It is with what Pan deems to be adequate haste that he makes his way to Niviaq’s den this particular day, golden paws beating an even rhythm against the earth, oblivious to what had occurred wihin mere moments of his arrival. His knowledge of the world is extensive, this cannot be denied, his ability to factually understanding his environment second to none, his intelligence beyond record of any other before him and yet in the matters of childbirth he remains, perhaps, unschooled, oblivious to the symptoms Niviaq had surely displayed that would indicate a mother upon the brink of parturition. His paws are given to halt upon the incline that leads towards his silver and white significant others den, strange black eyes peering within the gloom as a distinct scent is detected upon the air, the odour of blood and birth one as yet unscented by the male and yet one that is clear all the same as his head is given to tilt and turn in momentary surprise by this turn events, the man seeing fit to scold himself mentally for his oversight in having miscalculated the birth by exactly….11 hours. Yes. She was 11 hours early he is entirely sure and really he is half inclined to speak with her about the importance of schedule, after all, how does she expect to raise their children if she cannot adequately maintain a routine! Children need structure and order and integrated time for learning specific play, if Niviaq was going to be the sort of mother that let her children run rampant, the way Justice had done for him, allowing his brilliance to go unstructured then really- they were going to have to have a talk. That his children would be anything less then intellectually superior to the world around them has never crossed the males mind.

It is perhaps in those moments, as he rushes forward, that for the first time he is truly given to feel Niviaq, her heartbeat seeming to find place within his own, her breathing and calm ensnaring his veins with assurance and purpose as he is assured beyond all scientific knowledge that she is well, pained- but well, the scent of blood indicating some internal difficulty perhaps, his lips already filled with words and questions as he ducks within the den, his frame small and compact like her own, fitting easily within before those dark eyes fall upon the children whom nurse at her side, words given to falter upon his lip as he is simply given to stare. The wonderment of life, in that moment perhaps, is given to rob the male of any scientific description for the rush of emotion, both Niviaq’s and his own that is given to seize him, a fierce protectiveness poured into his veins with a resonation so entirely overwhelming he is given to stumble back onto his haunches, eyes flicking from the girl to his babes and back again before his mind finally seems to take hold once more.

“This is by far the most exceptional moment of my existence. It worked. I knew it would work, that thing we did has created life. Niviaq, do you understand entirely what has occurred her. We have created life, actual life. What did you experience during the birth? Have you checked them? Monitored them? Created a flow chart of their vital signs!? My god what have you been doing this whole time?”

Wasting time, he is sure, is what she has been doing. He shuffles forward all the same to peer at his children, one holding a look much like Niviaq herself, a little girl, her form and colour noted to be placed within his study of genetics and colour inheritance in coat and eyes before his attention drifts to his firstborn, a son……one who’s colour and look seeks his own eyes widen in shock.

“Good grief. He looks exactly like my Father, well, Indus did not have those touches of gold but that colour, that earthen hue….it is the exact shade of my own sire. This is remarkable, what have you named them?”

He looks to her with eagerness now, ears held forward as he suddenly and abruptly moves to lick at her cheek in a stolen kiss he is sure is acceptable as he seats himself now, looking upon his little family. A scientific world unlike he has ever witnessed nursing before him.

“How are you, Niviaq? Do you require medical attention? Should I call for someone? When will their eyes open?”

Patience never really was his virtue.

……………………………

It is with perhaps, less fanfare and minuet precision that the boy is given to be born to the world, his own a place of dark and quiet, lacking the thought and drive of his sister, holding little desire to count away the time- finding his own rhythm, his own place against the beat of his Mother’s heart and the quietness of the blackness of his oblivion. Already perhaps, he is different to Pandora, seeming to find no great need to rush, though the fates have decided already that he is to be the first, before her, brought into the world with that same rush of chilling cold that feels his lungs as he cries in some admonishment at such treatment. It is shocking to him, startling, frightening and yet he seems to gather himself all the same, that boy of earthen pelt touched in gold, bathed in his grandfather’s long forgotten colours as he struggles to be closer to the warmth of his mother, seeking the milk he knows he will find, readily receiving his reward.

His mind perhaps, is not so quick as his sisters, does not seem to grasp the ready reality of his own birth- though surely such memories will fade all the same with age and time as tiny limbs flail and kick and mewling cries break out between his fervent nursing. The time, to him, in these moments, is seemingly irrelevant, perhaps he simply has not considered it. Perhaps, most shockingly, he does not care, looking to feed his immediate needs before any other as a different sort of darkness tugs at his mind and those first tendrils of sleep tug against him as he moves to curl himself up against Niviaq’s side, oblivious to his sire in these moments beyond the mere touch of another scent that stirs and holds fast in his memory alongside that of his Mother and Sister. He is a calm creature, an easy one and one that seems very much assured that once, a long time ago- he was here before, a baby smile tracing those earthen lips as he sleeps.