Wheeling Gull Isle you're a child, not a man

dated for evening of the 28th. welcome to the world kids<3 please only those tagged enter!

It came upon her suddenly; the pains that coursed through her body. This was something she would not have to learn- instinct, nature, told her it was time. Huā knew. She'd spent the day with @Atausiq, gradually making her way closer to the den around noon. Her fiance had followed- careful, protective as always. And so when the pain came, she shut her eyes tight, entering the den with the pained thought of the day Ying had shown it to her. The darkness encased her, she lay on the soft dirt floor, suddenly wishing she was one of those wolves who ate poppy seeds to reduce pain- it would certainly be a great comfort in a time like this. But she was not one of those people, and so the pain shot through her abdomen. She placed nervously in the small space, not ready yet to lay down- until a particularly strong pain knocked her down, legs buckling. A-Atausiq! She found herself crying out, even though at this time she hoped he would remain outside the den. It was only her first instinct- she still wanted her space. And so came the first birth, which felt like a massive bowling ball being shoved out of that place which must not be named. She grunted, sweat, heaved- it was no beautiful miracle of nature. At least not until she saw him. A round, sandy colored little thing. So small... and yet he had felt massive exiting the birth canal. Her eyes twinkled with delight and the dark-faced little thing, his eyes and ears were shut and shriveled, his head alienishly large, and yet she loved him. @Xiaoqing , She breathed. Little blue, the first child to be born at Yuèlóng. She picked him up gently, placing him beside her round tummy, nudging him towards the fur. The next pains came then- God, it was hell! This one was equally as painful and taxing as the first. A grunt, a push, another few pushes and there she was- a pale thing, whose ears and forehead darkened slightly. She could tell that darkness would deepen in time- and perhaps she would develop spots too, because Huā knew instantly the girl was Mal's. @Haoming ... She named the girl, for her bright pelt, before placing her alongside her brother. The third child, though certainly felt, was not so painful as the first two. Or had she just become accustomed? Either way, she was thankful. The little thing that slipped out between her thighs was sandy, but the dark muzzle only served to remind her of Dacio. She smiled softly at the girl she would name for her enchanting appearance- Nüwu- Before placing her alongside her siblings in a way that was beginning to feel routine. The last puppy was the ghost of a thing. She came so easily that Huā could not believe it, like a toddler on a water slide, but when the siren saw her she knew why. Tiny- if she thought Xiaoqing was tiny, boy was she wrong. This little girl brought a new definition to small, and momentarily the queen wondered if she was even a living thing. Her pelt was pale but lightly dappled in a way that she knew would lead to future spots. @Luli . She sighed, placing her beside the rest. The most delicate little dewy jasmine girl. She waited, and waited longer, but no more did the pains come- and she let out a breath of finality, curling into a protective half circle around her new babes. Atausiq, She breathed half-audibly, Come see your children.

yay, welcome to the world lil seadragons! <3

as evening stole across the horizon, the world began to change; the air heavy with the knowledge that it was the evening. she doesn't invite him inside the birthing den and he watches her disappear into the darkness that waits for her with waiting arms, engulfing her. the seconds stretch into minutes, minutes to hours. she cries out for him, or rather, his name and he is alert, muscles tense and then after feeling like he might burst if he sits still he paces, wearing a trail at the mouth of the birthing den as his world changes. atausiq witnesses their births from the outside — passive. the strange smells, the strange sounds — hua's labored breath and then each small squeak and mewls of them.

one, two, three —

four. four names.

he feels like a coil wound so tight. his nerves are frayed. an ear remains cocked towards the den waiting, waiting, waiting.

and then

then hua invites him in.

atausiq, come see your children.

he turns towards the mouth of the den then, a lump of unknown emotion lodged in his throat. that she called them his. that he was allowed inside. holding his breath, atausiq crawls inside the den on his belly, imperial jade gaze discerning hua's shape and then the four cubs nestled against her belly. they are so small. fur still wet from being cleaned. he blinks slowly, staring at them with a softly furrowed brow.

they're so ....měilì? he breathes the word uncertainty, lets out a small partially frustrated and partially apologetic huff. beautiful. and ...and small. and they had that puppy smell that he found delightful. little seadragons. he murmurs to them in hushed tones, full of swelling affection that he can't help but feel.

