Winter had passed by in seemingly a blur. Despite being confined to the immediate area around my den and throne clearings for the first few weeks of the season due to my injuries, time had flitted by as if on the wings of snow birds. The colder temperatures had helped to keep the swelling down on my leg, and as the weeks passed by I slowly regained use of the limb. Now, as warmth began to return to the lands of Moladion it was fully functional, and aside from some missing hair and a scar to mark the location it was as if it had never happened. Throughout my recovery and the remainder of the season I had been surrounded by those that I loved and cared for. Due to the healing of my wounds from the battle, it had taken me perhaps longer than it should have to realize the other changes going on in my body. But as soon as I made the connection of my having gained weight during my time of immobility with the slight roundness to my abdomen, even a sore leg could not keep me from running to Jericho to share the news with him. Such elation filled me, absolutely bubbling over with joy at the prospect of our family growing.
As I lay within my den that evening, I could not help but reflect back upon the day that my young dragons had entered the world. I had felt so alone, so completely at a loss of how I could possibly be a mother and a lone parent at that. When those four bundles of fur had taken their first breaths I had been some completely consumed with love that I knew I would never be alone again. Little did I know then that my heart had room still within it for the male who had lingered outside my den during the births of my children, offering me his support throughout. Something had ignited between us from that very first day beside the Aplos River, and it had smoldered for so long, until finally it erupted into a flame that would never be put out. We were mates, and now we would be parents. Soon, as it were. A familiar pang erupted from within me and a soft whine of pain mixed with excitement slipped from my lips. Mahogany eyes lifted to the mouth of the den, knowing that Jericho was probably only a few feet from the entrance. Maybe it was some primal parental instinct, but we'd both subliminally known that today would be the day. I just don't think he was prepared to wait...well...all day.
If he were to appear at the den's entrance I would offer him a comforting smile, knowing that there was still plenty of time to go before our children would make their debut. Though I had gone through this only once before, instinct took over as it had the first time around and I laid back. The contractions came in waves, building in intensity and frequency as the last light of evening slipped out of the den. Occasionally I would lift my head to look over my abdomen, but I knew it was not yet time to push and so my head slumped back to the den floor. But then, all at once, a contraction took hold of my body that was different from the others, and I lifted my head towards the moonlight that now streamed in through the den's entrance. I barked out for Jericho - the time had come.
Only when I felt him at my side did I embrace the onslaught of contractions that racked my body. I lifted my head and heaved against the pain, pushing with all my might. I gasped a breath of air before pressing on, and finally a wave of relief washed over me. Immediately I leaned forward, curling around towards my hindquarters to find the first born of my union with Jericho. Jaws that only a little over a season prior had caused irreversible damage to one who threatened my livelihood now grasped the tiny form of my child with the gentlest of touches. Bringing her closer to my abdomen and within Jericho's line of vision, I carefully cleaned her of the debris of my body, find that she was in fact a Her. "
A girl, Jer," I breathed softly, continuing to lap at the wetness of her dark fur, of which the color I could not yet distinguish. It did not matter, she was beautiful, perfect in every way. In the moonlight the flecking of white along her sealed shut eyes caught my attention and I could not help but smile as I nudged her towards my teats so that she could partake in the first meal of her life. I leaned into Jericho, tearing my gaze away from her perfect little form to look into his eyes, joy and pride reflecting in mine before another contraction gripped me and my eyes clenched shut as I pressed into him more firmly.
Once more the urge to push arose and I did not fight it, straining as I brought life into the world once more. This one came with ease and once more I bent around to grasp the pup's body and bring them closer to their sibling. With the first lick I noticed the white along her back, a mirror image of her father's marking and I sighed softly with contentedness and love filled my heart. I nosed her softly, finding she too was a girl. "
A sister for our first," I breathed, unable to draw my eyes away from the markings that were defined even in the mere moonlight that flooded the den. But it would seem that the next child would not be kept waiting and before I could nudge the second girl towards her sister, or even truly realize the contraction that would herald her arrival was happening, I was pushing against Jericho and into the glorious pain of birth. I gasped as the final pup entered the world, my ears falling back at the relief as my body signaled to me that the hard work was over. One last time, I leaned towards my hindquarters and took the body of my child within my jaws, drawing her forward before ensuring that the second born was nuzzled in beside the first.
It was then that my tongue began to lap over the final child, discovering that she, too, was a girl. "
Three daughters, Jer." I continued to clean her, finding the bridge of her muzzle darkened but she did not wear a full mask like her sisters. It was the brindling that marked her tiny, thrashing legs that caught my attention, and I would have fawned over each of them all night if the instinct to preserve their lives by giving them the milk of my body did not overwhelm me. I pushed her up alongside her sisters and could not help but simply stare for a moment. "
Three daughters," I whispered again, softly, more to myself than to Jericho. It was a natural motion to relax into Jericho then, affording him a glance so filled with love, adoration, and pride that it probably appeared as though my mahogany eyes might burst. Darkened ears twitched atop my skull, listening for the four two year olds that were sure to be nearby, waiting to be introduced to their younger siblings. "
What shall we call them?" I asked Jericho, eyes slipping back to the girls as they feasted, tiny squalls emitted now and again as they bumped noses or lost their hold on a teat.
We had discussed names in the nights when Kalseru and the boys were a slumbering pile of teenage fur, and as I looked upon the final girl once more I knew which one fit her at once. I reached forward to touch my nose to the darkened dorsal stripe that ran down her back. "
Nymeria," I said, without question. It was perfect for her. My gaze lingered on the second girl for a moment, noting the darkness that blanketed her back and once more fixating upon the white marking so akin to her father's, before I turned my gaze back towards Jericho, wondering if one of the names we had spoken of struck him as true for her. Finally I looked to the first girl, and as she fed I smiled at the tiny replication of my mask upon her face. "
What do you think, my love, Tyene or Visenya?" The two names warred within my mind, and I knew that Jericho would pick the one most fitting for her.
Once all three girls were bestowed with names, I slumped back into Jericho's form entirely, angling my head so that I could look upon the forms of our three girls that were quickly finishing their first meal and curling up to sleep nestled within the fur of my abdomen. Moonlight cast a halo of light across the scene, and I sighed softly, a tiredness overwhelming me as I looked up into the face of my mate once more. "
I love you," I said to him, before nuzzling into his neck and simply breathing in his scent. A single eye remained fixated upon our children out of the corner of my vision, but the power of the first full moon of the year would soon not even be enough to keep me awake.
daenerys