Innocents [Birthing Thread]

[Keinvarii]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true]

[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/kback-13.jpg] Speaking | Think | Walk The afternoon light came to cascade through the thick Caiyen Forest in golden streams of warm light, spring in full bloom as the animals chattered, life picking up and the energy restored to the vivacious forest. Fawns could be seen by their mothers now, a vixen had even had a litter of cubs and a Kodiak bear could be seen with two cubs of her own deeper within the territory. The air was fresh and clear and the rains had washed away the rest of the snow leaving the ground open to begin the tedious task of airing out and regenerating new foliage. Over the last few months the Queen of the Accord had been going through a transformation herself, new life now grew within her strong body and her body was now heavily laden with her first litter of pups. The litter was a restless bunch, always moving around within her extended body and moving about the forest had become very strenuous of late. Keinvarii had mostly been forced to confine herself to her den and leave hunting up to Acelan, but despite the discomfort from what appeared to be a healthy and large litter, her face would often glow with eagerness and a tender love for her unborn pups. It would not be long now before the pups were due, she could feel them growing more and more restless within her womb with each and every passing day and slight fear began to nibble at the edges of her mind. She so desperately wanted to gift her pack and mate with a healthy strong brood that she worried about birthing complications. Acelan was excellent at keeping her agitation lowered and she felt calm in his presence, using his own semblance of strength to get through the harder moments. Today she sat atop a small ridge, nestled between two roots as she watched the mother fox and her cubs play with a look of longing. From inside of her something moved and she smiled, “Soon my loves, then you will see what a wonderful world you will be born in.” She cooed gently with a soft voice, her vivid blue eyes remaining riveted on the foxes as they disappeared from sight. Not far away a large dugout was cradle between a grouping of large trees and within the very midst of them was the King and Queen’s spacious den, covered by long thick roots and blanketed with soft furs. Keinvarii half closed her eyes as the sun came to stream onto her pelt, the heat covering her whole back in a pleasant fashion as she lightly dozed, unaware of what was soon to come. Suddenly a sharp pain came to jab at her lower stomach and she jolted awake violently, almost toppling from her perch. What was that? She looked around wildly with her hackles raised defensively but neither saw nor smelt any threat. Calming down she warily put her head back on her paws, keeping one eye open suspiciously until another wave of intense pain came to stab mercilessly at her body. Unable to help it the Queen let out a resonating cry of pain and shuddered as the wave passed. There was no doubting the source of the blow, the pups were coming and she needed to get to the den. Moving gingerly with her large load she began the harsh process of moving over the numerous roots and bushes, finally being hit with another fresh wave more intense than the first two. Crippled by the sensation she stumbled and fell ungraciously to the ground before her den, teeth gritted as she got back up in determination. She would reach her den and with enormous effort hauled her body within its safety. Panting from the effort she let off a loud howl calling for her mate, Acelan, as the pained sound echoed without troubled through the forest. | K e i n v a r i i 's . S o n g |

[Ácélan Hákonsson]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true]

