Sawtooth Spire I bow to no law made by men who never bore a child.
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#1
Birth 
Set for May 4th - @Mahler, @Elke and @Ciri.

Nyx laboured long into the night. After hours of gritted fangs and eyes squeezed shut, of pushing and pushing and pushing, her tired gaze found the porcelain figure of the first child to come.

She was not expecting the earthquake of emotion that rocked her to simply look upon this tiny creature, nor the tsunami of immeasurable love that was swift to follow. From Nyx came a sob that she did not even bother to make attempt at stifling and, eagerly, she shifted to reach for the cub so that she could gather her close.

Unlike last time, no hatred or resentment drew her away. Instead she could not take her eyes off of her baby, and from her muzzle came soft little whimpers of unbridled affection as she cleaned her newborn with careful sweeps of her tongue. When she was sure that airways were clear, Nyx at last tore her stare away to glance in the General's direction, keen to present to him this most precious gift.

He will take her, the anxiety taunted at once, and her guard hairs responded. Mahler would face a far worse fate that teeth marks on his face should he decide to remove this youngster from Nyx' breast, but she had trusted him this far. He'd given her no reason not to. Still the worry nipped at her but she had requested his assistance and, as possessive as she felt, she was sure to remind herself that this pup would be nothing but a faraway dream had it not been for him.

The arrival of a second child that came soon afterward was equally welcomed, and Nyx crooned lovingly to her as she pressed her lips to dark, downy fur. Tears brimmed in the tawny Ostrega's eyes as she offered her freshly-cleaned daughter to her guardian for further inspection, raven-tipped lobes pricked forward in anticipation to hear that all was well. 
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#2
mahler had been inside many whelping dens in the past years. sagtannet was rampant and cascading, but he tread immediately to nyx' den on compelled edge. 
her scent lingered heavy here, and the gargoyle, remembering the feel of wylla's teeth, hesitated a moment before stepping into the darkened invitation of the densite. she was a pale sheen of moonlight, not yet begun, and mahler lay his satchel of medicines just inside.
"you vill be strong, mein leichtes herz," he murmured lowly as he came to recline close at hand, where she might lean against him during her harder pains.
the night crept by in a blur of agony and nyx' tight jaw. mahler reassured her from time to time, assessing her body with a midwife's eye to confirm she would not have the dangerous difficulty of a birth marked by a child who could not enter the world.
this worry was swept away as the starbeam brought forth the first babe. the woman was deft, quick, blossoming swiftly maternal. caught in his careful observation of nyx, mahler's attention was seized then by the tiny flaxen bundle.
his eyes, the man discovered, were wet with joy once more.
he crept forward with an assuring grunt to the ripple of motherly hackles, broad muzzle hovering just over the first of their children. "she is perfect in all vays, nyx," mahler whispered hoarsely, attempting to keep the tremble from his chin. 
he backed then to allay any maternal nerve, amethyst gaze following the woman as she felt the hand of toil upon her again. it seemed nature would take her mercy, for soon thereafter a darkling child came to sagtannet.
he watched warmly, unable to keep the smile from lighting his scarred features. and when nyx lifted the tired glow of her beautiful face to him, mahler stooped closer, tail thumping once behind him as he inspected the second newborn.
another daughter. his father's heart ached almost with its sum of love. "little sisters." a shaking breath; mahler allowed the silent tears to arrive and gazed at the small pair with a great sunlight in his softened stare.
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#3
Exhaustion crept its way into her muscles, her bones, right to the heart of her. Yellow eyes half-lidded, she watched quietly as Mahler inspected their brood and noted, with much surprise, that his own lilac gaze brimmed with tears. Nyx, warmed by such an emotional display from the father of her daughters, drank deep the sight with budding pride.

"Thank you," the lioness murmured softly in Mahler's direction at last, having nosed among the cubs to settle them beside one another and guided them to willing teats. "For being here," she cast a lengthy glance to the sisters, "for making this possible."

This time around, there was peace. There was warmth, comfort, calm. She was not alone in the cold depths of Caiaphas' grotto, trying and failing to navigate motherhood. This time, she was happy, and knew she could succeed.

Nyx smiled brightly up at her dark companion. "You should choose a name," she offered, an encouraging glint in her tired eyes. It was not something she'd considered until then, having always been so certain that she would make such decisions alone. Mahler deserved the opportunity to have some say in what his offspring would be called, and she would respect any decision he made.

