She had never been quite foolish or naive enough not to understand what her tryst with Nash might result in, but what she hadn’t imagined was that he would actually care. Truthfully, she hadn’t fully expected him to hang around. It had been something of a pleasant surprise that he had not, in fact, been after only one thing from her. That he seemed to value her company (even if she can’t quite understand why. She’d never done or been anything terribly exciting).
She hadn’t told him when she’d begun to suspect something might have happened. That they had made a child. Mostly because she hadn’t realized he might wish to know. But it had quickly become obvious, and his reaction upon realizing had surprised her. Rather than shrug it off as she had expected, he’d started to… hover. His concern and delight and worry had been blindingly obvious, but she hadn’t quite known how to react to it.
She knows now it had probably not been the best reaction. If anything, the way she’d withdrawn appeared to have worried him more. But, well, they’d figured out eventually. Sort of.
Sort of, because even after all that, it doesn’t occur to her to find him or somehow inform him she had gone into labor. Instinct drives her into the trees, telling her to find somewhere private. Somewhere secluded. It doesn’t occur to her that Nash might experience alarm when he couldn’t immediately locate her in what had become increasingly frequent check-ins. In fact, it doesn’t even occur to her that he might wish for anything more than to be presented with a healthy child at his next check-in.
Though she is aware of childbirth and what it entails, it hadn’t prepared her for the actuality. By the time she locates a nice spot, her neck and flanks are coated in sweat even as every instinct screams that it’s time. It takes her a few minutes to settle, but when she finally does, sides heaving as she pushes, it is only moments before her daughter is brought into the world.
She takes a minute to breath before struggling upright, instinct now pushing her to care for the babe. To her surprise and chagrin, she has only enough time to clear the wiggling form and nudge affectionately at the small, folded wings before the contractions grow overwhelming once more. With a tired huff, she settles next to her daughter. A short time later, a second girl is wriggling on the ground. She blinks at her in faint bafflement for several heartbeats before she is driven to care for her as well.
Well hell, she hadn’t quite expected this.
- noel
@[Nashua]