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It had been roughly a few months since Crackpot and Fuffy had reunited and had their particularly passionate night.
As the first few weeks had passed Fuffy had clung closer to his mate, and even the fanatics would also take note that the doctor seemed to start gaining some weight.
It wasn’t long before the fact that Crackpot was expecting became known. The evidence had piled up and became all but obvious before they’d found that Fuffy had made a sizable nest in Crackpot’s bed out of various ‘borrowed’ soft materials.
At that point, it had already been about two months, and some of the more medically experienced Fanatics looked over Crackpot and estimated he’d deliver sometime in the next few months.
And as expected, in another few months time, on a damp afternoon in the cave, a small crowd began to form around the outside of the doctor’s room, having seen the more experienced Fanatics having rushed to the room with several supplies in hand, but other than them, nobody was allowed inside for the time.
Fuffy was whimpering with worry, close by his mate’s side. Crackpot was resting against his mate's paw, whimpering and whining as pain wracked through his body. The few Fanatics in the room had checked Crackpot and made sure that the delivery was going to go smoothly.
Fuffy gently rubs his cheek against Crackpot, purring softly to keep him calm. Crackpot gently reached up, petting his mate’s head with a deep breath as he started to push, letting out a strained grunt.
God, he felt like he was splitting open, his free hand gripped onto the soft blankets of the nest, throwing his head back and hissing out a curse.
He relaxed for a moment, catching his breath. Fuffy let out another soft whine. He didn’t like seeing Crackpot in pain. Crackpot gently patted his mate a few times in an attempt to reassure him.
“I-I know, I know dear, you don’t like…gh…s-seeing me hurting so much.” Crackpot gently kisses his mate's cheek. “I-I’ll be ok, I promise. It just…r-really hurts right now…”
“Birdy hurting,,,worried,,,want to help,,,” Fuffy whimpered, nuzzling him.
“Oh Fuffy,,,y-you’re doing just fine helping me like you are now.” He smiles softly, petting his mate. The feeling of their soft fur calmed him and helped to distract from the pain, even if only for a moment. “J-Just having you b-by my side for all this already makes it m-much easier for me…”
Fuffy nods a bit, giving another light purr as he licks Crackpot’s cheek. Crackpot let out a soft chuckle, smiling before taking another breath and bearing down hard, a pained groan coming through bared teeth.
It was a pain he’d never experienced, he wanted it over already, he wanted them out , just so the pain would stop, the searing pain jolting through his body, like whatever it was was just stuck in place and wouldn’t budge, but he KNEW he was making progress, mainly from the looks of the fanatics, some surprised and others a bit caught off guard at the sight, the color draining from their faces, along with their rush to start preparing for the child’s arrival.
Tears were already welling up in his eyes, he was trying his damn hardest to push them free, with pained yowls and soft sobs as the pain only seemed to get worse the longer he pushed on. But, he knew it was the only way to get it all over with, so he kept on, even though it was agonizing to go through.
It was already hard to keep time down in the caverns, but this, god , it made every second feel like forever. He had never known something like this was such a slow, painful process, it felt like he made little to no progress with each time he bore down.
But soon, after what seemed like an eternity of agony and pushing, his efforts finally paid off. He let out a deep sigh of relief as finally he felt a weight slip free of him, the pressure on his body and the searing pain easing. No sooner after came the soft whines and whimpers of a newborn pup, Crackpot nearly collapsed back, panting for breath in a moment of peace, his partner giving them a reassuring purr.
“F-Fuck…” He let out a whimper, his legs shaking as he tried his best to catch his breath and calm his racing heart.
“Birdy…will be ok…pup is here…mate can relax now…” Fuffy licked their cheek gently. “Mate…did great job…”
Indeed, Crackpot had managed to deliver a tiny little boy, who was now all clean and snugly swaddled in a warm blanket. The pup’s soft whimpers and whines already died down to soft purrs as it drifted off to sleep from the warmth. It was peaceful, if just for the moment before another sharp wave of pain crashed over Crackpot, causing a sudden shout and a curse to escape from him as he jolted up, wincing and gripping his stomach tight.
No, no. This couldn’t be happening.
There was only supposed to be a single one, wasn’t there?
Please god, he didn’t want to go through this AGAIN.
But that same feeling rushed through his body again, the Fanatics quickly coming back to his aid at the realization their work was just yet not done. Crackpot took little time to prepare himself before he once again bore down with all he could muster.
That same feeling, of something struggling to move free from him, only this time it was much, much more painful. He would’ve expected that at least with having delivered a pup the process would become easier, but that didn’t seem to be the case, if anything it felt even harder than before. Whether it be from him feeling weak from delivering the first pup, or the simple fact it could very well just be a bigger pup, he couldn’t figure out or think straight enough to focus on those factors at the moment, he was focusing all his efforts on just getting it out and over with.
