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 Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:03 pm
It seemed only fitting that with their parents being such night-oriented lions, their little stars would choose now to add their brilliance to the twilight. The tan female was jolted rather rudely from slumber by a sharp pain, and expressed her discomfort with a resounding hiss that filled the low cavern of their den. She hadn't been sleeping very deeply, but with little else to do but "rest" according to Bushido and all of her relatives, it was inevitable that she'd doze off out of boredom.
Sheshe'kani looked to her mate now with dazed eyes, nudging him desperately with her nose, wanting him to wake up, if he wasn't already, so that he wouldn't get a rude awakening himself.
Besides, she was a little scared. She didn't want to do this alone.
"B-Bushido..."
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Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:50 pm
 The dark lion had been awake, accustomed to sleeping during the day, he often spent the night in silent vigil, gazing at the stars from the den's entrance while watching over his mate. Only moments before he had returned to the interior to settle again at his mate's side.
He had been debating rising and again settling at the den entrance when he felt the stirring warmth beside him, he just couldn't bring himself to not keep watch, even if he had been given temporary leave of his night patrol.
Raising his head, blue eyes settled on her form, gently nuzzling her cheek with his own.
"What is it?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:10 pm
"It's the cubs, I think it's time." She managed in a tight voice, before the discomfort passed and faded for the time being. She could feel them shifting about almost restlessly now, inhaling sharply as a paw jabbed a bit harder. "Someone's impatient..." So many moving bodies!
Movement freeze. Backtrack.
Wait...
..... What???
~........ I think I might have under guessed when I said two before...~
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:41 pm
"Cubs? What about--"
He fell silent, suddenly realizing what she meant. She wasn't just talking or thinking about the cubs as they had both done so often during the past weeks as she had grown rounder with the small lives impatient to enter the world. She was about to give birth, those lives were about to enter the world, now.
He was on his paws, nudging her gently with his muzzle, as if to encourage her to lay on the cool den floor, to make herself as comfortable as possible. He would remain calm, a gentle presence, that was what Kani needed.
"Try to relax, it'll be alright."
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:54 pm
The tan female exhaled quietly and shifted to settle down at her mate's urging, letting the den floor's cooler temperature chill her down, and focused on relaxing. She hoped they'd all be well, healthy and alright.
Her eyes shut, relaxing more at his touch and voice than anything else. The excitement was coursing through her at the thought-- they'd finally be parents, official parents! After all the days of waiting and guessing, they'd see what lives they'd created. Would there be sons? Would there be daughters? She was just itching to know!
Kani hissed once more, gritting her teeth as another wave hit, and this time it seemed twice as intense. Her body seemed to act on it's own as she shifted to a natural position to ease the birthing process, and dug her forepaws claws into the ground to brace as their first child began the journey down the birth canal.
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:09 pm
Bushido watched over his mate, settling to lay on the den floor himself, his large form directly before her, forepaws settled near her own. His expression was kind, calm, apart from the excitement that was clearly visible in brilliant blue eyes.
His maw brushed against his mates, his breath calming against her soft fur. Just relax, calm steady breathes, the cubs would come on their own, and she would be just fine.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:59 am
It was certainly akward at first, but soon enough Kani forgot that anyone else was in the den as the real process began. The pain became sharp and accute after a few seconds, and it took a lot of effort, as if the first child was fighting being pushed into the new world. Through her discomfort and concentration Kani couldn't help but wonder if their first son or daughter was going to have her granmother's and great grandmother's stubborn streak.
None the less, after a few minutes, a dark form, covered in birthing sac, lay on the den floor. Kani turned her head to look, heart stopping and breath leaving her all at once. Their first child!
"Bushido... she has your fur." She noted right away, a hint of wonderment in her strained voice as she then reached over, plucking the cub up to bring between their forepaws, and immediately cleaned the birth sac from the cub's nose and mouth, face, head, then body.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:48 am
His tail flicked, dancing over the hind paws that were stretched out behind him. Dark ears flicked, swiveling to lay against his mane as the cry of new life pierced his senses. Anxious to see his first child, his gaze moved from his mate, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the small cub, blue eyes following the small creature until it was settled between it's mother's paws.
