White Fir Notch Life is more than who we are [M]

Mature tag for graphic labor and whatnot. This thread is for @Gent only; a second thread has been posted later on the same day for the rest of the pack to come visit if they want. c: 

5/7/2016

Weather:

55° F, 13° C

Light Drizzle

5:18 AM

When she opened her eyes it would have been reasonable to assume that the world was still asleep, but somewhere outside in the gentle sprinkling of rain a bird had already started to sing. The sound traveled down the tunnel to their little sanctuary, earning little more than a flick of the woman's ear. She wasn't concerned with the animal's calls, lovely as they were. Sleep clouded her mind as she tensed; her slumber interrupted for the umpteenth time by this strange pain. The Queen's body went rigid, and she drew a long breath. How long had this been going on now? 

At first the pangs had been subtle, and a few times the woman had been convinced that this was it, only for them to fade away again. It was perplexing to say the least. She was no expert in birth; knowing only what she'd been told in passing, and whatever her own mother had said of it when she was a yearling. Oh what she would give for some detailed information right about now. The agouti-pelted woman could only hope things were normal. She could do next to nothing if they weren't. Rest had come sporadically; punctuated by cramps that gradually allowed her less and less peace. 

There was little reason to believe that this time would be any different than the others, but still she was on edge. The sensation ebbed, and she slumped back toward her mate;  taking continual comfort in his presence. Gent had begun to sleep with her here almost immediately, and while others might have disliked the idea, Raela couldn't imagine doing any of this without him. She wanted him in here with her. There was no wolf she trusted more on the earth, and with so much anxiety surrounding the coming delivery, the idea of doing it all by herself was terrifying. No, she needed him here. It was just the way she was. 

His scent filled her consciousness, and the matriarch closed her eyes once more. A hint of fresh air drifted in to further soothe her; clean and pure from the drizzling rain. There had been so many storms lately, that she was thankful for this moment of relative peace. The minutes ticked on in idle thought as she willed herself back to dreaming; listening to the early bird and the rhythmic droplets outside. The nest was soft and warm beneath her; arranged just so over many days of careful attention. Heck, if she wasn't sleeping she still might have been messing with it. It was one of the few things that calmed the new mother's nerves and distracted her from the worries. 

Air left her nostrils in a curt huff, as one of the children delivered a particularly well placed kick. They certainly didn't like getting pushed around either. Her ribs were starting to get sore from their jostling, not to mention the soreness her stomach was already feeling. Perhaps that child had sensed something, for in the next moment the Alphess was gripped anew; tucking her head down while her tail arched subtly. The contraction was more powerful this time and she tightened her jaw. They hadn't been quite this strong yet, had they? Her face scrunched up with the new pain. The seconds dragged on as it strengthened and faded, once more allowing the woman to rest. 

The relaxation of her muscles was not the only sensation Raela now felt. It was with growing concern that she discovered the moisture near her tail and legs. That was certainly new.  Her eyes grew wide and instantly she sought to rouse the man; nudging her cold nose against his face a bit rougher than usual. A low whine made its way out of her lungs as she stared at his drowsy form. "Gent?"

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2016, 01:03 AM by Raela.)

            

Raela's worries always infected Gent, emboldening his own as together it seemed to only make the possibilities all the more likely. Still, for the sake of them both, he had done all that he could to focus on the wealth of positives that awaited them and have faith that it would all turn out well. This left little room for his own nerves to sneak out from his head and affect his attitude and demeanor, but he knew Raela was aware all the same, the couple far too intimately familiar with one another to be able to hide such things. As many aspects of her pregnancy as he enjoyed, all of these unsettled feelings of anxiety and excitement and anticipation all whelmed together to the point that he very much wanted the next step to be done and over with, and when his wife woke him to a den choked with a sense of urgency, he all but jumped as they hit him all at once.

His hind legs shifted and his snout scrunched with confusion as to why they were wet, and he wondered if perhaps she was waking him because of inclement weather causing a failure in the structure of their shelter. A quick survey of his senses proved this wasn't so, however, and in the next second his muzzle was pressed to her cheek as his pale eyes sought her gaze.