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mahler was mesmerized by the tiny figures, as much as he had been with phaedra, and thade, and even little astraeus. five children, the gargoyle considered in a fit of senseless glee. sagtannet had not only claimed these slopes, they continued again and again to make them their own.
"your loyalty has made this possible, nyx," he insisted, remembering how distressed she had been at the idea of feminine wrath. that, mahler hoped, would fall solely upon his broadside shoulders. he could bear it, if only to protect the most precious thing among wolves: their young. "i am happy to be here."
despite only a small time passing since she had laboured, the golden woman shone in motherhood. he blinked at her suggestion, having not expected it. a quick smile as he fell into consideration, looking down at
der säuglinge
with a studious look.
"maybe ve call the little light vone elke," he suggested briskly, unsure of himself.
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It seemed only fitting to present such an opportunity to the wolf who'd supported her so willingly through pregnancy and delivery, and long before that. Nyx spotted that glow in Mahler's eyes as he cast his cool gaze downward toward the youngsters they'd created together to consider, and Nyx' tail thumped the ground in excited anticipation to hear his decision.

Elke, he said. Of his mother tongue, the lioness felt safe to assume, and she thought to test it for herself: "Elke." Bright eyes sought the palest of her children, a sore reminder of the boy who lived, but she chose not to dwell on that miserable snippet of her past - no matter how it speared her mother's heart. That cub had been born to a younger she-wolf, tainted by inexperience and an unsound mind. He'd been better off without her. "I like it."

She arched a brow as she turned attention to the gargoyle once more, and smirked in amusement. "Unless it means 'dirt' or 'rock', then I take that back," Nyx laughed softly, a playful tease as she thought back to their last discussion on naming pups.

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nyx was demure even in the moments directly after birth, elegant and gentle. mahler knew then he had chosen true, and chuffed a low sound of amusement. "it means 'von edler geburt,'" the shadowpriest said lowly, considering his words as he looked from the newborns to their mother. "of noble birth." for she was, both of them. their father was a king of sagtannet, and he allowed himself that small thought of incredible clutching pride.
"this the time the midvives who trained me called das stillen,'" mahler went on, settling himself near. he could be some time, yet, though even in this hour he thought of all this might entail. "the stillness. the still time."
he was quiet, content.
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Elke. "Of noble birth". A strong title with a stronger meaning, one to be carried by the daughter of a king. Nyx, having been born a bastard and looked down on by her grandfather as nothing more throughout her entire childhood, felt emotion swell within her breast. It was satisfaction, she acknowledged, that Mahler's children by her could be seen as worthy of such a name.

She wondered if Wylla had gifted the General with having say in the naming of the cubs she bore him. The thought came briefly, however, only to be cast aside as swiftly as it came; this day belonged to Nyx and her babies. Her uncertainty of Grimnismal's founding Alphess had no place within her whelping hollow where only joy should grow.

She felt it, this "still time" that Maher spoke of. Nyx felt it right at the heart of her, a heavy contentment that settled deep in her bones. Exhaustion weighed on her, but she was loathe to sleep for fear of missing out on a single thing.

"I think," she crooned, leaning over the pups to deliver an affectionate sweep of her tongue over the velvet dorsal of the darkest, "this one will be Cirilla." It did not hold any meaning, she assumed, at least none that she knew of. Nyx just liked how it sounded: "Elke and Ciri."

Mine.

She canted her head to reach for the father of her brood with a softness to her eyes, her smile, and welcomed him to settle by her side. Nyx would have him share these precious hours with her, as he deserved.
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#8
Nestled beside her sister at their mother's flank, having recovered from her sudden switch from one existence to another, the darkest of the General's daughters found quiet contentment. She was swift to forget about the dark, damp and cramped space she'd always known, and settled with ease into what would become her new normal.

As her parents watched over her and talked among themselves, the freshly-named Cirilla sourced a willing teat to fit into her eager mouth. She paddled her tiny forepaws and drank deep the sweetness of mother's nourishing milk until her belly was filled, enough to lull her into a deep slumber.
"And then the world started to exist again,
but it existed very differently."
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mahler watched his daughters nurse into contentment; he reached to butt his head against that of nyx with a grunted purr. moving alongside her, he let the marvel of fatherhood wash across his senses again, lavender stare gone soft with the heady sensation of proximity to new life.
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#10
Exhaustion crept deep into her muscles, into her bones, and weighed heavily on her eyelids. Mahler moved in close to support her and she let herself sink against his strong frame, exhaling in a contented sigh to settle in and observe their perfect daughters until sleep would sweep her away.