Clan Kittens

Next Spring…

Shara was very uncomfortable. She knew her time was near. Marche, Devon, and Eldena had taken her back to Eruyt and were staying with her until the kittens were born. Resa had tried to kill Dena again, but the young Viera defended herself this time. Nobody was going to make her miss the birth of Shara's twins!

"Marche, I don't feel so well," Shara moaned. She laid her head on the Hume's shoulder while he rubbed her swollen belly.

"The kittens aren't coming, are they?" Marche asked.

Shara nodded. "I think so. Eldena is with my mother. Could you go get them for me? I have a little time. It has only begun," She whispered. Marche got up and went to get the two Viera women.

Eldena seemed to sense Shara needed her, and knew immediately when Marche ran in what was going on. Kim went to Shara while Dena gathered supplies. She had brought a few potions and such in case there were complications. These were Shara's first kittens, and a lot could happen.

"This is so exciting! The kittens are almost here, and I'm so glad I get to see! Nobody else loves me like Shara!" Dena exclaimed. Kim wanted her to calm down. She was excited too, because these were her first grandkittens, but she didn't show it. She wanted Shara to stay calm, and that would be much easier if her attendants were calm.

"Mother, can we make an exception? These may be Marche's kittens, and I want him to be with me," Shara pleaded.

Kim shook her head. "You are a Viera, Shara. You know the rules. You chose to return to the Wood. If you had stayed in the outside world, nobody would care if your mate was by your side. My mate is never with me when I have kittens, only my sisters and one of the healers just in case," she said. She looked kind of sad. She knew Shara wanted nothing more than to have Marche with her.

Eldena and Kim helped Shara go out to a secluded area in the Wood, and Kim began casting spells that would hide the Viera, out of fear of the Reena-Kaana threat. The big dogs would smell Shara's blood and would be drawn in at the prospect of a meal. Kim had powerful magic, so she could possibly hold off a small pack of Reena.

Shara sat against a tree, pain wracking her body. Kim sat down next to her and rubbed her ears, trying to soothe her. She gave Shara a potion that was supposed to lessen the pain. Eldena stood at attention, ready to do anything Kim asked of her at a moment's notice.

"This is going to take a few hours, I believe," Kim said.

"I'm scared," Shara said in a quiet voice.

Eldena sat down with Shara and Kim, "You'll be fine, Shara. Kim and I will make sure everything goes well," she said, "and remember: I am a Red Mage, I know Cure, so if you get injured giving birth, I can heal you. Kim told me that sometimes women get injured in childbirth…Viera especially, so that's one of the reasons I felt I had to be present."

Marche was worried about Shara. Devon had gone off to find his mother Diana since he hadn't seen her since he was a kitten and left Marche alone with a number of Viera women.

Resa approached the Hume. For once, she didn't seem to be enraged. "The Wood…she is calm today," The Viera Leader said.

"That's good, isn't it?" Marche asked.

"Good, yes. Odd, yes," Resa replied, her ears twitching, "She feels Shara's presence, she feels the presence of the kittens as well. Every Viera is a child of the Wood, but Shara has angered her…yet she does not hold it against Shara? I do not understand it."

"You don't seem to like Shara very much," Marche said.

Resa frowned, "A Viera who leaves the Wood is Viera no longer," she said. She walked off. Marche didn't understand what she had said, but most of it didn't seem bad.

Shara cried out as another contraction hit her. Kim felt the very Wood try to comfort her daughter, but she didn't know why.

"Her contractions are getting close together," Kim whispered.

"Why isn't the potion working?" Eldena asked Kim.

"It is. It doesn't eliminate the pain, it merely lessens it significantly. Shara? Get ready to push!" Kim exclaimed.

Shara stared hard at her mother, "I do what my body tells me to do. I know my cues," she hissed.

"I'll chalk that up to the pain," Kim said.

Shara started pushing. Eldena got really interested and sat and watched while Kim went right back to rubbing Shara's long ears.

"This is so cool," Eldena squealed, "I've never actually seen a Viera kitten being born. I can see the head! Oooh! Viera ears!"

