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+---- Thread: Paradise Falls abject darkness (/showthread.php?tid=22543)
abject darkness - Isla - May 16, 2024
will do very loose weekly 'rounds' for this to keep it moving in a timely manner <3
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At sunset, she stirred. The pain had started like ripples down her sides and eventually it felt like it shook her core. No part of the pregnancy could have prepared her for the actual labor. Let alone the birth that was to come!
She knew that she would not be leaving the den for...who knew how long. Most certainly not the next day. Instinct demanded her into the deep hollow she had made in preparation for this very moment. She trusted that her watch dog would be there beyond the den, in wait and guard. It allowed her a sense of safety even as the pain rolled through her. She did not need to immediately see him to know that he would surely be near. He knew her status as well as herself!
Which was good for the pain that rippled over her! Enough that she leaned back into the wall and found her jaw tightened firmly as the pains seemed closer together now. A low disgruntled sound warbled through her throat and out into the rain that echoed within the den.
The first would not emerge until night and the time seemed as if it would span forever between now and then.
RE: abject darkness - Chan - May 18, 2024
Chan had been well aware of what was coming, and had done as much as he could to prepare for it by ensuring any kind of resources that might be needed through and after the labor were readily available. The possibility that childbirth could take Viorel's other daughter under his watch terrified him. Aside from all that, Isla was a part of his pack and vulnerable in several ways, whether she acknowledged them as such or not. Caring for her was not specific to her past ties nor this phase in time. He was and would continue to do the same for @Hazelnut as well.
He had dozed off momentarily nearby, but when he woke, subtle sounds from the den told him something might be happening. He would sit up and remain alert, at the ready. As always, though, Chan also was giving the distance Isla had seemed to clearly prefer from him, for understandable reasons. He wouldn't push his presence unless needed.
RE: abject darkness - Riven - May 21, 2024
Though he wasn’t deterred by Isla’s guardian, Riven kept a respectful distance away from the den. He’d found himself curled beneath a low bush, mostly out of the rain, and faded in and out of sleep until he heard the low groans emanating from the den. His head raised and his ear angled forward, alert and ready to spring into action should his skills be needed. He wasn’t an official healer here, but he figured his presence shouldn’t hurt, at least. Adelard had mentioned they had use for him, and he’d already brought up his desired role with Chan.
He’d found a bit of pineapple weed and sweet grass - enough for both expectant mothers, in fact, but he’d only taken what he needed for Isla at the moment. It had been a while since he’d been around for a birth, but it always felt so special. New life was being created in this moment, and Riven felt honored enough to be nearby.
There was no guarantee he’d be allowed anywhere near the den, but even so, he could always hand the herbs to Adelard with instructions. It would be good to have them available, even if he wasn’t the one to give them to her.
RE: abject darkness - Nadine - May 22, 2024
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Nadine was aware. She had remained close to the den for the past two weeks in preparation for what Isla was about to go through. She had regularly been returning with food for her, and conversation as she prepared for the isolation that newborn children often brought. Even now, as the sounds of her labor pains in the form of low disgruntled sounds echoed out of the mouth of the den, she rested at the mouth of the den.
Her eyes focused on the mouth, finding her friend’s form in the dimmer lighting and offering her silent support to her. She would continue to offer it in the coming weeks, but her presence now was more important than any of it, lest she need anything at all.
RE: abject darkness - Adelard - May 22, 2024
Since the discovery of Riven's arrival, Adelard toed the line between duty and love. He spent most of his waking hours minding Isla and her whereabouts, tending to her needs and wants. But, when he believed she could get by without her chaperone, he crept away to find Riven. Isla's grumpy guard dog and Riven's starry-eyed lover had become two sides of one coin.
As the days went by and Adelard suspected that Isla's would be giving birth soon, he strayed less and less... until he found himself planted near the Valle woman's den. Sprawled out on his stomach with his hind limbs splayed behind him, it was obvious he had been there for some time. The browns of his pelt appeared almost black in the rainfall. Every now and then, a drop fell from the saturated points of his thick fur, from his whiskers and guard hairs. His half-lidded eyes stared as Chan appeared, and he adjusted himself with the shift of his elbows. His mouth was drawn in a straight, sealed line and his ears were high atop his skull.
Even as Riven hid just out of sight and Nadine arrived, he remained in his spot. The picturesque image of a watchdog. One ear turned toward him, while the other kept pinned toward the mouth of the den. Isla had quite the help already at her beck and call. If she needed him, he was there... There was no need to crowd her or fuss over the pups he assumed were his...
RE: abject darkness - Isla - May 23, 2024
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In a way, she knew the bodies of the Falls to be beyond the mouth of the den. For a moment it felt as if she was the heart of it and a vein ran between her and each body.
Chan, Finley, Nadine, Adelard, Riven.
Finley's voice was the only one that reached out to her, checked in on her needs before the woman pulled away to join the other clusters of respectfully distanced bodies. Isla was almost positive she was too far in the throes of pain to be certain if she uttered a word. The matriarch would be there in that body of familiar faces beyond. Isla was not alone even as she sat in the dark and swam through agony. Did that comfort or concern her?