Head tilted almost like a curious child himself, Bushido's gaze drew closer, his nose nearly touching the small form. It was so small, midnight pelt that matched his own, golden markings like her mothers. Small, but beautiful, and he could not help the soft smile that he turned on his mate.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:19 pm
There was just enough of a pause in between for her to take a few breaths, not even enough time to settle the newborn at her side yet, when her siblings demanded to make their entrance next. Sheshe'kani's breath caught in her throat, her tail lashing actively behind her for a bit. How many more?
Two, identical to their sister in every way, followed next almost back to back. Kani cleaned these two just as diligently, but then stopped, staring as she panted softly. Was she really seeing right?
"... T... triplets...?" She knew of them in her great Aunt's stories, but she'd never met any, nor seen them around the Pridelands. Now... granted she didn't get out much anyway, but...
Her eyes sought out Bushido's in silent question and awe.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:14 pm
He watched in silence, ears twitching as one small life joined the first, blue eyes full of silent wonders. Twins, no, triplets? Barely had he registered the second identical cub then the two were joined by a third.
Curiously, chin resting on the den floor, he sniffed at the three small cubs, as if to assure himself that they were real. Twins he had heard of, but never had he thought of the possibility of triplets. Would there be more like them?
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:45 pm
More of them, yes, more like them? Well, they'd find out in a second. Three daughters already, though, three! Kani barely registered any pain this time, as she felt herself beginning to grow weary. The fourth child came with a bit more difficulty than the prior two, putting up quite a fuss about being forced into the cold. This cub, also female, bore a bright orange pelt, like that of her grandmother, whom she'd only seen once, and her uncle, Jini. With black markings that seemed to mimic Bushido's to a 't', she stood out boldly against the darker hides of her three squirming older sisters, causing Sheshe'Kani to smile tiredly with pride. This litter, their first, was certainly turning out to be unique!
She had just enough time to clear the fourth's breathing passage and pull away the last of the birth mucus when a fifth pain caught her off guard. She yelled out in surprise, then took a sharp breath, much more quietly, eyes watering for a second. All was well enough, the spasm had just been much harder than the ones prior, more like the first. It was a bit more of a strain, and for a little while Kani felt a grip of fear that something might be wrong, but after a few minutes finally a fifth cub joined their family, female, again, and this one with a brilliant white pelt, marked with fuzzy gold that would surely clear into markings that matched her parents.
"Gods..." The young mother exhaled tiredly, clearing the baby's nose and mouth as well before settling her down before her father's paws with the other. "Bushido, would you...?" She needed to catch her breath, and situate the others, spent. She just managed to get the first four settled by her stomach, allowing them to find their way to food, then quite tired, settled her own chin against the den floor.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:15 am
An orange pelt and dark markings, different from her sisters, but no less beautiful. Silently he thought she look most like her mother, with dark socks, ears, and tail. Orange was an unfamiliar color to the dark lion, and he could not help what proud relation of Kani's had passed on the hue.
Blue eyes snapped from the small cubs, gaze shifting to his mate with a start, ears laying back at her cry. His muzzle again pressed against hers, a calming touch and a gently breath, calm, stay calm, it'll be alright.
Blue eyes fell on the fifth and final cub, a pure white coat as brilliant as the moon. And then she was at his own paws, mewing in objection at the cold floor as her exhausted mother settled on the floor. He blinked in surprise, unsure for a moment of what she was asking, doubting even after he realized.
A soft smile, he gently licked his mate's cheek before turning to the small cub between his paws, cleaning her fur despite the small one's objections. Then, the task complete, he lifted his youngest daughter in a soft maw, moving her to her mother's side.
With a gentle purr, his head rested against Kani's, nuzzling in a gesture of his greatest love. Five daughters, each as beautiful as their mother, it was indeed a brilliant night.
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