Ever since Aurum had woken up this morning, he had been accosted by pain from his insides. At first, it had been subtle. A little jolt here, a little kick there. He figured it was nothing to worry about, imagining that the little cubs growing inside of him were just growing restless. Perhaps as restless as he was, waiting for them to finally be born so that he could welcome them into the world – and be able to move around easily again. It wouldn't have been the first time they had done this, since he had spent many a day now just lazing around on his bed, waiting for the internal battles going on near his gut to cease. It wasn't the most fun thing to experience, but it was worth it for his little ones. His and Draekon's little ones. Unfortunately, today the cubs hadn't decided to start kicking until Aurum was already downstairs, essentially preventing the proxy from making his way back up to his bedroom. He cursed softly to himself as he navigated his way around furniture in his home, pulling his heavy body up onto the couch and resting his head down. After a couple of deep, calming breaths, the angel turned his head to press his muzzle against his stomach, mumbling softly to his unborn children, "Mes bébés, s'il vous plaît allez doucement sur maman.¹" Aurum hardly ever made use of the French that he had learned as a cub – mainly due to the fact that he hadn't paid much attention when being taught – but it seemed as though the language usually soothed them. Perhaps it was the lilting syllables and gentle way he spoke it, or perhaps it was just because his voice became a bit more soft and a bit less scary when he was speaking his second language.

Unfortunately for him, it seemed as though now was not one of those occasions where the usual methods would work. Despite his gentle pleading, the kicking against his stomach only grew worse, and he groaned, burying his muzzle beneath his paws. For a while, he just stayed there, staring blankly up at the ceiling and wincing whenever there was a particularly vicious jerk in his gut. He was just waiting for it to pass, as it usually did... but this time it didn't. There was another almost violent twist in him, and he let out a yelp, quickly moving off of the couch. The pain was becoming nearly too much to handle, and he was fairly sure that this was it. He didn't have the time or the energy to get all the way up to the nursery that he had prepared for this, so he was forced to move quickly, his heart beating fast as he grabbed all the nearby blankets available, piling them up in a sort of nest in his living room. It was hardly the ideal, but he didn't have much time time think about it before he collapsed into the softness, his eyes closing briefly. He was trying to calm himself down, feeling the panic that something was going to go wrong setting in, but he wasn't given the chance to, as there was another wave of pain that could only be a contraction. Taking a deep breath, the tigon called out loudly, "K... Kaito! Roy! It's happening! Can one of you please get Selby, or Moth?" His voice rang up the stairs, the proxy unaware of whether either of his sons was actually home, before he just put his head down, taking deep breaths and focusing on the task at hand.

---

The process was, thankfully, fairly painless. Well, hardly painless, but it seemed that, by the end, all of the children were healthy, which caused relief to flood through Aurum's body. Shifting in his makeshift nest, the tigon reached out a paw to draw his cubs in close, looking them over with pure love in his one eye. The first of his children to have been born was a little girl, fairly large and colorful. She was a rather colorful cub, with a dark base coat of brown and black that faded out to white at the bottom, along with orange tiger stripes and beautiful little piebald spots. She squirmed along at Aurum's stomach, speaking occasionally in soft yowls, although not as much as the others. The angel chuckled as he leaned in, gently licking her atop the head as he mumbled, "Asvini..." He remembered the name of one of Draekon's sisters fondly, remembering the other male mentioning how he missed his family, even if things had ended badly. Hopefully he would appreciate the sentiment.

The second born was also large, the child squirming around and squeaking louder than any of them, shoving their way towards his stomach. Aurum chuckled as he inspected them, taking in the child's pelt of light cinnamon and auburn that was short now, but seemed to thicken near their neck. Nuzzling them lightly, the proxy mumbled shortly, "Chirin." He liked that name, for them. He could've sworn he remember seeing it somewhere, perhaps in one of his stories. Moving on to the next child, Aurum was thoroughly caught off guard by her appearance. Although still small, the cub had longer legs than those of her siblings, and seemed to be utterly lacking in color. Her coat was of pure white, with no spots or stripes to speak of, a marvel when one looked at the both of her parents. Still, despite this she seemed utterly fine, moving alongside her siblings without issue even as Aurum leaned in and named her, "Taegue." Yet another of Draekon's siblings, if Aurum was remembering their names correctly. He found himself wondering if his love would even be able to meet their children.

