Nimueh had been glad when Murina had actually eaten the meal that Nimueh had brought for her - at least it was a step forward in the right direction. If Murina trusted Nimueh enough to eat the food she brought...yes… it was a good first step. Or at least, so Nimueh had thought. The winter had come and gone, and Nimueh had not seen Murina a single time throughout the entirety of that season. Part of that could have been Nimueh’s own fault - after all, she had spent so much time first traveling to Uyaraut and then back again that she had been otherwise engaged. And then of course, she had spent weeks exploring her own territory - after the change, the land that she had once known had been stripped away and left in its wake something complex and complicated, a string of caverns without a roadmap to the labyrinthe. Before she had known it, winter had ceased and the cold temperatures had lifted… and her abdomen had swelled. When first Lev had returned to the lands, she had told him of her condition - that she was with child. She had wished to be completely honest with him, trusting him cautiously. Every time she had trusted another in the past, she had been hurt… but the only way to move on would be to risk it yet again. And so she had told him, and succinctly afterward had given him the rank of Beta. It was the rank that he had originally claimed to desire, and now that he had it, only time would show whether or not he deserved it. There were two possible outcomes - the first was for him to revolt against her and claim the throne for himself… and the second was for him to succeed in it, to live up to her expectations, the ones she set for him plain as day - recruit new members, greet them, accept them even. He would be her second, her closest advisor.

That had been a few weeks ago.

And in that time, her sides had continued to swell. She knew that her time was coming - after all, the pups had become increasingly more active. They kicked at her sides incessantly, stealing from her any hope for rest. Not only did they keep her awake with their constant movements, squirming and pushing against the walls of her uterus, but they made it impossible for her to get comfortable when she was laying down. Nimueh was as swollen as a beached whale camped on the shores of Uyaraut, only she was a creature of the land, and not one of the sea. She had no good reason to be wollen up this large, especially not with her… certain delicacies. The Queen of Crith-Thalmhainn could not be more excited for her pups - she had been sexually indiscreet for most of her years, and yet this was the only time that she had ever become pregnant. But with her genetic mutation, the one that led her flesh to be more delicate than others of her kind, would she be able to handle the whelping? It was a wonder even now that she had not had any difficulties with her pregnancy yet, that her pups had not hurt her endometrial wall. But part of her also feared that the pups would reject her - the way that her own parents had. Would they see her as the decrepit outcast that so many from her home land had viewed her as? But she could not and would not dwell upon that, not when she had pack members to look after. And until her pup or pups were born, she could not count them as hers - anything could happen.

‘N...Nim? I’m h...h...home!’

The words were just a whisper on the wind, swirling off of one wall to the next. Nimueh had been on her to check Murina’s den to see if there was any activity there, and Nim was glad to finally have a sign of her. She picked up a slow trot, all to aware of the pain rippling through her abdomen as her gigantic sides swayed to and fro. With a smile, she neared the mouths of the caves, but her smile fell as she came upon Murina - her sides were just as swollen as Nimueh’s own. Nimueh sighed and her facade softened as she tilted her head to the side in empathy. “Oh hunny, you and I seem to have yet more in common. Now, Murina, were these pups made of love… or did someone force you?” She was full of concern for the other, but the shock of seeing Murina that way must of instilled enough stress to reach her pups. The waves that had become her norm had suddenly become more turbulent, a maelstrom of tsunamis beating against her and sending her to the ground, to her knees. Pain became her new norm and she began to push, for what else was there to do? She was lucky in that she had a large litter - the pups would be small. The first was a boy, brown in color, and Nimueh grabbed him swiftly to clean him, all the while continuing to push - she knew that she did not have much endurance, and if she collapsed from exhaustion before all of the pups were birthed, there would be a chance that both she and her unborn pups would die. Nimueh screamed, a curse upon Kershov for giving her so many pups to get through, just as another boy escaped from her bloodied petals. This one was lighter, more russet than brown. She repeated her actions as with the first and continued to push. Already she could see the darkness crowding in to the edges of her vision. Another wet body slipped from her, this one a girl, but the color of her pelt slipped from Nimueh’s mind, all she could do was focus upon pushing… “Damnit Kershov how many did you implant within me?” Another scream ripped from her maw and she pulled free the last pup, and her uterus stilled, her sides sunk in and she could only hope that she was done. But her relief faded as she saw that the ribs of the last pup were not rising. With tears in her eyes she vigorously tried to stimulate the pup, but it was in vain. Surprisingly, once the pressure of the pups faded she found the darkness receding. Her concern returned for Murina as her gaze rose to her. “See… um… easy?”