Storm wasn't ready. She knew that no one ever is, but that didn't make her feel better as the 'stomach cramps' began to appear at regular intervals. She couldn't deny that it was time. She hurried through the magnificently and frustratingly long tunnels other Hollows, hoping she'd make it to @Genesis' den before she couldn't walk anymore. Hoping that she would not have to give birth alone.

Would @Angelo come, she wondered. She wanted him to be there, to see the birth of their children. To be one of the first lions they met. It was an important moment for their bond with their father. Would she need to send someone to get him? As long as she got to Genesis' den, she'd be able to figure it out.

A strong contraction suddenly interrupted her ability to walk, causing her to fall, albeit gently, to the floor. Damn, it hurt so much. Was it supposed to hurt this much? Storm couldn't remember. How close was she to her friend? Was she close enough to call out for her? Was the lioness even in her den? Storm didn't have the time or energy for these worries.

"Genesis, are you there?" She calls out in a pained voice, relying on the tunnel's strong echoes to get her friend. To get somebody.

(OOC: Feel free to arrive in whatever order you like)
@Isildur @Lyla @Thella ♔

ART BY RABBIT, CODE BY LARS

With every day that passed and brought @Storm closer to her due date, Genesis found herself thinking more and more about the ashen woman--even despite the tangles in her own life at the moment. She wished she could have offered more to her in the way of support than the company of a friend, the security of a healer....She hoped her friend had found another mother to lean on. The emotions that had crossed her face at the news of her pregnancy were still vivid images in the pale 'ess' memory. The first time no doubt had to be scary for anyone--but for someone who had not intended for it? She could hardly imagine what sort of war of emotions she was going through.

However, she was able to gain some sense of it as she heard her name echo through the hall. Scattered. Uncertain. Genesis nearly tripped over herself leaving her den, her ears and nose swiftly leading her toward Storm and the unfamiliar scent that she decided could only be childbirth. Why was she on the ground? Was everything okay? Her nerves threatened to show on her face, but the little woman did her best to keep them at bay as she slid up to the laboring mother's side.

"I'm here," she said softly, offering her what she hoped was a reassuring smile--and a paw to hold, if Storm allowed it. "The pain will pass in a few moments before it comes back. Try to breathe for me until then, okay?" Deep down, she meant that in more ways than one, but she needed to push through all her anxiety and self-doubt--for her. "And once it passes, we're going to try to get you to my den. It's just down the way."

Lifting her head up to skim their surroundings, Genesis let out a soft summons for anybody nearby who could offer them a helping hand.

@Isildur @Lyla @Angelo @Thella ♔

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

He's pacing.

He's always pacing, these days. His is rapt with thought, troubles and tribulations alike. There is hardly a musing he comes across that does not fan the fires of his anxiety. His sister—missing. His pride—yet still feeling the ramifications of the war. And Isildur? Torn between three different worlds. Between love, and duty, and freedom.

And it all still sounds so silly.

He is so riled and pent up that when Genesis's urgent call echoes down the hall, he is no sooner racing toward it than as he takes another breath. As he nears, the scent of herbs and blood and panic becomes nearly asphyxiating, and his pace steadies as he rounds the last corner, careful not to completely barrel over the healer and the laboring mother.

Where Genesis is all things level-headed and outwardly calming, Isildur is an unkempt, bewildered mess.

But then he takes a breath, and focuses all of his attention on Storm. They both need him to be helpful and full-attentioned, and Isildur has always been good at shelving his own troubles where it matters.

I can carry her, or, he offers, his eyes flitting from the laboring lioness to his...his... —tell me what herbs you need, and I'll have them ready for you.

His silvery gaze does not leave Genesis's, waiting expectantly for her direction. Today, regardless of whatever they were, he would follow her entirely.

---

@Storm @Genesis
+10 Attend or assist with a birth (1/2)
+5 Tend to an expecting mother and give her support (1/2)

Table by cala, art by abigailds

Storm took @Genesis' paw an gripped it tight. As she listened to her friend's words, she took intentional slow breaths. Just as the more experienced medic said, the pain passed in a few moments and she felt capable to stand once again.

