This is it...

I could feel it.

The moment they entered...

The sheer wrath that was barreling towards me could be felt, transmitted by vibrations through the stone. I sat upon my broken throne, shivering in a cold sweat. My fur was scraggy and matted as I hadn't exactly been taking good care of myself these past couple of days, and I could feel my eye twitching as the cracked doors to the throne room were knocked clear off their hinges. I flinched. In the shadow, just beyond the doorway, stood a seething mass of rage, snarling with labored breaths.

"Where is she?" he growled. His teeth gnashed as they moved, closing at irregular intervals, as if grinding meat between them.
I shook with terror, of a different kind than the type Griffin exuded. This was unnatural, uncanine, or was it, exactly thus. The being standing in front of me was like a primal force, direct and unyielding. I thought I was ready for this, though I had nothing left to lose, but then nothing became everything, and everything boiled down to my miserable, cowardly life.

"I-I... I don't know..." I thought I was ready to die, but now, I wasn't so sure. "She could be d-dead, escaped with the crew, or, maybe, s-she wasn't here in the f-first place." I squeaked, sudden tears rolling off of my glassy eyes. I clutched the sides of my head, then gulped, swallowing the pit in my throat. "PLEASE! I don't care what you do with me, just... don't let my people pay for my mistakes any more than they already have." Hot tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't bear to look him in the face. He snarled, padding back and forth on all fours, sniffing about as if to track her scent. Then suddenly, he got on his hind legs. Nose pointed to the air, he stood taller than even Ringo. I didn't think that was even possible. Or maybe it was because I felt so small?

Suddenly, with a surge of motion, he went over to the far wall and reeled back his fist, memories of the den recalled the layout. If he was as strong as rumored to be, he would burst into the tunnel that led to the execution grounds. Right then, my life suddenly hinged on where that cat Elsweyr died, rather than the fact that she was dead to begin with.

*CRACK*

The wall went down like a tree against an ax. The flood of stale scents was overwhelming, he was bound to catch her scent in countless others. To my amazement, he went the opposite way, to the den's exit. Just what was he hoping to find? What was he looking for. For the moment, I was relieved. Though foolish, I held on to some slim prayer that there may be some way out of this. Do I dare hope? Or would it just be stolen away and add another wound to my soul before death claimed it? It didn't matter, it was out of my paws now, but the idea that everything balanced on what happened to a single, seemingly insignificant life grated on my nerves. I was used to controlling the outcome, not being swept away by it.

"Is anyone in there?" I heard a voice from the doorway. Rather than respond, I simply sat there in silence, gazing distantly at the hole that had be punched through the solid stone wall. "We're here to help!" The voice called again. I slowly turned my head to face the newcomer, tears having stained the fur on my cheeks, to find a particularly large... wolf, wearing a robe. He had silver fur, and moved with impeccable grace. This had to be Aoi. I simply sat there speechless, still quivering. He looked around for something, what I do not know, before training his eyes on me. "Are you the only one left here?"

His voice had a strange, calming effect, settling my nerves enough for me to muster a reply."You mean alphas? They've all either died or fled." I choked out.

"Damn, so Eol got to them already... mind telling me why you're still here? You must have been through hell."

"Hmm? Eol? Is that the one who came through before?"

"I'm afraid so, he's looking for the alpha. I hope it's not too late to find him."

I hung my head. "I'm the alpha of this den, and as of yet, 'Eol' has no blood on his paws."

His ears perked up. "You mean he... I see. Well just sit tight for a few hours, the relief team's on their way, if you don't mind though, we need to use this room as an improtu med ward."

"Do what you want... just take care of my people."

"Thank you, rest assured, once the relief team's here, your clan's in good hands." I was so relieved I finally broke down, burying my face in my paws as I wailed. "Easy there... Ubi, give her some attention, afterwards get the rest of the survivors in here for treatment and feeding, I'll treat you to some apple pie later. First things first though, I need to make sure Eol doesn't do any damage.You think you'll be okay from here?"

