07-03-2016, 12:58 PM
Like both of her previous pregnancies, Anahi found herself becoming impatient as the final few days arrived. She was constantly wondering when the little one would appear in the world, when s/he would finally decide to come out and relieve his/her dam of the extra weight on her belly. Not that Anahi cared a great deal, but the last few days of carrying the foal were always the worst. The little one just wanted to take its time when she had waited this long for the foal to appear. She was both impatient and excited, to tell the truth.
With her fillies, the birthing process had started in the morning and continued until the afternoon or so, which is why she'd always made her way to the grove. She stuck near it during the final days of her pregnancy, so she could be prepared and go to the grove to birth her foal safely. Today, or rather, tonight, was no different.
After settling down in the grove to go to sleep, Anahi found herself absent-mindedly wondering where her daughters had gone off to. With Sirana at age two, and Eiria finally a yearling, both of them were always running off to spend time together, whether to explore, hang out with the other foals, including Nitika's yearling Siba, learn diplomacy from Ashara (if they could convince her to teach them), or fighting techniques from Nitika, Raxa, and the other warriors. She had given them a time to be back by, but knew they probably wouldn't listen. They could take care of themselves anyways, and this territory was hardly dangerous. Both fillies knew it like the back of their hooves; Anahi didn't forsee any trouble for her fillies tonight.
Which is why, after she'd finally begun falling asleep, it started. The little one was finally on its way. The mare gritted her teeth, groaning a little as the familiar contraction pains ripped through her belly. She started pacing in a circle, her breathing growing heavy, the sides of her neck and her flanks quickly becoming glistened with sweat.
This process would continue for a number of hours, all the way until the wee hours of the morning. During that time, Anahi had continuously alternated between laying down and standing back up to pace. Then, finally, another pain ripped through her, and she knew it was time. The champagne mare laid down, resting her head on the ground as she began to push. Despite the number of hours of pain she'd endured, she knew this part would be quick, yet painful. She was already exhausted from pacing around, but the foal had to come out. She couldn't stop yet; she could rest after it was all over.
Within roughly half of an hour, if not shorter, the birthing was complete. Anahi remained laying on the ground, her body slick with sweat. Her nostrils were flared, her breathing quick as she came back to her senses after the birth, trying to calm herself down. She was absolutely exhausted, yet another reason the last days of pregnancy weighed on her. She did not like feeling this tired, but in the end, it was worth it. That was always how she got through it to give birth to her foal.
Movement on the grass behind her stirred the mare from her resting stage. Anahi lifted her head and looked behind her, eyes widened at what she could see. The foal was still coated with the liquid from inside the womb, but looked healthy otherwise. What astonished her was the color of the little one's coat. Unlike Sirana and Eiria, who both inherited Anahi's light champagne color, this foal sported the roan coat of its sire.
The foal was shaking a little due to the chilly morning air, but doing so would help increase its own warmth. Anahi stood up and turned around, lowering her head to sniff the newborn foal. She gently licked behind one of its ears before moving on to its nose. She began cleaning its face off, her eyes twinkling when she noticed a small star sitting in the middle of its forehead. A marking that matched the one Sirana possessed.
Anahi continued cleaning the foal until its roan coat was pretty much rid of the birthing fluid. Its black mane and tail were inky and matched its coal-colored legs perfectly. Its brown face was a tepid brown, leaving it open to whether it would darker or lighten as the foal aged. The mare stood by her foal quietly for a little while after cleaning it before the little creature made its first attempt to stand. Its wobbly legs didn't do well to support its weight the first time, so the foal tumbled back to the ground within seconds.
Anahi simply nudged the foal, urging it to try again. The foal continued to try a few more times, each one getting closer and closer to successfully standing for the first time. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the foal stood up. Getting its feet under it, the foal wobbled greatly, but remained on its hooves. It stood there, watched over by Anahi, the mare licking the foal's flank to clean away some debris from when the foal had fallen back down after an earlier attempt.
The foal finally took a step. It was wobbly, but it did not fall back down. Anahi watched as the foal started getting the hang of its legs, even if it was still a bit wobbly. While watching, Anahi made the discovery of what gender the foal was. Her heart soared when she found out, just as it had with her two daughters.
This foal, who looked so much like its father, was a colt! A perfect mirror image of his sire. The only thing he'd inherited differently was the star marking on his forehead, but it did little to take away the handsome color of his coat and the powerful presence he would no doubt grow up to be, just like his sire.
The colt finally seemed to get the hang of things. He gave a tiny whinny, a sign that told Anahi he was hungry, for her daughters had done the same thing after they'd successfully stood up on their own. The mare stepped toward her son and gave him a nudge toward her belly. She knew he would figure out on his own where the milk was.
