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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    promise i'll be good if you stay with me, birthing/any
    #1

    everything we are, it just went away
    with a slide of the tongue and a sour taste

    Oh, she is in agony

    She thought that she couldn’t possibly be more miserable? She was wrong. Oh, so, so, so wrong. It turns out that there is another layer of miserable she didn’t imagine even possible, and that is the pains of labor. The pain consistently takes her breath away, and as the night progresses with no changes – just contractions – she finds herself crying. Crying for Cress, for Rhaegor, for Kensa, for Ilma, for Clayton, even for Litotes. None of them come, of course – there is little more frightening than a laboring woman – but she cries their names as the night wears on, until she is too exhausted to do much more than lay on her side, praying for the pain to end. 

    It is near daybreak when the contractions change, and she knows that it must be time. She rests, but only briefly, before her body tells her that she must push; one of her children is ready to make their appearance. 

    She strains one, two, three, four times, then it is time to take a breath. Again, one, two, three, four, five, and she feels the foal slip from her body, and her body quiets for the time being. Scrambling to her hooves, she moves towards the little cream bundle. She manages to lick the foal – a filly – dry before the contractions begin again, and she smiles and nudges the girl to encourage her to stand while she goes to birth the other child. “Isilme,” she whispers into her daughter’s neck, pride flowing through every ounce of her being. 

    The second comes quicker, and before can realize it there is another at her feet, lighter but still cream-colored. She takes the time to clean this foal too, delighting to find that she has birthed two girls, and nuzzles the second girl as well. “Austra,” she names her, nudging her to encourage her, too, to stand. Oh, they are perfect. “I’m your momma, girls,” she tells them, eyes aglow with adoration. These are her daughters. Hers. Who would imagine she’d have such perfect girls. Such... wait a minute. 

    “Well, there’s no denying your father, at least,” she says with a laugh, glancing between them. They both have Lie’s muzzle, speckles with snowflakes that fade into their coat. This will definitely ruin her and Kensa’s friendship when the other woman finds out, she’s sure of it. C’est la vie. 

    They’re her perfect daughters, and nothing can take that from her.

    Dawn

    oh, it's gonna be a long night

     

    @[isilme] @[austra]
    clean.
    Reply
    #2
    Clayton seemed to always be lost in his thoughts, but now more than usual. He was always loyal and dedicated to his home, but now more than usual. He finds himself sneaking into Hyaline less and less, and more time devoted to learning as agreed upon.

    He was casually strolling through the Cove, the brief time he has to himself. He stops in his tracks when the sound of another in agony brushes past his ear. He scans the horizon, but his beating heart subdues when he remembers it is birthing season and there were a couple pregnant mares around.

    He continues on his path when the thought of Dawn giving birth passes his mind. The two were selected to be trained as the next rulers, he wanted to make sure she was ok and comfortable.  Jt he presses on, surely the father would be there for her.

    He finds a nice spot to rest, hopefully for the night. Though it was perfect the thought of Dawn being alone takes over his mind and he could not stand around any longer. He quickly finds his way back to where he heard the call the first time, attempting to find the caller.

    It took what was much longer than planned, but when he stumbles upon Dawn she is with not one foal, but two. A gentle smile appeared on his maw before quickly fading to nerves. He has no children, he doesn't know how to act, does she even want visitors? Is the father around? Will he want another stallion beside his newborn children?

    He truly considered turning around and pretending it never happened but he also worried he could now be detected by scent. After a long internal debate he made his way towards the palomino mare, and what appeared to be two fillies.

    He stopped a safe distance from the foals, attempting to show no threat. You are strong Dawn, and they are beautiful he says in a gentle tone as his eyes shift from Dawn to the girls back to Dawn. What did you name them? He asks as they deserve to be called by there proper names. He had no idea what childbirth was like, but surely it was not easy, and for that reason he admired Dawn even more.

    @[Dawn]
    [Image: clayton_by_cowgirlconrad-dcmmo18.png]




    Reply
    #3

    Ilma
    And there's a lesson waiting to be learned
    the firestarters always get the burns
    and the good guys never get the girl

    I’ve been to Hyaline for Terhi - old habits die hard. I wanted her to be born in that same spot that I’d found for her sister, for her brother; thus I made the journey and figured the Cove would still be standing upon my return. But I’m supposedly a queen now, a title I don’t think I want to get used to. My duty is back here, and so after a day’s rest, I nudge the filly and the both of us make the slow journey home.

