sleepy and he parted his jaws in a yawn, a long and sleepy sigh of content leaving his maw before he hiccuped and burped. A small bubble of milk formed and burst leaving him startled and wet to which he began to whimper in earnest.

The wolves gathered outside faded into Elwood's periphery as he focused on the three in front of him. Finley appeared to be tired but happy as she informed him of the babies' accessories. He smiled and moved forward just enough to press a kiss between Finley's ears, before shifting so that his voice would carry outside of the den to where Towhee, Eljay, Raven, and Sebastian were waiting.

"Two boys," he said, then turned back to study his newest sons and their similarities and differences. "What are we calling them?" he asked a moment later as one of the boys hiccuped and then began to whine softly.

Fin peered down at her newest kids as though surprised to hear that they were boys and that there were two of them. Looking at them, she suddenly found it hard to believe how old her other children were now. The wildlings were nearly nine months now - almost adults. Her twins and Spot were nearly two. Mother of God, Jaybird was almost three. When had they all gotten so old? Where had the time gone? Okay seriously, had the others fed so fiercely when they were first born or were her titties just getting more sensitive??

Finley shifted her weight as she reached to do a little clean-up for the pair who had made little milky face masks for themselves. Once re-beautified, she looked again at her mate and gave him a lazy shrug. "How bout... Cuddles and Snuggles?" she suggested, only mostly kidding. She would likely go through about 70 nicknames each before something really stuck. Cuddles and Snuggles seemed pretty good for now.

Eljay swallowed thickly as he waited just outside the den and watched as daddy went in to inspect them. How he longed to be as much a part of this again as he had been in the past, but for now he did what he could: wait outside until invited in. Meanwhile, all he could do to make sure that mommy was alright was call out towards them: "Mommy, are you alright? How are you feeling? Is there a lot of blood?" He didn't want another repeat -- he didn't want a fatal ending this time, specifically -- and though it was probably not what they wanted to think of in this magical moment, their worried son thought differently.

He waited, shifting weight from paw to paw. He heard talking but that didn't indicate that they were really well, so hopefully he would get a confirmation in that direction soon.

Sebastian smiled when he heard that there were two boys. What a great addition! He smiled at the others as well. If there were two girls he would also think that it would be a great addition. He then pushed himself up and moved away from the den. He went to lie down and stay on the lookout for anything that might resemble a pup killer. It would be nice for Elwood to spend some time with his family.

Finley's name suggestions were met with a grin from Elwood. "I like those names," he laughed, knowing that although they had been tossed out on a whim, they would likely become their nicknames. After all, he and Finley did have a history of giving their children difficult-to-pronounce monikers and then calling them by something else entirely.

There was a voice from outside and Elwood peered out, recognizing that it was Eljay that had spoken. He glanced at Finley, allowing her the opportunity to respond for herself both because she was the one that Eljay was asking about and because Elwood knew that his son probably wouldn't be satisfied until he heard his mother's personal affirmation that she was okay.

Others crowded around for an update, yet Towhee paid them no mind. Her orange eyes fixated on her uncle's face, specifically his mouth, as she waited for him to make the announcement. "Two boys," he said and the young Alpha's tail wagged hard enough to soundly thump someone standing close to her.

Elwood turned back to his newborn sons and Towhee glanced at Eljay as he approached. She didn't catch what he said, though she stepped to the side and assumed a post just outside the den. Soon enough, she would get to meet the puppies for herself. For now, she would be patient and allow the proud parents and their firstborn to welcome the newest Redhawks.

last post for mama <3

Finley shut her eyes happily as Elwood agreed to the names of his newest children. She made a mental note to have the boys battle it out over who got to be Cuddles and who got to be Snuggles. Maybe they'd have a triatholon type competition... A swim race, a foot race, and then... war....

The sound of her eldest's voice drew her back out of her doze. She blinked wearily back out towards the mouth of the den, smiling faintly. "All's well in here," she said, weakly attempting to project enough that he would hear her. It was then that she breathed and took in some of the scents of those that had gathered. Towhee was there, and Eljay, Lagan and Raven. Even Sebastian, though curiously none of her four wildlings.

She pondered this momentarily before giving an internal shrug and shutting her eyes again, this time allowing herself to drift off completely with her family - new and old - surrounding her, just the way she liked it.