A Pack Of Their Own [Smiff, Kitten]

[tazo]

Exhaustion. Agony. Despair. These were the emotions that the white wolf was feeling now. She and Autumn had escaped with their lives, sure. But at what cost? Others had died for them, died for their ability to escape. The most prominent of these, in her mind, was Fenris. Her beloved mate. He was gone now and forever. Dawn's heart hurt more now than it ever had before, and unfortunately for her it was about to get worse. "Autumn…. I'm in pain. I need to stop." The female paused, panting heavily and staring hard at the ground, trying to focus. Her gut was contracting heavily - these pups were coming now whether she wanted them to or not. She had known that she was due any day now anyway, but she hoped that the exertions of the battle they'd just escaped hadn't caused any problems. She'd very likely never be able to forgive herself… And Fenris, his dying wish had been to keep the pups safe. Had she already failed in that simple task. She whined and glanced up at Autumn, her wonderful coyote companion. If nothing else, she had kept him from meeting a too-early death. Dawn had to appreciate that in the very least.

"I...I need to find a den. Something. Anything. Help me look, Autumn." Dawn glanced around, shaking her head as fresh blood dripped from the wounds on her face. Those damned lions….they'll get what's coming to them if it's the last thing I do. For a split second a rage-filled far away look came into the wolf's eyes and her lips rose into a snarl, but then the anger was gone as the pain of another contraction washed violently over her. The soon-to-be mother growled low in her throat, trying to grit her teeth through the pain. Maybe she wouldn't even make it to a den… She hated to think that her pups might be born out in the open with little to no protection. Knowing that having them here would put them even more in danger, the she-wolf willed herslef to move forward, slowly but surely into the trees. Before too long Dawn could smell water. Avalon lake was nearby, and the source of water would be a good thing for the small group. She headed in that direction, tunnel-vision keeping her from noticing if Autumn was close by or not.

Luckily enough, a few of the trees in the area had gnarled roots that rose above the ground, and most of them formed pockets that would work well as a temporary den with just a bit of digging. Dawn would have smiled at her luck, but the pain was too great. Working quickly, the tormented female chose a large tree, one with space enough under it for both she and Autumn and her pups, and began to dig. Her strength was waning, but she would pull through. She had to. She'd promised. The soil was soft enough that it took almost no time to create a hole to worm her swollen body through. Once inside, the wolf collapsed and her true labor began.

One by one, over the course of many hours, Dawn's puppies were born. Or rather, unfortunately, stillborn. The white wolf gave birth to five pups. Only one of them survived, and Dawn's mourning howls could be heard for miles. Though it may have been foolish of her to attract the attention of potential predators, her heart was breaking all over again. She cleaned the still bodies for a while as though it would bring them back to life. Meanwhile the one who lived, her young boy Leonardo, refused for a long time to suckle at her stomach. Reluctantly leaving the stillborns to their peace, Dawn turned her attention to Leonardo. He was weak, and seemed very close to death. She didn't want him following in his siblings' paw steps. "Come my little one… You need your strength. Drink heavily now, you deserve it. You've already survived against all odds, you know… Your father would be proud of you..." It seemed like ages, but finally the young dark-furred male began to drink. He would survive. Just before Dawn felt like she would pass out from exhaustion, she mustered up her strength to call for Autumn. "Autumn? Are you out there? Please, come in now, there is plenty of room for you… I'd like you to meet the newest addition to our little group..." All Dawn could do now was rest and wait.

[kitten]

Actions. "Speech." 'Thoughts.'

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Autumn's eyes were fixed on Dawn. At that moment in time, there nothing on Earth that could have forced him to shift his gaze. She was going to have her puppies soon; that meant little brothers, or sisters! He'd never had a sibling before, and even though they'd be a year apart age-wise, he was going to make sure they'd be best friends. Friends that could never be torn apart, no matter what happened. They'd grow up together, learn together. They'd protect Dawn, their mother, together and everything would be okay. Anything would be okay considering what had just happened. He tried to keep his thoughts, too, on Dawn and only Dawn, but they kept traveling to a few recent events.

Arabella and Vagabond had both died protecting him from a lion that he was stupid enough to pick a fight with. It was his fault they were dead, all his fault. If Dawn hadn't came into the scene and asked him to flee the battle with her, he too would have died under the paws or in the teeth of that lion. If she hadn't have come, he would have faced the lion in an attempt to avenge his two teammates, even though he knew he would fail. He knew he would have failed the moment the though came into mind, watching that lion stalk towards him.

"Autumn…. I'm in pain. I need to stop. I...I need to find a den. Something. Anything. Help me look, Autumn."

Autumn nodded and quickly looked around. His heart was pounding so hard it was difficult to focus on any one thing for longer than a few seconds. He kept to Dawn's side, his eyes constantly sweeping the landscape. The scent of the lake was growing stronger, and Autumn knew he needed water, but all he cared about was finding shelter. Pretty soon, he noticed they were nearing some trees where the roots rose above the ground to create small dens. When Dawn began digging, he did too. There was no way he was going to let her do all the work. When they den was large enough, Dawn slipped inside. Unsure of what else to do, Autumn decided it was time for some water. "I'm going to the lake to get a drink. I'll be right back." He promised before padding down to the water.

He spent many hours pacing in circles. At this point, he wasn't thinking of the battle; his thoughts were on Dawn only. The young coyote nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Dawn call him, and it took a few seconds for him to recover. When he did, he was at the mouth of the den in only a few moments. The first thing he noticed were the four still puppies, but before he could get too upset, his eyes moved to the small, fuzzy black pup at Dawn's belly. A smile crept onto his lips and his tail began wagging. "What's his name?" He whispered, assuming it was a boy.