"What is it, what's wrong?" he breathed, a buzzing beginning to grow in volume from the back of his mind. His imagination would run away into nightmarish territory if she did not answer him quickly.

(This post was last modified: Jun 09, 2016, 02:25 AM by Gent.)

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

OOC: </3

She was grateful for him to wake so swiftly; and even more so for his touch. Raela practically melted into the gesture; exhaling the great deal of stress that had just built up inside. Her heart rate kept up its nervous beating. She was quick to answer him, but not in the most decisive way. "I think-" she stuttered, drawing her face back to look her King in the eye. His glacial pools always shone brighter in the darkness, especially with how the rest of him was as black as the night itself. Somehow bringing the anxiety into words made it worse. She felt her heart both leap and sink. "It might be starting," the smaller woman finished; glancing to the side. The fears were quickly becoming real.

At least for now she had some minutes of breathing time in between the spasms, and the pain did not set upon her again immediately as she had imagined it would. Instead the mother-to-be was afforded a few moments to lean into her mate for comfort and reassurance; though she knew deep down that Gent was just about as powerless to help as anyone. Even the medicinal plants that made up their bed could not ease the horrors that could be bearing down on her right now. In the end the worries only served to make the pain worse, as Raela quickly discovered. She had been waiting for it to start again, knowing it would any second, and when it did it seemed to feed off of her fear. 

Her body reacted more strongly to pain that was actually just about the same as last time; and how unfair that was. The Queen's lower half began to tense; and she pressed her skull to the dark man's rib cage with a  hidden grimace. Again her limbs went rigid as she braced against her own body, holding her breath for a few painful beats until it rushed out in another high-pitched whine. The pressure and the cramping got worse, held, and then slowly released. Raela caught her breath, tilting her head sideways along his shoulder and neck. These contractions were definitely the strongest she'd yet to experience. "I'm scared," she admitted, her voice delicate and fragile. The matriarch's less damaged ear cocked eagerly for his response as she listened to his heartbeat and tried to calm herself again. Panic would do nothing.  

            

His ears pressed forward in desperation to catch her words, hanging on to the precipice of anticipation that her hesitation created. His mind raced ahead of them both, filling in the insufferable blank with possibilities that were increasingly unlikely and horrific for a father-to-be to hear. What was finally spoken instead was so simple, and yet it meant and inspired so much within him.

"Oh shit," he uttered in a 'I better buckle up' sort of fashion, legs skittering between them as he righted himself. The man ended up at a crouch at her back, poised and prepared to do anything that she needed of him. His muscles were rigid with adrenaline but for now, he could hardly consciously feel its effects. There was just that buzzing, loud and quiet and pressing all at the same time.

She leaned against him, and while it was her way of seeking support, Gent found himself benefitting in that same, calming way as he gently pressed back. His snout had not moved, and he nuzzled down into the plush of her neck in hopes of further comforting her. No matter what came, he was right there, and as the next wave hit her the whine it elicited tugged viciously at his heart. After all, he was very much responsible for all the bad just as much as the good.

Then she spoke again, and he could stay silent no longer.

"It's okay," he was swift to assure her, voice soft and tender as it was delivered directly into her ear. "You're going to do beautifully, just like you always do."

Of course, there was no true way to know this, and that was the root of the fear choking his own heart. Yet Raela had risen to every other occasion before, and the faith he had in her was very much real. This was the most powerless either of them had ever been together, but everything would be fine regardless; he had to believe that.

"Focus on breathing, and keep talking to me."

The hastily uttered “oh shit” did nothing to help her nerves in the moment. Raela's ears flattened backwards as if she was being scolded, and sorry for bothering him. The hints of fear she knew he felt came forth in the phrase, only unsettling her further. It made everything all the more real and all the more scary. The contraction came and went, and to her relief the black giant wasted no time in reassuring his mate. She delighted in the tone of his voice, for it was so rarely this soft and sweet. Only around her. A long sigh worked its way deep into the bloated woman's lungs and back out again. 