By this point it felt like a blur, his vision was fogged from his breath, sweat, and tears, voices sounded muffled and hard to make out, and his head throbbed from the strain. It felt like he was being forced to his limit, like one wrong thing and his flesh could rip from not being able to handle how much strain it was taking. His body trembled with each push, a slue of curses and agonized groans came from him through his pained efforts. It felt like he wasn’t getting anywhere, like it just wouldn’t budge free from him, no matter how hard he’d pushed. He couldn’t make out what the fanatics were saying, but they seemed to be concerned, going by their tone.
He didn’t know what they were doing, with his blurred vision he was only able to really make out blobs of people surrounding him, but a sudden shudder ran up his spine as he pushed hard, a pained scream escaping him. Whatever had presumably been done did seem to help though, as the relief of progress was felt once again.
He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d last at this rate, too long and he’d probably collapse from the strain and exhaustion, but it seemed the Fanatics could tell Crackpot was reaching his limit. With a few more pushes, and some help from the Fanatics, he finally fell back feeling the mass be pulled free from him. He was drenched in sweat and trembling, his body felt weak.
It was only seconds after that a piercing cry rang out from the second newborn, squirming and kicking in the Fanatic’s hold as they started to clean the newly born pup. Crackpot had delivered a second pup, this one a rather vocal and fussy baby girl.
“I-Is it…” Crackpot’s voice was hoarse and weak, his head throbbed like all hell, and his legs were shaking. “I-I-Is it…o-over…?”
“Yes, Doctor.” One of the fanatics speaks up, sighing with relief. “You can relax now, the pups are here.”
“Oh, th-thank the Maker…”
It didn’t take long before the younger pup's sobs and shrill cries soon awoke the older pup, causing them to whimper and whine before breaking out into a fit of fussy cries itself, upset its rest had been disturbed.
“Now, now, my little sprout…” Crackpot weakly reached to pet the older pup’s head, softly shushing the little boy. “There is no need to cry…your fathers are here for you.”
Fuffy nuzzled his partner, giving them a small lick on the cheek and helping them to lie down. “Mate…lie down…need…rest…will handle pups…” He turned over to the little crying boy, gently picking them up in his paw.
He could feel tears welling in his eyes. They were so small…so new to the world, yet Fuffy felt like he’d known them for years already, letting out a soft purr and gently nuzzling the newborn in an attempt to calm them. Soon, the pup’s cries calmed at the warmth of their parent’s fur, turning into small whimpers as they snuggled against them, blindly sniffing a little.
The second pup though, they seemed a lot more feisty, whining and squirming against the blanket they had been swaddled in. It didn’t take much effort for the pup to free itself, sniffing as it crawled blindly to the nearest parent, curling up next to a tired Crackpot, letting out a small growl as the Fanatics tried to pick it up again. Crackpot motioned for the Fanatics to leave them be.
“She’s fine…” Crackpot weakly said. “Seems she’d just prefer to be curled up by one of her fathers…” He carefully took off his coat, placing it over the pup carefully as a blanket to keep them warm. “There you go…”
Fuffy purred, curling next to his mate as he carefully placed the small pup in his paw next to its sister.
“Mate…did well…” He purrs, licking Crackpot’s cheek gently.
“Th…Thank you…” Crackpot weakly muttered, kissing his mate’s cheek.
“Mate needs rest…looks tired…will look after pups for you…” Fuffy moved some of the blankets around into a sort of pillow for Crackpot, which Crackpot quickly lied back with a sigh.
“Th-Thank you dear…I…I really…do need a rest…a-after all that…” Crackpot weakly mutters, sighing as he closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for him to drift off to sleep, the exhaustion of the earlier events finally setting in. Fuffy purred softly, looking over at the two pups.
The oldest was back to sleep, while the youngest was sniffing around, blindly crawling over to their brother and curling up next to them.
“Pupsss,,,cute,,,like their father,,,” Fuffy watched the two as they seemed to go between slumber and crawling around, attempting to figure out the scents of their new surroundings, the little girl soon gently bonking their head against her MAG sized father with a small growl, earning a gruff laugh from them. “Feisty pup…” He gently pets the little girl with a finger, earning a soft purr from the pup. He knew for now they would only be really getting around by scent, much like a puppy or a kitten, MAG, or in this case Half-MAG, pups are initially born blind and deaf for the first few weeks until they develop their hearing and open their eyes.
He suddenly turned his head over a little, hearing light conversation between some of the fanatics looking over Crackpot.
“Sure took a lot out of him. But, he seems like he’ll be fine, a few days rest, week at the most, he’ll be back to himself soon.” One says to another, absentmindedly adjusting their mask as the other slips off their gloves.
