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 Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:42 am
Oh but she wished her mother was here beside her. She was alone in a den in the roguelands, giving birth to her first litter, with only Dusan waiting nearby outside for comfort. Another female would have given her comfort and reassurance. Giza was generally unfamiliar with pain, and so the ripples of discomfort passing over her had knocked her off her feet well over a day ago. She didn't know how long labor was supposed to last, but it felt like it'd been going forever.
It had become much more painful in the last handful of minutes, and instinctively she'd known when to shoo her mate from the den. It was almost time!
As he heard her yell once more in her agony, a stab of pain took hold of his chest. He'd done this to her. Sure, she might have been willing, too, but he hadn't expected babies. Was he ready? Dusan honestly had no earthly idea if he was. But he would have to be. For her sake, and the cubs' sake.
How many will we have? he thought as he paced in front of the den for the millionth time. There was starting to be a ditch of sorts from all his pacing, tail dragging behind him. "Giza....?" Calling to make sure she was still alive and well.
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Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:47 am
Giza had no clue as to the rules of Dusan's home pride. Her reason for chasing Dusan out had been to give her room to birth comfortably, and to be sure she'd be able to focus. If he panicked, for some reason, she knew she would too. She needed to focus...
Dusan happened to call out to her at the same moment the first cub entered the world, and so his only answer was a bellow of pain and relief from the purplish female. Still panting, she dragged the cub closer to her with a paw. It was so small! Was it alright? What if something had gone wrong, or she'd pushed too hard?!
Thankfully a perfect little boy was revealed to her. His coat was so pale, she nearly thought he was white at first, but a better look revealed he had inherited his grandmother's fur. Pleased beyond words by this, she groomed the infant, and nudged him to her side. Perhaps unfortunately, she was not allowed to rest long. There were more cubs on the way!
The bellow of pain scared the piss out of him and he fought with every ounce of strength and self restraint he had to not burst in t here and see what was going wrong. "G....Baby? You alright?" He asked, peeking his head in. He could only see her back and not much else, which made his heart squeeze tight.
But then he heard the tiny mewls of a baby who couldn't quite find a n****e to suckle at and he gave a huge, lopsided smile followed by a deep chuckle. So one was born already!
Then she tensed up again and he slowly entered the cave, staying near the entrance. "Giza.... you're doing great!"
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Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:01 am
Giza heard Dusan, but was too busy pushing and panting to reply to his encouragement. One was born, yes, but there was at least one more. She'd known that before, simply by her size. Now that the first had come, the second seemed easier. It was still a struggle, but knowing she'd done alright with the first, and that her mate was near..she felt more assured.
With another bellow, the second cub joined the first. Giza inspected it critically, and beamed. A little girl! And she was blue, like her daddy, but with her own leg markings...She was just perfect! She tucked the cub beside her brother, and heaved a sigh of relief.
For now it seemed, she could rest. Looking back over her shoulder, she smiled at her mate. "One of each!" She whispered, not wanting to disturb the cubs. A small litter, but...hmm. She hadn't thought the contractions lasted past the birth. They were fainter now though, so maybe...
That second scream made his heart stop and he very nearly bolted straight from the den. Dusan didn't like screaming, didn't like pain, either. But when those breathless words came out of her 'one of each' he moved forwards and settled behind her, looking over he to see the two cubs.
"They're so pretty! And.... wet. Which is the boy?" No, Dusan was no familiar with how mothers knew the genders so fast. He rested his head on her shoulder, curling his tail about her, while avoiding the sea of bodily fluids and purred softly. "That one is so pale... .....Is it white? Do you have white in your family?"
Dusan didn't know to much of his family, but he knew he had white. His mother's brother was white, and maybe his grandfather, too. He'd only met his uncle once, but never his grandfather. Which was odd. Either way, he looked to the two babies and smiled like the big idiot he was.
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Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:20 am
Giza chuckled tiredly and licked Dusan's cheek. The cubs were adorable, and perfect in her opinion. One for each of them, and perfectly formed...
