This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of [ Birth / Blood ]

ooc: please let Dagge post first! this is after they join EM with permission from Max to post in EM <3
Pain radiated down her form with a particular squeeze across her hips and down along her pelvic region. Panting through the contractions Narsil was laying in the back of their new den. Losing the Lagoon was a terrible thing to happen so close to this, but thankfully they had arrived in the Mire just in time. A den close by to where Livyatan had his was given to her, it was in a dug out beneath a large tree. Big enough to fit both her and Dagge comfortably. "Fucking hell... she hissed suddenly in pain, claws digging across the earth beneath her paws. Chuffing for Dagge she wanted him here, to see his children born.

However birth waited for no one, and soon she was pushing each cub out. The first to be born (@Nkosi) was a cub that she thought was stained with blood at first. No matter how much she licked he did not lighten, he was a maroon coloration. A curious hum left her throat while she set him to eat beside her.

With not much time to really ponder the first cubs coloration the second (@Banazir [Bergil]) was on his way, and after a brief grooming session she was pleased to see the merle coat so alike her own. though he had a golden tail and butt patch like his fathers. Nudging him into place beside his brother, she took a moment to try and rest. It had been ages since she had had such a large litter, and even then only Livyatan had been the largest out of the three. So far both boys were large in size, healthy and strong.

Would the curse be broken with this third cub? Would she have a daughter again? A twinge of pain meant she was soon to find out. And after a bit of struggling she heard the final cub mewl behind her. Lifting her head she picked him up gingerly to lick him clean, a cub of dark brown coloration with darker marks across his form. Panting she set him to feed and lay back to try and relax.

Three cubs. Three boys. Three large boys. A sense of pride overcame the twinge of sadness she felt. She was producing solid male heirs to the Tollaire family line. A daughter would have been nice, but maybe she was only meant to bare sons. She could live with that.


"talk"
ART BY IRISH

@Dagge

Adrenaline had her paws working as quickly as she could manage. Instinct alone told her the gravity of that scent – that lifeforce tinged with iron and perhaps even fear. The fledgling nursemaid, while no trained medic, was determined to do what she could to welcome the sacredness of new life into their fold. She had a large zebra thigh latched between her jaws as she ambled awkwardly through the mire terrain, letting out only a summoning chuff as explanation for her sister to follow. Their work had just begun.

She arrived just in time to see the last of it. Hekate watched with wide eyes as she bent to slowly lower the offering to the earth, careful not to make a sound. She could hear the woman's rhythmic breathing – could smell the blood in the air – and it struck the yearling just how like a ritual it felt.

"May flesh and blood prove gifts enough in life; may death be a distant peace," she muttered softly. It was all she could hope for the strangers, that their lives would not be a waste of celestial resources, that they would not be cut short. Gathering herself, she tried to stand a few yards away from the blue mother.

"A meal, so you all might be fed," she projected an explanation at last, nosing the morsel forward while keeping her distance yet.

---

|| november y10 | 1y - 3m | EM royalty | at ecrosia mire | @Narsil @Ianthe ||
+20 - Cast a curse or blessing on a character/group (Sept double XP)

+10 - Attend a birth (Sept double XP)
+10 - Bring a mother or cub some food (Sept double XP)

ooc:
Through the panting of the last birth she wouldn't hear someone enter the den. And if it had been Dagge she knew he would have been at her side without hesitation, but the voice did not belong to Dagge. And though she could not make out the words, she could hear the muttering. Rising into a half laying position, careful to not disturb her feeding sons. Amber eyes almost glowed in the dark while she stared at the teenager. A blank expression was on her face before she swiped out to hook her claws into the morsel and pull it to herself.

Gnawing on the meat she would only pause in her devouring to mutter, "Thank you child..." she then heard them squeak and push against each other. Annoyed she moved the boys to their own spaces again, noting the way the dark brown one would try and clamber over his brothers. "You are a witness to the birth of three new dragons, do you wish to know their names?" she asked after a quiet moment of observing them. Maybe she could shanghai the girl into being a cubsitter? God knows it wouldn't hurt to have more lioness influence in their lives.


"talk"
ART BY IRISH

@Hekate

+20 Attend or assist with a birth
+10 Create a potion with a specific use
+10 Dry or prepare herbs for use

@Narsil and dagge had been the kinder people in scilla lagoon, especially during that disaster of a training event shortly before the pride had disbanded all together. evidentially that had led all of them to ecrosia mire. she hadn't checked in on her former pridemates, assuming they were settling in to the new territory just as she was - even if it wasn't completely unfamiliar to her, this was the first time magdalena would be living here on a permanent basis. when she hears narsil chuff for dagge, magdalena knows it is time for the birth that had long since been on the horizon. it had been obvious with the way narsil's sides had begun to round over the weeks that cubs were coming and magdalena had made sure to be prepared for the inevitable. she brings everything needed in a small carrying sac made of thick jungle leaves layered over one another, setting the whole parcel down at the mouth of narsil's den as she peeks her head inside. "congratulations, narsil." comes her raspy voice, nodding to the other ecrosia lioness present. "i've brought some things which might help, if you'd like them." magdalena studies her face for a moment, looking for signs of distress or pallor which may indicate something was wrong, relieved to find neither.

coded by flea + background credit

Hekate's shadow follows behind, a few paces slower, weighed down by the awkwardly sized "New Mother" care package she'd spent the last few days putting together.
Once she crosses the threshold of the den, Ianthe carefully drops the rawhide she'd been holding closed with her teeth. It opens like a blanket, food and herbs spread out across it like a picnic.

