"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Anahi never thought this day would finally be here. This pregnancy had been long; of course, maybe that was just because it was the second one, and the excitement of her first foal since the stillborn had made the pregnancy with Sirana go faster. Perhaps this time she was just impatient to meet the new addition to the family.
She'd been grazing with her daughter that day in the grove they'd discovered behind the waterfall. When the champagne mare wasn't watching over the other mares of the herd, or spending time with Archam, she was often here. She'd known the other mares would eventually go off to their own stages within the late days of their pregnancy, so that they could give birth in peace.
Anahi remembered her promise to Archam; he wanted to be there this time. She almost wanted to go back on her word; mares were supposed to go through it alone. At the same time, she knew he'd be mad if he missed another. If he wasn't nearby when she went into labor, she'd send Sirana to find her sire.
It was around the early morning hours when Anahi felt the first waves of pain hit her. Knowing what it meant, since she'd undergone the same thing with Sirana, the mare nipped at her belly before beginning to pace to try and take her mind off the pain. Knowing this birth could be fast or slow, she turned to look at Sirana, the now year-old filly grazing nearby.
Sirana at first didn't know what was going on. For the past few days they'd been here in the grove, knowing Anahi could drop at any time. The other mares of the herd were doing the same apparently, since they hadn't been around the rest of the territory much. Sirana was told she could come and go as she pleased now, since she was officially a yearling. But the filly had never seen a birthing before, and so was at first unsure of how to help her dam.
When Anahi did tell her what to do, Sirana nodded quickly. She knew Archam wanted to be here. The filly walked up to her mother, nuzzling her before turning and galloping off through the Cobblestone, looking around for her sire. Her bright coat shimmered like gold in the sunlight, her medium-length mane billowing as she ran. It had brightened to a near red in color, but still had black lurking within, showing the traits of her sire.
She didn't know how long she'd been running for, but so far, she didn't see her sire. Deciding it was the best thing to do, the filly continued galloping while letting out a whinny, calling for the stallion.
Anahi nuzzled her daughter in turn as she watched the filly leave to go find her sire. The mare sighed, pain striking her heart. Only one more year... one more year until she'd have to say goodbye... Hopefully not forever.
As the mare continued to pace, waiting for Archam to arrive, her pain continued to worsen. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore; she had to lie down. Tucking her muscular legs under her body, Anahi settled onto the ground, her chest heaving as she took in big breaths to cope with the birthing pain. She looked around anxiously for Archam for a moment, hoping he'd get here soon so that she could bring the foal into the world.
Hurry it up Archam... Another contraction kicked in, and Anahi winced, laying her head on the ground to try and keep relaxed.
Archam stood in the cobblestone at the bank of the creek. His ears flicked around listening to the animals that were done sleeping through the winter, out stretching there legs. The birds that soared around, looking for a meal. And the wind the gusted about the lands, almost as though it was singing a song. It was surely a beautiful day today, the flowers were nearing full bloom and the trees were back to life with bright green leaves. The air was fresh, not bitter like winter, and not thick like during the summer; it was easy to inhale and it tasted pure. He gently flicked his tail at the pesky insects that were beginning to come back to the lands, crawling on him to find there next meal.
He head quickly pivoted to the left as he heard Sirana, his daughter, scream out for him. He bolted forward running through the creek, water splashing up on his belly, disturbing the waters ecosystem. He leaped slightly landing on the opposite bank, continuing to push towards the direction Siranas voice came from. Was his herd being ambushed? He did not know why Sirana was calling for him, she never sounded frantic before. He raced through the wooded area, weaving in and out of trees and after a few minutes he was able to pick up her scent. She was very near now, a couple more swerves between the trees and the hefty stags eyes landed on his daughter. Sirana! whats wrong?! he snorted sliding to a halt, the filly was all by herself, there was no ambush, it was really just peaceful. What could she have possibly called him for, making him think she was dying or something.
06-06-2016, 07:25 PM (This post was last modified: 06-06-2016, 07:26 PM by Sirana.)
The filly heaved a sigh of relief as her sire came galloping up, asking her what was wrong as he skid to a halt in front of her. Sirana had to take a moment, breathing in and out heavily so that she could talk in coherent words.
When she'd finally gotten a hold of herself, albeit she was still slightly out of breath, Sirana looked up at her still taller sire and spoke, "Mom... baby... coming... asked... fetch... you..."
Even if she didn't speak a complete sentence, Sirana only hoped the he understood. To also show the urgency of the matter, the filly turned on a dime and took off back in the direction of the glen that she'd left her dam in, glancing back at Archam and neighing for him to follow.
Archam intensely gazed at Sirana awaiting her to tell him what was wrong; and when she did his body relaxed and a smile grew on his face. He nudged the filly before she turned encouraging him to follow her, and he did. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, the trees grew more scarce and he knew where Anahi was now....In the cove they were when Sirana and Loken were young.
His legs carried him as if they knew where he was going, he pushed past Sirana knowing she knew the way. He just hoped he wasn't to late to be there for Anahi; Just a little bit futher he told himself as he continued to gallop. Finally he took a right curve, splashed in some water and Anahi's golden pelt was in view. He ran over to the mare and nuzzled her shoulder, she looked in pain and he just arrived in time. how are you doing he smiled, he smiled, excited to see the foal they created. He wasn't particularly sure how to go about helping her, the mares always had the foals before he arrived, maybe all she needed was to know he was there.