Time trickled on and in the continued rain of the night came the first.
A boy. A son. An heir.
He was a dark smudge against the earth. Thick with his health. A large baby already who seemed to have plenty of strength in him. It was instinct that guided her into cleaning him and then she pulled him close. Tucked against her side neatly where he may feast before he took his first sleep. Where he would be first in all ways. She had little time to marvel him any further before her body signaled another that wished to challenge these things with its quick arrival.
Another son.
This one seemed fussed by something despite how she tended to him as she had the first. Quick to cry as soon as his lungs could take in air, even when she worked as quick as she could to drag him alongside his brother. Exhaustion made her somehow further bothered by these antics but instinct had her seek to his survival. She sorely hoped this would be a short-lived behavior in this second born. At least he hushed for a moment in the wake of food being provided.
RE: abject darkness - Nadine - May 23, 2024
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Nadine remained a silent perch, waiting anxiously as the woman went through her labor pains… she was unaware of the first. The silence brought about by the boy not giving way to his presence right away until the scent hit her nose and she saw the little form bundled against the new mother’s stomach… the second was far more prevalent, piercing the world with a cry that she had come to expect from children… a sound the first had not made. It made her wonder if the first were healthy. She knew very little of these things as she was not a mother nor a healer herself, but Isla did not seem too alarmed.
And that meant Nadine would not feel too alarmed either. If something were wrong, and more importantly it were something she could rectify, then she was certain that she would be alerted. Until such a time, she saw no reason to panic or otherwise raise her own alarm
RE: abject darkness - Riven - May 24, 2024
It was a strange situation, to say the least. Riven was aware of what Adelard’s orbiting around Isla likely meant, and while he might’ve been a little more jealous and insecure about it when he was younger, he found that he didn’t quite mind it at the moment. Having him spend most of his time with her was difficult from time to time, but it didn’t really feel like he was competing with the woman, either.
There was no doubt he was cared for. For now, that was enough.
All was quiet and relatively peaceful until one shrill cry rang out. A healthy pup, by the sound of it, angry at its sudden eviction. Riven smiled a little to himself, getting to his feet and gathering the two types of herbs he had together. There was a good bit more pineapple weed than the sweet grass, given the dangerous properties of the latter, but there should be enough for Isla.
Though he didn’t believe Adelard would do anything to harm him, and not wanting to agitate Isla’s other guard, Riven was careful and slow in his approach. Tail low and wagging slow around his haunches, the healer dropped the bundle of herbs at Adelard’s feet.
“These are pineapple weed and sweet grass. They can be eaten to help her once the birth is over,” he explained lowly. “Give her more energy, expel the afterbirth, control the bleeding. I’d give them to her myself, but I don’t want to cause her any more stress,” he said with a soft smile.
RE: abject darkness - Chan - May 24, 2024
Chan held Adelard's gaze when it sought him, the colors chilled with deep distaste. Despite the other man's claim, his and Isla's relationship remained clearly beyond what was platonic, and appropriate. By now he knew in his gut that the fallen leader had lied to his face, but for the moment he waited for the confirmation of the much older wolf slipping into the young woman's den.
Until Riven unexpectedly crossed the line. He had noticed that the other also had medicinal flora with him, and he didn't mind the willingness to be on standby. Going to Adelard with it? A growl started up in his chest and he shot to his paws, tail stiffly raised in an aggressively dominant manner.
A younger Chan wouldn't have thought this the right time, would have tried to continue with diplomacy. If it was himself at risk, maybe he still would have. Too bad for the rogue Gerau that he'd chosen to fuck with Isla instead.
He would move to put himself between Adelard and Riven, aiming to step protectively over the proffered grasses. Riven would not yet be looked to; he might have initiated the slight, but there was virtually no blame to place on him. Clearly he just wanted to help. Instead, Chan's head would turn to fully face his near-agemate. His gaze bore into Adelard alone, and hopefully the message was clear without his vocalizing it.
If he wasn't the father, Isla's medical care wasn't his business, was it?
RE: abject darkness - Finley - May 25, 2024
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Things had been going so smoothly that the mother could not really pinpoint how everything ignited so quickly. As part of her daily routine she had checked in on the two birthing dens - both of which were not frequently being used as the expectant mothers got close to bringing a new generation into the world. Only this time, Isla’s den had been filled with an unmistakable sound, and Chan, Adelard, and Riven were already nearby. She had offered quiet assistance but when it went unresponsive, she went to lay near the leader who was nearby.
Finley had honestly almost fallen asleep, ears flicked towards the quiet murmuring about herbs when Chan got to his paws. Lifting her skull, she was shocked at the sudden anger and display of dominance. The instinct took over, she didn’t know what this was about - nor did she really care, but what she did care about was keeping the new mother safe. Quick to arise, she slunk around the confrontation to stand protectively over the very entrance to the den, gesturing to Nadine to join her. A low growl of warning was directed to the men before her give the den some space.. If this came to blows they didn’t need to be doing it here, not now.