Thella felt like such an idiot. Pregnant. She was pregnant. Not just getting a little soft like she’d initially brushed off, actually pregnant. That strange feeling that had been gnawing at her for weeks had finally grown into something undeniable. Sharp, painful twinges now gripped her body and every breath felt shallow and strained, her heart racing.

She paced restlessly around her den, pausing every few steps as another wave of pain forced her to clench her jaw and screw her eyes shut. Is this what it always feels like? It had been so long since she’d seen the process, not since her mother and aunts had birthed her younger siblings and cousins. Fuck, she missed them so much. Now, standing on the brink of it herself, she felt crushing isolation and vulnerability. No loved ones surrounding the new mother to help her through this new experience. Tears fell silently.

—birth things here that muu knows nothing about—

When it was all over, two tiny forms lay nestled beside her, their small bodies pressed into her warmth, seeking nourishment. The noises they made—the soft grunts and whines as they latched on—brought a smile to her lips despite the sheer exhaustion.

They’re so small, she thought as she inspected them a little closer. Faint spots, yet to truly emerge, betrayed their true parentage. Tiberius. Not that she figured any different—he was the only one she’d lain with—but these cubs were of his blood as much as hers. He has no idea, she realized and there was a hollow feeling to the thought. She wanted to tell him. Desperately. To let him know that his children were here, that they were perfect. She wanted him here with her to watch them grow.

But she hadn’t seen him since that night. All those times she’d gone searching for him, to reconnect, had been for nothing. Why had he vanished? Did she mean so little to him? Was she that foolish? It sent a wave of frustration through her. It might just be us, she thought grimly, but you’ll learn to love it here.

code by scorpixia♡︎

Storm heard the cries of pain echo down the halls of the Hollows. She'd heard those cries before, there was a distinct sound to the wails of labor that those who'd be present at one could recognize. She didnt know of who in the Hollows might be pregnant, but she certainly wanted to make sure that they were alright.
It took her time to reach the cries' source, by then they had died down and she instead heard the soft noises of newborns. She paused outside the den, her stomach twisting. She knew who's den this was, it can't be. Surely @Thella ♔ wasn't pregnant, she didn't have a mate. Surely Storm had gotten her directions mixed up, she was imagining the thick layer of Thella's scent on the den.
Storm stepped into the den, trying to keep her feelings from her face. Dismay washed over her as she saw Thella with two small, spotted cubs pressed against her. She tried to recover quickly before the lioness could notice.
"They're beautiful." She told the likely exhausted lioness, sitting down a polite distance away.
As much as her heart ached, she was also filled with affection for the newborns. These were still Thella's cubs after all, no matter who their father was. Storm could be satisfied with being around to help.
"Are you doing alright?" Storm asked of Thella, childbirth was no easy task and if there were any complications, they needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

As the storm washes salvage on the beach

We must build our lives back from the ground up

code by corvus

Cosmin was, straight up, the most oblivious boy that would ever live. This whole time he had just assumed that @Thella ♔ had gotten thicker. That her appetite was just ravenous and that she had put on a few extra pounds but he would be none the wiser. Cosmin loved a good greed and glutton fueled meal and so he could never shame her for it. Even so, he rather liked how thicc she had become... something about it had only made his feelings for her explode into a frenzy. The last couple weeks having been a doozy to even be around her because he could hardly think straight.

So, of course, when he was just perusing to her den with a bundle of flowers in his jaws he wasn't quite expecting the stench. Or company in multiples, for that mattered. Thella? he asked quietly, spotting @Storm and wondering what was going on before he dropped the flowers nearby and attempting a peek to see what the commotion was. Only for his whole body to go rigid as he stared at the tiny cublets at her belly — the fuck?

Obviously he was only as familiar with cubs through his own learnings as an older brother but to see them feeding from her... well, her girlish traits was a whole other story. Cosmin swallowed audibly, his eyes moving to Storm that had gathered and had presumably asked a question for the silence and yet he found that he was as still as the stars in the sky. Well say something, stupid! But for now, his tongue was frozen in his mouth and his brain even more so.

ART • CODE

Sounds of approach sent an instinctual protectiveness through her and she curled tightly around her newborns, shuffling her body to shield them from the den entrance. Her heart pounded heavily. Waiting, until the familiar scent reached her. "@Storm," she sighed, relaxing back and, despite her exhaustion, offered the young woman a warm smile.

A smile that only widened at the praise for the little ones. She followed Storm's gaze to the two tiny lives nestled at her side. "Thank you, dear." They were indeed beautiful—a beautiful surprise more than anything. She chuckled softly and was about to respond when another visitor made their appearance.

@Cosmin.

Her heart skipped. Oh, no. It wasn't as if she wasn't excited to see him. Quite the opposite, actually; he was her best friend. But what would this mean for them? The feelings that she had once held for him, feelings that she had tried so hard to push away, came flooding back. Once held? Hardly. They had truly never gone away if she was honest with herself. Despite trying to move on, it was easier than ever to fall back into their pull.

But these cubs were someone else's—Tiberius's. Not his. And she hadn't told him of the fleeting relationship with the leopard. How could she? She avoided it. Found excuses to keep from bringing it up. I've been busy. Just haven't gotten around to it, she tried to reason with herself. That's a poor excuse. You were just scared of what he would say. Scared of what it would do to their relationship. And now she had no way to hide it; the cubs were living evidence of everything she had kept from him.

She couldn't quite meet his gaze, embarrassment flushing her cheeks Hopefully, she could pass it off as exertion from the labor. Or maybe just the warmth of the den would suffice. "Cosmin. Please, come in. W-would..." she hesitated, struggling to find the words. "Would you both, umm, like to meet them?" She looked over at Storm, before lowering her nose to nudge the pair gently and introducing them officially. "Angel and Marset."

art by moogle, code by lars

Storm ability to put aside her affections for @Thella ♔ were shattered when @Cosmin appeared. She could see it in the lioness' eyes. Even though these were clearly not Cosmin's children, she knew what that look meant. She'd seen it in her own reflection.

Her heart broke in her chest and she wanted to run away, to cry herself to sleep somewhere far far away from this reality. But her friend needed her here. Needed the comfort of having someone by her side when the cubs' father was not. So she stayed.

When Thella invited her to 'meet' them, she moved closer with a smile that held in place the facade she was building to hold back her pain. Angel and Marset.

"Those names are perfect." She told the lioness, and it wasn't a lie. Looking at the two little spotted cubs, her heartbreak was almost washed away by longing, by love. They were so small, so helpless, so beautiful. In another world, in another life, perhaps they could have been hers as well. But that was not their fault and she could not bring herself to bear any ill will towards them.

"They're perfect." Storm said again, this time meaning the cubs. She didn't know what else to say, what else she could say. She opted to provide a more silent support for the recovering mother instead.

As the storm washes salvage on the beach

We must build our lives back from the ground up

code by corvus