SpoilerWarning: birth

  [colpse]“The truth is… I don’t know what to do, or even where to go” I expin my situation to the circle of surprised women. The situation is quite awkward, as Elder Mara has just given birth and the people gathered here either are her family or served as midwives – and the awkwardness only rises as I speak. And the Turontha wasn’t even the only one delivering – I noticed quite a few other fresh mothers with their newborns, most of them twins. “So I just followed my nose… and I can see you are busy, so… I’ll go some-”

  “Stop!” Olka interrupts me; she sounds exhausted. “I’m actually happy to see you; we’ve been busy since yesterday – and I, personally, since the morning” she rubs her eyes. “I… we need a break – even if a short one.”

  “It’s that time of a month, after all” Baba Tika states with a sagely nod.

  “Hrmpf!” An unknown woman – a red-haired, middle-aged Human – snorts with tired irritation as Nadia of cn Toter, my Mousekin lover, greets me by hugging me. “Yaga’s tomfoolery is what forced many of us to uphold the barrier through the night – if not for it, we would have easily managed” she shakes her head with her arms crossed; then continues, disapproval palpable in her tone. “Childless women are just…”

  “T-that’s not the issue and you kn-know it!” Another new face, a short, chubby Volkhsa, interrupts her; she has a heavy blush and sounds offended, as if the unfinished comment struck a personal note with her. “N-not ev-every…!”

  “Yes, yes, Lora” another unknown Witch, this time a tall, skimpy clothed Horse Softkin – or Konitsa – chimes in; she smells a bit familiar and sounds exasperated. “You know she’s talking about those who don’t want kids; and speaking of” she turns to me and her demeanour changes radically: her tone becomes sultry and flirtatious, her smile – scivious, and she licks her lips with carnal hunger. “The tribe will need plenty more little ones… dare to give me some?” She puts her hands on her hips and sways them seductively… before rising her skirt, exposing her bare, wet pussy!

  “Laura!” Olka shouts before I can react; she’s clearly pissed off. “You… you want to fuck now of all time?! When many women can go into bour at any moment?!” I observe the young Risitha with fascination as she clenches her fists and thumps on the ground; then she slumps and shakes her head disapprovingly. “I swear, every sensible girl gets hit with the First Heat and instantly her head is filled with nothing but sex, sex, and even more sex! It’s like… it’s like you are a completely different person!” To my shock there’s pain in her voice.

  “Now, now, young one” Baba Tika says, her tone partially conciliatory and partially amused. “That’s just how the life is – and you know that; and you too” she addresses the Horsekin. “Mind the time and pce…”

  “Yes, yes” the tall Witch rolls her eyes. “We need to be ready, it’s just your third heat, you still have more to learn, bh, bh, bh” she says mockingly. “Gee, tell me something I don’t know – or at least new! I will do what I want anyway!” As if to prove she’s serious, she walks up to me and I let her kiss me; she also grabs fondles my breasts.

  Her kiss is… sloppy, the same can be said about her handling of my boobs. It’s clear she cks experience and I can’t help but wander; is this what my other partners felt when we were together? Baba Yaga has dissed me for that today, after all… I can’t help but return to memories of my earlier encounters, reliving them once more in the search of reaction from my partners; they’ve all expressed satisfaction with me, after all. And all that thinking made me realise the feelings of closeness I’ve felt with them, during and after the act – and how important they are to intercourse. I also realised that not every of my partner meant the same to me; there was a connection between me and Po, or between me and Bulra that was lessened between me and the Vodyakin trio – or simply cking between me and Volnika. And there’s nothing between me and the woman that is kissing me – so I gently push her away for now.

  “Bear in mind that I have nothing against you” I tell the stupefied Horsekin. “It’s just that I know nothing about you – not even your name – and I do want to know more about a potential mother of my children” I smile honestly at the tall Witch – and she soon responds in kind, her surprise repced by joy; and she is about to answer my alluded question – but a sudden change in the air and a pained call prevent her.

  “Zara” says Baba Tika, commanding an immediate attention. “You go to her now; you, you and you – go to the cleansing site now; you – go look for Synach of cn Hukar; you…” the old Witch starts issuing orders, followed without question; it seems everybody knows what’s going on and they scramble to fulfil the commands. Only I am left in darkness – but the tinge of concern in the Boba’s voice worries me.

  “Umm… what’s happening?” I ask, confused and agitated, as soon as everyone else moved into action. “What can I do to help?”

  “Young Zara of cn Hukar is soon to give birth” she says. “Not only will it be her first… there have been issues the entire time” she shakes her head. “We were dreading this moment, as difficulties are bound to occur… and we may not be able to save everyone, no matter how hard we try” she finishes quietly, as if talking more to herself than to me; I feel cold shivers travel down my spine, as a sense of inadequacy washes over me – indeed, what can I even do in such a case? And it seems that Baba Tika also struggles to find any use for me; someone, however, relieves her of that burden.

  “We could actually use your presence ther” says Nadia as she measures me from head to toes with a pensive look on her face. “You are a daughter of the Great Mother Arana” I decided not to argue this point some time ago, but it still irks me; I’ll have to talk with her about it ter. “You might not know how to assist with a birth, but just holding the young mother’s hand would be enough of a blessing to help her get through with it safely!”

  “Yes, that indeed may help” the old Beaverkin massages her chin. “The Goddess works in mysterious ways” she nods, seemingly coming to a conclusion. “Go, Kora – Nadia will lead you; I need to prepare medicine.”

  “Follow me” the Myshka says and walks without waiting; I hurry after her.

