THE FEELING WAS ALWAYS TOO MUCH FOR ME /
IT ALWAYS CAME TOO STRONG /
I WANTED TO GET IT RIGHT SO BADLY /
THAT I ALWAYS GOT IT WRONG /
She kept as close to Brazen as she could all during the winter. It was a harder task to accomplish when Lilliana had two young children to look after as well as a territory but her bone-armored friend was given every spare moment that Lilli could find (and then some more as well).
But as the autumn faded with falling leaves and the barren branches were replaced with layers of snow, it became obvious that Brazen was carrying a child. What was more obvious was that the mare with stoneskin and bone-plating shouldn't; what Lilliana refused to believe was that Brazen couldn't carry a child.
They'd figure something out. They would. They had to.
There was no other alternative. Lilliana simply wouldn't accept it.
The stench of blood taints her quiet forest. It doesn't take Lilliana long to find the source bleeding out in a lonely glen. A whole life and then another one had painted the snow-covered ground red. Her delicate nostrils flared, taking in the coppery scent before lowering her head to the ground as she approached the pair. Her stride was considering and far too careful. There was trepidation in each step that she took towards Brazen and her newborn, like there was far too much for her to think about.
A little boy is nestled against moss, protected from the light dusting of snow and he is already wriggling with life. He's come early in the season and yet the little chestnut shows a vitality that could only beckon spring. The colt is already attempting to stand while Brazen continues to lay on the ground.
Lilliana's mind reflects on the night that Nashua and Yanhua had been born. Brazen had come for her, then. They had laughed and teased softly into the late hours of the night. Her friend had put Lilli's worried mind to rest when she might have otherwise kept herself awake with fear. This birth, though, is so different. There is no laughter. There is no teasing. There is only Lilliana fighting her tears and her worry because she knows that Brazen doesn't need either of those things right now.
She needs a healer.
"Brazen," Lilli murmurs gently into her friends red ear. Her eyes are closed and Lilliana hopes to keep her conscious by speaking to her. The most important thing right now is that the Nerinian remains alert. That she stands so her newborn - Reave - can nurse. That she gets up so they can find help. "He's perfect," her friend tells her with a softness that can only be born with motherhood.
The Taigan finally stops and uses her nose to guide the flaxen-haired colt as he attempts to rise. Turning her attention back to his mother, Lilliana says in a voice as steady as @[Brazen]'s wobbling newborn, "We need you to get up."
light of love - florence + the machine
image credit to footybandit
but it's all in the past, love
it's all gone with the wind