Maybe, for just a little while, he had tried to deny what he'd known in his heart for a while before Bastille had confirmed his suspicions. I mean, sure, they had gotten a little carried away when he'd come home. Words were said, confessions of true feelings had been made, things had happened inside her den - their den - that he would never forget. But things that had resulted in puppies? Tried though he may to ignore the obvious changed in Bastille's body, the truth was self evident. At first he'd felt nervous - him, a dad? But when Bastille had told him, all of those fears had withered away like so many fallen autumn leaves. They were going to be a family.

As winter gave way to spring and Bastille grew increasingly....pregnant....Rhaegal did all he could to provide for her. He was off trying to track down some extra cushioning for the den when her voice called out to him from back up the mountainside at their den. Something was different about the tone, a slight urgency there that could only mean one thing. Rhaegal's head snapped around and he dropped the soft plants from his mouth as he turned and dashed up the hillside like a madman. Its happening, oh god, I hope I don't miss it. Thoughts rushed through his mind in as much of a blur as his limbs must have been as he raced towards the den.

He skidded to a halt just outside, panting as he hesitantly poked just his head into the den. Blinking, willing his eyes to adjust to the shift in light faster, he glanced towards Bastille. She was laying down on the furs that adorned the floor of the den, and he whined softly to her as he realized her breaths were coming more quickly than normal and that he could smell the change in the air. When she didn't respond to him, he moved into the den and closer to her, sniffing anywhere he could, wishing he knew what to do. He lifted his head and looked back to the entrance of the den momentarily - should he call one of his healer cousins to come help? What if something went wrong?

But he was too invested in Bastille herself to leave the den even long enough to call for one of them. Pacing back and forth, he even laid down briefly beside her to lend his support, but quickly found his closeness unwarranted and stood again. With a heave of her body, and the soft sound of something moving out of her, he nosed carefully at the tiny pup. This was it. He looked back towards Bastille's face in amazement. When all three pups were with them, Bastille moved to help them to her abdomen, and Rhaegal nudged them along lovingly. The boy cried out, wriggling and moaning his clear displeasure for all of this, and Rhaegal couldn't help but smile.

His ears flicked towards Bastille as she spoke softly, her exhaustion only all too evident. Circling around her, he laid down so that she could rest her body against his. But he could not have slept even if he wanted to. Completely enamored with the pups, he draped his head across her shoulders and stared down at their tiny squirming bodies as they had their first meal. "They're perfect, Bast. And so are you." He placed a tender lick on her shoulder, so proud of her, and only now beginning to grasp just how big of an adventure they had started in on this go around.