Stone Circle It's only half past the point of no return
Mother Overlord
2,653 Posts
Ooc — Mar
Deerstalker
Tracker
Master Ranger
Offline
#1
feel free to make cameos! Valette wouldn't really accept anyone in the den, except @Greyback, but feel free to have your characters lurk around the den. :D

Valette had never really experienced her pregnancy like this before. Especially these last few days the female couldn't do much at all then sleep and have short waddling walks. She was kind of fed up with the state she was in and hoped that the birth would be there quickly. She expected her labor to start any day now. Each day was a bit of a waiting game and with each day passing the female grew more irritated that it was taking so long.

Valette had gone to sleep, staying more in the den in case the labor started. She was not sure if it was day or night when the first heavy pain shot through her body. It was not uncommon for her to have contractions but when her water broke moments after she realized that the moment had arrived. Valette had always been very strict towards her mates in the past. She didn't want them in the den with her as she gave birth. Perhaps that had developed this way because her first litter wasn't with a mate. She had chased Stark out as well and unfortunately for Greyback, Valette made sure to give him a good snarl or nip if he even thought of coming into the den.

Valette felt that he could wait outside. She had done this before and she didn't need his help. The female settled down and tried to start accepting the contractions and pain. She knew that she needed to push but in the beginning, it always hurt. She could feel herself being stretched as she pushed. Groans fell from her lips as she pushed. Always when she started labor the female remembered what pain came with it. Later she would forget all the pain when seeing her kids' faces for the first time. The female breathed in and pushed hard. Mixed sounds came from the den, the mother tried to be as quiet as she could but occasional groans and panting sounded from the den entrance. That continued until a new sound filled the den, a higher pitched squeaking.

Valette glanced behind her, pains shooting through her body but eager to lick her first little one clean. It was a little male and so big. She could remember Merrit and Keen when they were born but this pup was almost twice the size when they were born. Valette eagerly licked him clean and nudged the newborn close. New contractions started and as she started to push she realized that this second one was going to be the same size as the one she just birthed. Valette inhaled sharp breaths and continued to push hard until the second one was out. It felt like a routine. She was not new to this. Valette was not scared anymore of the birth. She didn't have time to nudge the second one to her belly as contractions started again. She was confident that the pup would find its way.

The third went more smoothly, at least in her opinion. However, exhaustion was starting to settle in and it took the mother a few breaths before she could maneuver herself to lick the third child clean. She took great care with the three newborns in the few moments she had. There had to be more, and she knew she had to fight the exhaustion. She marveled at the size of these newborns, never before had they been so large. Tiredly the female laid her head down and took the few moments of rest before her body continued. Glad that it took a few moments between the third and fourth. Valette closed her eyes as she went through the motions of her contractions. She was in her own little bubble and was not really following with what was going outside the den, or even, who was there in the first place.

Valette gathered her courage for one more hard push and then was met with soft whines. Four, she had four babies this time. She hoped that this was the last one. The female licked over the fourth one's snout and top of its head. She was far too tired to check what genders she birthed by now. She didn't care she was just glad that they were on this earth. Valette let out an audible whine when another heavy contraction shot through her body. The female felt that she didn't want to do any more of this laboring but she couldn't really give up on these kids and stop. She wasn't even sure what would happen.

Valette pushed hard using her last strength to try and push this one out. She wasn't sure if it was possible but this was felt bigger, or at least different. The female strained and pushed with the contractions but even after half an hour, there was no pup yet. Valette felt like she was ready to burst in tears just because she was so tired and her whole body ached. A mild fear was settling in. What if something was wrong? Valette whimpered, trying another push but it felt like it stayed in the same place. The female tried another position, mindful of her other newborns. It didn't seem to work. Valette desperately wanted a rest. What if this pup was not coming out. She never really had this problem before.

Valette then eyed at the herbs that Sunny had given her a few days prior. She was not good with herbs or plants but she trusted Sunny that they were safe to chew on. She hoped that it would help her as Sunny promised. After chewing on the gross plants Valette laid down close to her other four pups to keep them warm. She felt a bit more relaxed which was probably the lavender she chewed on, not that she was aware of it and some of the pain seemed to slowly take off. She was also getting more sleepy. Still, she was determined to keep pushing. She had no sense of the time anymore or how long she was keeping up with this. Valette still felt the pain but less sharp as it was before. She pushed once more and immense pain shot through her but the pressure was gone, and as she looked behind her there was a pup that had clearly came breached. She could also smell more blood than usual and realized that it was her own.

