I could not recall ever feeling quite so alone before in my life. Subconsciously, some part of me knew it was the vast range of hormones pushing through my bloodstream that had caused my emotions to sink so low. But the fact of the matter could not be denied – I was entirely alone in this. I curled up inside my den the best I could, though as I reached my nose towards my abdomen a sharp pain caused me to stretch back out, extending my forelegs in a position that was far from urbane, but it was the only way I had been able to find comfort in for the past few hours. The pain had been mild at first, attributed to the shifting of the large pups within my womb, but over time it had steadily become worse. Brows furrowed as I tossed a glance at my swollen belly once more, worried that something might be wrong with them.

Eyes lifted to my den entrance, and once more the loneliness of my predicament was all too overwhelming. I had no mate to comfort me in this; my imprint was miles away – where I could feel his everlasting elation, a joy greater than he had experienced in the time we had been connected to one another. I even lacked for friends or family to keep near. Sleekwing was still recovering from the illness that had struck him over the winter. I had not seen Ceal in months, nor Jericho. I was unsure if Natu had left for good or if she and Fenrir had decided to accept my offer. Even Taliesin had distanced himself to a certain degree, though I doubted it was intentional. I knew he did not approve of what had happened between Leonidas and I. Leo; gone once more, no trace to be found of him. I was alone, and that was simply the reality of the situation.

But I had put myself here, and I would persevere. Another shot of pain racked my body, and my tongue dropped forth from my mouth as I began to pant heavily. Something was not right. Looking once more to my abdomen, I gritted my teeth, unwilling to let the whine that clawed at my throat loose itself. Instead I turned away, casting my head against the cool stone floor of my den beyond the soft bed I had created for myself in the past days. It had kept me busy, kept my mind occupied and away from the uncomfortable state of my pregnancy. Once more my tongue lolled from my mouth, and my bodice strained against the oncoming pain. The pains were coming more frequently now, and suddenly something in my mind told me that I needed to push. Trusting my gut, my body tensed as I did just that. My eyes rolled back into my head at the excruciating pain. What had Leonidas inflicted upon me?

I pushed on, quite literally, through the pain that had become constant. And then, all at once, there was a sense of temporary relief. I lifted my head, puzzled as I continued to pant from the exertion. And there he lay, a wet mess of a pup, my first born. My brows lifted in surprise as I gazed upon his perfect golden form. Blinking, I simply stared for a moment, until the instincts that I had feared would not come naturally to me kicked in. Lick him, they said, and so I reached forward and caressed him with my tongue, clearing his face and warming his body, before nipping the umbilical cord and nosing him closer to my abdomen. I could have simply looked upon him for hours, baffled by the beautiful hue of his newborn pelt. But that was not in the cards. Instead, pain returned to me, fresh and at the forefront of my mind and I practically threw my head against the floor of my den as I strained once more, pushing with all my might before a pain greater than I had known seared through the relief that had been felt with the first. Panting heavily, I lifted my head slowly, searching for the source of such unparalleled pain.

The cause of my pain became clear to me as soon as I looked upon him. He was significantly bigger than his brother, already squirming about before I had so much as placed a single lick upon his obsidian head. I reached forward, cleaning his face even as he fought back against me. So this was the one who had caused such a ruckus the past few weeks? I licked at him for a short time before pressing him alongside his brother. For some time I simply gazed upon the duo, one dark as midnight and the other bright as the sun. My breathing even began to become more normal as I watched them knead into my belly to get their first drinks. I wasn’t sure how much time passed before the pain blinded me, reminding me that this was far from over. Starting to get the hang of this, I pushed with all my might, and found that he came with far greater ease than his brothers. I went to this third child immediately, despite how my body began to tire, and I was awestruck at the very sight of him. I licked away at his body, that perfect slate gray trademark of my family. But his ears bore the blacks of my hide, and he wore a crown of his father’s painted hues. A stunning blending of mother and father, he was a perfect balance of his brothers’ light and dark.

I was hardly given respite enough to move him beside his siblings before I was bid to push once more by my body. And push I did. For what seemed like a lifetime. I began to panic, wondering if something was wrong, if this pup was somehow stuck. I practically twisted my head around as I strained, clawing out in front of me at the agony until something finally gave way and a relief washed over me. It took me a moment, stars clouding my vision, before I was able to muster the effort to lift my head and look upon my daughter for the first time. There was a darkness about her, much like my own pelt must have appeared upon birth, and yet I know that in due time something more will be revealed in her color. Wasting no more time, I licked her clean before placing her alongside her brothers.

Exhausted, I waited for another surprise of pain to take hold of me the way it had between the first two and the second two. But it never came. I was allowed to simply gaze upon these beautiful miracles nestled at my bosom. Names had not been something I had really thought about, but looking upon them now there was little doubt in my mind what to call each of them in turn. “Viserion,” I said, touching the golden boy upon the forhead, “Drogon,” the hellion of midnight black, “Rhaegal,” the perfect balance of sire and dam, “Kalseru” the mysterious princess. Pulling my head back slightly I took them all in, and my heart was filled with a love greater than I had ever known. “My little dragons,” I whispered softly; a moniker bestowed upon me by their sire, which seemed only more fitting in these moments of new found bliss. I silently thanked whatever had gotten me through this, whatever force of nature had bestowed the ability to become a mother upon me. I couldn’t help but think that MoonGlow had been there with me. It was only then, in these moments when I could have simply curled around them and slept away the rest of my days in their peaceful company, that I knew I would never be alone again.