Nearly two months have passed since Charlene, Eva, and I went on our annual camping trip in Northern Minnesota. While we were gone, I ended up mating with both my sisters while they were in their ninetales forms and receptive, getting both of them pregnant in the process. Both Eva and Charlene are nearly full-term with the pups I provided them with, each of them proud to be carrying vulpix pups.
In her womb, Eva carried fraternal twin female pups, ones that she decided to name Autumn and Kari. Meanwhile, Charlene turned out to be even more productive. Her uterus was filled with four vulpix pups, two identical twin females, another non-identical female, and the only male pup I produced between my two sisters this time around.
It was late in the afternoon and the weather outside was typical for northeastern Mason Island standards in Late March. It was about 70 degrees outside, with bright sunshine, and the foliage starting to show color again as the winter came to an end. Compared to the winters in Minnesota, the winters in Mason Island were rather tame, we didn't get much in the way of snow in Familia and the air temperature almost never dropped to or below zero. It was more like a winter in a place such as Alabama or Tennessee than a winter that Charlene and I were much more familiar with.
Things were a bit busy on this Friday afternoon at the house. Eva was up in her room having a nap after she spent all morning out with Melissa at the Familia/Twin Lakes Shopping Center. They spent the morning shopping for things that Autumn and Kari would need once they came into the world. At the same time, Charlene was busy in our kitchen, preparing a dinner consisting of ham mixed in with scalloped potatoes and cheese sauce like our mother made sometimes when we were living at home. In addition to the pending birth of the four pups she was carrying, another important event would soon be happening in our household. Our oldest pups, Eddie and Ellie, were about to turn 10 years old. We already planned on having a birthday party for the two of them, much like the one Charlene and I got when we turned 10. Although, when Sis and I turned 10 it also happened to be our "golden birthday", but that wouldn't be the case for Eddie and Ellie...they had a couple more decades before they reached that milestone.
While Charlene was busy in the kitchen, preparing some fresh vegetables to go along with our dinner, I came up behind my twin sister and put my hands around her large pregnant belly, rubbing it a little bit. "So, how are you doing, Sis? Are the pups behaving themselves in there, or does it feel like they're about ready to come out?", I asked while touching my sister's belly, causing Charlene to briefly stop what she was doing, placing a hand on one of my own.
"They're fine...I think it'll be a few more days at least before they're ready to see their mommy and daddy from the outside", Charlene commented before letting out a sigh, thinking about something that happened to us in the past. "You know, the more I think about how warm and frisky our little ones are inside me, the more I can't help thinking about Valerie. I really miss her", Charlene added as I leaned in closer to her and rubbed my nuzzle along her neck.
"I know what you mean...I miss having her around too...and Satoshi", I answered back as I tried my best to fight my emotions on the inside. The relationship that Charlene and I shared with Valerie ended under tragic circumstances, and along with her went one of the first pups that I helped create. Valerie's memory would live on, though, as one of our identical twin daughters was to be named Valerie in her honor, with her identical twin sister being named Kirara (after Valerie's cousin, who is alive and well and now living in Familia*). As for their other sister and their brother, Charlene and I picked out names for them as well. I thought about naming our son Satoshi, but Charlene wanted to give him a name that was more personal to both of us, so we decided to name him Marshall after one of our grandfathers. The other female pup was to be named Victoria, though Charlene and I both agreed to call her Vicki.