[atrb=background, i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/aback-16.jpg] "Speaking" - - - The afternoon was lovely and sunny, and the trees all around him seemed to glow under the soft sunlight. It was indeed a beautiful day and the King was at the edge of the forest, silently tracking an unfortunate rabbit. He wasn't far from the den where Keinvarii rested as he was too afraid to leave his mate alone for too long. He knew if she realised this she would tell him to relax and that she wasn't that defenceless. It was just... this feeling, this odd feeling that he had to protect his mate, home, and his unborn children. It was too odd for him. Ácélan shook this off for a moment when the rabbit darted out from the nearby vegetation and he lunged after it. The rabbit was fast but it wasn't that fast, Ácélan guessed it was quite immature, so it was only seconds before he trapped its body with his black claws. The rabbit writhed under his firm hold and the lupus quickly dispatched it with a bite. He picked the prey up with his jaws and trotted over to the nearby tree and dropped it beside the roots. After a quick look around him, he decided to sit down beside the limp body of the rabbit. He didn't want to get back to the pregnant wolf just yet. All this was too fast for him. After that night everything had changed: Keinvarii's belly started to grow, her scent started to change, and her moods were odd. He wanted to regret that night but he could not bring himself to; all this was too precious to regret. But it still scared him how fast and unexpected all this had happened. This was why he tended to go away to hunt more often even though whenever he got back he tried to be steady. Keinvarii might think he was excited for the pups to be born, or just that he wanted the to-be mother be calm and healthy. Both of them were true but he was mainly trying to distance himself from this situation, both mentally and physically. Ácélan's body dropped to ground and rolled onto his side, staring at a preening bird perching on a branch of the tree in front of him. All this had been uncomplicated and... Well, all this over-thinking crap was giving him a headache so he closed his eyes shut and cleared his mind. He allowed sounds, and scents drifting around him, softly caressing him and encouraging his mind to shut down. It worked. At least until a loud, clear howl rattled the beautiful silence. For a moment, he felt like throwing a tantrum and screaming at the howler. Then common sense hit him like a falling boulder and he leapt to his paws; Keinvarii. With his prey forgotten, his muscles quickly sprang into action as he dashed for their den with only one thought in his mind; Keinvarii. Keinvarii. It was a relief that he chose to hunt near their den because it had taken only minutes before he reached the den. As he got closer, the sounds of pain increased, and so did his desire to be there. If only he had chosen to stay there. Then she wouldn't be alone. Once he spotted his mate at the mouth of their den he shouted out at her, "Keinvarii!" He scrambled to halt just in time before colliding into her. His ice eyes slid across her massive body and he realised that the puppies were coming. This soon?! Of course not, it wasn't soon. She was massive, you could confuse her for a boulder. "Are you alright?!" He shouted down at her. Then he mentally kicked himself, of course she wasn't alright. Clueless about what to do next, he scrambled around her, searching for a way to help her. Soon he ended up poking her body with his nose as if it would speed up the process. "Uh, hurry up and push. It isn't that hard." He muttered helplessly in a pathetic attempt to encourage her.

[Keinvarii]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true]

