When the first contractions began, she had clambered from the red rocks shed made her den in, she had at first wanted to give birth away from everything, everyone, but as her labor began, and she realized shed have no one this time to aid her through it, she panicked and limped away, wincing as she grit her teeth and walked, not paying attention to where she was going.

Her paws brushed bones as she entered the boneyard, finding a large elephant skull to climb into, she panted and groaned, trying to keep things progressing normally, but the pain kept growing, her first litter and been a walk in the park, her second had been a bit rough, but not due to the pregnancy itself but the strain she'd been put through from carrying her half dead husband back to the Home cave, then falling out from exhaustion.

But she'd not had any stress this pregnancy, other than being a lone for it, though shed sought the solace, now she regretted it. She wished for her mother in that moment, or her sister, or any of her family, she wished as pain brought for a loud cry from her that she was not alone in that moment.

The pain lasted hours it seemed, her cries echoed off the ivory walls, the scent of blood permeated the air, shed birthed two cubs in the hours she laboured, they lay at her side, suckling, while she panted, resting for a moment until the ache became a scream in her loins and her claws dug grooves into the dirt beside her.

"Anya, add meg az erőt, amire szükségem van, vezess, kérlek!"

She let out a choked sobs as more pain tore through her, she felt her vision blur for a second, she was afraid she would fall unconscious, but the mewling of her cubs tore her from the haze as she grit her teeth and beard down, feeling another cub come forth, her head lifted slowly, shaking as she cleaned it, she rested for another moment, whimpering at the ache between hee legs, and then another contraction bit into her and she cried out, finally with all her might, she produced the last cub, her paw grabbed for it, bringing this one to her so she could clean it, once it was cleaned, she placed a soft kiss along its forehead. "kedvesem."

"Köszönöm, anya"

She drifted out, falling into unconscious as her four children, two girls, two boys, she thinks, suckled and cuddled against her stomach.


1.Mother, Give me the strength I need, guide me please!

2. My darling

3. Thank you, mother.

Generally, he'd be more inclined to avoid the smell of blood and...other things, knowing better than to stick his nose, uninvited, into a new mother's business. But underneath it was the familiar scent of his mother, and that triggered a spike of worry, heavily tinged with confusion. The last time he'd seen her, he hadn't seen any signs of siblings on the way, and as far as he knew, she hadn't found someone else yet. So what had happened?

Idle exploration could wait, he turned his path toward the concerning scent and moved faster the closer he seemed to get. The boneyard, of all places. An area rife with little nooks and crannies one could tuck themselves into. It took longer than he'd have liked to track down her little hidey-hole.

Lucifer stuck his head inside and immediately froze. Four. Four new squirming cubs. Four new half-siblings, with the other half unknown. He frowned, ears tipping back, as he watched them. It was a very complicated mixture of emotions, but the more immediate issue was the fact his mother seemed completely out of it. With a sigh, he moved deeper inside, reaching out a paw to nudge at her shoulder, trying to gently shake her back to the waking world. "Mom?"

@Levana

code by corvus || art by loki