If pregnancy itself was the worst thing then birthing was like being cast into hell. It started all too early in the morning, waking her up from her sleep with a restlessness that refused to subside even when she tried to burrow into Rogue. It was like being super hungry, where your stomach flopped onto itself but you had also eaten a bunch of rocks beforehand. Her abdomen rocked with a gritty, uncomfortable pain as the sun rose, peering into the den. So much, she thought, for a sleep in. She had at least recognised what this awful thing was, and with a grunt and a hiss to Rogue, she rose from the den to pace, having created a separate den to do this nasty business. The den she shared with Rogue was too important to get messed up, after all, and no child would be welcome within it until they knew how to clean themselves up. Seriously, they were gross for the first few weeks.

Not soon after she had settled in to her spring den, she had that all too familiar ripple of pain and hatred grace her abdomen. She hissed between her teeth, glancing back as a pale little thing emerged just in time for her to begin cleaning it - see, gross. Nonetheless, she spent some moments observing what she discovered to be a female: pale furred, like Sleekwing really and an acceptable size. She quite liked the girl's colour, though she'd not admit it to Rogue. It was like having a miniature Sleekwing all to her own. She was so acceptable that she hardly caused a burn coming into the world. Still, loud and squirmy even when she was pushed against Malina's stomach in a desperate attempt to not wake up the entire pack. Nobody was permitted to see her while she was a heaving, panting mess that reeked of all the bad things in the world.

The second one to come was just as easy as the first, much darker this time in some kind of half-formed version of Malina's very self. She stared down at her, quickly nudging her to her stomach to silence the sudden burst of vocals. It was rather entertaining, she had to admit, to watch the two fight over what was surely enough food to go around. They were too opposites, too, though similar in size. They made the transition back into the world of pain somewhat more bearable, until of course, she felt like something wasn't quite going as planned.

It hurt... a lot more than before. She was confused by this, as anybody would be, and huffed as she rose somewhat, trying all sorts of positions and angles to relieve the pressure. Seriously, was Sleekwing him very self trying to get out of her or something? Was she giving birth to a full sized elk? She growled in frustration as the dam finally broke, an audible thump echoing through the den as she twisted back to see what kind of geode or rock she had given birth to. To her mild surprise, it was a puppy. This one was considerably different to the others, though, and not just for his bits and pieces. He was monstrous - like, add some russet onto him and you had damned Andras sitting there in the den with you. Had Rogue somehow done this? Whatever the case, she had to drag him towards her, quickly cleaning him and setting him... slightly apart from the two smaller ones. She worried enough about crushing them in her own sleep, let alone her newly acquired son doing it for her.

"Rogue - I think you'll like one of these ones!"

She called out from the den, repositioning herself so that she might be more comfortable as the pain began to subside and she began to catch her breath. An unorthodox way of announcing that yes, she was done but nonetheless, she wanted Rogue to see these. They were like a transition from light to dark, anyway. What wasn't amusing about that?