It did take a couple of tries, but after a couple minutes, he successfully found the mare's milk. He began drinking greedily, some milk spilling down his chin. The mare laughed at her son's plight, but decided to leave him alone. She lowered her head to rest a little, her son being given the chance to drink his dam's milk in peace as the early morning hours settled over the land.
@[Archam]
With her fillies, the birthing process had started in the morning and continued until the afternoon or so, which is why she'd always made her way to the grove. She stuck near it during the final days of her pregnancy, so she could be prepared and go to the grove to birth her foal safely. Today, or rather, tonight, was no different.
After settling down in the grove to go to sleep, Anahi found herself absent-mindedly wondering where her daughters had gone off to. With Sirana at age two, and Eiria finally a yearling, both of them were always running off to spend time together, whether to explore, hang out with the other foals, including Nitika's yearling Siba, learn diplomacy from Ashara (if they could convince her to teach them), or fighting techniques from Nitika, Raxa, and the other warriors. She had given them a time to be back by, but knew they probably wouldn't listen. They could take care of themselves anyways, and this territory was hardly dangerous. Both fillies knew it like the back of their hooves; Anahi didn't forsee any trouble for her fillies tonight.
Which is why, after she'd finally begun falling asleep, it started. The little one was finally on its way. The mare gritted her teeth, groaning a little as the familiar contraction pains ripped through her belly. She started pacing in a circle, her breathing growing heavy, the sides of her neck and her flanks quickly becoming glistened with sweat.
This process would continue for a number of hours, all the way until the wee hours of the morning. During that time, Anahi had continuously alternated between laying down and standing back up to pace. Then, finally, another pain ripped through her, and she knew it was time. The champagne mare laid down, resting her head on the ground as she began to push. Despite the number of hours of pain she'd endured, she knew this part would be quick, yet painful. She was already exhausted from pacing around, but the foal had to come out. She couldn't stop yet; she could rest after it was all over.
Within roughly half of an hour, if not shorter, the birthing was complete. Anahi remained laying on the ground, her body slick with sweat. Her nostrils were flared, her breathing quick as she came back to her senses after the birth, trying to calm herself down. She was absolutely exhausted, yet another reason the last days of pregnancy weighed on her. She did not like feeling this tired, but in the end, it was worth it. That was always how she got through it to give birth to her foal.
Movement on the grass behind her stirred the mare from her resting stage. Anahi lifted her head and looked behind her, eyes widened at what she could see. The foal was still coated with the liquid from inside the womb, but looked healthy otherwise. What astonished her was the color of the little one's coat. Unlike Sirana and Eiria, who both inherited Anahi's light champagne color, this foal sported the roan coat of its sire.
The foal was shaking a little due to the chilly morning air, but doing so would help increase its own warmth. Anahi stood up and turned around, lowering her head to sniff the newborn foal. She gently licked behind one of its ears before moving on to its nose. She began cleaning its face off, her eyes twinkling when she noticed a small star sitting in the middle of its forehead. A marking that matched the one Sirana possessed.
Anahi continued cleaning the foal until its roan coat was pretty much rid of the birthing fluid. Its black mane and tail were inky and matched its coal-colored legs perfectly. Its brown face was a tepid brown, leaving it open to whether it would darker or lighten as the foal aged. The mare stood by her foal quietly for a little while after cleaning it before the little creature made its first attempt to stand. Its wobbly legs didn't do well to support its weight the first time, so the foal tumbled back to the ground within seconds.
Anahi simply nudged the foal, urging it to try again. The foal continued to try a few more times, each one getting closer and closer to successfully standing for the first time. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the foal stood up. Getting its feet under it, the foal wobbled greatly, but remained on its hooves. It stood there, watched over by Anahi, the mare licking the foal's flank to clean away some debris from when the foal had fallen back down after an earlier attempt.
The foal finally took a step. It was wobbly, but it did not fall back down. Anahi watched as the foal started getting the hang of its legs, even if it was still a bit wobbly. While watching, Anahi made the discovery of what gender the foal was. Her heart soared when she found out, just as it had with her two daughters.
This foal, who looked so much like its father, was a colt! A perfect mirror image of his sire. The only thing he'd inherited differently was the star marking on his forehead, but it did little to take away the handsome color of his coat and the powerful presence he would no doubt grow up to be, just like his sire.
The colt finally seemed to get the hang of things. He gave a tiny whinny, a sign that told Anahi he was hungry, for her daughters had done the same thing after they'd successfully stood up on their own. The mare stepped toward her son and gave him a nudge toward her belly. She knew he would figure out on his own where the milk was.
It did take a couple of tries, but after a couple minutes, he successfully found the mare's milk. He began drinking greedily, some milk spilling down his chin. The mare laughed at her son's plight, but decided to leave him alone. She lowered her head to rest a little, her son being given the chance to drink his dam's milk in peace as the early morning hours settled over the land.
@[Archam]