"Leave it to me!" Another somewhat smaller dog came over, his tail wagging happily behind him. Aoi walked off, while Ubi approached me to care for me. As if I deserve such kindness.

"Um, excuse me..." He said a little nervously, though I'm not sure the reason behind his apprehension.

"Yes?" I sniffled.

"What exactly happened to the other alphas?"

"Dead... mostly. The rest ran off, maybe five or so got away. They're gonna come back, and anyone left in here is dead when they do."

He looked down, as if pondering something. "Did Griffin kill them?" I said nothing, simply nodding as an answer. "Do you have any idea where he is now?"

"Down the well."

"What well?"

"The thing this place is named after. I don't know much about it other than what Ringo told me. It's several thousand years old, and it goes all the way down." Oh gosh, Ringo... I felt the tears coming again.

"Down to where?" Ubi asked. I didn't really feel like talking much, but the way he spoke, and his attitude in general made me feel obligated to open up to him.

"The underworld. Into the river of pain." His eyes sparkled with shock

"The underworld? But, isn't that where the dead go? How can there be a well that leads to the underworld?" He was like a child, asking so many questions. I let out a pathetic laugh, trying to find humor in my position was a meager hope at best.

"Because it's how Ringo got out. He dug it himself."

"Who's Ringo?"

"He was... he was..." I broke down bawling again. He sat down next to the throne, stroking my fur gently,

"Was he one of the alpha's you were... sweet on?"

I gave him a look of sheer disgust. "Oh.. oh gods no!" Though, I couldn't help but smile just a little at the thought of it. I quickly returned to my somber mood. "He was the one who raised me."

"I... I'm sorry to hear that." His attention was called away to a pair squabbling over food. "Excuse me..."

I watched as he wandered over to stop the arguement, and it made me wonder, 'Just what had I done to deserve such kindness from a stranger?' The one before was a mass of rage, while this one had a calm sensibility about him as he waded through the havoc, as though the world itself couldn't move him, and he gazed around with something akin to childlike wonder.

I watched as he stopped their bickering with nothing more than a cold glare, and felt shivers go up my spine as well. He took a diamond, split it in half with his jaws, and served it frosted to the two other dogs as equal halves before turning his attention back to me, the air suddenly bouncing back to the warmth that it had a moment before. He took another diamond, smaller, and handed it to me, saying "Here, you're hungry."

I looked to the shining gem in his paw and shook my head. "Give it to them." I motioned in a random direction. It's wasted on me."

"Take it, you need it."

I growled, wincing as I looked at the gem. My stomach growled as well. In the end, it was louder, so I snatched up the sparkling stone and swallowed it whole. I turned to look at him. "Just... why?"

He looked at me with liquid blue eyes, shimmering, inquisitive, kind. "Because no one deserves to be hungry, silly."

I sat there, looking down again. "If you knew what kind of person I was, you wouldn't be saying that."

He pulled a grin wider than any dog I had ever seen smile before and beamed. "If you knew what I had done before this, you'd run." Given what I've been through, and the fact that I'm still here, I doubt that, but nevertheless.... "Aoi taught me that it doesn't matter what you'd done, who or what kind of person you are, but what you do next."

"And what can I do next?" I snapped back. "Have Eol kill me because his friend is dead? Tell Gilda the father of her child is in hell? Try and aplogize to my people for everything I've put them through?" I let out a a depressed sigh. "It was... all going to be so perfect... A simple plan, and everything would come together, and there'd finally be peace... And then Griffin took everything I had, all my hopes for the future, and turned them to rubble because I pushed him too far." After all, if I hadn't done this, we wouldn't be in this situation." Sometimes... people don't deserve a second chance."

"You know what? Griffin's an asshole." Ubi began. "You know why? Because no one should be left thinking that they don't deserve a second chance. Our Whole family's made of second chances!"

"Tss." I scoffed. "Must be nice."

"Uh huh! It is! You can join it if you like." He replied earnestly. His he dense? Still, it'd be a lot better than my current future.