    She sees things, things that aren’t there. At first I had hoped it might be related to my knowing things before they happen, but deep down I know it’s just not true. In her fever she has wicked dreams, I have to calm her at night and press her close to me. And yet it seems that besides her uncontrolled body temperature and the hallucinations that come with it, no other symptoms present themselves. I worry if she’s having headaches, but she’s too young to tell me, and she doesn’t seem to react to light and sound too much.

    And so we move, back towards what will be our home for another year or so. As we enter, the days-old palomino girl makes a whimpering sound and for the moment, I do not worry, thinking she saw or heard something that doesn’t exist outside her mind. But then I hear the screams too, echoing far away. It’s Dawn - and I can’t help but smile and shake my head. I touch my youngest daughter’s head, whispering to her soothingly. ”Not to worry, she’ll pull through.” I am too far away to help her, too slow with the filly by my side, but I make my way over anyway. When I arrive, I spy Clayton, and greet them both with a smile. Had I not just had a baby myself I could have been here in time, but that’s the way the world works. ”Congratulations, Dawn.” I tell her, then add softly, ”They’re like their father, but I know you can handle that.” A warning perhaps, to look out for them. I don’t think he’ll be here in time to help raise them; but I can’t help but smile at the idea of a polar bear walking around the Cove with two lion cubs in tow.

    To move the conversation forward and not have it linger on the absent father, I nudge my constellation-marked girl. ”This is Terhi. Go on, say hello.” I do not name them; Dawn and Clayton and Austra and Isilme - I’ve heard Clay ask, and I’d be way out of league if I spoke before the mother.

    and shooting stars cannot fix the world
    Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
    Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time
    Reply
    #4
    litotes

    Loess chewed him up and swallowed, digested and expelled him as if the angry were the only portion of its appetite. Once his sentence was up, Litotes lingered, hovering amongst the land that he changed so drastically within. The wind is different here, somehow more cruel than Hyaline, less welcoming to strangers but warming to Lie. He embraced his change and tamed his anger over the past few weeks, but the trauma of it all still sears bitter scars across his chest.


    It has been a long year, he thinks, but responsibility and longing from the Cove still draws him.

    With all loyalty gone and the happenings of a kingdom he does not belong to whispered slyly in his ear by his daughter, the cremello quietly passes through the Hyaline border. Somehow, he can sense the lack of Kagerus and Solace. Their distinct absence of rule does lessen the heat the Cove spreads through his chest, but does not nearly erase it.

    Brunhilde had told him that Dawn and Clayton are to rule after training with Ilma. She had also told him the sweet palomino was wildly swollen with pregnancy. Though not entirely sure the child is his, his suspicion only grew during his time in Loess. Regardless of the thoughts of others or his personal vendettas, he owes allegiance to Dawn and any child that may be his. No ill will he harbors is aimed toward the polar bear shifter; in fact, Litotes finds he quite likes her (and that if that child is actually his, he owes her an apology for being locked away for so long).

    If Dawn is to become a queen, then Litotes wishes her an easy rule. For now, though, he has absolutely no interest in manipulating her for his own gain and only desires to know her better and be there for his child.

    Though some may think brashly otherwise, he still has morals.

    Dawn’s calls are loud and painful. He thinks it odd that he steps into the Cove the very same day she is to give birth, though Beqanna does have its strange ways of working. Though Clayton and Ilma linger on the opposite side of the cries, Litotes does not notice their scents for his focus is too intune with the future mother’s pain. He wants to rush to her side but his uncertainty keeps him planted - if the babe is not his, she may not want to see a fresh Loessian so nearby.

    When the birth goes quiet, the stallion quiets his nerves and presses forward. To his surprise, Ilma and Clayton are already there. He offers them both a smile that does not reach his eyes, then turns toward the mother and . . . two fillies? Lie’s gaze widens in shock as he notices their duality and his very distinct snow markings upon their muzzles. The boyishness that won hearts before returns to his face.

    “Dawn,” he whispers, forgetting the other two and rushing to her side, “they are so beautiful.” Lie places a gentle kiss on each of their foreheads before turning back to the palomino with painstaking regret.

    “I am so sorry.”

