Northstar Vale If we drop a stone in a pond, the ripples begin to move.

Towhee had nearly missed her own labor twice in the past. As nice as it was in theory to skip that part, she didn’t want to be caught off guard this time. She remembered giving birth in the Hobbit Hole, surrounded by family. She wanted that again, even if the roost wasn’t nearly large enough to accommodate a bunch of guests.

I think I’m going into labor, she casually informed Leo’s grave this gloomy morning. I might not be able to visit for a little while but I’ll be back, Towhee added, feeling silly and sentimental as she turned to waddle back toward the roost.

She reached the spring and some instinct reared up inside her, commanding her to sit. Towhee obeyed it, gingerly lowering herself to her haunches. She stared at the water, counting the seconds between the small ripples of pain. They were quite far apart and hardly noticeable yet. She had a feeling the pups wouldn’t make their appearance today.

Nevertheless, Towhee decided to call for @Maxim. If she was in for a long, painful and boring wait, then she wanted some company. And she couldn’t help but recall Tierra’s words with a little smirk: “Tell Maxim he has to keep you entertained if he doesn’t want them to be born somewhere weird.”

the porcupine had been felled by his wife.

now he looked for other things to keep an eye on. the slow trickle of life blooming in the vale was heartening among the loss and hurt they had suddenly seen. the wildlife around them would soon turn to birthing too. even if he was mostly worried about the showing of his own future children and the arrival of tamar's own too!

perhaps that was why he moved at a quick clip when towhee called for him in her familiar voice.

he arrived with a smile and a warm look. his rotund wife as beautiful as ever!

he moved in to give her a quick kiss and then a wondering look!

He didn’t make her wait, appearing within moments of her call. Maxim looked a little quizzical, though there was a smile on his face. Towhee returned it, leaning into his kiss and offering a quick nuzzle in return. He seemed to be in good spirits, which made her tail thump on the winter grass with a dull thumping sound.

It’s starting, she told him. I’d hardly call them contractions—they’re really just cramps right now—but they’re coming steadily about every ten minutes. In case this information excited her mate, she hastily added, I don’t think they’ll be here for hours, possibly not even until tomorrow. But I wanted you to be here to, like, hold my hand and shit.

in which maxim divulges into random ramblings instantly with excitement...

it was better than last time, that he knew instantly. that they could be here together and safely. even if she clarified that it might still be hours or a day! he found it mattered not.

as long as they were all safe and healthy.

our first were born later in the year. i remember lightning storms flooding their arrival. she had not asked for him to emotionally blabber, only hold her hand, but he was here all the same! emotional and sputtering words in his easing accented way.

these ones will know a snowy world. winter children. my mother would call them ранние пташки. early birds! as i was!

She met his statement with a blink. Of course, she was aware of that. She would never forget their birth, nor the harrowing days which had followed it. Nonetheless, Towhee enjoyed hearing him retell the tale in his own words. Fittingly, the anecdote included a Russian phrase.

I was born in early winter, she shared. Except for last year, all my litters have been born around this time. These guys might end up sharing a birthday with their older sister, Meerkat, Towhee mused.

She’d actually given this subject some thought. Her heat had come on quite late last season. Was it because she’d been transient for the first time in her life that winter? Had her body instinctively held off until a more ideal time? Towhee didn’t lose sleep over it or anything—and she knew she’d never really understand it—but she did wonder.

A fresh wave of pain scattered her thoughts. Towhee found herself gritting her teeth. It was becoming a little more painful now, though there was still no sense of urgency. The sensation built, peaked and then ebbed. She let out a breath, seeking Maxim’s eye.

I think this is the part where I start yelling, ‘you did this to me!’ and cussing you out, she joked, but, honestly… I’m pretty fond of you and as much as labor and delivery sucks ass, I’m excited to meet these cute lil’ sprogs soon.

she too an early bird! for this he grinned a bit wider, a touch warmer. full of love and dazzled by her even in the waves of pain. even as he watched her grit with the rolling contration.

he, of course, held his concerns deep and heavy. worried that this year might repeat the last. that she may seize or become stricken with something in an emergency.

yet he would speak none of these things into the space they shared. as if it might curse them.

you can scream at me and then they will join you! it was a joke in full, his features alight with his excitement for this. even prepared for the fuss and stink of newborns. he only wished to skip this part in particular, where towhee went through so much.

how many do you think?

had they ever landed on a number more realistic than his dreams of hundreds?