[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/kback-13.jpg] Speech | Think | Walk Keinvarii writhed awkwardly , trying to find more comfortable position in which to settle while she moved through the birthing pain.Fresh waves came to grip at her, the contractions moving closer together which meant the pups were restless to see the light of day. Growling whines came from her maw as she squinted her eyes shut vehemently, she’d kill Acelan for doing this to her if she lived through the ordeal! Speaking of the dashing rogue and father of her pups, where the hell was he? Here is where the Queen’s anger came forth, did she quiver in the face of the overwhelming pain? No, she bit back but there was nothing for her to sink her fangs into except the wretched soul that had caused this pregnancy. Keinvarii would see these pups’ birth to the end and she would bring them into this world safely. Since growing larger from the pup’s weight she had become attached to the idea of being a mother, however Acelan’s absence concerned her, she had after all told him he’d be free to leave after she had heirs for the pack. Part of her hoped that when he lay eyes on his offspring he would perhaps feel the instinct to stay and help raise them, but she would honor her word if he chose to leave. That was one thing Keinvarii was very good for; she honored her word to the very bitter end. Legs kicking out furiously another vivid painful spasm racked up her spine mercilessly and the smell of birthing fluids filled her nostrils, a pool forming beneath her as her water broke. It was a good and normal sign right? Lifting her head she glanced out of the den in time to see the familiar shape of her mate making his rapid way to her. Well good, he could suffer with her, she thought angrily, snapping her jaw shut as this wave took its sweet time to pass. Soon it would be time to push, but for now all she could do was try and breathe regularly. Acelan’s words reached her ears and her eyes came up to glare reproachfully at him, everything would be just dandy if she could give birth to this litter safely. Reaching around, which was not such an easy feat in her current state, she snapped at him, maw coming to try and nip angrily at his legs, “Well why don’t you try it next time for a change!” Sure, it made little sense to suggest that a male could give birth, but still she’d do just about anything to find a bit of relief at this point. Wriggling she panted heavily, stomach heaving with the effort as sweat began to coat her soft pelt. No one had told her about this precious part of giving birth, but she supposed it was worth it if only to bring her loves to life. The waves began to increase until they started to blend together, one consistent wave of lows and high of pain and she knew instinctively it was time to start the laborious task of pushing. Snarling something fierce she began to push, something moving within her ever so slowly as the pressure increased. This went on for a while, only her snarls and pants echoing in the den as even the birds outside seemed to have stilled in the moment. Finally, when she thought she had no more strength left to possibly push again, an intense wave of horrid pain came to sharply stab at her and releasing a loud yip she bit down and gave another heaving push. Then she felt it, the first of her pups expel from her body and she moved around to quickly clean the fluid from its body so that the pup could breathe. It was a girl, and between gritted teeth she wheezed, “Aeslin, her name will be Aeslin, my dream.” But no sooner the pup snuggled close to her body to protect her from getting cold than another wave came, much like the previous one and she growled angrily as once again another life was brought into the world. This two was a girl and she cleaned her off, looking up at Acelan and saying, “Name your second daughter Acelan.” And then lay down again, beads of sweat falling off her tired face as exhaustion lines showed under their blue depths. The same process was inflicted for the birth of her final two pups, two adorable males and she smiled weakly, very proud of her brood for they were all healthy and starting to suckle greedily. Laying her head across her paws to gaze at her children she said, “Vindict and Dyolain, my strong boys, say hello to your father my loves, one day you'll be handsome and brave like him.” She moved her head over to lovingly nuzzle her brood, sighing with content weariness as she looked mesmerized at the fluffy balls falling asleep at her side. There were four of them, four precious bundles and she could hardly believe that she had given birth to them. It was a wonder and her blue eyes came up to reach out to Acelan’s snowy ones, curious to see what he was going through as the sire of the healthy brood. | K e i n v a r i i 's . S o n g |

[Ácélan Hákonsson]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true]

[atrb=background, i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/aback-16.jpg] "Speaking" - - - Keinvarii's body writhed in obvious pain in front of Ácélan and he was completely helpless and lost. All he did since reaching her was walking around her, sitting down and standing up again and again. He had never seen a wolf in labour before so watching this happening with his own eyes both frightened and interested him. In fact if Keinvarii wasn't in obvious pain he would sit down and observe the process properly. He did not know what would happen during this process, no one had told him, so seeing a puddle of fluid growing under Keinvarii both shocked and worried him. The black lupus would voice his concerns aloud but his voice seemed to have vanished, and that his mate looked like she was in too much pain to bother to hear his worries. His ears twitched in surprise when the wolf in front of him growled her reply to his poor encouragement. He opened his mouth to give her a sharp reply of his own but decided against it as it would be suicide to challenge a new mother. Suddenly an intense emotion surged though him, leaving him breathless and shaking slightly; he was going to be a father. A daddy. Ácélan wasn't sure if this emotion was positive or negative yet. All he knew was that he was scared shitless. Instantly he remembered his and Keinvarii's deal many months ago, that he was able to leave whenever he wanted. Would he be able to leave today? As he thought this he felt his heart wrench; this meant he would also leave this stunning grey-green wolf. He started to walk around her again, a little frustrated; damn her! His ears twitched slightly and his eyes were still on his mate. And damn him for falling for her! He shook his head; why her? He had went off with many females several times in the past but what made this female special? Was it because of her stubborn passion? Silent authority? Mentally, he shrugged it off, this was too confusing for him. A fierce snarl tugged Ácélan's thoughts back to reality sharply, and he saw Keinvarii again and whined. Somehow seeing her in pain hurt him, yet he could not turn away. Especially now that he knew she was close. After hearing her panting heavily for a moment, he shouted at her: "Breathe, dammit!" She was pushing too hard. Was that right? Was this normal? Damn him and his lack of knowledge when it came to wolves giving birth. If this was normal, he did not know why many mothers would happily have more puppies after this obvious torture. Stupid females and their desire to repopulate the world. A loud yip indicated that this was it. He dashed over to his first born and his tail started to wag when he saw that it was a blue female through the slimy fluid. He nudged his daughter with his dark nose, growling happily; "Aeslin." So he was happy, then? No, not happy. More like ecstatic. He was a daddy! Another sudden growl from Keinvarii caused Ácélan to look up, alarmed. Instinctively he moved closer to his daughter, not wanting her to be harmed until he realised that the growl was another growl of pain. Wait. More puppies were on their way! He was going to be a daddy to several pups. Another pup came, this time much darker than Aeslin. The father quickly moved closer to his another daughter; a name already in his mind: "Aveza." His icy eyes darted to Keinvarii, quickly searching for approval before returning to rest on the pup. Another growl came and soon the new parents found themselves with four new puppies. "Aeslin, Aveza, Vindict, and Dyolain." He found himself saying their names over and over again. He snuggled closer Keinvarii, carefully covering the puppies with a sudden desire to protect them from the big, bad world. Ácélan turned his head around to look directly at Keinvarii, a wide, stupid smile on his face: "I'm a daddy."