"Narsil," she greets the lioness, her tone uncharacteristically warm. She sees one of her younger sisters has also come to meet the new family, and nods at Magdalena in greeting.
"I've brought a few things as well. The ashanti pepper is for restoration, the gnetum for pain relief," she explains, "The rest of the herbs are for nursing."
Though it's rude to get so close, Ianthe can't help but want to look at the newborns. She moves forward a little, gaze landing on the wet, crying bundles at Narsil's side.
"They're so sweet," she coos, an immense longing filling her at the sight.

Of course, she's always wanted cubs for herself, and this extends to the nieces and nephews that she will treat as her own flesh and blood.
Moss-green eyes slide over to her mirror-image, imagining Hekate in place of the new mother. If there's supposed to be another parent in the picture, they don't appear in Ianthe's fleeting fantasy.

@Hekate, @Narsil

Double exp event

+10 Attend a birth
+10 Bring a mother or cub some food

_{BG — ART — CODE}

May flesh and blood prove gifts enough in life; may death be a distant peace.

She allowed the words of the blessing to linger a moment, hoping to seal them with her clear intention. The princess watched as the lioness began to eat her offering immediately after sizing her up, hardly shifting in response to Ianthe's eventual arrival.

"You're welcome," Hekate responded with a polite dip of her head. She was still careful to leave a safe distance between them even as she leaned slightly to get a better view of the assorted bundles.

"You are a witness to the birth of three new dragons, do you wish to know their names?" She flicked her ears slightly as another sister joined them – younger than her wave of yearlings, less familiar.

"Yes, tell us," she urged with an anticipatory nod.

---

@Narsil @Magdalena @Ianthe
+20 - Cast a curse or blessing on a character/group (Sept double XP)

+10 - Attend a birth (Sept double XP)
+10 - Bring a mother or cub some food (Sept double XP)

ooc:
Why was she surprised that a bunch of teenagers had arrived? But these were nice teenagers, clearly Alaric had been building his family legacy like it was on a time limit.. She had to assume these were all his… Or at least related to him in some way. Ears folded back a bit, she would shift a bit protectively over the bundles. “They are sweet until their teeth grow in, not so cute then,” she addressed @Lanthe with a snort watching her sons squeal and push against one another. It would soon be time to rest.

“The dark brown one is Vesemir, while the maroon one is Nkosi, the third will be named once their father arrives,” she explained but she would move to wrap herself around the bundles. “Until he arrives I will rest. Your gifts are appreciated, and you guys will be the new cubsitters,” she said with a wink before she turned to sleep.


exit through sleep
ART BY IRISH

@Hekate @Ianthe @Magdalena

"beautiful." she breathes, sniffing quickly over each bundle for any peculiar smells which may suggest sickness. a critical eye watches each of the babes pawing at their mother's belly, ravenous for milk now that they have been thrust into this unforgiving world. "they look healthy, strong. the girl comments, nodding to @Narsil. now pleased with the condition of both the babes and the mother, magdalena turns towards the pouch she had brought, crushing the goldenrod that she had harvested from her own now-thriving garden. "i'll leave this goldenrod here at the entrance for you, narsil." she says, realizing the woman would likely want rest after such a strenuous event. "it's goldenrod, for inflammation. it's crushed up and ready for you, so you can take it when you wake." magdalena instructs, leaving the smaller of the leaves just inside the den with the crushed flower gathered carefully in the middle of it. "make sure you take it, especially if you find yourself feverish." that is the last thing that she says, nodding a farewell to @Ianthe and @Hekate in turn and turning to set off back to her home deeper within ecrosia.

exit magdalena

coded by flea + background credit

The mire princess is pulled out of her daydream, when Narsil gives them the names of the fluffy bundles. Or, most of them anyway, as the last will be named once their father arrives. Ianthe wonders where he could be - what could be more important than life being brought into the world? - but doesn't make this judgement call out loud.

Magdalena calls them beautiful, and Ianthe nods in agreement. As the young lioness leaves, and the new mother falls into a well-deserved sleep, Ianthe goes about organizing the care package. The birthing and nursing herbs are placed close enough that Narsil shouldn't have to move much to reach them. The meat, on the other paw, she moves a little farther away, so the wiggling cubs don't accidentally get a hold of any without supervision.
Once she's done, Ianthe paws at the make-shift leather pack, rolling it up neatly. "They're so cute, aren't they?" she says to Hekate, keeping her voice quiet. "There should be more cubs around here," she sighs, wistfully.
They might be too young to take on that job themselves, but someone should be doing it.

@Hekate

Double exp event

+10 attend a birth
+10 bring a mother or cub some food

_{BG — ART — CODE}

“They are sweet until their teeth grow in, not so cute then,” the mother denied her other fraction, but Hekate (in her youthful inexperience) did not find she agreed. She had loved several sets of fangs before and was sure there would be more still, infant or not. She nodded her own farewell to the youth that had joined them, watching silently as the mother settled in for some well-earned rest until Ianthe caught her attention once more.

"They're so cute, aren't they? There should be more cubs around here." She trailed clover gaze to watch the kicking, mewling forms with a curious stare.

"As long as they are not Vater's," Hekate agreed wryly. She lingered for a few moments as her sister finished her task before turning to duck out of the mother's quarters respectfully.

---

-exit- @Ianthe