After that realization, the female noticed that the pup had not moved yet. Valette's ears fell back and she nosed over it and feverishly licked it clean. The pup looked different. It looked blue and its tongue was thick. Valette whined and more forcefully nudged it. However, being an expert hunter she knew that this child had no life in them. Valette felt unable to hold back the tears. Another smaller contraction went through her and while crying she delivered one last pup. It was incredibly small compared to the others, suspiciously small. Valette nudged the little thing. It seemed to move a bit and through her tears, Valette slaved to get the small thing up and running but after a while, her licks seemed to slow and Valette noticed that she was slipping in and out of consciousness. She wanted to sleep and her need to revive her child seemed to fade. That was the most logical thing for her mind right now. Just sleep. All the noises from the den grew very still compared to the past groans and cries. Automatically she curled around her babies, alive and dead ones, as everything faded to black, the last thing she scented was her own blood before everything faded to nothing.
"The mountains do not break to the wind nor does the sky change for a single individual."
508 Posts
Ooc — Wilthking
Offline
#2
Greyback, mother-henish at all times, paced broodingly outside the birthing den with a solemn expression. He had tried multiple times throughout the day to push his snout through the small opening in curiosity, and much to his own avail, was met with snarls and snaps of Valette's jaws only a hair away from his nose. It was not his fault that he worried for her safety.

'Venicy had never been as big as Valette during the time of her labor, yet she had—No. No, I should not worry about the outcome of that in such a dire time.' He chastised himself for such a thought, and with a low growl and a shake of his head he continued to worry a line in the earth with his pacing. With each passing second that whines and grunts flowed through the den, so did the urge that was akin to instinct tell him to barge his way in.

It wasnt until little screams broke the air that the man turned and forced himself to take a (brisk) walk away the den, his fur fluffed from anxiety sparking underneath. It was the only thing he could do in order to stop himself from becoming Valette's next dinner, but everything in his body was telling him to stay, stay, stay. Tend and mend, care and nurse.

It didn't take long for him to turn around and abandon the walk.

Pacing back to the den with worry clogged in his throat, Greyback slowly came upon the den with hesitation, the scent of blood flooding his nostrils and sending him to panic. "My Heart?" He called, his voice shallow. He peeked inside the den once more, but nothing came, only the high pitched wails of the newborns and silence that emanated off of Valette—who laid still against the earth.

It wasn't worry that clogged his throat, it was his heart, his love. He was upon Valette in seconds, laying beside her as his nose pressed down to sniff her pelt in earnest, to nudge her in attempt to see if life was left; The only indication of such a thing was the shallow rise and fall of her sides. "No My Love, you must stay awake.." He commanded.

He didn't know low long he stayed there, his chin resting upon her shoulder as he prayed and look down upon the newborns. He didn't dare to touch them yet, but knew they were as strong as their mother with their bellowing yells— all except one that was discolored and laid lifeless against Valette. It's fur was wet, skewed upward from what Greyback assumed were licks, it's body contorted in what was obviously a limp position. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, threatening to run down his cheek as the man grieved the loss of a child.


#3
Life had always felt squished. Squished and warm occasionally being jostled by unknown shoves and prods. But that life would soon be left behind as he was shoved into the open, cold seeping into his wet skin. The newborn pup opened his mouth to protest only to have high squeaks echo. Luckily something pulled him close and something warm was pressed to him. When the grooming stopped he could only cry again as he kicked and scooted closer to the belly of his mother. Soon the bodies of his siblings would join him and he would settle down finding comfort in the almost similar warmth to the life he had been used to.
Mother Overlord
2,653 Posts
Ooc — Mar
Deerstalker
Tracker
Master Ranger
Offline
#4
Valette had been so exhausted that she couldn't stay awake anymore. Her breathing was shallow as she stayed unconscious for several hours. The warmth behind her made her feel a bit better. She slowly blinked her eyes open, every part of her body hurt. She still felt really tired but at least she was awake. The chocolate female slowly raised her head and looked tiredly at her newborns. However. Two of them weren't moving. Her eyes looked at the two in pain, her eyes tearing up a bit as she watched them.

