The fruits of her labor
Special thanks to my helper, critique guy, formatter, proofer, etc: KanohaNinja
Amongst the roots of a great tree a lone grey wolf lay with her back to the trunk. Here it comes, the she wolf told herself, she felt her swollen abdomen begin to contract beneath her paw. Breathe..... he he he he he........ just breathe through it...... ho ho ho ho ho ho...... as the contraction subsided she let out what little breath she still had in her, hooooooooo. She cleared her head with a few breaths through her nose. Although the summer had been surprisingly mild, her fur on her face was already beginning to mat from the sweat, her light grey fur was speckled with darkened strands of wet hair.
Her name was Calleis, being a single cub; her parents had thought she was the most beautiful creature in the world so naming her after the Greek god of beauty had seemed fitting. Her second litter now moved within her, their size having greatly altered her figure. Her previous litter was two pups, but she was sure that she had felt three sets of paws kicking her in the past months. Struggling slightly, she leaned forward as much as her belly would allow and tried to work a knot out of her back. She soon abandoned her efforts and shifted her position to a slightly more comfortable one. Her mother had always said that nature would find a way to balance itself out. Calleis chuckled at the thought of that, if nature had wanted to balance itself out, these pups would just slide out of her like a fish caught in an un-trained hand.
The past 9 months had been a rollercoaster of emotions for her. To put it simply, she had chosen the wrong mate. Once she had felt her pups first movements and confirmed her pregnancy, he simply left. She chased him down and confronted him, both confused and panicked, her past mate had stayed with her at least until the pups were born and weaned. He said that as far as he was concerned, his job was done, it was her responsibility to raise them. She had sunk to her knees and began to sob; he merely shrugged and left her there in the forest all alone. So many nights of sleep lost over his actions, she had cried herself to sleep every night for the rest of the month. She cursed him, she swore under her breath every time the thought of him crossed her mind. If she ever saw him again she swore she would cut off his manhood with her claws and spare other females the misfortune she now fou- AH!
She let out a surprised yelp as the next contraction caught her completely off guard. She threw her right paw over a nearby tree root and dug her claws into it, her left cradling her belly as if it could stop the pain that was washing over it. he! he! he! he! he! ho! ho! ho! ho! ho! aaaaaaaagh! It had given her an extra twist at the end causing a few tears of pain to escape from her eyes. She moaned and raked her claw into the tree, why did her body feel like it was tearing itself apart?
As the pain subsided she felt her pups moving within her. She let out a sigh and smiled weakly. She began slowly stroking the sides of her distended midsection, gentle cooing to them,
"Dont worry my babies, mommys here........"
She felt someones paw kick against her own.
"No no, youre not hurting mommy, these arent tears of pain, they are tears of joy."
Tears of joy and pain mingled and fell from her eyes as her body was seized by another spasm. Completely forgetting her breathing she threw her head back, bared her teeth and tried to contain a shout. Once the pain had passed a small sob escaped her mouth.
She felt them fluttering inside her and resumed cooing.
"This cant be any fun for you guys either right?"
As all 3 began to squirm, her belly seemed to shake in agreement.
"Thats what I thought, my body has cared for you all these months, it sheltered you, fed you, kept you warm....... and now suddenly it wants you out. But its ok, thats the way its supposed to be, soon youll all be in my arms and I can give you all the love and care you deserve".
Her contractions seemed to lessen slightly and she was able to reflect upon her situation. Granted her mate had blown a crater of pain in her heart, but nature had provided good fortune as to correct his misdeeds.
Once she had accepted her mate was gone, she had no choice but to find a suitable location in which a single mother could bear and raise her pups alone. In the months she traveled she had found several possible den sites, but all had required her partners help to make them a suitable home for a family.