  “Umm… I didn’t know you were a Witch” I say as I catch up with her – not that it’s difficult considering the size difference between us.

  “Because I’m not” she chuckles. “I’m just midwife – you don’t need the mystical knowledge of the Witches to know how to help deliver a baby. It is useful, obviously – but any woman who has been through the same will do” she smiles, but it soon fades, as we near the tent at the epicentre of the occasional, pained wailing. Before we can enter, Nadia stops, grabs my hand and looks me deep in the eyes; she looks very serious. “This is going to be a mess. Please… do what is in your power to help young Zara to push through it. We’ve got enough orphans as it is.”

  I swallow to moisten my throat, dried due to the gravity of the situation. “What should I do? What even can I do?”

  “Warm her up with your Aura and hold her hand; talk to her, encouraging her to live; support her head, stroke it – whatever you can think of” I gulp and nod. We turn to enter the tent, but suddenly the Myshka stops; she’s clearly hesitant about something – and the tension gets to me. In the end she ones again looks me straight into the eyes. “If worst comes to be… if you see it coming and there is no hope” I wait, tense and uneasy as she silently struggles with something; in the end she sighs deeply. “Ask her if she’s thought of the names for the Little Ones” she finishes with a whisper; I quirk my head – there’s obviously more to it – but I nod nonetheless. My guide repeats my gesture and smiles, weakly – does she want to encourage me? Then she enters the tent; I take a st, deep breath, releasing my Aura along with the air from my lungs – only then do I follow.

  Inside I see a crowd centred around a petite and rather young Mousekin – not a Humanlike Smoothkin, such as Nadia, but a furry Softkin, Mysha. My eyes are immediately drawn towards her swollen belly; it looks absurd on her – no doubt it is the source of her issues: it’s simply too big. But I don’t linger on that: my entrance put a momentary pause to the flurry of activity as I grasped everyone’s attention; now, they are resuming their hectic activities. Only the girl – Zara – keeps watching me, her eyes filled with disbelief… but also fear and pain. I smile at her – gently and encouragingly – and a glimmer of hope lightens her face. But as soon as it lights up, it fades, as another wave of pain twists her features.

  Remembering what the Myshka told me, I hurry to the side of the suffering one and grab her small, sweaty hand; she squeezes mine even stronger. “It will be alright” I tell her, gently stroking her head. “You are in good hands” I let my Aura wash over her – and hers is weak, weakened by the ordeal forced upon her; it worries me. But it also allows me to ‘gnce’ inside her womb – and I can feel 10 babies inside. Ten! Just... how?! No wonder this pregnancy took such a toll on her – and the birth itself, the most vulnerable time in the life of any woman, is clearly going to be long and arduous. And all I can do is stroke her hair and keep her company. It makes me feel powerless – but I know I have to maintain the facade of strength and composure – so I just smile, softly.

  Minutes turn into hours as Zara writhes in pain. People come and go. A few stay all the time: me, a twitchy Lisithun who came to mirror me on the other side of the Mysha – no doubt her partner and the father of the, still yet unborn, kids – and Baba Tika; the old Witch commands undisputed authority as she sends other to fulfil various tasks, like bringing more medicine or water.

  “Get the tools” the wise Boba orders finally. “And brew the Flower Milk” it sounds kinda ominous with her tone, it takes a lot for me not to let it show on my face; I’m sure that without the Potion of Crity I would fail. Soon, Olka brings a mysterious case of bckened, hard wood. She opens it and I stretch my neck to see what’s happening; inside is a collection of knives, shears and other utensils made out of bronze, covered in runes of some sort. I have a bad feelings about this. The atmosphere inside is pretty heavy as the old Witch takes one the appliances. Is she… is she going to perform a c-section!? She suddenly looks up, the exhaustion and concern casting deep shadows over her face – at least until our eyes meet and hers lit up slightly; she smiles briefly.

  “Oh! Arana, the Great Mother” she begins chanting – or praying. “Help your daughter in her hour of need!” She gestures with her eyes and suddenly pushes of her Aura against mine, clearly trying to communicate something to me. “Grant her your blessing and fill her with your strength” I’m uncertain if it is a part of the chant, or just a cue towards me – but an idea pops into my head; I focus on the Auras of people around and try to grasp them. That makes Tika’s smile wider – as apparently I did what she wanted me to do – and she yoinks my Aura, twisting it with hers into the carvings at the knife… and into poor, suffering Zara. But we are not alone, I feel – other Witches join the chant, linking their Auras with ours. It’s… a massively unpleasant and uncomfortable experience, as if my entire body was itchy, squeezed and covered in slime – but not an experience I can’t endure; others who joined have even harsher time, judging by their expressions.

  “Oh! Vyena, the First Croaker, steady my hand and sharpen my will!” The Boba continues her prayer-chant, as the Horsekin girl whose name I still don’t know brings the freshly brewed Flower Milk – wait, is it morphine? – which she swiftly proceeds to give to the Mysha, whose breath calms gradually; she, however, doesn't fall unconscious, as I expected. “Oh! Zu, the First Witch, watch kindly over your students!” Baba Tika whets the knife with slow, deliberate moves. “Oh! Tamara, the Mother of Mothers, grant your mercy to your daughter!”

  And with final, deep breath – the old Witch cuts. It feels as if the world stopped for a brief moment, waiting in tension... until a cry of a newborn breaks the silence. A first one of this litter.

  "It is a girl!" Announces Nadia, taking her into her arms. "Blessed one!"

  HoraceH.Horney