06-09-2016, 08:20 PM (This post was last modified: 06-09-2016, 08:20 PM by Anahi.)
Anahi wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to hold out. This foal was anxious, ready to be born into the world, but it would have to wait. The champagne mare was giving Archam just a few more minutes to show up. If he didn't, she'd start; she couldn't take this pain anymore, of holding the foal in when it was obviously ready to be born.
Just seconds before she was ready, the sound of hoof steps reached her ears. Though she was too tired to look up, Anahi immediately knew who it was; the fact that there were two sets of hooves gave it away quite easily. She felt Archam's furry muzzle touch her shoulder. Anahi, barely moving her head, looked up at the handsome stallion.
"I'm... okay..." Spoke too soon, Anahi realized, as another contraction kicked in. The mare winced, and knew it was time. The birthing would be done soon.
Several times throughout the whole process, Anahi had stood up, nipped at her stomach, and laid down again, anxiousness clouding her eyes. Her neck was lathered with sweat within minutes, and her groans became more fatigued as she gave birth to the foal.
Anahi didn't know how long it had taken, all she knew was when she was done, there would be a new life in this world. That was what she saw when the pain was released, and she looked behind her. A tiny foal was lying on the grass beside her, its already dark coat appearing even more so thanks to the birthing fluid covering her body. Anahi was exhausted, but, like any good mother, she heaved herself onto her hooves, turned, and began cleaning the foal off.
When the filly was as clean as she could get, the mare nickered to the tiny creature. The stubby little limbs on its body didn't seem to want to work, but after a short while, the filly was up. She wobbled over to her dam, letting out a tiny whinny as she tried to understand what was happening around her.
Anahi chuckled and gently nudged the foal toward her belly. The little one quickly found what she was looking for; her dam's milk. Wincing lightly as the foal's milk teeth latched onto her teat, Anahi sighed with content, glad that the process had gone smoothly, and she had a perfectly healthy foal by her side.
She did notice the little one had darker coloring than Sirana had at birth; she figured that if this foal grew to look like her, with light coloring, no doubt she'd be a few shades darker than her older sister.
Anahi smiled as she turned to look at Archam, her eyes tired, sides heaving with exhaustion, "It's a filly..."
Anahi was in obvious pain, this was the worst part about foaling, the mother had to endure pain to see there beloved foal. She layed down but anxiously got up and down for about seven times, before finally resting. She was clearly anxious and ready to get the foal out, she was covered in sweat. All Archam could do was watch, he had never seen the mare give birth and truly felt bad for all of his mares who had to endure the pain to give his foals life. After a few pushes and intense silence a foal appeared before them; a filly
A smile grew on Archams face as he stared down to the little filly; she looked almost identical to Sirana just a tad bit darker in color. He moved closer to Anahi and nuzzled her neck she is beautiful he responded to her statement, what will you name her? curious to the new fillies calling. He gazed in between the three females, Anahi, Sirana and the new foal, all of them completed his family. It broke his heart to hide from Sirana she would be leaving the herd soon, but that was a conversation for another time.
He gently moved closer to the filly and nuzzled her shoulder hello there he spoke in a calm quite voice, not to scare the filly who had a whole new world before her.
Anahi gazed back up at Archam, "I was thinking of the name... Eiria. In honor of my mother," she explained, a smile appearing on her face as she thought of her. Anahi still pined to know what had happened to the older mare. She'd lost her while there had been an attack, but hadn't seen what exactly had happened to her dam. Perhaps she'd managed to get away somehow?
Anahi only wished she knew.
Looking back up at Archam, watching as he nuzzled the filly's shoulder, Anahi noticed the brief pained look in his eye. No doubt he'd be thinking about Sirana, about what would happen come next spring. The thought broke her heart as well, but she couldn't say anything. Not yet...
Anahi looked up again, seeing Sirana was standing only a few feet away. The champagne mare called to her daughter, "Sirana, come meet your baby sister."
The entire time her dam had been in the process of giving birth, Sirana had kept a respectful distance, knowing Anahi would appreciate privacy. She'd switched between grazing and looking back to make sure her dam was okay. She could hear the squeals of pain ringing in her ears.
Then, when it stopped, Sirana walked over to her parents, a smile on her face as she noticed the tiny filly lying at her dam's side. Admiring the darker coloring, Sirana listened to both her sire and dam as they exchanged words. One in particular caught the amber yearling's attention.
"Eiria..." It was a beautiful name, well chosen for a filly such as this one. Sirana, before her dam even said anything, was already making her way over to meet her baby sister. The filly stretched out her nose to sniff Sirana, the two sister's muzzles making brief contact before the younger one squealed. Sirana laughed, knowing that was the little one's way of expressing her unsureness about this situation.
Sirana then watched as Archam nuzzled the filly's shoulder to introduce himself. Eiria sniffed her sire's muzzle when he came close before ducking underneath her mother's body, something that reminded Sirana of what she'd done at that age, according to her dam at least.
"Seems like she's a shy one huh dad?" Sirana asked, a small chuckle escaping her as Eiria stepped out from under Anahi's body in order to continue drinking her dam's milk.