“Yeah, the pups are just fine too. Healthy set of twins, looks like they’re Half-MAGs. Probably should’ve expected that. I don’t think the doctor could’ve handled having a MAG pup, I had my doubts at that prediction when I first heard it, frankly.”
“Yeah. I guess all that leaves is writing down the pups’ names.” The two fanatics looked up at Fuffy, noticing him having looked over at them. “Hey, big fluff,” One says lightheartedly, smiling. “You want to wait until your mate wakes up or do you want to give the pups their names now?”
Fuffy lets out a small hum of thought, before looking back down at the pups. “Have,,,names for pups,,,name pups now,,,will tell mate when wakes up…”
The two nod, one going to grab a paper and pen while the other moved to the pups, looking them over.
“Cute little ones. Seems like quite the mix they are too. Zed Half-MAGs, that’s something new.” The fanatic says, reaching down to pet the sleeping male pup, noting the black splotches on their skin and fur along with on the other pup. “Probably traces of dissonance too…to be frank, we were wondering if Dissonance could pass down genetically…looks like it.”
“Cute pups,,,” Fuffy purrs, petting the little girl again. “My pups,,,love,,,” He smiles, reaching down to give the pup a small lick, earning a squeak from the little one. The other Fanatic soon returns with a clipboard and pen, looking up at Fuffy.
“All right then big guy, what should we call these adorable little pups?” They smile warmly, looking at the pups in awe.
Fuffy purrs, looking over at the sleeping pup and pointing at them. “Little boy,,,Nightshade,,,”
The sleeping pup’s ears twitched, letting out a big yawn as it stretched, blindly looking around with a soft peep as the Fanatic wrote down the pup’s name onto the paper.
“Nightshade, what a nice name, very pretty!” They look over at the little girl, who was yet again lightly headbutting her parent. “And as for this feisty little bundle of energy?”
Fuffy hums softly, watching the little girl as they squeaked and peeped, grabbing onto the fabric of Fuffy’s lab coat and chewing on it, lightly pulling with a small growl, though not doing much since they had no teeth yet. “Hm,,,Moonflower,,,”
“Moonflower…an interesting name for an interesting little girl indeed, I like it.” The Fanatic quickly wrote the name down and gave a small nod. “All right then, that should be all for now. We’ll leave you to rest with your mate and the pups now, and of course, congratulations!”
With that, the Fanatics had left, leaving Fuffy with their sleeping mate and their two new pups. Fuffy purred, carefully lying down and moving the two pups close for warmth as he closed his eyes, the two pups keeping close to him, nuzzled gently into his fur as he soon drifted off as well.
It was a few hours when Crackpot woke back up, now relatively well rested, he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position with a small groan, still feeling a slight throb in his body from the struggle just earlier. He looked over to see his mate fast asleep, and with his vision cleared he could finally see his little pups clearly for the first time. He let out a soft chuckle, reaching over to pet one of the sleeping pups, getting a tired sounding coo out of them.
“What adorable little pups you are…” He mutters softly. He looks back over at Fuffy, resting gently against and hugging his mate the best he could. “And I couldn’t have asked for a better mate to have them with.”
Fuffy yawned, rubbing his eyes as he looked over at Crackpot, purring. “Mate…awake…feel better?”
“Sore, but fine other than that.” Crackpot chuckles, snuggling up to his mate and looking over at the pups. “Aw, what precious little ones we have…”
“Gave pups names…” Fuffy purrs, pointing to the older pup. “Boy…Nightshade…” He reaches over to gently grab the little girl, earning a small squeak from the pup as he offered them to Crackpot. Crackpot gently took the baby pup into his arms. “Little girl…Moonflower…”
“Those are lovely names, Fuffy.” Crackpot smiles, looking at the young pup in his arms, who snuggled up to his warmth. “What a charming little girl you are, Moonflower.” He chuckles, looking over and giving Nightshade a gentle pet. “And such a dashing little boy you are too, Nightshade!”
Fuffy purrs, licking his mate’s cheek with a smile. “Love mate…love pups…happy family…”
“Yes, we are indeed.” Crackpot beams. They spent the moment, all four of them, all snuggled together, enjoying the warmth of their little family, before Crackpot looked over at the opening of the door. For a split second he noticed the small crowd of Fanatics outside as a Prophet made their way inside, closing the door with a sigh.
“Ah, s-sorry to interrupt your resting, Doctor.” The Prophet apologizes, looking back at the door. “The Fanatics have been crowded outside of your room all day, they’ve wanted to know if they can come inside to see the newborns.. The choice is all yours after all. We can leave you to rest for the day if you’re not ready for visitors.”
“No, no. It’s fine, let them in, just make sure they don’t crowd the room too much, please.”
“Yes, doctor, understood. I’ll let some of them in.” The Prophet nods, walking back out.
