Sun Mote Copse I crave star damage

Birdsong roused Wildfire just before dawn. Although her sleep had been disturbed, she smiled at this sure sign of spring and enjoyed the music for a moment. Then her full bladder forced her to stand, shake and step carefully over @Eljay and outside to relieve herself. She felt a slight twinge when she crouched and relaxed her pelvic muscles, then had to breathe through a particularly rambunctious bout of bouncing inside her womb. The puppies felt lower and Wildfire knew the time would come soon to deliver them.

But it didn't feel so imminent that she felt she shouldn't take a slow meander around the copse. She didn't stray too far, headed toward the riverbank. As she walked, the initially partially sunny morning dimmed. By the time she reached the water's edge, the birds had fallen silent and thunder rumbled in the distance. Wildfire cocked her head to listen to it, then bent forward to take a long drink. Just as soon as she finished, she had to squat again to urinate, the tinkling sound soon joined by a quiet, misty rainfall.

Soon after the thunder's last peal, the contractions began. The rumbles that faded in the distance were not so different from the rumbles that came from within when it came to Weejay's tiny world; in that moment, her life was changed forever.

As her mother's form hunched downwards to relieve some of the tension, Weejay's form shifted -- it appeared today, at this very hour, would be her time to graduate from womb-inhabitant to full-fledged member of the Firebirds.

Whisky Jack Redhawk--Blackthorn came into the world easier than many unluckier souls did. Her limbs had been perfectly folded, her small body ideally oriented in the womb. Her birth was smooth and textbook, and as she struggled against the caul that marked her features and was tended to by her mother, Weejay took her first breath. Once the girl was removed from the tangle of membrane, cleaned and positioned lovingly near Wildfire's flank, Weejay fell asleep with a content gurgle while her little paws outstretched against the vibrant red fur of her mother.

Bladder duly emptied, Wildfire rose back to her full height and simply stood for a moment, ears quivering in response to the dull roar of thunder as fine, dewy mist clung to her eyelashes. Eventually, she decided to turn and head back toward the den. As she walked, she saw a flash of lightning and instinctively began to count in her head to gauge the storm's distance.

One, she thought, brow furrowing at a sudden cramp, two, three, four... The pain stopped her in her tracks. Wildfire clenched her teeth and instinctively squatted again. Save for a split second's intense agony as the pup passed through the birth canal, the birth was quick and painless—and marked with the fanfare of a thunderclap. The Sovereign was left to stare at a wriggling wet blob on the ground between her hind feet.

Driven by an even stronger instinct, Wildfire immediately latched her teeth around the squirming newborn, lifted it into the air and promptly curled into a ball on the wet ground. She cleaned the baby, a little girl, and then tucked her to her breast. She made sure her newest daughter was dry and suckling before blinking upward into the rain—still quite gentle, thankfully—and loosing a quiet howl for her mate that was quickly swallowed by another rumble of thunder.

It was nice, comfortable and warm and the little phoenix-to-be was in no hurry to hatch from the egg (do not get any ideas, figurative speech). There was a moment, when the space he inhabited suddenly grew tight, and then another, where he felt someone push him to the side and press him tightly against the walls, but then it was gone and all was peaceful again. The boy yawned and continued his slumber, having not the slightest inclination to do anything else for the rest of his existence.

Few hours after the unrest in his surroundings he hiccupped. And it must have been a hiccup with a capital "H", because his world turned into hell that instant. Birth is no easy feat for a newborn and you can easily imagine (unless you remember your birth perfectly well) that being pushed and choked, and squished and pulled and whatnot through a labyrinth of no end is hardly pleasant. However, this was by far not the worst he was about to experience.

Unlike his sister, who had dived head-first in life, he had not wished to go anywhere and showed his attitude by coming in this world butt-first. And as if the god himself wanted to make a point and an early lesson for the newborn - about half-way through the force of nature that had pushed him all the way here stopped entirely. And he was left hanging with his rear end outside - cold and uncomfortable, and his head and forepaws still within the tunnel he had been travelling.

