[FIN] Bringing Up Babies [Mollie x Vu]

[Feral Mule]

The days seemed long and drawn out as she carried the children in her belly. Every day she found a new pain, a new way to adjust to the growing girth and that she gained weight. A part of her didn't actually care she was gaining this much weight; it was natural, wasn't it? After all, she had to be carrying two or three little cubs inside of her. Today was no different. She woke up after Vu and went to the meat pile, grabbed her something to eat and padded to her usual spot to eat it.

Of course Vu knew where this spot was. A little ways from their den there was a tiny little 'stream' of water where Mollie went to lay down and contemplate while Vu was doing who knew what. She wasn't sure half the time, but didn't care to know. It was a guy things more than likely. While she ate, she noticed a few stomach cramps that were harsh. But they weren't very frequent, so she thought it was just the cubs stretching and moving around for more space again. They did that from time to time; or so she thought.

Cleaning herself in the water, she took her afternoon nap; warm and comfortable in the sun, front paws dipped in the water, sprawled out in the grass. It was heaven, truly!

When she next opened her eyes, it was dark, causing the dark lioness to look mildly confused. She usually would be awake and home by now. Getting to her feet, Molemogi stretched herself as much as she could before a hard wave of contractions came over her, knocking her from her feet and curling up in pain. She mewled softly to herself, her heart racing now. What was wrong with her? What was happening? The cramps were coming faster and harder than she remembered when she was awake.

Help! She thought. Mollie couldn't speak. She could only whimper and writhed and yowl, praying Vu found her soon. The babies.... Something's happening! The pain was so intense, she was getting so dizzy... Where was Vu? Why wasn't he here with her when she needed him the most? It seemed to go that way with the two for a while now. Whenever she needed Vu around, he disappeared. Like after the fight, he left the Pridelands without telling her. Tears filled her eyes and slipped down her round cheeks as bile rose from her stomach, burning her mouth and nose on the way up.

Oh, gods above, this is not good!  

[Sergeant Sargent]

His days were spent patrolling the boarders and socializing with the other pads. Most of the time, he didn’t talk about fatherhood. He felt happier lounging on the edge of the conversation, observing the other males the way Mollie would have (she was teaching him so much without knowing). He was starting to understand what it meant to be a father, but when he tried to imagine himself with his cubs he saw only shadows.

What kind of father will be? Would my cubs like me? Should I train them to be warriors, just as my family had trained me? At least that question seemed to have a definite answer. Vu wanted his sons to be strong, like him. If the cubs were born in the rogue lands he would have happily trained his daughters to fight as well. This wasn’t the place for rebellious daughters.

As Mollie’s pregnancy progressed Vu spent more time alone. He was not shunning her, though perhaps she felt that way and Vu did not notice; in truth he found the long walks along the boarder helpful. They gave him time to think. For most of his life Vu spent very little time thinking. Most of the hours of his days were consumed in training, so it was not surprising that he did his best thinking when blood pumped through his legs. Now that he had a future to think about for his cubs, for the first time in his life, he realized that he enjoyed having free time to ponder. That didn’t make Mollie’s pregnancy any less frightening.

After his turn on patrol ended Vu went home to an empty den. The sun was going down. Mollie should be home soon. He crawled into the den and curled up on the bed of grass they had shared to wait for her.

Now the light had almost faded from the sky. The knot of worry that tied itself in his chest almost an hour ago was growing too tight to ignore. What if something happened to her? Maybe she was having trouble getting home? A terrible thought occurred to him, that she had somehow fallen into the paws of another male, been mistaken for a kajira, and as irrational as that thought might have been it filled him with rage and fear and propelled him from his den. As he searched for her in her favorite place his wrath quickly cooled. A smile crossed his maw, for the wind was blowing her smell toward his nose, though he could not yet see her.

