Eclipse paces nervously outside of the shelter created by several fallen trees. He hears yowling from the inside, obviously coming from his mate. Barely able to sit still, Eclipse looks over at the main clearing. Azure was smiling with her eyes closed, watching over Fang and his older brother, Swift as they played. Fang was hiding in the snow with his white coat, while his older brother was cuffing snow over him.
Since Eclipse and Aurora had been temporarily sheltered at the small community, Fang had opened his eyes, and had began to leave his mother's side more often. He had been born a week after his brother, who was born prematurely and matured quickly, however, Azure's entire litter, except Fang and Swift, had died before they were even born.
The shiny umbreon hurriedly tried to shake that thought off as fears filled his mind. Then he looked back at the tree shelter, ears pricked. The yowling had stopped. What remained was the high pitched squeals of kits.
He sprints at his top speed over to the shelter, and almost crashes into the trunk of a fallen tree trying to stop himself. Eclipse scrambles to his feet inside the shelter, and stares down happily at his mate amd her kits. His happiness turned to worry as he noticed the number of the kits. As soon as he turned to the medic, the persian who had been helping deliver the kits seemed to recognize his fears, and began to comfort him.
"They all seem strong and healthy, although a few are noticeably smaller than the rest."
Eclipse turns his gas to the kits. Nine kits. In his eyes, they all seemed perfect, and the loud, deep purr coming from Aurora reassured him that his mate could see absolutely nothing wrong with any of her babies. However, she had her tail wrapped around eight of them, excluding a rather small eevee that was stumbling around clumsily towards Azure's hind leg. Eclipse's mixture of happiness and nervous excitement grew to a feeling of uneasiness and longing. The kit wasn't like the others. This kit had a glistening silver coat, and the kit's tail tip and neck fur was a pretty, pale blue. He picked the mewling kit up, and pulled it closer to him, wrapping his tail around it as he looked up at Aurora.
She returned a glance of worry and sadness, but her tone seemed authoritative. "You know we can't keep it. We're only here for a short while, and when we find a home, it's coat..."
Eclipse did nothing but stare. His stomach felt weak as the terrible memories of his childhood as a shiny rushed back into his mind, and he began feeling like the helpless kit he used to be, doing everything to ensure the survival of not him, but his companion. He looks down helplessly at the sparkling kit. "I'll find someone willing to nurse it." Eclipse looks up at his mate seriously and defiantly. Sensing the determination in his voice, Aurora closes her eyes and sighs.
"Fine, but it'll just make it harder later..." Eclipse picks the lit up and places it against Aurora's belly, and watches with a look of uncertainty in his face. He lays down next to his mate, the kits in between them, and he drops his head to the ground, staring at the mass bundle of brown-and occasionally a flash of silver- Fur.
