Chapter 85

So, I got laid off from my job today. There will be no changes in the release rate of Druidification, still will be one every weekday. However, I will be using this time to work on my other stories I have in the works, so please be excited for that! Also, the discord is now live! The link is down in the author's note at the bottom, feel free to jump in and chat! I am always down to talk with people, answer questions, and receive constructive criticism! Hope to talk with you all soon and that you all continue to enjoy my noobish writing.

The rest of the week seemed to just fly by to the pack. Resting, hunting, or trying their paws at farming preoccupied all of the canines, save for the coyotes. To them, it was just business as usual. Shannon spent most of her time spilt between two things, cooking or training. There were so many ingredients and food stuffs available to her now, and not having to worry about limits in budget, she went to town experimenting. Only the good ones were kept and stored into the Soulscape, while the bad ones were tossed in a refuse pit that the wolves had dug. Most times when the food turned out wrong, it was the canines themselves tossing the food in there, never to see the light of day again. However, a good majority of her cooking was well received, leaving them with a steady supply of ready to eat meals at any point. Training wise, she was slowly moving her body as she used to when practicing martial arts. She was quite stiff and sore still, but she wanted to be ready to move and act the next time, not spending a good chunk of the action frozen in place. Natalie was spending most of it focused on the energy, practicing and further complicating what she was trying to do. The growth was slow, but steady. And every time she felt a noticeable amount of growth, it just gave Nat more confidence in working with the power in harder ways.

Now that she was not completely exhausted from travelling all day, Nat even spent a couple of the nights staying up late, just hanging out with the coyotes that stood guard for them every night. They never asked for anything, and always seemed happy. The four of them just grabbed what they needed food wise, and they seemed to be content with that, plus they were pleasant partners for conversation, though if a bit soft spoken. Copper and Tin were still as skittish as they had been before, but that would just take time for them to open up. Well, that and more head scratches. Edwin and Lucille had already full on opened up, and gossiping time after dinner featured most of the female canines. Seeka usually spent that time exhausting scout some more, while Tin joined in only occasionally. Most of the guys wondered what was up, but they all seemed to smartly keep their muzzles out of it. The few times they had tried to but in had left them all feeling the cold fear of death approaching from their respective mates.

On the fifth day, everything started going to hell in a handbasket. Natalie was woken up early in the morning by a extremely worried Copper. Still sleep-ridden, Natalie blinked in confusion until she finally realized what was up. Tin's water had apparently just broken. Quickly, Nat got up and ran out to where tin was laying on the ground, letting out a low whine. Beside her, Lucille was walking her through, trying to help ease her through the process she had been through before. As Nat approached, she felt an urge on an instinctual level. Quickly getting up beside the coyote about to give birth, she put her hand lightly on the soon-to-be mother's back. Almost instantly, she disappeared into the Soulscape with Lucille following her close behind. Now reduced to just two out on night watch, both of the male coyotes hung around outside. Edwin seemed entirely uninterested in the whole things, so long as you did not look at his tail. He must really have missed tending to his pups and was probably hoping to help Copper get through the first few weeks. Copper on the other hand was pacing nervously, anxiously taking peeks every now and then in Natalie's direction.

"I am awake now; I can sit in on the watch should you wish to go in and be with her." Natalie urged. The sense of responsibility he had conflicted with the feelings of wanting to be there for his pups' birth. No sooner had Nat finished her sentence when he ran full speed into the Soulscape, not waiting a minute longer. Chuckling to herself, Nat relocated herself to be sitting beside Edwin. No words were shared between the two, one having lived through this experience in Copper's shoes before, and the other having helped to deliver numerous puppies herself due to her work. Together, they sat by and kept an eye on the surroundings, while Nat gently stroked Edwin's back. Neither felt worried or anxious, just relaxed while on guard.

Hours passed by, the sun rose, and finally after what had to have been six hours, did the whole process finish. When it comes to canine litters, each individual puppy takes at average an hour to deliver. While there were variances, there were six brand new coyote puppies huddled up against Tin's belly. Throughout the whole event was a weird feeling for Natalie. Each time that a new pup came out and had its first breath, she could feel it bond in that instant to her. Whether or not this would be a good thing for the pups or not, was yet to be seen. At this point, all of the other canines were up and awake. Every female except for Natalie and Shannon swarmed the brand-new mother, wanting to get a look at the new little bundles of joy. Nat let it go on for a few minutes, before telling each and every one of them off. The males were far more composed about it. They all just acted the same way Edwin did. Sitting off at a distance, acting disinterested, while continually taking peeks at the new additions to their family.

With her practice for the past few days, Natalie was far better at looking in close inside the Soulscape. Carefully, she checked over every puppy visibly as they now slept, curled up between Tin and Copper's bodies. Each one showed no signs of deformities, nor any signs of issues from Tin's body. It looked like it was a nice healthy birth, with an average amount of coyotes to boot. The best part that Natalie noticed though was the lack of a mess. All of the fluids and the embryotic sacs that normally came with the birth of a litter were nowhere in sight. Taking her sight out, she decided to check how much energy she had available now after getting six more pups. Checking carefully, there was a small but noticeable increase in the amount of energy she had. It had been growing slowly this entire time, but this was a more sudden burst. That meant that new bonds did mean more energy. But why was the amount of energy she gained for six new bonds so little? Was it possible that the age of the bonded creature plays a part in how much energy she got from them?

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Jake, Viktor, Nikolas, Saganatsu, Eeleater, Eric, Corgi, Lachlan, Adam, John, Nicholas, Jacob, Onean, Erudual, Hades, Neal, Sebastian, Sir Hellington, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

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