A lark. That was all it had been. One moment of weakness, a second to allow herself a moment's reprieve. She'd indulged her demon's lust, and ended up with a belly full of cubs. During the Gestation, things had been hard for the dual-eyed lioness. Watching from the sidelines as her students trained on verbal instruction, criticizing everything...Telling her mother and fathers about her pregnancy. The cubs would add to the Pride, and outside blood was good, but before they were born, the mother-to-be found herself resenting her own children. The crimson granddaughter of the old Aranshale's brother was resigned to a sedentary style of living until the children that wriggled within gave her a moment's peace.
Then came the night. The moon had been full, and there had been a chill over the land, and the stars sparkled, the eyes of the Gods staring down at them. Her own two-toned gaze stared upwards, as pain surged through her muscled form. She could feel the contractions pushing themselves through her, the small forms beginning to move from her womb, and into the world. Her claws dug into the fresh soil, but she looked up still, watching the stars and moon. Somewhere...Her Grandmother was watching her...."I will be fine...I will endure..." No Yana'hine....She could do this. She could manage this on her own. She was a strong lioness, after all. "I hope you are there, Grandmother....I...could not do this without you....I will make you proud, though." This was purred as the first cub rolled from her. Dark colors. Good.
A smile split Sio's maw, and she slowly leaned down, her tongue carefully brushing a black head as a pitiful mewl rose from the now breathing cub. As the firstborn moved to suckle, pain ripped through her once more, causing a loud cry to extract itself from the lioness. She'd never felt such a thing...It hurt more than getting her pelt torn, or teeth digging into her flesh. Leaning her head between her forelegs, she tried not to let more pained noises come, as the remaining cubs came from her. A small white one....The moonlight shone off her fur, and Sio smiled kindly. Beautiful...Fur as white as the moon itself...Pulling the little one close, she licked over the pelt, encouraging breath and suckling. She was quickly followed by a little crimson and blue female. Seeing her family markings on the little one's pelt made her heart skip a beat.
The blue of her great-uncle, the red of her Grandfather...She was perfect. And then the final baby. A mix of her mother, and her own line, one that made her tail swish happily. Pulling her four children closer, she carefully allowed them to feed themselves, tongue grooming new fur, carefully caring for the babes she'd brought into this new world. As she saw it, Having her cubs beneath the moon, beneath the stars. It was her way of ensuring that her Grandmother's spirit could see the Great-Grandcubs she would never get to see now. Sighing heavily, she watched the small ones squeal at each other, and curl together into a small ball of warm bodies. Gently wrapping her paws, and tail, around them, Siochana's gaze turned back to the heavens.
"I only pray you see them as I do, Grandmother....Even a Na'artue....It doesn't matter...They are my precious little ones...I will teach them as you taught me, and I hope that they make you smile as they make me smile..." Her heart warmed with each tiny rumble, every small purr, every tiny breath and heartbeat. It brought her knowledge that she was no longer alone. Not that she had been to begin with. One thought struck her that brought her to laugh, quietly, "Oh, Grandmother. I wish you could be here still, to hear these Cubs call Papa Tavar Grandfather. I won't lie, I quite look forwards to his reaction of being a grandfather so soon. And mother....She'll be surprised, I have no doubt. I hope you don't mind this....Me talking to you like this. I miss you so much...I feel close to you." Something in Siochana told her that somewhere...Somehow, Hakuna'jina still watched.
Even if it was from the stars, or from some distant place that she didn't know of....Whatever the Gods had ordained. The Lioness had her own belief that spirits lingered after death, and she hoped that Hakuna was no exception. A mewl rose from the first born, as red paws began to drag her from her pile of siblings, along the cave floor. Chuckling, Sio picked up the little explorer gently, setting her back with the others, "Sleep, little one....You'll be meeting your family when you're strong enough. You and your sisters." Sisters....All girls. New Females to carry on the proud Sparda lineage. Something about that made her Demon ROAR in pride, and Sio herself let a purr rumble through her.
Something about this moment was perfect. The stars blessed her birth, and the moon shone upon the new demons, and the one little slave, that now were born. It was only fitting that they were born under the full moon's light. Demons in truth, her little ones. Fit to be brought before her mother and fathers...before her Grandfather even. This was her legacy, here. The way she saw it, she could let her Mother care for the cubs when she needed to go to teach her students. They would not do too much longer without a good workout. They needed reminding that they weren't allowed to slack the way they had been lately. Such a shame. However, for the evening, she was worn. The birth of her babies had taken its toll, and she was laying her head back down on her paws, not even bothering to move them further back into the cave.
No...She had to let herself sleep....Now. Sleep, to regain her strength....
"Good night, Grandmother....I love you."
