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One in the litter

The sky was the colour of peaches and plums as the sun slowly lowered down to the horizon, just barely touching the edge of the blue seas. It was a sweet, calming sight, and many of the island inhabitants loved to gather around and just watch it set.

Sunsets were always something Clementine enjoyed, even since she was young. She idly recalled a day when similar circumstances made her into a temporary nervous wreck...now that she looked back she couldn't exactly recall why.

It was a late afternoon that Squint let his two slightly hyper sons run about and play with Flynn (that is, use him as a trampoline) as he leaned in a lethargic manner on his dagger, which was currently embedded on the ground. He looked around for Clementine, finding that she still wasn't back. He rose a brow. What...

"Dad!" Suddenly a cream-coloured ball slammed into his stomach and knocked him off his feet. Squint fell flat on his back, the air knocked out of his lungs. He opened one eye and spotted his son Fifer (better known as Squirt) sitting on his stomach. His grey-furred brother Benny hopped on after, only adding to the pressure on their father's chest (and restricting his breathing...)

"Dad, can we stay up longer?" Squirt asked happily, bouncing up and down, unaware of his father's painful discomfort. Benny grinned happily, awaiting the verdict. He slowed and open his mouth to reply when someone else answered before him.

"Nope, you two, You're going to bed." Clementine wandered over, hands on her hips. "I need to speak with your father."

"Awww, Muuum!" Squirt complained, finally hopping off his father and allowing the slightly squashed rabbit to stand. Benny pouted, hugging his mother around the waist tightly.

"Please, please, Mum!" He asked, Clementine shook her head, but gave him a cuddle instead. Squirt rolled his eyes and jumped around to face Squint.

"C'mon, Dad!" He exclaimed, giving him a wide-eyed look. "Pretty please."

Squint was suddenly struck by an idea. "Oh, course ya kids can stay up!" Ignoring both their happy expressions and Clementine's fowl look, and wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her closer. "I just wanna tell your mother how much I love her!"

That did it. Both boys recoiled and fled towards the burrow, all the while exclaiming "That's yucky! night-night!"

Squint burst out laughing "Haha, works every time!"

Clementine smiled gently before rubbing the back of her head. "Um, Squint, what I said about needing to talk to you?"

"Yeah, what's is it?"

Clementine grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

"...I'm pregnant again."

Squint's eyes shot wide. Then...

THUNK.

Clementine sighed deeply as she stared down at her now comatose partner. Yup, same as last time...

"Aw, that's nice, Clementine!" She jumped around and found that they had completely forgotten about Flynn, who was clapping happily and smiling at her. He was oblivious to his passed-out rabbit friend."Congratulations!"

The boys were skeptical about having more siblings, but eventually they grew exited at the idea of having more playmates despite the age gap. When the rest of the the herd found out, most of the reactions were of happiness and congratulations; That is if you count out Manny's comment about more of those pranking tykes and Argeth's remark about the other two already being a handful (thanks to the influence of a certain pair of possums...) But they eventually came round.

Squint was, again, hyper overprotective to the point where he almost annoyed Clementine.

...This was probably because of the 'strange' fact that had been discovered later on in the pregnancy. Clementine was a weaker creature physically and would probably never have more than three children at time, unusual for a rabbit. But, even when the due date began getting closer, Clementine found that her abdomen wasn't as large as it was when she had her boys.

This worried both her, Squint and the rest of the herd, though there were no other signs of anything like a miscarriage or illness.

That is, until Clementine collapsed and suddenly went into labor early.

The complications with Squirt and Benny had been at minimum and it had all in all been a healthy pregnancy, but Clementine's temperature shot up so suddenly it gave Maut and Ellie a fright.

Once again they had asked Squint and Argeth to leave when Clementine nearly passed out. Argeth had to drag Squint away.

This time neither of them were reassured, for even the armadillo wasn't very confident this time. After a while, the rabbit standing beside him muttered.

"What if I lose her?"

That cracked voice was enough to allow his dislike of this ruffian to fall. Argeth sighed deeply. "You won't. Promise."

Squint glanced at him, head lowered. They hadn't heard anything for a while. No crying...

"And...the kids?" Squint didn't have much hope. Argeth couldn't lie to him. The rabbit was grown up, and he needed the truth now.

"They might not make it, Squint." He said quietly. The rabbit screwed his eyes shut and lowered his head, fists clenched.

Maybe he was preying. Argeth honestly would never know.

Abruptly a single, frail wail made them jump. Squint exchanged wide-eyed looks with Argeth before they both sprinted it, the armadillo stumbling slightly on his bad leg.

Squint halted upon nearing Ellie and Maut, who blocked the view of Clementine. They spotted him and gave him large, relieved smiles and the wight in his chest lifted.

The two stepped back and there was Clementine, looking drained of energy. Once again she was covered by leaves, this time her head lowered more to allow her to rest. He wandered closer, Argeth holding back. They both held the same question in mind...

Were was the babies?

Clementine smiled and lifted her arms away from the leaves, and Squint spotted a tiny, identically coloured form in her arms, so muck like her that she had almost blended in.

The single baby rabbit was curled up, eyes screwed shut. He slid down beside Clementine in awe, muttering.

"Only one..."

Ellie nodded "Yup. Guess that answers everything. It's a girl, shorty."

Argeth smiled gently as Squint reached forward and stroked the tiny rabbit's head. She was so small...and holy crab, she looked just like her mother.

"Here." Clementine slipped her into his arms. Squint was extra cautious; His daughter was so small compared to her brothers when they'd been born. The baby sniffed, rubbing her face with tiny paws. Squint noticed that her eyelids were different from Clementines...black. Huh, like his...

He got another shock when the babies' eyes opened slowly, revealing a pair of light, grayish eyes that were tinted brown.

She raised her small paws and prodded his cheek curiously. He grinned. "Huh...hey there, you. Ya scared me ta death, ya know that?"

Clementine placed a paw on her daughters head, and the baby glanced back and forth between the two, shoving her own tiny fingers into her mouth.

"So...ya got a name for her?" He asked. He honestly wasn't good with girl's names...he couldn't think of any over the space of the pregnancy. Clementine smiled brightly.

"I've always liked Eglantine. It's my favorite flower."

Squint grinned upon hearing it. "Huh. Sounds like yours. That's fitting, right, Eggie?" He ticked Eglantine on the stomach, making her giggle happily.

Argeth stepped back, grinning to himself. A daughter...maybe she would to less trouble than her brothers. Speaking of which...wait till they found out they had a baby sister...

The morning that came, as the sun had just risen into the sky, many mammals would be awakened suddenly by a high-pitched, wide-eyed exclamation that was said after this line:

"Oh, a girl. Wait..."

"GIRL!?"

Reference to Lion King 2 and the Emperor's new Groove, anyone?

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