What he said next threatened to wet her eyes, and she smiled. Air rushed from her nostrils in a quiet chuff. She hardly thought she did anything beautifully, but it was nice to know Gent did, especially now. Her muzzle tilted up toward his; pink tongue snaking out to kiss his chin once in the dark. Her ears focused on the sound of the infrequent drops of rain outside, broken only by birdsong, and then her lover's feathery voice. "Okay," she responded meekly, deciding to rest her skull between her forepaws while she still had some down-time. The pups had no intention of settling though; and they squirmed in protest of each previous squeeze. She sort of felt bad for them; getting pushed around so roughly. It would only get worse too. 

It was thinking of them that provided both the most relief and the most anticipation. With any luck, they would join her soon. Her and Gent. The Queen had imagined it so many times before, but now it seemed so surreal. It was actually happening. Reality knocked once again with the tightening of her abdomen. Prepared this time, she buckled into her usual stance with rigid spine and legs, this time tucking her head down to her chest. The cycle would repeat itself many times that morning, to no significant effect. In between she would talk to Gent, and assure him that she was alright, other than the increasing pain of course. 

Her body increased its efforts; doubling the pain and cutting the rest until Raela was panting, and shuffling uncomfortably around their bed. Now when the spasms came she groaned and whimpered, trying to take out the building agony on her mate with the pressure of her skull against his shoulder or chest. Had she been in less distress, she might have considered that the swarthy mammoth could deal with much more than anything she was doing, and that it was probably nothing at all to him, but there was less and less space for such thought as time went on. More than once she expressed the worry that she wouldn't be able to keep going as it got more and more painful. The Alphess began to wonder if it would go on forever. 

Mere minutes began to feel like hours. She was now spending more time in active labor than in rest. The first glimmers of twilight illuminated the edges of their shelter, but the world was still dark. She had begun to feel things shift with each new contraction. Her spine arched and her claws dug against the dirt and bedding. Rae could feel the pressure up into her ears as she clenched her jaw and fought the inevitable whines clawing at her throat. The pain held until slowly her muscles began to relax again. Before it had fully ended, however, the mother-to-be spun backwards; suddenly aware of the little being that she had only partially delivered. Her breath came in quick pants, tongue lolling with exasperation as she nudged the stubby shape. Feet. She was overcome with both wonder and fear. It was the first glimpse of her child she'd ever had, and it was backwards. 

All she could manage was an equally excited and nervous whimper, before straightening once more into the next contraction. She met the pain with a renewed purpose. Her baby was nearly here; she had to do this. The minutes dragged on with little progress, however, and each time she checked to find disappointment. Her body was struggling, and it was then that terror began to set in. While it would have been best to deliver it on her own, time was ticking. Each moment they wasted put the pup and its siblings in more danger, not to mention herself. Raela's whimpering picked up to a staccato pace, until finally her honey eyes frantically sought out the only other person present. Between quick, ragged breaths she delivered her plea. "Gent-" Something had to be done.    

            

Was it supposed to take this long? He recalled the time between Minka retiring to her den and the birthings completion being a far stretch, but he couldn't have been sure how much of that was actual labor. He also had kept a far enough distance to allow her privacy; had she suffered this much? Was any of this normal? If only he knew, so that he could not only feel better himself but also be of greater comfort to Raela. As it was, he wouldn't downright lie to her, and that left him with little that he could say in the way of promising that everything was alright.

It was what would be delivered at the rear of the den that this was all for, but his focus continued to be on her dial, watching the pain and stress that passed over it. Thus her sudden movement, vastly different from the routine she had developed with her contractions, startled him. His muscles tensed and once more he was crouching. As she doubled over he put a paw on the opposite side of her, tangling with her own legs to loom over her and see for himself without interfering with her mobility and reach.

What he saw caused his brows to draw together in unnerved confusion, and he did all he could not to tear his eyes from those tiny paws. Absently he moved his body every which way, whatever Raela's own motions dictated. Every second that passed on caused his concern to mount higher. Didn't it need to breathe? They'd been breathing inside of her this whole, did that mean it was alright? Was this alright? Raela was becoming more frantic, and that only fed his own fears. Everything was not okay.