"That.... sounds... nice. But maybe we should wait till after Eol finds out what happened to Elsweyer. He did give me a death threat after all."

"You don't need to worry about that." He grinned and flexed his slender forearms. "After all, I've beaten Eol lots of times in sparring." I looked at the happy go lucky hound like he was a moron. This guy's beat the hulking rage monster? "It's true! 85 and 0!" I couldn't help but snicker. His positive attitude was infectious.

"What's your name by the way?" I had already heard it, but I wanted a proper introduction.

"Ubi Tzaimied dul White Dust Diamont" He said with practiced fluency. He must have to say that a lot.

"Uh.... Ubi for short?"

"Mhhmm!" He nodded.

"Im Fia."

He looked across the group of survivors, the remainder of my clan, "Well Fia, do you mind giving me a hand? You are their alpha, so you should probably say some encouraging words to them!"

"I suppose." It's the least I can do. After all, they still look to me for guidance, even though I'm not fit to give it anymore. I stood tall. "Listen up! Aoi of clan Nanashi is here to provde relief. Cooperate with them. Do what they say. It'll make things easier later on."
GriffinNorth: Most of those milling about stopped to listen, with a few, namely those that had been military, still saying 'By your will.' as they always had, clinging to the way things had once been. "At least, this way, they still have a future."

"There, now was that so hard?"Ubi asked innocently.

"More than you know." I huffed.

"Puppy steps. Could you help me a bit more, We've got a lot of injured to take care of until Aoi gets back."

"I don't know what you want me to do? I'm no doctor."

"Well, it's how Aoi says, there's a first time for everything."

So, we worked together getting the wounded rounded up for treatment, tending their wounds, setting their broken bones. Aoi returned, with Eol unconscious, slumped over his shoulder.

"I see you've got everything under control Ubi, Stitch must have been teaching you a lot."

"Yeah, not nearly enough as I'd have liked for him though, I get stuff mixed up from time to time." The younger dog answered.

I turned to look at the graceful one. "You're Aoi, aren't you?" I was fairly certain, but I wanted to be sure.

"I am." He replied.

"I'm... I mean... *sigh* Thank you for coming and taking care of my people. When we have the time... I'd like to gather them all together so they can hear my resignation. I'll be turning them over to you."

"What?" He seemed genuinely confused by my statement.

"I can't lead them anymore. Not after what happened. Not after what I've done. My whole plan was to unite the packs so there could be peace. It failed miserably, but with you, there's a chance."

"If it's what you think is best for your clan, I can't refuse... However, it doesn't matter if you resign as alpha, they will still look to you for guidance, if you really care for them, you must always be with them for when they need it. So don't think you're out of the woods just yet."

"That's fine by me."

"Besides..." He continued. "...I see you and Ubi have been working together to help your clan even after all this. You've still got some leadership in you. We'll sort this out later, right now, we need to hold out for 6 more hours."

"Only six more hours. Then we'll be out of here well before the attack comes." I muttered to myself. "Good."

We worked for a while longer, preparing everyone for their Exodus from their lifelong home, and over the course of this, we began to chat.

"So this den is built upon a portal that leads to the underworld?" Aoi asked.

"Essentially." My mood had improved at seeing my den taken care of, and I wasn't feeling quite so hopeless anymore. "Not so much a portal as an extremely long shaft. We use it to draw water from the Acheron. I can show it to you. It's still intact."

"Heh, I'm not desperate to poke my hole into any portals anytime soon, not even if there's cake involved. But I do think this does give me some leads on Varg's situation."

"What? You mean Varg the Undying?" Varg's name is famous amongst even the lowliest of clans. As the rumor goes, he's unable to die, no matter how he's wounded. Now that I think of it, he may be in a similar situation to Ringo's

"The same. From what he's told me, he doesn't know how he's alive, just that he is... more or less." Aoi explained.

"I'm not sure how that's possible either. Ringo couldn't die because he already had once, until he was immolated. I don't understand how Varg could not know why he can't die." I pondered.

