Winter had been...eventful, to say the least, for the masked woman.

Aurelia had made the company of two fine gentlemen, Robichaux and Baird, and had enjoyed the time she had spent with them. Perhaps enjoyed their times too much, and as winter melted into spring, she was almost unsurprised to find her normally lean figure grow round and heavy with life. Aurelia wasn’t stupid - her actions over the winter almost demanded the situation she found herself in. There had been a moment of realization, a moment where she could no longer play naive to the changes in how she felt and the way she moved. It wasn’t a bad moment - just a dawning of ‘I’m going to be a mother’. It was calm, and as a part of her heart found a strange peace she’d never experienced, a crashing wave of love washed over her for the young that were growing in her.

The next step had been to seek out both Robichaux and Baird and explain the situation to them. That neither had been her only partner this winter, and that she would take no grief for that. That she was pregnant and that she didn’t know who the father was, but both males were more than welcomed in the lives of her children if they so desired to be. Her heart still warmed fondly when she thought of Baird’s stumbling promises to help with the children, and it had been a reassurance to know that her friend was within the territory should she ever need his help. Aurelia had been undoubtedly relieved when neither male had reacted poorly to her planned speech, though the same could not be said about her brothers - mostly because she hadn’t really told her brothers. They knew, because of course they knew, and it always made her a little misty eyed when she came to her den to find a meal left by Berwyn. Her younger brother (even if it was by just moments) would always hold a place in her heart that rivaled Cadeyrn and Jubilee’s.

She’d grown steadily rounder, and found that Despoina had been right - pregnancy was not all she’d thought it to be. The children were wiggly little things, and she found they would kick if she moved too fast or laid down a certain way or just because they wanted to remind her they were there. Still, the love she felt for the unborn children sometimes astounded her and left her more breathless than even the strongest of their kicks. It was a protective, unending, powerful love unlike any that she’d ever known, and she thanked the universe every day for granting her the privilege to bring these lives into the world.

Aurelia hadn’t always been graceful - her legs had been too long before adulthood for that - but she’d never had a gait quite like this. She felt awkward and a little uncomfortable as spring seemed to drag on, and her impatience to meet her children grew as steadily as her stomach seemed to. She was restless this day, with too much energy to stay put despite the discomfort growing. The masked woman knew it must be time soon, and was reluctant to leave the area around her den lest they decided to come while she was halfway up the mountain. She’d just tipped her head back to call for her brothers company when the first wave hit her. It knocked the wind out of her and the slender she-wolf curled in on herself with a grunt, taking a moment to catch her breath before she stood up. She’d known it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience, but hadn’t realized how painful it was - still, it’d be worth it.

Aurelia made her way back to her den on unsteady legs as the waves continued, tipping her head back and calling for Robichaux and Baird. She wanted them both there if they wanted to be, and she dearly hoped they would come by at least for a moment. She found a place on the cool earth floor of her den, breathing steadily as time wore on. It seemed like forever before she was rewarded with the first - a chocolate and tan girl. She was the most beautiful thing Aurelia had ever seen and awe overcame her as she licked the girl clean and put her at her teats. She lowered her head to her paws as the waves seemed to recalibrate, keeping one eye on the child at her side. Aur knew there were more, but concern began to gnaw at her as time passed on without the appearance of the second. Almost in response to her concern did the second girl make her entrance to the world, startling white and black and Aurelia laughed sweet and exhausted. She was placed next to her slightly smaller sister, and Aur settled in for another wait - she still wasn’t done, and she wondered faintly if she would ever be.

”Come along, sweet one, your sisters are waiting for you,” she cooed to her stomach pleadingly as the sun moved across the sky, gritting her teeth against a painful shift of the pup. The first two pups hadn’t taken so long to push out, despite the time between their being born. The third, however, seemed determined to wait it out and make it hard on its mother. Aur vaguely remembered lowering her head in defeat, exhaustion sinking deep into her bones as another contraction-and-push combo left her breathless. One more. She had to do it again, even if it was just once more. One more turned out to be her lucky number - as exhausted as she was and as much as it hurt, the final pup was born. It was another female, chocolate and white and lovely. Aurelia couldn’t help but name her; ”Atallah,” fell from her lips as she cleaned the last girl, as though she’d demanded it from her mother that instant. She one was the largest, and Aurelia hummed softly with amusement as she nosed her into place next to her sisters. ”My girls,” she whispered softly as her head fell to her paws again, blearily watching the three pups at her teats.

”You can come in,” she called distantly to the outside world - she assumed that, if anyone, was there it would be someone who was welcomed. Hopefully Robichaux and Baird, but even her brothers and sister were welcome to meet their nieces.