Mm, Towhee responded thoughtfully, I don’t feel as heavy as I did the year I gave birth to Caracal and the twins, plus Marten and the premature stillbirths. But not as light as the year I carried Meerkat without knowing it. Her lips pursed momentarily. I think I feel a bit more bloated than I did last year… so maybe three? Wanna make some bets? she joshed.

For no particular reason, her eyes trailed over the nearby water. She caught sight of a small ripple and wondered what might’ve caused it. A fish? A frog? Leo’s ghost? Towhee swallowed, watching the rings grow larger and larger, expanding toward the far side of the spring.

Turning back toward her mate, Towhee declared, Don’t forget, no matter how many we have, they’re all going to be named Sasha!

bets! on the number of their children! it seemed she had come to something of a logical answer all on her own.

ah! i bet it is one. one very large one that we will name sasha for all their power!

he laughed warmly, before he fell silent. gazing upon towhee for a few long moments. unable to look away as he thought of the life she would soon bring from the both of them.

and he thought of all her strength, to do this as they had just lost one.

his heart rattled with soft pain.

Dude, Towhee countered, don’t wish that kind of nonsense on my vag.

She cackled quietly, then the pair of them fell into a comfortably mutual silence. Towhee’s orange eyes returned to the water, which was now smooth as glass. When the breeze kicked up a few moments later and ruffled it again, the ripples expanded in perfect synchrony with her next contraction.

Towhee waded suddenly into the water, sloshing around to face Maxim on the bank. She then hesitated for half a second before sinking into the shallows. The cold tore a hiss from between her teeth, though Towhee soon adjusted and settled there.

You ever heard of a water birth? she quipped.

suddenly she was moving! and maxim was just as quick to snap up and trot after her. even into the freezing water. unfortunately she would find herself stuck at the hip with him now until children came forth! and even after, of course, but especially before.

no. a little shake of his head. are you a fish now? he teased with a warm smile.

an attempt to distract himself from the chilling tightness of his muscles with the spring.

Maxim joined her, earning an intrigued look from Towhee. She snickered at his playful question. The cold water helped with the pain, mostly by partially numbing any submerged body parts. On the other hand, it wasn’t long before she was shivering slightly. The pain relief wasn’t worth the discomfort.

Rising, she slogged out of the water and let herself drip dry on the bank for a few moments. Towhee then shook the remaining excess out of her fur and began padding toward the roost. She suddenly yearned to be somewhere comfy and warm, preferably with Maxim wrapped around her like an over-sized scarf.

Yeah, that sounds real good, she commented to herself.

She didn’t have to look behind her to know her mate was there. Towhee waddled through the willows with her shadow in tow, letting out a sigh of relief when they reached the mouth of their small lair. She ducked inside and soon dropped to her haunches before easing forward onto her belly and then shifting sideways to avoid putting pressure on it.

She settled just in time for a fresh contraction. They were still a little dull and spread apart. Towhee clenched her teeth until the wave crested and ebbed, then curled slightly into herself, snout and toes both pointed at the wall. She hoped Maxim would recognize his cue to drop down behind her and drape himself along her scarred backbone.

being a fish sounded...good now?

he blinked softly, but decided to give it no second thought. only wishing she did not truly intend to be like a fish and birth into the water. not that he thought she would but — ah, he was a man of worries these days!

as expected, he was there. she entered the den and he took a moment to give an extra shake outside. hoping to wring himself as much of this cold water as he could.

content with his work and now prepared to enter in time for her contraction. he need no cue to go to her and take the role of sheltering her back. the flesh that had proven stronger than he could ever fathom. he intended to gentle groom the water spiked fur along her unless warded off.

he could spend the rest of her laboring hours like this and find no fault with it.

She let out a contented sigh when Maxim understood the assignment. Towhee pressed back into him, grumbling happy little notes when he began grooming the remaining moisture from her pelt.

Mmm gonna take a nap, she mumbled after riding out the latest contraction, but wake me up if I start giving birth in my sleep, okay?

She gave a little snort and let her body go limp. The contractions weren’t so bad that she couldn’t catch a few winks, though Towhee knew it was only a matter of time before the labor progressed, her water broke and the puppies arrived. And all jokes aside, there was no way she would sleep through that—or likely much at all over the coming weeks.

fade? :) <3

a soft snort that she might feel vibrate in his throat, yet he nodded softly. even if he figured that neither one of them would manage to sleep through the start of birth. especially not the woman who would go through it!

yet he nodded softly. prepared to linger only on the cusp of sleep while she dozed deeper.