    Truthfully, he knows his pride does not matter here and cares not for the two sets of ears and eyes that observe his pain. The lion-man stretches his muzzle to Dawn’s if she will have him, longing only to press his deepest remorse into her skin, for her to know how badly he regrets his time absent from her pregnancy.

    He then turns to Ilma and Clayton.

    “Thank you for keeping her company -” knowing he should have been here from the moment labor started, knowing the comfort their presences may have offered is different than the comfort of having the other caretaker’s support.

    i don't want your pity, i just want somebody near me
    guess i'm a coward, i just want to feel all right



    @[Clayton] @[Dawn] @[Ilma]
    Reply
    #5
    isilme
    steady as the stars in the woods
    All she sees are bright lights, for a moment.
    Then, blinking, a figure. The figure licks her, an oddly comforting feeling, before nudging her. “Isilme,” she repeats. What a strange noise. She busies herself trying to stand—a feeble attempt as her long, spindly legs give out underneath her. She falls a second time before staying on the ground. Too much work.
    She hears another noise from the figure—“Austra” she repeats this time—and realizes another, smaller figure has appeared. They are both cream colored, though the smaller is paler than the taller. She looks down at herself to see that she appears to match the taller. Interesting.
    Several more figures appear around them—an odd brown and green horned figure, a white winged one, and a small one that seems to match her.
    “Dawn!” She repeats, not yet making the connection between Dawn and momma. The new small one, seemingly named Terhi, is nudged forward by the white.
    Isilme—which she takes too long to realize is her own name—starts to stand again, wobbly, but upright. She leaps toward Terhi playfully, her tiny, undeveloped dragon wings flapping awkwardly before Isilme falls again. She huffs, annoyed. The palomino girl once again stays on the ground in protest.
    A final figure appears—one that matches Little Austra, even down to the muzzle. He plants a kiss on her forehead, then Isilme’s. She twists her muzzle in mild irritation: he should’ve asked before touching her. She would have said no.
    careless and young, free as the birds that fly
    Reply
    #6

    everything we are, it just went away
    with a slide of the tongue and a sour taste

    It turns out her secluded spot wasn’t so secluded after all.

    Little Isilme wobbles to her hooves and she smiles at the girl, silently encouraging her to stand. Twice she falls before she decides to stay on the ground, and Dawn chuckles as she watches her girls explore their first few minutes of life. She looks up as she hears footfalls approaching, and gives Clayton a tired smile as he stops a safe distance away from the trio. “Thank you so much, Clayton,” she tells him, but her strength is waning and her mind wanders before she realizes that he had asked for their names.

    It is Austra’s turn to stand now, and Dawn’s gaze softens as she falls and cries out in surprise, her cream legs a tangled heap beneath her. She doesn’t intervene as the girl stands again, merely shifts her position so that the girls can nurse if they choose to. Austra latches on almost immediately, curling her tiny body under Dawn’s barrel and around her hind legs. It’s only a few moments later that Ilma arrives, and she offers the white woman a similar smile to the one she had given Clayton. “Thank you, Ilma,” she murmurs, her expression giving away nothing as Ilma explains that they are like their father. She had supposed as much would happen, with his lion shifting and her bear; she’d rather deal with lion cubs than polar bear cubs. Lions are so much smaller.

    She introduces her daugther and Isilme stumbles to her hooves once more, playfully leaping towards the other filly before falling once more into a heap. A breathless laugh escapes Dawn as she watches the girl, joy and pure love filling her entire being. God, she loves them so much already; she didn’t know this much love was even possible to feel, but it easily dwarves any other thing she has felt in her entire life. Years of sadness, of loneliness – gone, just like that.

    She will never have to be alone again.

    Austra finishes nursing and takes a wobbly step towards her sister and Terhi, eyes apprehensive, and Dawn looks up in time to see a familiar cremello stallion walking their way. “Lie,” she murmurs, not quite believing her eyes. Why is he here, in the Cove? She cannot say, but she is glad to see him all the same. He gazes at his daughters and she can see the realization dawning on her face, and he rushes to her side to meet them.

    When he turns to her and apologizes, she laughs softly, pressing her nose into his neck. “There is nothing to be sorry for,” she tells him, and she means it. He had blessed her with these two little girls before them, and she adores him for it. “Without your help, these beautiful girls wouldn’t even exist.”

    Dawn

    oh, it's gonna be a long night



    @[Clayton] @[Ilma] @[litotes] @[isilme]
    clean.
    Reply




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