Dead Empress Backwater i guess I'll take you with me

Pack members only!

She knew it was time and she'd done it before, but neither of those facts were enough to abate the fear knotted up in Vanadis' stomach. The promise of rain that came with spring had yet to be fulfilled, and with the Backwater growing dryer by the day, the woman couldn't help but feel a little panicked. If her own water needs were not being met then..

Another contraction racked her frame and she flinched. The frequency meant she was close, close enough to call for her mate. Lifting her head to the sky, Vana let out a single howl before retreating deeper into her den.

She waited for the first cub, and then waited some more. Judging by the frequency of her contractions Vana knew that the cub was meant to be here by now, but for some reason her body didn't want to heed the call. She sat, and stood, and twisted, and turned, her anxiety building with each passing second. Was.. was something wrong?

This was not Viorel’s first spring expecting pups and as such he could tell that he and his mate were close to welcoming their second litter. He was never far away at this point, and had even stopped taking water trips, and that was beginning to take its toll. The leader had noticed how his stamina was not what it used to be, and he was becoming increasingly fatigued. This could be from the lack of water, or the increased effort when it came to hunting, they needed to keep the caches full, and fresh meat in Vanadis’ belly to keep her hydrated.

They didn’t have much choice, as much as he wanted to, Viorel could not make it rain.

All of this was to say that when Vanadis called for him, it did not take the man more than a couple of minutes to reach the den. It had been from the year prior, but they had taken special care to clear it out, refresh it for this year's children. When he arrived he was careful not to peak in, but inched on his belly close to the opening, whining on the way there. He wanted to look, wanted to see, but instinct told him not to. He needed to be here, protecting from the outside unless told otherwise.

Viorel's scent served as a ground, wafting through the mouth of the den at regular intervals. She wasn't alone. He was there, right outside, and if need be, he'd be able to retrieve Clover. If nothing else, that comforted her.

Vana drew in a a shaky breath as she looked over the small inventory of herbs she had painstakingly prepared. Sweetgrass for afterbirth, yarrow to prevent infection, lavender for anxiety, ergot just in case, but it wasn't enough because whatever was going on, she had no idea how to treat it.

Thus, her ritual continued, up, down, sprawling this way and that. The discomfort was almost unbearable, yet she struggled to find the words to tell her mate how terrified she was. His cache was too full, the losses in his life too great, and the thought of piling anything else onto it was simply unacceptable, so Vana was just going to have to make it.

The woman took a breath, scooped a little bit of lavender into her mouth, and waited for it to take effect. Once the cloud of panic subsided a bit and she was able to think, Vana climbed out of the den and made her admission. "Nothing is happening and I don't know why." She didn't wait for an answer. "Let's walk." She wasn't sure if it would help, but she couldn't spend another second cramped up alone in that den waiting.

It seemed like eternity that the Valle man waited outside of the den. His nose was close to the entrance, but despite as much as he strained his eyes he was too far back to see anything that was happening. His ears craned forward and heard lots of sound of movement, of shuffling around, but that was it. There was no heavy breathing, or cries from mother or new life.

When Vanadis came bursting out all of a sudden it took Viorel by surprise. He scrambled backwards on his belly, a look of shock on his face. After her words he could only blink in confusion for a second, looking back down into the den where she had come from. He really could not compute what was happening, but he got to his paws diligently and followed after her.

Yellow eyes looked over her swollen frame with concern, and for once in his life he was at a total loss for words. He hummed for a second before spitting out the only thing he could think of, ”Have you thought about any names that you like?” Or maybe she would not want to talk about the babies at all, he really didn’t know. He just knew she wanted to walk and so they were walking.