and the stars in their orbits shone pale through the lightof the brighter, colder moon

This was not how it was supposed to happen; that was the mantra that kept repeating over and over in her head, though honestly she hadn't exactly had a plan. Nadya hated hospitals so only had a vague plan on the whole labor thing. Everyone always thinks they have more time. The ripples of pain were quite unbearable and made Nadya question on why sane people would actually choose to have kids if this was the pain they experienced every time. Tobias' meltdown was barely a blip on her radar as she focused on the overwhelming need to push. Nadya closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her crossed arms that leaned against the tree. It was only when she felt...something that Nadya reached down and caught the first newborn as she pushed it out.

Nadya hurriedly wrapped the screaming infant in Tobias' confiscated shirt that offered some protection from the chill of the night air. It was so tiny she was very much afraid it would break but there it was covered in womb gunk with its face scrunched up screaming its anger at the world. She tried to keep ahold of the infant as the pain that had ebbed away crept up on her again. It was then that she finally registered Tobias' presence again. He had come close enough to hold on to her arm in not just concern but pure confusion. At any other time in the pregnancy Nadya probably would have taken pity or scolded him lightly but her own pain only caused the flare of irritation that had been present before. Nadya's gaze narrowed in his direction, shooting a jolt of pain to his mind in frustration and transference of her own pain. At least it was brief as her previous demeanor took back over with a heavy breath. "I'm not dying. I need you-" The bones along her back cracked loudly as she doubled over in pain from both the labor and her body trying to force a shift then replacing itself. Nadya pushed the small bundle into Tobias' chest until he took it. "Be careful. Dry her off and just hold her. Don't put her back on the ground." The last thing they needed was the baby not just getting sick from the cold but from picking something up because it was covered in dirt.

With her hands free once more, Nadya stripped off her own shirt this time in preparation for the next baby. It was going to take some creative thinking on how to get back home naked and with two newborns without drawing attention. It was a little harder to concentrate on pushing the second one as she was concerned with Tobias having the other one. Although Nadya had attempted to teach him the basics, being careful, keeping his claws in, watching his words, etc it was still natural for a first time mom not to trust anyone else. There was nothing she could do about it as Nadya delivered the second infant in all of the same screaming glory coming from it. Nadya wrapped the equally as small infant up as she tried to catch her breath and lowered from her kneeling position to sit on her legs instead on her discarded pants. After taking a moment to settle the infant down she looked back at Tobias. "Here are the kittens Tobi. This is the boy," She indicated the one in her arms who had ceased his ear splitting crying. "You have the girl."

As her body came down from the pain and the hormones now rushed through her system to help with bonding she was now able to relax. Tobias had obviously been traumatized by the event but perhaps with a little encouragement and explanation he would understand everything was ok now. "They are our babies. We have to protect them...take care of them." Nadya surveyed Tobias carefully how he was handling the baby girl to ensure he wasn't going to squeeze her too tightly.