[Rita]

One would think that as the years ticked by and she started tacking scores of children throughout them, she'd have grown used to childbirth and everything that followed. In a sense, it was true. But only in the most shallow of meanings.

Tracking her signs hadn't been a problem. Preparing the den was as simple as ever. Readying herself as the moment drew nearer should have been a simple walk through the forest. But these forests were foreign, their inhabitants strangers with affiliations to each other as opposed to her. These incoming babes were outsider fodder as opposed to royal heirs, to be cherished and protected. Her mate seemed all but broken, her elder children quarreling and all the while there were bounties on their heads. These risks stacked high and fearsome against the ex-Captain, looming and threatening like the blackened kraken beast she'd created in her olden empire.

These strains brought about an early labor. Rita hadn't the time nor the desire to seek out anyone else to aid her in the ordeal, and so she lay in the darkness shuddering with only Shark's unconscious, quivering body for comfort. To be honest, though, there was no greater comfort she sought than his presence, no matter the conditions.

...

Not an ounce of light trickled into her deep corner. Hot and heavy air stilled around her, building up an otherwise uncomfortable breathing atmosphere had it not been for her sheer lack of fucks to give over it. Quick, deep breaths surged through her nostrils, her thick and ragged form curled around eleven tiny babes, her back firmly and tenderly against their father as he lay in rest, as well. A weak smile with weak thoughts, does he know, in his fever dreams? Flexing her shoulders, because the friction of his fur against hers spelled love, does he know his new legacy is here?

Shivering aches gave way to swells of hormones, her belly feeling the tug and scratch and pull of nearly two dozen tiny paws. Some were actively seeking milk while others had fallen asleep at the teat, their motions merely reflexive. The dull, echoing trills of pre-dawn bird life stepped atop the silence that had stirred for the last hour between the parents and their new lives. Exhaustion gripped the fearsome ex-queen, the warmth of the den and of the tiresome labor digging its claws deep and threatening to drag her to sleep. But she could not sleep. Would not sleep.

Those risks, stacked and monstrous, were just as valid now as they had been before the pups were born. Or, arguably, even moreso.
Forepaws curled around as though to provide an extra buffer between them.

And through weary lips, murmurs of names trickled, to be heard by no one else.
Because no one was here.

Not yet.

ooc: this is open for all Sharita fam and TWO to THREE others (unless alphas feel the need to join/send someone in).

text speech: #4C7B80

[Eve]

//

[quartz.]

She heard a howl ring through the trees, above the birds of dawn singing their melancholy songs and the insects chirping loudly in the new light. Her heart quickened as it rang with urgency, a call to arms. She was no warrior but she was the daughter of a brave man. His blind courage was the one character flaw that lead to his demise. The tragic hero of Gemini. Their fallen king. 

But his valor hadn't faded. It flowed freely through his children and they would carry their father's legacy with them, where ever they went. 

The girl rose and ran towards the call, keeping her ears and nose alert for any sign of conflict. She tested the air and detected hints of blood -- but with it, life. Her mind raced as scenarios began flitting through her head as she tried to prepare for the worst. She arrived at the scene witnessing a stranger covered in scars standing before a den where the scent of newborns and afterbirth ran rancid. The wolfdog was assumably the one who called, and Quartz had been the first to arrive. She bore down the den with hackles raised and a low growl, and Quartz noticed a muddied red hue surrounding Eve. She couldn't see into the den or who inhabited it, but their scents weren't entirely foreign. They were muddled with the strange scents of the outside world and the scent of home she'd grown up with. 

She approached Eve with caution and whispered with hardened eyes, " There are children in there. " They will not be harmed. Gemini would not see more blood of children spewed on her lands. Quartz would be sure of it. 

Those amber eyes finally broke gaze with Eve and towards the dark den. She could hear the quiet cries of newborns and took a step closer. " I'm to be a healer, " She called out to the den with the confidence of her father shining through her voice. " I want to help your children. But I cannot promise the safety of them should you not come out and surrender. "

Her voice was strong, unwavering, but tender nonetheless. She had a soft spot for children, and would even have mercy for their mother. But she couldn't promise the same from Eve.

She hoped their mother would comply. She was in a stranger's home surrounded by strangers. Do it for your children.