He hesitated, licking his maw, and lifted his head to take another sniff. Something smelled wrong. Vu flew to Mollie like a hornet, calling her name as her dark shape came into view (he was always amazed, every time he saw her, by how huge she looked). “Mollie! Are you alright?!”  

[Feral Mule]

No, she was not alright. That was the first thought that floated into her head when she heard Vu. He'd come at an awkward time, in her opinion. There was a slickness running down her backside, whimpering and panting hard, her contractions getting so much worse. Molemogi didn't know what to do. She didn't get a chance to ask anyone what happened when the children came. What she wouldn't give to have O'Tep here to talk her through it. Surly she was there for someone's childbirth.

Just as he was getting into view, Mollie saw pure white as red hot pain shot through her, causing her to gasp and curl up further, pushing on an instinct. Something was splitting her from the inside. Mentally she was blaming Vu, saying it was all his fault. But words couldn't come from her, only pained, agonized sounds. Mollie knew she'd scare Vu with these noises; and she wouldn't put it past him to hesitate to come to her aid. In fact, she wasn't sure what he could do, other than be here and talk to her while she was in pain.

Actually, that sounded really good. She could use something to distract her from the pain shooting through her spine.

With a few pushes and a big wet plop the first cub was born. Instinct told her, again, to grab the little newborn and clean it. It had to breath on its own from now and that wouldn't happen if it was covered in birthing liquids. So that's what she did. She licked it clean and hear a wheezing breath as she continued to lick the little girl. She pressed it to her stomach. It had to eat pretty soon to get warmed up from the inside, didn't it?

Panting the cramps were still there, but not as bad as when this little pale girl wanted out.  

[Sergeant Sargent]

Somehow Vu knew it was the cubs. His cubs. Questions without answers filled his mind, as black and foreboding as the Firekin on that fateful day when he almost gave his life for Mollie. Will the cubs be alright? Will Mollie be alright? Is it normal for there to be so much blood? He never thought he’d regret stepping out for a walk the day Zito had her cubs.

He stood over Mollie, nuzzling and licking her face. “It’s okay, Mollie,” he panted, breathing almost as hard as a mother in labor. “I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

How are you going to do that?

He looked around franticly, praying to the gods that there was a female somewhere who could help. Suddenly there was a wet popping sound, like a fat old lion letting loose a righteous fart. Vu looked down and saw… and saw…

EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW…

He turned his head away, quivering with nausea. Driven by wild fear, he pried open one eye and turned back to Mollie and her first cub, though he tasted vomit on the back of his tongue. The cub was… alive? Alive! Yay! Vu swallowed hard, still gasping for breath, and moved closer to the pair, lying down beside Mollie, giving her his shoulder to rest her head upon. From the look on her face he could tell more where coming. “You’re doing good, Mollie… H-he’s beautiful.”

It was a he, right?  

[Feral Mule]

She felt someone nuzzling her, heard words whispered in her ear. Or they sounded whispered over her heartbeat. She felt a mouth suckling at a n****e and then sighed heavily, eyes slipping closed when she realized Vu was finally with her. Now she had something to focus on when the rest of them came. She licked her muzzle as pain coursed through again; though not as bad as the first time.

"A g-girl..." She panted out, opening one green eye to look up at her Pad, her mate. At least he was here even if they had distanced themselves. "Little.... girl..!" She cut off as she doubled over again, tail shifting out of the way.

With more pushes and screaming, another wet plop could be heard and a second girl was born. This one, after she was cleaned and pressed beside the first, was a lot darker than her sister. As Mollie looked at her two daughters, sleep threatened to close in on her. She wanted to so, so bad. It was probably dangerous, though. Instead, she nuzzled into Vu's shoulder, tense and ready for what was next. How many more...? her mind asked, teasing her to say it.  

[Sergeant Sargent]

A girl? Vu couldn’t believe it. There was too much going on to process his feelings right now, so he just nuzzled Mollie and tried to help her stay focused. Was that tremble in his voice from fright or joy? “A girl. That’s wonderful, Mollie. That’s really wonderful!”