"The pale one is the boy. The first born...Dugi." She nuzzled the cub, who, feeling full, had released his hold on her teat to wander. Well, as much as a newborn could wander. So he was laying in place and moving his head from side to side, unable to hear or see, but aware of the warmth around him, and the smell of his parents. "He's my mother's color...not white, but...pale." She grimaced, and her side tensed against her mate's.
"Sorry...I'm still feeling the contractions from the birth...there we go." She sighed as the feeling faded away. "The other is the girl...she looks more like you, I think! She'll be Lili...Ah!" She yowled, suddenly in the throes of birth again. Before she had a chance to move, or push Dusan away, the final two cubs came into the world...twins, one right after the other. Stunned and exhausted, Giza stared at them a moment before starting to clean them, all but ignoring her mate.
Just like that, he was.... birthed on. He felt the fluids seeping into his back paws and legs and tail and shuddered and shifted to sit up, blanching at the feeling. Ew, ew. Childbirth was so gross. EW. What was she doing, licking that .....stuff off of them?
Well... they could breath, and he heard their first tiny cries. They looked almost exactly the same in the face. One had white hair, the other black, and one had the leg markings of their mother. "Twins...?" He asked, ignoring another rippling shudder from the fluids now on his skin through his fur. Walking around and examining them more, Dusan's idiotic smile was back in place and he leaned in and nosed each one.
"That... makes it three boys and a girl?" He asked, hoping he guessed the genders right. These two were about the same size as the first, so, that's how he was basing his guess.
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Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:35 am
Poor Dusan, Giza totally ignored his discomfort in favor of the cubs' needs. These she was sure were the last two, she could feel immediately her body so slack, the lack of tension startling her nearly as much as the contractions had. Once the cubs were clean and tucked to her side with the others, she lay back, resting her head on the ground and letting her eyes close. Birthing was HARD.
"Yes, looks like you got your wish!" She laughed at Dusan as she rested. "Plenty of boys...All healthy and perfect too. No tails missing, or toes, or ears." She had to admit she was a bit surprised there had been four. She hadn't thought she'd been THAT fat, but maybe...
"Dugi, Tahalili, Mjukuu, and Banan...if you're okay with the names? They can't hear yet, so if we change them, they won't know..."
He laughed as she went slack and nosed against her cheek before licking and attempting to help sooth her. Dusan didn't know what he was doing, so this was the best he could do. He laid down again and smiled at the sight of his family. Yes, he had a larger family now.
The names she picked were brilliant. All could have really cool nicknames. With the exception of Dugi. Unless he called him Gi. But that was.... Well, alright, actually. Lost in his own thoughts, he realized he forgot to answer her. "I love those names... Especially Dugi..." He beamed brightly and tilted his head.
"Giza... Sleep. I'll go outside and keep guard, and hunt, 'kay? You take care of those for and keep your strength up."
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Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:43 am
Giza beamed with her eyes shut at Dusan's approval of the names. It had been important to her for some reason or other. She pressed back into his attentions, trying to show him she was okay. Just tired. Thankfully the cubs would need to nurse and be kept warm constantly for a few days (instinct told her that much) so she wouldn't have to do much in the way of moving or walking around.
"Food would be nice, so I can better feed the little ones...don't be gone for long though." She nuzzled against him before he rose to leave. "They'll miss Daddy, if you're gone too long." True the cubs couldn't see yet, but she was sure they could feel that there were two bodies in the den, and smell the difference. Memories of her time as a cub with just Posca, before Bombei had come along, reminded her of how nice it was to have two parents.
She curled up around the little fluff balls protectively, already determined not to let anything bad happen to them.
Daddy. That word tugged on a string in his heart and then smiled a bit as he got up once more. Giza curled protectively like that, he nodded. Sure, it might have been stupid at the time, what they did, but they got some beautiful results from it.
With that thought in his head, he headed out of the den to let his babies and his mate sleep. In a few weeks, he would bring her back to the pride.
[Fin!]
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