she's shaking with pain, rippling waves beneath her skin and in her bones. everything is too bright, even though night has fallen. the sounds of the wind outside are louder than usual - the clarity of it feels more like claws.

each passing day, fernweh felt the arrival of her and andras's cubs becoming more and more inevitable. her duties as heiress have dwindled in anticipation for them, knowing all too well the danger of birth in the neutral territories without preparation. fernweh pestered every medic in the summit, seeking provisions for the birth. resources have dwindled due to the war that occurred just a few weeks ago. she had been selfish, taking everything that was available, fretful that she'll need them when the time comes.

but, even with all the furs and herbal medicine, no one prepared her for what is to come.

fade

fernweh's head collapses into the layers of fur, weakened yet alert to the sounds and sights. she manages to call out to @Morrigan, @Talisa, and @András, hoping they will come and see the newest additions. there, resting near her belly, are three moving shapes. tiny, covered in the remains of their birth, squealing and mewling as they jostled against the other. neither of the cubs had the coloring of the parents, but fernweh notices the familiar stripings on their bodies - one of their father, the other of their mother, and one with both.

beneath the lingering pain, she smiles.

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He'd been worried sick since the war.

The outcomes of it had mattered little in the wake of her assault, and the assurance that Morrigan had kept her throne was enough to keep the Rike fettered to the Summit, constantly at his wife's side. When the first wails and indications of her time swiftly approaching began, he'd paced outside of that den. Every so often, he'd peer inside, curious gaze just barely able to catch the glimpse of @Fernweh's frantically rising and falling flank, the gentle whines exhaled on the cold wind. He remains, half-lingering in an effort to give her the privacy she desired, half-alert to her needs, desperate to see her through.

It feels like it drags on for ages. Had Magdalene taken this long? he finds himself wondering, worrying. His methodical pacing soon turns frantic, his steps long having carved a near-moat before their den. He is almost ankle-deep when he hears her call. For him, for all of them. Finally, he breathes, and bursts the invisible barrier into their den, swiftly approaching the new mother and the three cubs nestled against her side. So unlike them, yet so like them. He isn't sure what he feels; love, relief? Grief? He stands only still, a small smile unfurling upon his lips. Happy, at the very least, to see them alive, to see them thrive.

Mein liebling, he breathes, his brows knitting, hoping to reach forward and brush his chin against her cheek. You've done so well. A breath, a moment. Another second to take in all of this. Are you doing okay?

Art by Kite, table by cala

Sounds came from the den, sounds the boy didn't like. He had thought they would be safe back home. But it sounded like the lioness whom had taken him in was being hurt all over again.

He whined from outside of the den, watching the male pace around before the entrance. Why didn't he go in and stop what was happening? Why did he let Fernweh get hurt like that? The cub didn't understand what was going.

"Make it stop!" The boy begged, pleaded with András to do something about whatever it was that was going on inside of the den.

And then Fernweh was calling for others. Not him though. Versace watches as the pacing male enters the den and he is left outside all alone.

@Fernweh @András

despite the residual pain and tiredness, fernweh still forces herself to stay awake. protective hormones tell her that someone could come and snatch the cubs away. at the same time, fernweh wants to be awake so she can speak to the lions she summoned - or any summit members who wish to come. she's not sure how long she forced herself to keep her head high until andras comes, feeling his chin pressing against her cheek. his presence here is more than a welcoming sight; fernweh already feels the warmth of his body easing the troubles in her mind.

they're ours, @András fernweh whispered, closing her eyes for a moment. she needs to affirm to nobody of the cubs' lineage; one look to both parents, and all will know the resemblance. but there's something so freeing about putting that thought into shape. perhaps, it's to cement themselves to these children, once and for all, that they're now destined to be their caretakers, teachers, and protectors.

the content and bliss are cut, briefly, by a distressed @Versace. fernweh has always watched fondly over the boy ever since she accepted her pregnancy, knowing that one day her blood and flesh will be exploring the summit like he is. i'm fine, versace fernweh said, waving him over, come, meet your new siblings. it takes fernweh a second to realize what she said, that only now she wanted the older child, a boy not of her own, to possibly have a place in their little family. as avaneira had done for her, a girl not of her bloodline, fernweh now will do for versace. she looks over to andrás, a soft smile curling on her face. i'm sure the little ones won't mind an older sibling watching over them.

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Whatever Morrigan may have felt for the situation as a whole, the results of it were innocent at least. As she heard @Fernweh's welcome to meet the new little ones, the High Queen steeled herself with a deep breath before making her way to her niece's den. @András was dutifully there, something which Morrigan was begrudgingly grateful for. No matter what she thought of the man's kin, she had no desire for him to abandon his wife and children.

@Versace lingered as well when she approached, but where he was welcomed into the den to meet his new siblings, revealing him as kin of her own now, Morrigan would not be so hasty as to shove in herself. "Congratulations... to you both," she would say as she peered into the gloom from outside, while simultaneously suppressing the urge to say she hoped they would be strong Greyflood warriors someday. Because there was every possibility they'd rather be Rike.

coding & image by flea

He'd come to know little of @Versace, with their days far too busy rebuilding in the wake of the challenge's aftermath, but he'd known just enough not to try and shoo the cub off from what may very well traumatize them. Instead, he attempts in the best of ways he can manage to comfort them, but can do little else other than whispered reassurances, his own pace unrelenting, his own nerves on edge. But as they came unto the new mother and her mewling cubs, András felt once more at ease, the words of his wife easing whatever doubts, whatever cautions he had left.

Three cubs were neatly nestled against @Fernweh, and he was content to stare at them forever, if he could. He spares a fleeting glance between his wife and the cub she'd seemingly adopted (right here, right now? Or was this something conceived of before András had come to know?) Fernweh's glance toward him seemingly seeks approval, and though he takes a large and skeptical breath, he eventually relents. How rude of her, he thinks, to ask for this when he is at his most vulnerable. He would be unlikely to turn away her whims regardless, he considered; not when he is a shackled prisoner.

Just as the thought lingered, @Morrigan appeared at the entrance of the den. Tension was heavy in the air, a mix between joy and apprehension in the Iron Queen's face. Thank you, Morrigan. The tension is echoed in his own tone; not unkind, but uncertain. He is more keen on turning his gaze back toward his wife, and the cubs who now rested at her belly, content with their journey into the world. What would you name them? He knows, deep down, that the best thing for them was for them to be entirely Greyflood—to be entirely Fernweh.

Art by Kite, table by cala

The male's whispered reassurances did little to sway Versace'e concerns. How could they when it still sounded as if Fernweh was being hurt? But they did stop after the male had entered the den. So whatever had been happening András had managed to stop it and that was enough for the cub for now.

Versace turned his head to look up Morrigan when the High Sovereign entered upon the scene. She remained standing outside just as she was. But then he was summoned inside to meet his siblings. Wait! He had siblings!? They had never really discussed their relationship but only that Versace should call on Fernweh should he need her. Did that make Fernweh a Mama now?

The boy glanced to Morrigan once more before slipping into the den to go and peek and the cubs. "So little." He mused as he looked down upon the three tiny bodies of the newborns. He didn't get too close for worry of stepping on them and accidentally squishing them but instead stretched out his neck so that he could sniff at the infants. "Mine?" He inquired, eyes beseeching Fernweh's attention.

@Fernweh @András @Morrigan