Word Count: 1024
Maziwa was livid.
It had taken her mother fainting to inform her that she was carrying pups. Pups! The delicate white female gave her a weak smile in respond. "I really am sorry," Leini muttered in response. "I... I figured I could handle this. I have two litters without the safety of a pack, and now I have one..."
The small white dog hunched into herself, softly touching the belly that had barely rounded. She had not eaten nearly enough to support the growing pups inside her. Fear tugged at her heart and she silently prayed to the gods for their safety.
Leini did not want to face her daughter. The anger was a lot to take in, especially with the overwhelming guilt that encased her whole being at this point.
"Mom, you can't just not say anything. It's not right - we would have slowed down, gotten you more food. Anything you needed!" Maziwa bit it out. She was afraid - afraid for the possible new life in a pack that was barely just starting. It was scarier than she could ever imagine - becoming a leader.
Her mother was shaking at the words, a small whine pulling from her throat. "I'm sorry," she repeated again, the dispair echoing her prayer. "I didn't mean for it to happen..." Mziwa gave a silent snarl at that, pacing in front of her mother. The smaller white female shrank further into herself, rubbing the puppy bump carefully with one of her mis-matched paws. She tried to sense if the pups were safe - if all of them would make it.
She was afraid and unsure and she sniffled against the sensation of her sorrow.
The sound gave her daughter a pause, the pacing coming to a stop right in front of her. Maziwa gave a sigh, frowning. This wasn't okay. Her mother was not as young as she used to be, but she placed a gentle paw on her mother regardless.
"You need to take better care of yourself. You're going to have pups, and that's wonderful," Maziwa stressed the words. Leini's breath hitched at the words and she buried her head into her daughter's chest. "I'm scared Ziwa. What if they don't live? I don't know how I would live with myself..."
Ziwa could not lie - she did not know herself. She wanted to comfort her mother, but scold her at the same time. How could her mother be so foolish? Ziwa did not even know there was a possibility of pups, let alone that her mother was carrying. "I will help you, mom, just please don't hide things like this..."
She nuzzled along the top of her mother's head and made a comforting chuffing noise with her throat. She heard her mother give a shaky breath and we smiled. "We will soon know if they are okay. We'll have a healer check, okay?"
It was the most that Maziwa could offer. She know nothing of childbirth herself, having never gone through it. She couldn't imagine the feeling of losing a child, though her mother has lost so much already. "Rest, and I'll have one of the gatherers bring some water and fetch some food for you," The orange female tried to keep her voice soft and reassuring.
Maziwa gave a last small nuzzle to her mother's head, calling for Damu and Somehairle - who seemed inseparable now. She spoke with them briefly, telling them the happenings. She tried not to be short with them even though a small amount of anger still bubbled underneath the surface.
Damu gave a soft hum of affirmation, a klipspringer at his side to guide his sight. Somehairle gave a small smile. "I'm sure all will be well," the general gave his well wishes and headed off as well. She nudged her mother down, forcing her to rest.
She prayed the pups were okay if nothing but her mother's sake. Her mother was so petite and did so much - she seemed so old and weary. She could only imagine what reason her mother had for bedding down with another at her age, as she was not the youngest any longer.
Leini pressed closer to the warm side of daughter. Her stomach bulged more obviously laying down, and she could feel the faint flutter of pups inside her abdomen. If they lived, they would be stunning. Their father was quite the handsome man. He was charming and she smiled fondly at the memory of him.
She knew it would not last with the other dog - she knew it would be a one off and that was what she wanted. She didn't expect the pups, though she probably should have. Sometimes, despite her age, she could be a tad bit naive.
She gave a shaky sigh and huddled closer to her daughter. This would be the first time she was going to raise pups without the father present, and oh gods above she was already messing up. The older dog gave a small whimper, hoping all the pups in her belly were well, that the fluttering was a good thing. She remembered the feeling from her previous pregnancies, but that was different.
Was is different?
She didn't truely know, and she was scared for it.
She must have been shaking, fear radiating off of her, since a moment later her daugher gave her a soft nudge and began murmuring calming words to her. "It'll be alright. This pack - it's a great pack, and we'll all help you, alright?" Ziwa was firm in her belief, and it calmed the pregnant dog somewhat.
Only a while later did Somehairle return with a hare for Leini to eat and Damu with water to drink from a basin made of a turtle's shell. Gratitude overwhelmed the small female and she gave them a heartfelt, "Thank you so much for this."
The two male just have a nod and smile in return, slipping off somewhere to leave the two alone. Ziwa nuzzled her mother's head. "See? All will be well," she proclaimed again. Leini gave a small smile, some of the anxiety leaking away.
"Yes, perhaps it will be."