Shara grinned, but the grin contorted into an extremely pained look when she gave a powerful push. A mew was heard, and Eldena's eyes lit up.

"Mother Wood, he is so cute!" Eldena cried, picking up the kitten. Shara beamed when she saw that the kitten had blonde hair. Kim took the kitten from her and held him, still next to Shara.

"Marche's son…" Shara said, "He's going to be so happy." Another wave of pain hit her. The second kitten was on its way!

"Shara, you're doing great so far," Eldena said. Shara knew exactly what to do, instinctively, and she was strong.

Devon's mother was excited about the fact that her son could be the father of kittens. When Krista had her miscarriages, Devon had doubted he'd ever be a father, and Diana was devastated. Devon was her only son, and she had only had three kittens in her entire lifetime. Devon's sisters both wanted to have kittens someday, but they were much too young to mate, just kittens themselves. Both of Diana's daughters were even younger than Eldena. Diana had been born blind, but that didn't keep her from living a full life.

"Krista is going to be rehabilitated, mother. She was out-of-control, she wanted to take Shara's kittens, she wanted to use me to breed kittens with other female Viera so she could take them, and she was so abusive…she needed help," Devon told Diana.

"I never imagined Krista would sink so low just because she couldn't carry kittens. If she just asked one of the Viera leaders, they could have let her adopt one of the orphaned kittens we find. A number of Viera women still die in childbirth every year, and someone has to take care of the kittens," Diana said.

"Shara says if either of the kittens is mine, she's leaving it under Kim's care," Devon said.

Diana beamed, "I would like that, having my grandkitten live here, where not only Kim can take care of her, but I can too," she said.

Diana's wish was going to be granted, because Shara had given birth to a pure Viera daughter. The kitten looked a lot like her mother, but she had some of Devon's features. According to Kim, the girl's name was Kjmi. The boy kitten, being half-Viera, was not given a name by the Wood.

"You had an easy time, Shara, you are lucky," Kim said. Shara was resting, nursing her kittens. Dena was standing by, still so thrilled with the fact that she had witnessed the birth of twin Viera kits.

"They're beautiful," Shara said. Once her kittens had had their fill of milk, Kim took them and Dena helped Shara up. They had to get back to Eruyt Village and show Marche and Devon the kittens!

Marche was still pondering Resa's words when Dena and Kim came back. Kim was holding two beautiful newborn Viera, and Dena was carrying Shara. Even though she was little more than a kitten, Eldena was strong, most Viera were.

Kim went to Marche and handed him his son. Shara was conscious, but she could barely stand. Dena laid her down gently against Kim's home. Many of the Viera were watching, rather interested, and delighted at the sight of the kittens. Almost all of the Viera in the village were female, so naturally they loved kittens.

"Twins! That's rare for Viera! And they're so cute!" One of the Viera women exclaimed.

Marche looked his son over. Golden blonde fur covered the kitten's bunny ears, except at the tip, where they were brown like a lot of Viera's ears. He had flat feet, like his father, and he also had his father's eyes. Marche thought his son was just a perfect melding of Viera and Hume. He was beautiful.

Kim was with Diana. She took her friend's hand and placed it on Kjmi's head. Diana delicately ran her hand along her granddaughter's soft ears, absolutely euphoric. Even though she couldn't see the kitten, she knew Kjmi was beautiful.

Marche and Shara sat together next to Kimberly's home. Once Kjmi was old enough to be off milk, Shara was going to rejoin the clan with Marche and Eldena. The young Viera and the Hume were going to stay in the village as long as Shara was. Resa wasn't happy, but she didn't make too much of a fuss when Marche told her.

"Our son needs a name," Shara said.

Marche thought hard for a while, "How about Camden? I don't know why, I just like it," he said.

Shara smiled, "Camden and Kjmi…how wonderful," she purred.

Marche kissed Shara, "You're wonderful too, you know. All this…all we've been through? Totally worth it, even the garbage with Devon. We needed him all along too," he said.

Shara thought about Marche's words. She thought about her new kittens, her relationship with Eldena, Devon being free, and her love for Marche.

Yeah, she thought honestly, totally worth it.