Valette turned her head a bit more and licked over Greyback's cheek. She silently turned to look at the two deceased children. Her expression still pained. She never lost pups during birth before. She wondered what she could have done differently if she could even do things differently. The mother noticed the very small one as well. She had passed out while trying to revive it. The first thing she wanted to do was scold herself for passing out, but she realized that it was not an active choice.

They already seemed to stiffen and slowly she reached to grab them away from the newborns. She placed them between her front paws. She looked down at the two. Such difference, one larger than all of them and blue with suffocation and the other, so small and almost underdeveloped. Her ears followed back. Arlette had been sickly and small when born but she had thrived. She had failed with these two. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Valette looked extremely tired, her eyes laced with pain not really wanting to believe that two of her six children passed. She then hid her face in Greyback's thick mane. "I'msosorryGreyback," she sounded soft and muffled because of the fur.
185 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#5
It was cold, too cold! And he was being shoved by something wet and warm. It annoying! He just wanted warmth, to be back where he was before, to be left alone.

He had tried to lift his head upwards to announce his displeasure but everything was heavy and the only sound that escaped his jaws was a shrieking squeal. Words could not come from his mouth, but he continued again and again, his voice traveling upwards. Each try increased in volume the longer he was away from the warmth he only knew before. 

Soon enough he was shoved once again, this time into heat. It wasnt the place before that he longed, but it would suffice. Ceasing his squealing, the pup curled closer and followed his nose to a sweet scent that promised food.
i survived
the laws of gravity
180 Posts
Ooc — delaney
Offline
#6
His first instinct is to struggle; fighting against the force as he is welcomed into an unfamiliar world. The cold affects him just as quickly as it does his siblings. And once he is freed, the dark boy joins the choir of puppy protests—squeaking in a mix of fear and uncertainty.

His tiny paws knead the air in search of comfort, crying all the more when none such came. Unbeknownst to the newborn, his mother struggles with his next sibling. It is precious moments before he feels warmth once more.

His cries cease until he is lifted, and that is when the boy let's out his loudest protest... only calming when he is placed with his siblings nestled together by Valette's belly. His screeches turn to gentle whines, and he settles. Newt's focus now turns to finding food.
━─┄ these jaws of brevity
i will not let them sink
their teeth into my soul

201 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#7
The order in which she was born was unknown to the young girl, who would have been overjoyed to simply know she was born at all. Three other living siblings squalled around her; that would have caused her to know even greater happiness, had she the capacity to realize this. As it was, Leta knew nothing at all except the fundamental basics of how to exist during these initial moments of life. What would come to support an enormous imagination only extended to instinct, here and now: eat! eat! ea— 

Pushed against a teat, and stuffed between two others, Leta latched onto her mother and suckled eagerly. Once she was sated, a loud mewlsigh of contentment came from slightly parted lips (whose creases were wet with milk), and she shimmied happily against her brothers (@Newt and @West Tyree). With her face flush against her mother, and her brothers keeping her warm, Leta already knew love as she dozed off.
"The mountains do not break to the wind nor does the sky change for a single individual."
508 Posts
Ooc — Wilthking
Offline
#8
The Patriarch continued to watch his whelps with a hazy look in his eyes and a solemn frown. He wondered if they suffered, if they had felt lost and alone, if  they were crying out as their bodies collapsed under the weight of the world. The thoughts clouded his mind, but wasn't until Valette pressed herself into his neck that he tore his gaze away from the deceased, the thoughts dissipating.

"Theres no need to be sorry." He replied in monotone "They just weren't ready for life."

Greyback looked to the small ones, their bodies plump and wiggling, their cries loud in protest for numerous reasons as they struggled to latch onto a teat. He eyed Valette for a second, wondering if she had taken the time to look at them before she succumbed to sleep. "You did well, my love—How beautiful they are. They have quite of lungs on them...Don't they?"

He shifted down slightly to peer over Valette's side, his giant nose brushing against their tiny bodies as he sniffed at them. "Hello little ones."