"Straight from the wolf's maw, one minute he's dead, the next, undead and in Gem Fido. "Heh, been here so long, i'm starting to pick up the vernacular."

"In any case, I don't think it matters. I probably would have considered him becoming active again important a few days ago, but it doesn't really matter anymore."

"Ha! I don't care what part of the world your from, the fact that the dead CAN walk the earth is something special, would have caused mass histeria and free weapons where I come from." Aoi laughed.

"I'll admit I was surprised when Ringo showed me."

Two days had passed since we left Ancientwell behind us. Two days since Griffin stayed behind to make sure we'd all escape. The ship had only been repaired enough to fly, so our progress was the result of a couple half repaired propellers, and a merciful tailwind pushing us where we needed to go. That said, it was slow going, and would be another three days till we reached the Equestrian border.

Among other things, Nadene had encountered an interesting conundrum. We had the body of one of the cats, a girl by the name of Elsweyer, on board. Before we were captured, she had poisoned herself, saying they wouldn't let them take her. I guess the stress just got to her. Still, I suppose she died on her own terms, and wasn't executed like the rest. She looked so peaceful, like she was sleeping. Which brings us to Nadene's conundrum.

We had been in that den for about two weeks, and yet Elsweyer's body hadn't even started decomposing yet. Understandably, this confused the hell out of the inquisitive potion maker, and caused her to start looking into the exact nature of the poison Elsweyer used to kill herself. I told her not to bother, if she hadn't decayed by now, we'd be able to have a detailed autopsy done when we reached Manehatten.

On other matters, I spotted a strange, serpentine land vehicle covering a great deal of ground very quickly. Whoever was driving the thing seemed to notice us, as the machine slowed and cam up underneath us. A pony stepped out and shouted up to us using a megaphone.

"PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD?"

"Who are you?" I shouted back.

"We're with Aoi!" He replied.

"Oh for fuck's sake, PERMISSION GRANTED!"

We dropped altitude so we could carry on a conversation without having to shout, and brought a rather odd looking pony on board who introduced himself as 'Keith'.

"We were on our way to Ancientwell and spotted the ship. Is everyone alright?" He asked. I looked around to the somber faces on board. Our medical staff had been tending those who were wounded in the escape, and Surprise was doing her best to lift everyone's spirits, though she didn't have any party supplies.

"We're alright. It's slow going, but we'll make it to Equestria before supplies run out."

"Oh, that's a relief. hmm?" He pulled out what looked to be a styrofoam cup and pressed it up to his ear. "Oh, is there a cat on board by the name of Elsweyer?" He asked.

"We've got her on board the ship. She poisoned herself before we were captured, but for some reason the body hasn't started to decay yet."

"I NEED TO SEE HER!" Came a scream from the cup. Magical communication no doubt.

"Listen, is there anyway you could let us have the body? It's pretty important to one of ours, if you couldn't tell by the fact that I'm deaf now." Keith asked.

"If it's that important, tell whoever it is they can come see her at Manehatten." I looked at our only working propellers. "At this rate you might get there before us..."

So, I thanked Keith for his time, and checking up on us, then we went our separate ways. If they're on their way to Ancientwell, I might find out what happened to Griffin. That fact alone put me in a good mood, and the rest of our trip went without any unpleasant surprises.

We reached Manehatten without incident. I was glad to finally be back somewhere safe, but I couldn't help but worry about Griffin. It had been almost two weeks since we were seperated, and I had no idea what had happened to him as of yet. Hopefully Aoi would have some answers when he arrived. We docked at the pier, and many of us disembarked. After the ordeal we had been through, a lot of us wanted to leave, or at least have a vacation before deciding what we wanted to do. I stayed on board, letting out a sigh as I filled in the docking papers for the air traffic control pegasus that greeted us. About an hour after that, I spotted the same strange land vehicle as before, the one with 'Keith', approach the city. "Heh, they sure get around..." I sighed as I looked to the propellers of the ship. They had only been repaired enough to get us off the ground and have a little direction control. It'd take a lot more before it'd be back to full functionality. No wonder they arrived so soon after us, since we basically crawled all the way back here. The weird vehicle hissed and wound down before an opening on the right side slid to show Aoi and Eol? Ubi? Whatever his name was. Aoi slung his friend over his shoulder and carried him to our ship.