[Keinvarii]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true]

[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/kback-13.jpg] Speech | Think | Walk ooc: I guess this will wrap this thread up, then maybe one with the puppies? So awesome! Keinvarii felt an odd sense of peace settle over her body as her nose came to touch the head of Aeslin, there were four healthy and darling puppies nuzzling at her side and each and every one of them was unbelievably gorgeous. Although she was tired she also felt incredibly relieved to have successfully given birth and no doubt she would need to regain her strength for the visits of her subjects whom were expected to come and pay their respects to the new heirs. Looking back up at Acelan she said reassuringly, "Aveza is a beautiful name my king, you have done more then well." She stretched and licked affectionately at his chin, a smile of thanks on her maw as she proceeded to try and relieve her mate's nerves. No doubt this had not been an easy process for him either and she nuzzled that hollow in his throat murmuring a sweet, "Thank you, and I am glad you were here." One day these darling would rule the kingdom themselves and they had a long process of education to follow, but she knew they'd all turn out to be fine adults in time. Her blue eyes came up to watch inquisitively the emotions being splayed across Acelan's face, concerned and worried but knowing that he had been given a choice and no matter what she had to stick by her words. Giving a small whine of worry she almost gave in to a triumphant bark when his face lit up upon seeing his pups. Giving a growling noise of rapt approval her face broke out into a grin as her tail flicked back in forth in her joy. She could tell by his words that he had accepted them as his own, that in itself meant he might stick around longer and Keinvarii was not bullheaded enough to refuse the fact that she had not only grown used to his company, but also preferred it. Seeing him come into the den at night often times brought a relief to her being and knowing that if something occurred he would be there to help her handle it appeased her role as Alphess, but more then that his voice struck a chord deep within her and his very being was so implanted within her own soul that often she would sense his presence before even being able to hear him. Nuzzling into the security of her mates body with their young nestled safe between them, the Queen actually felt something fall into place within her being and she realized that more then anything family was now what mattered and though the pack was in part her family, the beings now nestled together within the den were what had been missing. Emeasurably she was proud of her brood, and she buried her nose into Acelan’s dark pelt with a sigh of satisfaction. For now they were safe and complete within each other’s comapany which was enough to put her mind at ease for the time being. Smiling to herself she said, “Yes you are Acelan, of four fine pups that will no doubt look up to their great father. We should rest awhile now, they will no doubt keep us busy soon enough.” She felt Aeslin wriggle in closer to her dad as though to prove her mom’s words, a barely audible whimper coming from their daughter’s maw before she drifted back off into a newborn’s sleep. Licking the sleeping pup’s head she closed her own eyes as the sun began to drift behind the horizon and her mate lay protecting them from the creatures that roamed the night hours. | K e i n v a r i i 's . S o n g |