He needed only to hear her voice before he moved without really thinking about the action itself. Gingerly, his jaws wrapped around what was exposed of the child, and waited for another of Raela's contractions to pull as much as he dared.

What she had wanted him to do, she wasn't quite sure, but something, anything was all her pained mind had room for. She saw his pitch black frame shift in the darkness. She had a vague idea of what he was trying to do, but her thoughts fell away as the next exhausting clench of her stomach pulled her head down and forward again. Her jaws crushed hard against each other with a force that could have broken bones. Breath hitched in her throat, stifled by the exertion for mere moments before a whine forced its way through. 

Through the trauma all she could think of was saving that child; their child. It felt like they were both in peril, and in a way they were. This time though, her tired muscles made progress. That small bit of help seemed to make a measurable difference, though by the time the contraction had ended the little one was still not free. Her golden eyes fell back toward her mate in the darkness; pink tongue lolling almost frantically. Just maybe if they kept going, it would work. She would have savored the brief relaxation that followed, had her mind not been preoccupied with the suffocating urgency all around them.

Oh how brief it was. Again she buckled down, whimpering between gasps of air and willing what part of her consciousness was not taken by pain to get the damn thing out. This time her mate's assistance worked, and a small yelp parted her jaws. Her back legs were near-soaked but the new mother paid it no attention. The Queen turned around on herself almost in a panic; instinctively searching with her nose for the small, wriggling body of her newborn and nearly pushing Gent out of the way. Feverishly she started to lick it, thankful enough that the pup was at least moving though it had not yet cried out. Her teeth pulled at the already broken sac, desperate to free the child's face and to hear the sound of air in its throat. Puppies were supposed to be able to cry, she knew that. 

A myriad of strokes to its nose and mouth later and the dark, worm-shaped creature emitted a short, staccato noise, that drew its mother's face back in awe. She immediately set to licking it more, which drew louder, healthier noises. Oh thank god. She'd nearly rolled the poor thing onto its back with all of her attentions, and only now did she pay any attention to the placenta it was attached to. She felt compelled to separate them, and clamped her teeth around the strange cord. The lump of what looked sort of like meat or organs couldn't be left around for another predator to smell, and devouring it was the usual course of action. It was strange to consider eating something that seemed like a part of yourself, but in the long run at least the nutrients would not go to waste.

It took only a few moments for this all to be taken care of, and by then the little one had wormed its way right up against her side. Finally, finally she could take it in. The new mother's eyes drifted at last to those of her mate, and an awestruck smile crept onto her face. She was so incredibly tired already, and there was so much more left to go. Dazed was a good word for it. Raela could hardly bring herself to do more than stare, and wrap her tail around her legs. There had to be more coming, but for the moment the pains subsided and allowed her this, and it was incredible.      

            

The noises that were filling the den, all tunneling from Raela's throat, steadily heightened his anxiety. It wasn't the worst life could have done to them, but it ripped and tore at his heart all the same to hear her so distressed. That his child's life may be on the line, or perhaps even already snuffed out? The possibility was unable to fully settle within his thoughts, as the father was unwilling to give in so easily. They would do what had to be done, there would be no loss from this event, he had to believe that even as her whines pitched. Life had taken piece after piece from them, it would not have this.

By now her rhythm was becoming familiar, and as the rolling wave of her next contraction hit his gentle grip firmed and the wolf pulled. When finally something gave, the relief he felt was dizzying. Raela swept forth and instinctively he retreated, allowing the mother to do what was necessary to care for the newly birthed life. His eyes strained, however, to catch what they could of it all. His ears quivered at attention as his newborn daughter's squeaks met them, filling him all the way to his heart. When Raela looked up, he was not able to meet her gaze. With her head lifted he could at last see the child wholly, and the sight was impossible to abandon.

He couldn't even think on whether there were more or not, of anything that came before or would follow after. Gent was completely lost in this moment, this most precious first.