"Ahoy there!" Aoi called out.

"Darn it, he couldn't get cheesier."I muttered to myself. "Yeah, come on up." I called down. He took his sweet time to meet me at the bridge, and greeted me with a salute.

"Pardon me for a second." He laid down his companion face down and reached under his collar to pull something out, what I couldn't tell. The big lug on the ground started to moan, shifting around before figuring out he was on our ship.

He gasped, then shot his eyes towards me. "Where am I?"

"You're on my ship." Or, apparently he couldn't figure it out on his own and is an idiot, considering he's been here before.

"Where's Elsweyr?" He asked.

"You're the one who was so desperate to find her? We've got her downstairs, in her room. We've got... a lot of empty space on board now." I paused for a moment then sighed. "Follow me." Rather than doing what I asked, he dashed past me and headed in the direction of the crew quarters. "Oooor not." I shook my head, then turned to Aoi. "Aoi, you were at the den last... I want to know what happened to Griffin."

"All things considering, he's missing in action." He answered, not missing a beat.

"... Don't lie to me, or try to sugarcoat it. I want to know where he is. Don't be vague because you think I can't handle it." I knew what 'missing in action' meant. Griffin told me that when heroes die, people who can't possibly be defeated are, rather than saying they're dead, they're called 'missing in action' to keep up morale. I was hoping this wasn't the case, thus my demand for details.

"Very well then, though you might not believe this more than my previous statement: According to Fia, Griffin was dropped down a well that leads straight to the underworld, into the Acheron River, if I have things correct."

"What?"

"I don't believe I stuttered." I wasn't in the mood to deal with any attitude from him.

"More importantly... is there any way he can come back?"

"Maybe, Fia told me one of her clan members, Ringo, dug his way out, and that hole was where Griffin dropped into. It's possible. From what I've heard about the underworld though, he literally has a snowball's chance in hell."

Griffin is in the underworld. From what Griffin told me of the place, it's where people who do bad things go to be punished for all eternity. Endless pain and torment, and he was dropped into the river of anguish itself, with almost no chance of ever escaping that fate. If he was even still alive that is.

Fia told him that. That meant she was with them.

"N... no.... RRR. WHERE IS THAT BITCH! I'll FUCKING KILL HER!... Gah!!!" I curled up in pain as I felt a sharp stab in my stomach, and a strange fluid running down my leg. "Wh.. what?"

"You... you're going into labor." Aoi said with panic clear in his voice. "Somebody get us ground level now!"

"I... what? No.. no no, it's too soon. I'm not due for another month yet...I AAAGH!" Pain again, wracking my entire lower body with spasms.

"Looks like the baby's coming early. Shit! Where's the nearest hospital!" He asked me.

"ungg. Manehatten General..." I groaned.

"We're grounded!" Someone called out as I felt the ship connect with the lower docking platform. "Good! Gilda, I need to carry you to the hospital, deep breaths." Aoi stated.

"Oh gods oh gods..." I started hyperventilating. He scooped me into his arms, carrying me like a rescued princess as he ran full tilt down the street . "I'm... I'm not ready for this! Griffin and I were supposed to do this together!... I'm scared."

"Just relax and pretend I'm Griffin. Focus on your breathing."

"You're not Griffin!" I screamed. "But you're right... control my breathing.... control my AAAAGH!" More stabbing pains in my abdomen, more frequent than before.

"Easy, One, two, one, two. Like a jog, one two one two." Aoi repeated over and over like a mantra.

"Just... shut up already... You're... rrrgg... really annoying you know that?"

"Only when I'm trying to help."