@Isildur approached and offered his help, directing his query to Genesis. Storm was relieved that he was able to evaluate the situation so quickly. She smiled at him as best as she could. "I think I can walk the rest of the way, but thank you for the offer." Then she turned to Genesis, "Lead the way. Please." Storm was in no state to be finding the way herself.

She unsteadily brought herself to her felt, her swollen belly making it difficult alongside the fatigue from her active labor. She moved to stand beside her friends as she waited for Genesis to lead the way, leaning slightly towards the lioness for support without thinking.

ART BY RABBIT, CODE BY LARS

If there was noise being made in the hollows, one could assume the girl would hear it and come running. Noise often meant exciting things, and Lyla absolutely needed to be apart of anything and everything exciting.

Creeping around a nearby corner her purple eyes flickered between each gathered lion, finally falling on @Genesis as she picked up on the face she’d met before. It was clear though as she trotted herself straight over to the older crowd @Storm was the clear source of the commotion. She looked pained - and given the fatness to her Lyla was old enough to put two and two together. Is she having babies! the girl would chirp towards the small pale colored lioness. I can get my mama to help, she’s the best healer ever? she offered, not intending to insult the other woman, but clearly, judging by her own existence, Khadija also had a bit of practice with childbirth.

@Isildur

code by corvus | art by Shazaki

Not surprisingly, the first to answer their summons was @Isildur, whose arrival breathed some relief into Genesis--even despite the way her face flashed first with heat, then with a chill. Strangeness brewed between them on a personal level, but when it came down to their duties, instinct told her she could rely on him to do his. And as she watched him center himself with a sobering breath, so did she do the same, confident that regardless of each other, @Storm would be in good hands.

With one paw wrapped up in Storm's, the pale woman absorbed his words and stole a moment to think. Her lips moved subtly, silently, possibly with the names of herbs and their uses as she sorted through her ever-growing knowledge base. Eventually, her gaze sought his, fleetingly, before settling back onto her friend and patient, not wanting her focus to come undone.

"Devil's claw, ashanti pepper, and...aloe. Please." Her voice was soft with concentration as she blinked up at him again, flashing him a sincere smile. "Thank you."

With that, Storm began to stagger back to her feet, and Genesis watched her closely, ready to catch her if needed. An ear swiveled at the same time to catch the sound of @Lyla's approach, which was inevitably followed by a giddy exclamation and a plea to help. Rather, for "the best healer ever" to help. Stark white ears came forward, not at the backhanded comment but at the opportunity for a more experienced mother to provide her expertise. However, as she felt a weight against her shoulder, she was jostled back into the moment, and her attention glossed over the four of them currently present.

What a crowd already, and still not one of them was the father.

"She is having babies," she confirmed patiently. "I'm sure your mom would be quite the help. Do you think you could find somebody else for me, too?" Giving her time to latch onto her request, she peeked around Storm to sneak a glance at Isildur as well, hoping he would take the hint to be on the lookout himself. "@Angelo. He should be here."

Genesis' focus turned completely onto her friend now as she nudged her with her snout, a gentle urge to get moving before the next wave of contractions came over her. Thankfully there was already a pelt laid out in her quarters for her to land on the moment they got there. "You tell me if you need me to shoo anyone away," she said, her words half-playful and intended only for her.

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

He doesn't realize just how out of his element he is until Storm speaks, and he's surprised she's capable of talking at all. Birth, as he understands it, is a painful and enduring process, one that often sends a laboring mother anywhere from cold and focused silence into fits of hysterics. Understandable hysterics, he tells himself over and over again. But whether it be still an early labor or Storm being exceptionally well-controlled, he is both bewildered and delighted to see her capable, at least, of walking.

Walking is good. Walking is...great.

Mother, is he bad at this.

Genesis's command is grounding, and though the object of their attention is a blur in the background as he focuses on his friend's? directions, he is hyper-aware of Storm's shallow breaths, and the contractions that steal them right from her mouth.

Devil's claw, ashanti pepper, and aloe, he repeats, anchoring onto the list and repeating it in his head like a prayer. However, as he begins to turn, a small head pops up from between their frantic paws, and the sudden presence of Lyla nearly sends him tumbling.

Oh! he gasps, struggling to keep from tripping over the poor girl, Pardon me.