Swallowing that thought down quickly, the angel instead turned his gaze to the last child, the small runt of the litter. The child, although he squirmed and shouted alongside his brethren, was shoved around by the others, causing Aurum to huff and gently push them away from him. He only had three legs, with the fourth cutting off rather abruptly at the joint where his paw would extend from. His base pelt was a golden color, with darker patterns looping across his fur in delicate lines. Aurum was nearly overjoyed to see that the boy had wings, his feather fading in a way similar to his mother's. He would be at a disadvatange for sure, but Aurum would be sure to support him, no matter what. With this in mind, the tigon leaned in, brushing his nose over the boy's head as he mumbled, "Goldnugget." It was an unusual name, especially when compared to his siblings, but it was also a traditional one, one that Aurum's old pride would've appreciated. He might not have cared what the pride thought of him now, but he did want to carry on their legacy, if only in his one little son.

Once he was done naming all of them, Aurum placed his head back down upon the blankets surrounding him, sighing and curling his tail around his litter. The front door was wide open, mainly for the potential entry of any of the medics, but also so that other tanglers could come and see the new additions. As the proxy heard movement outside, he cleared his throat before mumbling softly, "Feel free to come in and say hello, but please be quiet. The little ones may not be able to hear yet, but I'm feeling rather tired." One could hear as much from the way he was speaking, his voice bogged down with tiredness as he laid with his children, watching over them as they became adjusted to the new world they had been thrust into.

(¹; "My babies, please go easy on mama."
[member=79]auto[/member] [member=6]TONI[/member] [member=128]Dragon-[/member] [member=6163]grimm.[/member] )

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #722227; font-size: 24px;"][color=#c16f78]— AURUM

Why? Why was he one of the ones to be called when Aurum had been in pain from... that wonderful gift known as life? He didn't bother with it, instead leaping to his feet, trying to get someone to tend to Aurum. However, it appears that someone had came to his aid. Well, okay. That was good. Kaito moved back, trying not to peer at the little cubs. What love. Did Chikage show him the same? He forces himself to smile, he'd have... little siblings, in a sense. But now he would have more people to hide KID from. Sitting down, the teen flicks his tail before it curls around his paws. "Wow, congrats, Aurum-san. They'll do just fine here."

The birthing process for the cubs had been exhausting, yet still Aurum fought to stay awake. As if the tigon was terrified that the moment he closed his eyes and allowed himself rest, his little ones would slip away from him. The draw of sleep was so intoxicating, and he was relieved when others arrived, providing welcome distractions for him to stay conscious. He chuckled softly when he heard Moth, mumbling as he glanced down at his children, "That is true... although it seems as though little Goldnugget will be outnumbered somewhat." He had a fond smile on his face as he stretched his neck out, gently pressing his muzzle to his sister's head before he continued, "Thank you... for helping." He was infinitely grateful for the feline's presence, sure that he would've been in a far more panicked state had there not been a medic nearby to help. Moth, of all people, knew what it was like to be worried over possible problems with children, so it seemed only natural that she was there for him.

The next to arrive was Alaric, a male that Aurum knew little about, but respected all the same. He didn't seem like an asshole, and he was offering congratulations, so there was hardly any reason to throw him out. Dipping his head to the other, the proxy muttered warmly, "Thank you, Alaric." He then turned his attention to Kaito, the faithful male who was like a son to him. Who would no doubt be like a big brother to the cubs currently suckling at Aurum's side, if there was anything the angel had to say about it. He smiled gently at the thief, glancing down at his children before gaining a look of fondness, "Thank you, Kaito. I'm sure they will." Once he had dealt with those that were gathered around him, Aurum once again felt the soft whispers of unconsciousness against his ear. This time he decided to listen, letting his muzzle slowly rest back down on his paws before he closed his eyes. It took little time for him to drift off, finally getting some well deserved tlc.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

Last.

The small cub was last to arrive into the cold world that nipped at him eagerly the moment he left the safety of his mother's womb where it used to hold them all. He struggled a lot more having to be lapped a few times before oxygen filled his tiny lungs, they would let out several mewls. The cub was born different than his siblings, it wasn't just the fact that they were much smaller than the rest but he was missing a leg it seemed. Whether or not the missing limb would effect the young boy would have yet to be seen. Goldnugget was the name given to him by his mother. It was different than the names of their sisters. The feeling the of their mother's snout bringing comfort to him when he was being shoved around by his sisters, he let out tiny mewls. It was long before the cub found his own spot though he was much too tired to nurse, he lay there close to his mothers belly. [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]