We arrived at the hospital, bursting through the double doors into the waiting room. "We've got an emergency on our hands, Someone please help!" Aoi yelled as he stormed in. A triage nurse sat behind a counter, looking incredibly bored and annoyed at the same time.

"Uuugh... if you'll just take a seat and a number we'll get to you as soon as we can..."

He took the ticket and stared at it intently. "What kind of fucking hospital is this?

"Oh for fucks sake you idiot I'm giving birth and there's nobody else in the waiting room!" I shouted at her.

The nurse, without even looking up from the newspaper she was reading, smacked her hoof down on a red button labled 'emergency'. A red light flashed above the door as a team of doctors and nurses came out pushing a stretcher with surgical precision and the passion of a hoofball team.

"Hup hup hup hup hup..." They called as they marched in sync, pulled me onto the stretcher and barreled back through the doors. I wound up standing on a cushioned table, crouched with my rear end a little lower than standing as a doctor stuck an needle with an IV into my leg. I immediately felt minor relief from the pains, but they were coming more frequently now.

"Alright miss...?" A doctor asked, coming around to the front.

"Gilda." I answered.

"Miss Gilda, I have just a couple questions for you, since we don't have your medical history on file. What's your blood type?"

"Rr... B minus."

"Alright, good, do you know your due date?"

"It's not supposed to be for another month!"

"Premature. Have you been in any stressful conditions lately?"

"Oh shut the fuck up!"

"Uh huh... yeesss..." He hummed gleefully as he filled out a chart. "Alright, listen, you'll be just fine. It's not uncommon for premature births, especially during times of stress. Luckily, if it's only a month ahead of time, there shouldn't be any complications, We'll just have to keep you and your baby in observation for a couple of days okay?"

"I said shut the fuck up!"

The doctor asking the questions sighed. "Griffin mothers... worse than my ex wife."

At that point, Aoi entered the room, pushed in by some doctor.

"Oh good, you're here." The one who had been asking me questions turned to the newcomer. "Just... take her by the claw and try to make her at ease alright? She's been over stressed and it caused her to go into early labour. That kind of thing isn't good for the baby, so try and make her relax. We've put her on some painkillers, so she might lose focus, try to keep her concentrated on the task at hoof alright?"

"Can do." He walked around to the front and held out his paw. "Here, take my ha-AAAAAAH!" The moment he offered it to me, I grabbed it in my claws, just as a wave of pain hit me, and I crushed the offending appendage in an iron grip.

*Crunch*

Once the pain subsided and I loosened my hold, he pulled his hand back. It was all mangled and folded up, making accordian noises as it sagged back and forth.

"OOh... that doesn't look good." Captain obvious M.D. noted. "Sir, if you'll just follow me I'll have someone take a look at that. I suppose we'll just have to replace the cushions on the table."

A doctor said, guiding Aoi to the next room, empty, and divided by a simple curtain as he bandaged him up. From there we could still see each other.

"Gaaaaaahahaaaaa," He moaned, staring at his mangled nub as the doctor bandaged it.

"Oh quit being such a baby... AAAAAAAAAAAA!" I shrieked as another wave of pain hit me.

"I see the head!" A doctor called from behind. I felt my entire body shift as the mass inside moved back, pushing and stretching me in ways I wasn't supposed to stretch. Aoi was at my side in a heartbeat, attempting to comfort me and failing miserably, "You're doing great, keep pushing!"

"Pushing on WHAT?" I yelled, digging my claws into the cushioning on the table.

"Pushing him out! ... It is a he right?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"Here comes the shoulder, you're almost there!" The doctor said from behind. All the pressure on my insides suddenly vanished, leaving a kind of empty feeling as the pain began to subside, leaving behind a kind of exhausted euphoria. Then, I heard him. He started crying. I rolled onto my side as they passed me my baby, all wrapped in a towel, letting me hold him in my arms.

"OOoh...... you're... so tiny..." I had gone numb, and no longer cared that the doctors were cleaning up my privates, all that mattered was the baby I held. The miniscule little form was no bigger than a house cat. The doctors had dried him off with a towel, and he was covered in downy fluff. I held that precious little life close to me, wrapping him up in my wings.