The cub's focus, mercifully, is quickly on his companion instead, and Isildur is given the mercy of a quick escape. He hastens around the corner, hoping that he would arrive with enough time to make sense of her stores and organization and have everything prepared well before they arrived.

And then his traitorous mind imagines what it would feel like if Genesis was in Storm's place.

Suddenly, he's running that much faster.

And even more surprising, when he reaches her den (whose path to he knows better than anyone else's), he easily finds exactly what he's looking for. He knows she would store the aloe down low, where it cannot seep onto other plants, and that the ashanti pepper would be somewhere dry and dark, where it can properly dehydrate.

It's easy to pass off as simply having the same thought process as a fellow healer.

Deep down, he knows it's more than that.

By the time Storm and Genesis arrive, with or without a cub in tow, Isildur has all the herbs she requested placed in neat piles by the bedside. The echo of her offer bounds off the walls, which suddenly seem too small and suffocating.

I'll— he begins, straining, attempting to bite down the fervent beat of his nervous heart. I'll be right outside.

You fool.

If you need anything... he begins again, but doesn't finish; rather, his eyes linger on Genesis a moment too long, before settling on Storm.

Tight-lipped and nervous, he ducks out of the entrance of the den, begging, pleading, that Angelo would arrive and take the place of doting father instead of a boy who cannot decide what manner of fear he is feeling.

---

@Storm @Genesis @Lyla

Table by cala, art by abigailds

There was something about the way @Genesis both confirmed that Lyla was right and set her to a task with such urgency that caused the girl to focus much quicker than usual. “Okay!” she said with a firm nod. “Find mama and Angelo, got it!” she confirmed, hardly sparing a glance at @Storm has she labored and simply ducking away from @Isildur as he stumbled over her. Her mind was focused on nothing but finding @Khadija and the mysterious Angelo.

As soon as she was on her way down the corridors the girl took a deep breath, “MAMA! @Angelo! THERE’S A LADY HAVING BABIES!” her words would echo loudly. She had no idea who this Angelo fellow was, or what he looked like, so she’d have to make up for her lack in information in sheer volume.

code by corvus | art by Shazaki

If Storm were in a more calm state of mind, she might have noticed the tension between the two healers. However, she was not. Instead, she was trying not to panic and trying to breathe.

She noticed the arrival of @Lyla, but thankfully @Genesis handled the cub with seemingly masterful ability. The command to retrieve @Angelo helped bring Storm's mind to a brief focus. Angelo, someone was getting Angelo. He'd be here soon, he'd meet the cubs. Now she just needed to focus on her part, bringing them into the world. And boy were they ready to be there.

As they reach Genesis' den, Storm distantly notices @Isildur head straight to the herb stores for the herbs the white healer had asked for. Storm couldn't even remember what they were as she collapsed onto the pelt on the floor of the den. Another contraction, much stronger this time. Much sooner than the previous ones. Push, was it time for her to push yet? That was something she needed to do, help push the cubs out, right?

She almost missed her friend's offer to shoo away the others. She barely registered Isildur excusing himself. Right now, it felt that all that existed was her and the cubs inside that wanted to get out.

"Genesis, when-," She paused, gritting her teeth against the pain. "When do I push? Is it time yet?" Great Tiger, she'd barely even started, when would this end?

ART BY RABBIT, CODE BY LARS

Had Thella truly become so consumed by her own world that she'd missed the obvious signs of @Storm's pregnancy? The realization stung, leaving her feeling more than a little ashamed. Her time had been so divided between caring for little Marset and Angel and juggling her duties to the pride. I've just been busy, she reassured herself, though the excuse felt hollow. I should have made more of an effort.

Still, it seemed the young woman wasn't without support. A relief. Thella noted the swirl of scents and some of the voices emanating from the den—not Storm's by the way—were unfamiliar. As she approached, a little plum figure barreled out, screeching for Angelo. Following her much more quietly and taking up a watchful position was one of Alexander's sons. It was enough to make her hesitate; her presence was likely unwanted.

"Is she doing okay?" she whispered to him. "Does she need any help?" She wasn't a medic, but she was a new mother herself. If anything, she could be there for support. Sometimes, that was enough.

@Isildur @Genesis @Lyla

art by drifter | code by me