“Visitors…?” Fuffy purrs, tilting his head to the side.
“My followers must be excited to meet our newest additions. It’s not everyday a child is born down here, after all. It’s a rare occurrence. And being the children of their own leader too, I can’t blame them for being excited.” Crackpot chuckles, petting Moonflower. “Such adorable little ones shouldn’t be kept all to ourselves anyways.”
Fuffy nods, holding his mate close as a small group of Fanatics excitedly walked in, all circling around, some bearing gifts and others looking upon the new arrivals with awe, a few younger fanatics trying to climb up onto the end of the bed to see the newborns better before being picked up by the adults so that they could see.
“A joyous day indeed! It’s not often we welcome newborns into our little family. But it seems we grow just a bit bigger with new life welcomed to our humble abodes, truly it warms our hearts!”
“And to think our own leader would welcome children of their own too, quite a momentous day it is!”
“Woah, they’re big babies!”
“And cute babies too!”
“What are the names of our new arrivals, doctor?”
Crackpot chuckled, he enjoyed seeing the joy on all his followers' faces, gently petting Moonflower. “Ah, the little girl I’m holding is Moonflower,” He looks over at Nightshade, who was curled close to Fuffy’s side. “And the little boy with Fuffy is Nightshade.”
“Moonflower and Nightshade, of course our leader and their partner would only come up with the best of names! Such precious little sprouts being named after such beautiful plants, all the best fitting for the new arrivals.”
“Such precious arrivals, they will grow into our family well, I know of it!”
“Can we play with them when they’re older, doctor?”
“Yeah! I wanna play with them when they’re older too!”
“Now, now. I’m sure the doctor will let them play with you when they’re older, you two.”
Crackpot chuckles. “Of course, they are a part of this family now as well, they will be able to grow, learn, and play among you and the rest of the little ones as they grow.”
The next few hours were filled with joyous conversation and congratulations, among many gifts for the newly welcomed children and their parents, by the end the pups were yet again wide awake, both hungrily suckling away at bottles full of milk with small purrs.
“Ah, what a joyous day, is it not, my dear MAG?” Crackpot smiles, gently resting against his mate.
“Have pups,,,family now,,,am happy…” Fuffy purrs, watching little Nightshade drink down the last of their milk, letting out a tired coo as the empty bottle plopped beside them and onto the bed.
“Yeah,,,I’m happy too. Especially since I had them with you, dear.” Crackpot smiles, nuzzling up to Fuffy as he took the empty bottle from Moonflower. “There you go, little one, all full now!”
Moonflower let out a small growl, moving to teethe on Crackpot’s hand. “So, is that how it is, huh?” Crackpot jokingly said in a fakely stern tone, ticking the pup’s stomach, earning a small giggle as he reached over to grab something. In his hand was what looked to be two cloth bandanas.
While mundane to others, in the cult, it was seen as a gift of welcome to the family, given to new members and to parents for their newborns. Crackpot made sure he was gentle as he carefully tied it on the little girl's neck, not loose enough to slip off but not tight enough to choke her on accident, just right. He moved to do the same with Nightshade, who complied with little protest.
“There you two go…just right.” Crackpot smiles, cradling Moonflower, who was already gently pawing at the new coth she was wearing with interest, curious about the feeling of the new thing around her neck.
The bandanas looked like that of a Prophet’s, a snow white with a pink stripe, though with a new modification, with glittering red and green crystals adorned around the ends of the cloth, glimmering almost like the lights the doctor himself wore. A unique and high ranked bandana for the two little ones, all they deserved for being the doctor’s children after all.
“They truly went out of their way to make these special for you two…” Crackpot smiles, kissing Moonflower’s forehead. Moonflower let out a tiny peep, followed by a big yawn. “All you deserve, of course.” Crackpot lied back, resting onto the soft blankets of the nest as Moonflower snuggled close, slowly drifting off. “Goodnight, my little girl.” Crackpot moved to pet a tired Nightshade, who purred softly at the petting. “And goodnight to you too, my little boy.”
Fuffy purred, giving his mate one last lick before curling up with a yawn. “Goodnight mate…goodnight pups…loves all of you…”
Crackpot gently pet Fuffy, smiling under his mask. “Goodnight to you too, Fuffy. Rest well.”
Soon, the four all fell fast asleep, curled together as one little, precious family.
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On today, the 2nd day of the Summer season, on the Summer solstice no less, our leader (Doctor Elliot Pott) and his partner (Fuffy) have welcomed two new members into our buoyant family, Nightshade Pott and Moonflower Pott. May they be blessed with health and prosperity in their lives and under the care of our family.
Many blessings to the parents and the young ones that have been born on this day, that they may too be a part of the many Buoyant, and rise with us all as the world inevitably sinks one day.