"Congratulations Gilda, you have a son." Aoi said with pride.

"So... have you thought about a name?" The head doctor asked.

"Seth... his name is Seth." He opened his mouth and screamed again, wailing. "Oh... hey... hey, come on now... it's okay... mommy's here...." I gently brushed the side of his face with my talon. "Why are you crying? It's okay... hey..."

"Um... perhaps you'd like some privacy so you can feed him?" The doctor suggested. I nodded.

"Say no more," Aoi replied before heading out the room with all but the one doctor, who remained to keep an eye on me, for both my health and that of the baby. Thankfully, the doctor who stayed behind was a mare, so I didn't feel nearly so uncomfortable asking.

"Um... how do I breastfeed?"

After thankfully being shown methods for calming the baby down and getting him to latch on, I spent about an hour with my breast in his beak as he sucked on it. Once he stopped, I held him over my shoulder and gently rubbed his back with my wing till he burped, then he softly fell asleep, making adorable little trilling noises in his slumber.

I heard a few knocks on the door before they were followed by a low creak, which showed Aoi poking his nose in. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Yeah, come on in."

He slid in, slowly shutting the door behind, and softly tiptoed to my bedside. "How does it feel to be a mother now," He asked.

"It feels strange. I never really thought I'd be one, and yet here I am." I bowed my head, and for some reason, started crying. "And I never thought I'd have to do it alone." Griffin, please, somehow, find a way.

"Who says you're alone, you've got your crew, not only that, but friends from afar. Which reminds me, Dash says hi." Aoi looked at me with a smile on his face. He was right. Maybe most of the crew was headed home, maybe they'd never come back, but some would stay. Nadene, Steelhorn, (It was HIS ship after all, and since we wouldn't be doing any piracy any time soon, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay where I was comfortable.) and several others who'd come to call that place home.

"Heh... thanks for being here. huh? Oh... hey, look who woke up." The tiny little ball of fluff yawned and shifted about, squriming his little body this way and that, before opening his eyes for the first time. They were an odd, mettalic blue colour, like cobalt. He looked to me and started making soft crying noises.

"Hi.. I'm your mom... Oh... no no... don't cry..." He began flailing about, thrashing this way and that, till he turned his head and saw Aoi. He immediately stopped crying, his eyes deadlocked on the dog. "I think he likes you."

"Heh, well would you look at that... mind if I hold him?" Aoi asked.

"I uh......." I was a little hesitant to let go of him so soon, but really, there wouldn't be any harm in it, especially since Aoi was there when I delivered after all. "Yeah... okay." He gently took Seth in his arms, naturally, with no awkward effort at all. It hit me that he'd done this before. Seth started rubbing his face into Aoi's fluff, making soft cooing noises. "Geez, he already likes you more than his own mother. Little traitor. It's just like griffin said... Fluffy gets all the chicks." What an adorable little chick/cub he was too. That's when I became aware of my own disheveled state. "Ugh, look at me, I'm a mess. I'm just waiting for the doctors to tell me I can get up. I need a shower."

Aoi just stood there, holding my little bundle of joy. He seemed to be deep in thought, but said nothing, just admiring the little guy in his arms. Minutes passed until finally he spoke, in little more than a whisper. "You're gonna go far kid."

Aoi passed Seth back to me, who instead of crying, just looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes, and suddenly, all felt right with the world. Griffin would come back, he had to, he had a son waiting for him. If there's a snowball's chance in hell, well then, Griffin will make hell freeze over. That's just who he is.

Author's Notes:

I was debating on showing the birth scene at all, but then I was like 'Fuck it, story is rated mature. There can be no complaints. Oh, not detailed enough for you? Then go watch 'The miracle of life' or something you pervs. Childbirth is a natural, disgusting, beautiful thing. Also, I did it from the mother's point of view, and she can't exactly see what's going on down there.

Also, is a babbi!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkVM4rhE21s