Just then another cub popped out. Bile rose into his throat again. He closed his eyes tight and waited until Mollie finished cleaning the cub to look. “She looks like a cross between you and my mom,” he chuckled weakly.

If Imara could see this…  

[Feral Mule]

So this one looked like his mother and her. Mollie couldn't help but give a weak smile at that and a little laugh. That was something so sweet for him to say, considering she'd never met his mother before. Come to think of it, she never met any of his family before. Nor did he meet hers. She attempted to press her face against his to tell him something, but pain once again sent her over the edge and she hissed out.

This one felt so much worse than the first two; as if the cub was bigger. And sure enough, pushing, plopped, and cleaning, and it was their first son who had caused his mother so much pain. Only, this boy looked so different from either of his parents. Something seemed odd about him, but special non the less.

Panting, she whined a bit in discomfort at the mess pooling around her backside, soaking into the grass. "T-that.... that's your boy," she whispered softly, not even knowing if he could hear her.  

[Sergeant Sargent]

“He’s beautiful, too,” Vu whispered, licking Mollie’s brow to keep her cool. How could he feel so tired when she was doing all the work? He felt run down from watching her. He sighed and glanced down at the three cubs suckling at Mollie’s belly.

“By the gods… look how tiny they are. I don’t ever remember being that small. Zito’s cubs were even smaller.”  

[Feral Mule]

So that was it? Three. Three beautiful cubs. She nestled closer to her mate and gave a contented little smile. She never wanted to go through the pains of child birth again. It was worse than anything she'd ever felt. Just as she was going to drift off, another wave of pain made her cry out and look back. A fourth child slid from her loins followed by what most would call the after birth.

Grunting and whining, she grabbed the cub, groomed it and discovered that this one was just as odd looking as it's brother. But this one was a girl as well! Something told her to eat the afterbirth, some unknown voice in her head, so that's what she did. Of course Mollie found it disgusting, but it had to be done. So far her instinct hadn't driven her wrong.

Settling back down with no energy left, Mollie glanced down at the four cubs getting their fill. Still damp and sticky, it would call for another bath later. But now, she was so tired.  

[Sergeant Sargent]

This time Vu almost lost it. He turned away and made a dry wrenching sound as Mollie devoured her afterbirth, barely managing to keep his food down. That was horribly disgusting! If he had spent time looking for another female for his harem he wouldn’t have had to endure all this sticky business. But despite the storm rolling in the pit of his gut, he was excited to see his first cubs emerge into the world. Vu looked to the stars, the domain of great kings, and silently thanked his ancestors for seeing him through this eventful night. He felt like he’d been through a war.

With the last cub born, Vu lay his head beside that of his mate and joined her in catching his breath. What was left now? They would have to come up with names. He furrowed his brow and pulled his thoughts back under the reigns. No, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One step at a time.

At least being a father didn’t seem so frightening anymore. It was like jumping into a cold lake. If you stand around toeing the shore all day you shiver and get nervous. But if you climb up on a big rock and dive right into the deep end and feel the ice shooting through your veins as your head submerges beneath the waves, by the time you break the surface the rest seems easy.

“It’ll be cold soon. We shouldn’t rest for too long,” Vu whispered, nudging Mollie with his nose. They needed to get the cubs back to the den where it was warm.  

[Feral Mule]

Names were the last thing on her mind as she slowly drifted off, only to whine awake as her mate nosed her. Moving? Hah... Not any time soon. She curled up around her babies and then opened a bleary eye, staring at Vu like he'd lost his mind. Opening her mouth to say something, all that came out was a big, huge yawn and she shook her head.

"Mmmn." Was her only reply. She'd get up when she was good and ready. Right now, she just needed sleep. "Ft... Get to the den..... later..." Her voice was low and sluggish, filled with exhaustion. But soon, she drifted back off. She might as well be dead to the world.