With the clap of a thunder Eljay awakened. He didn't actually hear the call for him; he just noticed that Wiffle wasn't beside him and that struck fear into his heart. The thunder outside didn't help any. Eljay swiftly exited the den that Wiffle had found not long ago for the birthing. It could be any moment now, though he thought it'd be another few days.

With a knot in his stomach he ran out of the den. The rain was a lot less worse than he figured it'd be. WIFFLE! he shouted, probably louder than anyone had ever heard him shout; if his voice could reach over the thunder.

Eventually he saw a red ball in the rain. Relief and worry mingled as he dashed towards her. Eljay didn't realise yet that they had company; he was so focused on Wiffle's wellbeing that he had no clue. Wiffle! Why are you out here? he said, sounding confused and in a panic.

Before she could try again, a painful spasm wracked Wildfire's neither regions. It was unmistakably a contraction. She curled upon herself, nose near her hindquarters, and pushed. A flash of lightning revealed a partial birth; the pup was breach. Clenching her teeth, Wildfire pushed with all her might. There was an extraordinary amount of pain as she delivered not only the baby but a quite frankly alarming amount of blood and afterbirth. It all looked particularly grisly when lit by a flash of lightning.

Wildfire felt a little like she might swoon, though she did her best to power through it as she tore the amniotic sac from around the puppy, a boy. She cleaned him and tucked him in beside his sister even as the storm really began to bluster. Suddenly, the sky was nearly black and the rain was starting to fall harder. She did her best to shield the two newborns, though she knew she must get them to the den.

She almost jumped out of her skin when a voice shouted right near her ear. Wildfire locked eyes with Eljay and felt a great deal of relief. "Eljay!" she exclaimed in return. Then, "Look!" She unfurled slightly to reveal their children, then quickly hid them again as she said into the onslaught, "We need to carry them back to the den! I'll grab one, you take the other!" The Sovereign left no room for reply, quickly jumping to her feet—and staggering slightly under a wash of dizziness—before grabbing her little lookalike and waiting for Eljay to pick up his.

At first she seemed to startle, then relieved. As the rain poured down harder and harder Eljay was having a harder time understanding why Wiffle was out in this weather. She called out his name and then drew his attention down to... At first he just saw the blood, and looked clearly panicked. Then he saw the two tiny pups that were huddled by Wiffle's side. Oh! he exclaimed in surprise -- why here, and so fast! -- but there was little time to stop and wonder about the appearance of the pups nor the blood that was occasionally lit up by the flash of lightning. Wiffle was right; the pups needed to be brought in first, and even if anything else was wrong, Wiffle too need to be brought back to the den.

Eljay grabbed the remaining pup after Wiffle had taken one too and he started to rush back to the den as fast as he could (though he made sure that Wiffle wasn't falling behind too far, still worried about how she was doing).

Weejay might have only had an infant's ounce of conscience, but she could tell you right now she did not like how her birth-day was going. Being a model child, she had done everything in her power to have a perfect birth -- only to have her sister do the exact opposite.

She wriggled with as much protest as a child her age could summon: in her brain she was thrashing, but to the outside world she had as much movement as a little cotton-ball in the wind. She didn't like the sensation of the wind, she didn't like the wet, and she didn't like being cold - all of these things were nameless to her, but certainly not intangible.

Suddenly she was scooped up, and carried off. As a potato, she didn't have much of a say -- not that Weejay would have fussed much about this new arrangement, being a model child and all.

The kid, who was going to bear his grandfather's and father's name, but for now was a nameless sandy-brown-potato look-alike (the only thing that he had in common with his sister really, the "potato sisterhood"), accepted his inevitable fate without complaining, when the rest of him was shoved outside. It was cold, it was wet and rather than letting the exhausted kid alone, there was more prodding and pushing, and eventually being grabbed an moved somewhere. He moved his feet feebly. Once, twice and then fell asleep, deciding to deal with all of his troubles tomorrow. Or whenever.

Last one from me.