In her eighth month and on the verge of giving up she stumbled upon a long forgotten oasis. She had been eating berries off a bush bordering an especially thick grove of trees in a forest. Their great roots had woven together in sort of a misshapen wall; she feared she would have to go around it. She had pushed her paw in for berries one last time and discovered a space behind the bush. Upon further examination she found an opening in the roots that had long since been over run by the bushes. The winding path through the trees was well worn, though the layers of leaves and unbroken twigs suggested it hadnt been used in quite some time. Finally she came upon a meadow surrounded by the wall of roots the sunlight was at such an angle that its rays cast an almost heavenly aura about the clearing. What caught her eye first was a small patch of light pink flowers at the base of a small hill; the slightest breeze brought their scent to her nose and wrapped her tired body in its fragrant grasp. She had lain about them in pure bliss and fallen into a peaceful slumber. Upon awakening refreshed and pleasantly scented, she walked up the hill for a better view, she had not gone more than 10 paces before she could see over it and she was left in awe at the sight before her. A rolling sea of lush grass lay before her; the wind sending ripples across it, small patches of the pink flowers dotted the sea, as if the gods had carelessly thrown them about. She picked some and found it to smell fresh and clean. As she reached the wall of trees to the south she found patches of various berries. Overjoyed with her findings thus far she turned and looked around more, to the east, to the west. But when her gaze wondered north, her breath was stolen.
Towering over the rest of the forest was a single tree. Its limbs shadowed nearly all the other trees underneath it. Truly it was an impressive sight. Amazed she made her way over to it. She was surprised when it took her nearly half an hour to reach its base.
Even more surprised was she when she realized how big it actually was. The trunk was massive, too big for her to guess. Not to mention its height, the lowest limb being at least 200 meters from the ground.
She was insignificant compared to this massive life form in front of her.
The greatest treasure however, lay near the base of the tree. She found what appeared to be a cave that someone had dug beneath one of the larger roots; she descended into the earth with caution, but was relieved to find it long since abandoned. It was in the shape of a giant L, a small slope led down from the surface and then a long hallway of sorts led back. She found the roof to be thousands of roots, no thicker than her finger, woven together like a blanket. It was about 4 paces wide and 7 long, more than enough to suit her needs. Later that day, as she lay against the tree, stroking her growing cubs and watching the sunset, a few tears of happiness escaped her eyes,
"This is going to be our home now my babies", she whispered to them softly. "Its been a hard road, but were here now".
Then, for the first time in many months, all 4 of them fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Those same tears of happiness escaped her eyes now as she stroked her unborn cubs.
"Its time for your journey to end my dears and for your new life to begin. Ive carried you all these months and now the time is nearing when I can hold you in my arms........"
She flinched as someone kicked her uncomfortably and as the contractions quickened and intensified. Breathe....... he he he he he.... just breathe...... ho ho ho ho ho ho......
In the days prior to now she had felt something inside her. She wasnt sure where or how, but she knew that they would arrive soon. In anticipation of that time and despite her encumbered figure, she had managed to gather many armloads of the grass and form a thick carpet in a corner of the den. She found however that giving birth within the den would be difficult. She had decided to give birth outside and then later move to the den. Protected from the elements by the tree, she now she lay in a formation of roots in the shape of a U. Like the den, she had lined it with grass, now she felt as if she was laboring amongst the clouds; their comfort eased her aching body. Her contractions had started late last night, but were gentle enough to allow her to sleep until this morning. The rising sun above the tree cast its golden rays before her, covering the meadow in a light hue, she lay in the protection and shadow of the tree as her labor progressed. She gasped as someones head pressed lower within her; it was time to meet her first cub. She lifted her legs and braced them against the notches she had carved into either side of the U. As she felt the first one beginning their descent into the world she curled herself around her great belly and began to push
7 hours later
Calleis was still amongst the roots, her head laid against the ground, she panted from exhaustion, her body soaked in perspiration and her breath came out in shallow gasps. Deep claw marks covered the roots that her grasping hands had found when she had lain against them. Oh how she had wished she could have squeezed someones hand instead.
She felt someones small wet nose poking her now greatly flatted belly, she propped her head in her hand and gazed down at the fruits of her labor. 3 tiny, blind, helpless pups lay next to her, their tiny limbs trying to work themselves as close to her warm body as possible. She blushed and smiled, their birth hadnt been easy, but it was over now and she could finally hold them. For the time being, they seemed content to sleep. She pulled them close, lay her head in her arm and slowly stroked them to sleep. As her body relaxed and her eyes began to close, three soft, loving words escaped her lips...........
I love you
END