Ankyra Sound stars are born in litters

Nested in a large crack between two boulders, Sydney's pups finally came when the sun cast its rays across the Monolith Forest. The air was still crisp and cold after a long night. There were four pups. The first, as dark as the midnight sky. The second had a grey coat, a mirror of her mother. The third pup crawled her way to her mothers paws. Sydney gave her chestnut fur a lick, eyes shining with pride. The last pup, and the smallest, her fur was as white as fresh snow. Four pups, born of sunrise.

Lilitu hadn't left Sapphique often since the bear attack, but she took the opportunity to survey the surrounding areas today, the weather warming up considerably. Hell, there were even some early flowers popping up; spring was well on its way.

And nothing said spring like babies. Chacal's had come, and—

Well, speaking of. The pungent smell of childbirth cut even through the salt-and-rot odor of the shore. Her brows drawn together, Lilitu followed it, padding softly through the forest.

Hello? she called out gently, head cocked. There were some rocks nearby and she thought that was where the smell was coming from. . .but she couldn't see anything or anyone.

Another wolf! The smell of another canid wafted into the den, and this time it was not her pups. Any intruders were a threat to Sydney's new family. She had chosen a den close to rival wolf territory, but Sydney had thought that the large sequoias would conceal her pups. As the trespasser offered a greeting, she could still not see the wolf. Sydney let out a deep, threatening growl from inside her den. The meaning clear, stay away from my pups.

The growl was as clear as day. Stay back! At least it was a wolfish sound, and not one of a cougar or, god forbid, another bear. Lilitu left the shadows of the sequoias and stood in full view of the rocks, as non-threatening and unassuming as she could look.

Sorry, she replied. I promise I don't mean any harm. I just wanted to see if you needed any help?

A lone wolf and pups wouldn't do well on their own. At minimum, she needed a mate to hunt for them while the litter suckled. Perhaps the mother wasn't alone. . .but she hadn't smelled any others while she'd come down from Sapphique.

The midnight black boy with his still-hidden blue eyes under his eyelids came to the breathing world with a grunt. He was not content in this sudden cold and as soon as he could he made that clear with the sharp and annoyed noises coming from his mouth. Soon he latched on to his mother though and settled down with his littermates, calmed as he was being fed.

Ravin had arrived.

Long overdue. I had exams throughout march and I planned to post again in April, but I fell ill. I am still not feeling well, but well enough to post. Sorry for the delay. Wrapping this up.

Astera entered the world with soft cries. The tiny snowflake crawled her way to her mother and the rest of her siblings. The smallest of the litter, she was constantly pushed back by the other pups. Astera just settled to wait for her siblings to give her a turn. Life had started tough for the small sunbeam.

So the stranger wanted to "help". Sydney could not see why she would need any, at least not yet. I don't need any... help, or whatever you are trying to do. If the wolf had any sense she would be off and leave them alone. Without waiting for a response, Sydney started attending to her newborn pups, assuming that the wolf would be on her way.

Last from me, archiving.