The littlest of the Empress' children did not release that first breath in an ear-shattering cry like her siblings before her may have. Instead, tiny Luli maintained an uncomfortable silence as she lay pitifully on the ground at her mother's flank - made stressed by her mother's labour and too small, entirely unprepared to face the world so soon.

She did not mewl nor writhe, failed to find any strength to twitch her undersized paws. Luli instead focused on a glow in the distance, some small speck of cool-toned white somewhere far off, one that beckoned to her.

You are too tired, its soft call echoed from the darkness, it doesn't have to be this way.

She finally wriggled a little, having been encouraged by a parent's touch, movement of other small bodies around her and the enticing aroma of mother's milk. Luli nosed weakly among littermates closest to her in search of nourishment that seemed to last forever, and she simply wasn't strong enough to carry on looking.

So that little circle of light began to grow larger, and something unknown invited her closer.

Haoming entered the world the way she intended to remain there - loud, paws flailing, and body wriggling. The mottled gray pup let out a sharp cry, darker paws pushing and kicking to ease her closer to her mother's stomach in an instinctive search for nourishment. 

Perhaps later in life the girl would be more concerned about pushing her siblings around - she was not large, by far, but even only a few moments old, she seemed determined to make her presence known. Rough, eager, writhing. 

At some point she might have kicked or trampled or squished a sibling or two. But eventually she found what she was looking for and latched on to her mother's stomach, paws kneading as she took in colostrum for the first time.

she came into the world with two there before her already. quiet, unreactive, she was placed beside the other two, soon joined by a little fourth. she felt little emotion about the change. the world before had been alright, this one was alright too, neither better nor worse. she was still surrounded by too many others- but she had milk now, and she was content. nüwu suckled away quietly into peaceful oblivion.

Life within the womb was once akin to floating through space, weightless and free. There were no worries to be wept over or antics to partake in—there was hardly existence, only a sliver’s worth barely hanging on. These moments he would come to forget, for did he truly even experience them? The wonders of the womb were a vague experience, after all—unable to be proven or otherwise. Someday in the future, he may even cry out about the stolen space as his siblings, too, grew within. But those cries would have no memories to support them, a joke to be repeated amongst children until the end of time.

But for Xiaoqing, time was only just beginning.

The first stone cast into the world, an escapee with no intention of looking back. There was warmth and then there was cold, two new experiences for the whelp, and then the gentle caress of his mother’s tongue.

His first breath—deep and lengthy, fueling the first protests he had to make. And then a second went by and he was moved, lifted from the ground and placed closer to something else, something warm and soft, something… something enticing. Blindly nosing his way through the thinned fur of his mother’s abdomen, the babe was soon latched onto a teat and dozing off soundly.

He joins her as they pups suckle away. A weak smile graces her face; she gazes up at him with warm eyes. 对。很美丽- so beautiful. She agrees, and tacks on And so 小... so small, yes... She breathed, vision moving towards the children. Atausiq... I very tired now. I not want tell you leave but, I am not... wanting to talk much, right now. She sighed quietly. She leaned out weakly to lap once at his cheek before falling back into her prior position, eyes half-lidded as she awaited whatever he may think of that...

sleep, atausiq encourages his siren bride in soft tones. his gaze trails over the four nestled into her side; barely discernible. they are ...not what he expects, he realizes. though, in all fairness, having never seen newborns before ( for he does not remember his own time spent as one ) he wasn't sure what to expect. i'll keep watch outside the den. he promises, smiling softly at her kiss. he nudges her cheek once before he takes up his station where he's promised; standing guard over his siren bride and the seadragons that dwell within.

At his encouragement, she eagerly gives in. Birth was tiring of course, and painful, and now she hungered to rest through the long hours of the night with her new babes at her side. With Atausiq's promise to stand guard, she felt safe enough to fully slip away into warm dreams of family and a new home, gentle smile gracing her exhausted face.