Hideaway Strath A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

She gave Ky a tired smile as he offered her affectionate kisses, her gaze shifting to the skull as he urged her to drink some of what was inside. He said it would help with the pain. She sluggishly raised her head and lapped up some of the liquid, wincing a little in response to the strange taste. Then she rested her head on her paws again, glad to have her mate nearby.

She offered the same tired smile to Arlette as she stated she was going to wait outside and to call her if she was needed. Thank you, she murmured. She was glad to have her friend near too, in case anything went wrong. For that matter, she was glad for the other healer's presence too. She did notice she hadn't seen Aerin yet, which was kind of strange. But she didn't have much time to dwell on it as the pain started again.

She lifted her head and closed her eyes, eventually lifting up on her front paws as the pain grew more intense. Once again, as instructed, she pushed each time the cramping moved through her abdomen. It was obvious that she struggled more with the third one as her energy diminished even more with each attempt to deliver the newest pup. With great effort, she finally brought their third born into the world (@Atka), and she fought against the exhaustion to remove the sac around him and clean him off before pulling him beside his brothers. He was also very large and looked similar to the one born just before him, except his spots were brown. He too had a little curly tail, but she couldn't admire it for long before she slumped over on her side, her eyes so heavy she wasn't sure she could keep them open. She would only offer the same tired smile to any words or affection offered.

There wasn't much time before the pain started again, and she slowly pushed herself back up. Her struggle was even greater with the fourth puppy, and she worried she wouldn't be able to deliver it. But she was persistent, even more so now with so much depending on her. She wouldn't let Ky or their children down. it took twice as long, but she finally managed to deliver their fourth. The pup was much smaller than three before her, and there was no wriggling as she cleaned away the sac. In fact, the puppy didn't move at all. Simmik cleaned her dark fur, but nothing happened. She suddenly began to feel dizzy and with a panicked look to her husband she teetered a few times before collapsing on her side and falling into darkness. Blood pooled near her tail—too much blood. But she was out cold, their lifeless daughter laying weirdly askew near her rear paws.