Mother Overlord
2,653 Posts
Ooc — Mar
Deerstalker
Tracker
Master Ranger
Offline
#9
Valette was so tired and wanted to close her eyes again and rest. She felt extremely weak. She could still smell the blood in the den but she could distinguish if it was old or new. Her eyes stayed back when Greyback said that she didn't need to be sorry and that they just weren't ready for life. If they would have lived they would have six babies. That is double the amount she had before. Valette slowly dared to look down and face the two dead ones. Complete opposites. One extremely large and the other extremely small and underdeveloped. "I want to give them names," she spoke softly then. Both deceased were male.


"We should bury them by my mother's stone. She will look after them," she nodded. At least, Probably Greyback would need to do that since she couldn't leave her pups in this critical phase. They needed her body heat. She was not willing to let any other pup die. She sniffled softly. She was upset that she couldn't save them. Luckily she did have four healthy pups which made her feel a bit better. She couldn't help but smile when Greyback fuzzed over the live ones. "They are very beautiful," she agreed with a mere whisper, almost if they weren't real. She was used to the screaming. Greyback looked so big compared to them, while the pups didn't feel small when coming out of her. "We should give them names too," she realized. "Any ideas?"
#10
Feel free to not wait on my posts as west here since well...hes baby lmao you can skip me to finish the thread
As his siblings squirmed around him, West could only find their presence a bit of a nuisance while he fed. If any of his siblings pushed too close he'd paw at them as if trying to shove them out of the way. Soon something much larger prodded at his small yet fat body. While it was unknown to him that it was his father's nose, West could only cry out against the touch and attempted pushing him away too. Of course, it was nothing but a noodle whap to the large mountain wolf. Having his fill of milk, West would soon press himself into the warmth of Valette as his siblings grew near again and promptly fall alseep.
201 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#11
really short post in case I'm holding things up; I can be skipped, she's passed out!
 

Leta could not yet hear, but could feel. The deep timbre of her fathers voice and the higher pitch of her mothers own were soothing vibrations that were cast over her. Snuggled up alongside her brothers, and nuzzling more into her mother, Leta was fast to fall asleep.
i survived
the laws of gravity
180 Posts
Ooc — delaney
Offline
#12
Apologies if I held this up too! Last post for Newt here unless tagged? <3

Finding food is at first a challenge, for his brother is keen to fight him every step of the way. Being shoved about, eventually Newt finds a place away from his brother, and feasts as much as he could. Of course, he grows tired quickly. Midway through his meal, the boy falls asleep, content surrounded by family. He momentarily stirs due to his father’s touch. Despite a weak squeak in protest, he relaxes once more.
━─┄ these jaws of brevity
i will not let them sink
their teeth into my soul

"The mountains do not break to the wind nor does the sky change for a single individual."
508 Posts
Ooc — Wilthking
Offline
#13
When Valette asked to name them the man hesitated. "Valette I..." He looked down at the two deceased pups and flattened his ears, his gaze returning to Valette's only for a moment, drinking in her tired expression. "I don't think it would be wise to name them," he whispered, his voice soft. "Naming gives attachment. But if you wish to I will leave it up to you... I will bury them soon, and when you are strong I will take you there."

Greyback looked back to the live pups at Valette's side, their cries dying down to soft whimpers and suckles before they passed out. They were cute, albeit he couldn't see their faces—only their wiggly bean bodies. Two of them were brown- a girl and boy, and the male was the biggest by far. He would surely be strong. "I would like to name him West, after my father." Greyback didn't know what to name the others.


Mother Overlord
2,653 Posts
Ooc — Mar
Deerstalker
Tracker
Master Ranger
Offline
#14
Tears sprung in the female's eyes when Greyback gave her wise but slightly hurtful advice. She wanted to name her lost babies but she could see his point. If she would name them then it would hurt only more when thinking about them. She would be thinking about the lives they could have had. The female sighted softly and then nodded. She wouldn't name them then. But it still hurt thinking that they would have to be buried without a name. "You can bury them by the mother stone. Then my own mom can look after them," she whispered, sadly.

Valette slowly nodded when Greyback offered his wishes about naming one. "West it is," she spoke and nosed over him. West of Easthollow, it sounded a bit silly but perhaps they could take Greyback's last name, if he had one. "Well there is one girl, and since we have Scarlett, Valette, and Arlette. I was thinking of naming her Leta to stay with that tradition." The mother looked over the other two. "That big one looks like the color of Clay," she admitted. "Clay?," she repeated it to get her tongue familiar with it. "I also like Newt for a name," she admitted to Greyback and waited for his opinion.