Wildfire had never held a newborn in her mouth like this for so long. Her grasp was secure but gentle as she did her very best not to jar the puppy too much. By the time they reached the den, her nerves were rather shot. She gently set the little boy on the ground, then quickly flopped down beside him. She made room for Eljay to enter with their daughter and place her beside her brother. Then, ignoring her own waterlogged coat, she fussed at them until they were dry, warm and latched onto a teat.

Only then did the careworn mother take a moment to sit back and breathe. She was tired and in pain, plus she felt unduly weak from the whole venture. But as her head tipped back to rest against the wooden wall of the den's interior, eyes drifting closed, she smiled broadly. Everything hurt but it was worth it. And she was happy to have this experience yet again: happy and lucky.

After a moment, her eyes slowly reopened. They immediately went to the suckling, sleepy newborns, then finally up to Eljay's face. "Welcome to fatherhood," she said softly to her mate.

Eljay was constantly thinking about how he was holding the pup in his mouth. He constantly adjusted how firmly he was holding it, gently making sure that she wasn't crushed but neither slipped from his mouth. Nervously he followed until they reached the den. His fur was thick and heavy with rain as he entered the den. He placed the pup by Wiffle's side and nudged it until it was in place. Eljay watched closely to make sure that the pups were both drinking, easily falling into his role of midwife next to the new role of father.

Eljay was still fussing over the pups when Wiffle looked at him and caught his attention with her sweet words. Eljay smiled softly as he looked up at her, his tail thumping on the den's floor. Are you okay? Is... Aren't you cold? Do you need anything? How do you feel..? he asked. He looked over Wiffle entirely, as if checking if she was okay physically.

He answered her with a soft smile, then a few inquiries about her well-being. Wildfire opened her mouth to say something along the lines of, "I'm fine," but then reconsidered and shut it. She took a moment to assess how she felt, knowing that Eljay would enjoy the chance to play the role of not only mate and father but midwife as well. The opportunity to help with a birth and the immediate aftermath didn't exactly come up very often, so Wildfire wanted to give him every chance to exercise his natural skills.

"I'm a little cold," she admitted, a small shiver passing through her body as she said the words, "and I feel a bit weak. There was a lot of blood. I feel happy! But... depleted." She offered a tired smile and met his eyes, wondering what he might advise.

Wiffle seemed to take a moment to assess how exactly she felt, and then admitted that she felt a little cold. He frowned as she mentioned the blood. I'll help lick your fur dry, he said, announcing his intentions before then asking hesitantly: But first, I -- Can I... Look..? If it's... If the bleeding stopped..? He felt super awkward asking this of the woman he loved, but if she was still bleeding she might still be at risk, and he wanted to make sure that she was doing okay.

He offered to help her dry herself, to which Wildfire nodded and murmured an appreciative, "Thank you." He then queried about checking the bleeding. She did not answer immediately, if only because she was unused to someone being so utterly attentive. Then she smiled gently and bobbed her head again. "Yeah, of course."

Wildfire positioned herself to give him the necessary access, then relaxed and closed her eyes. She could feel the strong tugs as the pups nursed, which made her lips curve. They were few, yet they were strong.

It was all pretty super awkward. Eljay hadn't checked many females in this way, as not many would trust him -- or anyone -- and it was hard to tell because of his inexperience how everything was doing. There was some blood still stuck to the fur but he wasn't entirely sure if any was still coming out. I... I think it'll heal, he said, his words hesitant and unsure. He then looked down at the pups and smiled broadly. Well done, mommy, he said and he leaned into Wiffle's face, nuzzling the bridge of her nose lovingly as he sighed out contently. After lingering for a moment he started licking her fur so she may be dry again.

fade this soon? :D

Wildfire drowsed, stirring sleepily when Eljay finished his assessment and offered a bit of a shaky diagnosis. Smile still on her lips, Wildfire's eyes opened halfway and she met his gaze. "You too, daddy," she murmured before letting out a contented sigh and curling closer to her little family. Her eyelids drooped again and this time, as her mate groomed her, she allowed herself to be lulled fully to sleep.