Cry Sanctuary (Mao, Kavala)

[Dhanya]

Timestamp: 54th Autumn
Tagged: Mao and Kavala

She was earlier than she'd planned by a month. She'd left Eyktol when the size of her belly had made her fear that leaving later would mean giving birth on the road. The caravan she'd travelled with had left her near the gates of Riverfall at her own behest. She wasn't going in there, even if she could smell faint but layered hints of Kelvics within. She didn't trust those blue men as far as she could throw them.

She followed the scent of horses instead. She'd heard about healers outside the main walls of the city and that was what she would need. Hopefully one would have heard of Khiara and she'd be able to find her sooner than she had planned. She had missed Khiara terribly. Tendrils of loneliness had begun to spread through her gut in recent weeks and all she wanted was to curl her arms around the other woman. She craved the reassurance, to hear gentle words from someone kind. She felt more herself for having travelled but the experience had left her worn and empty.

Walking was no longer an easy feat. She couldn't even climb onto her own horse anymore, she'd had to tag lifts on carts the entire trip up. Dhanya was thoroughly sick of it. Her slow pace and aching soles had become preferable to convenience. She felt like a melon with legs.

Still, she could hear the sea now and smell salt on the air. The breeze was cool and kind as she walked slowly down the road. It was lovely, even with her many misgivings. She wondered if there would be time to dip her feet in the water, when she realised they were already wet.

The road was dry.

"Fuck me." Dhanya spat, steps faster now, leading Pon down the road.

She was still at least an hour away from Sanctuary.

[Mao]

It was her time for flighty adventures and mishaps on the sea of grass. Whether people allowed her or not, Mao enjoyed the feel of grass under her paws and the wind through her fur, and the better part of the day was the kelvic mostly hunting what she could. Small mammals out amongst the swaying grass or attempting to spot a weakened glass beak. And how she fought and fought with her temptations to hunt man! She had seem them from afar, silly creatures on their horses or what Mao deemed as “meat on hooves”, yet her desire to chase them was quelled by the memories of her time in a cage. It shook her to the core, and instead of allowing herself to be dragged into one once more, she ran the opposite direction, towards the road that led to and from her home in Sanctuary. The wind was picking up rather quickly now, and the scent of something unfamiliar and mouth-watering was on the breeze. Another horse, more meat, more opportunity! Run! It told her, and she ran, pounding her paws into the soft earth and propelling herself through the tall grass. Mouth agape and claws extended, she expected to see her prey alone and unawares but instead… she found a woman! Mao leapt into the air regardless, landing in front of Pon and Dhanya and most likely startled the poor beast with her coat comprised of threaded shadow and eyes of jade. A low hiss escaped her, but it was not of animosity. This woman was a kelvic! She could smell it on her, the scent of a goat. The scent of meat! Kill her, rend her to pieces, eat her! The tantalizing whispers made her mouth water, but one more glance over the girl and she realized she was heavy with child. Mao cocked her head, then the wind shifted. The smell of a birth to come! She was headed to Sanctuary, as was deemed by the road she traveled. In a flash of blinding light, a woman now stood instead of the cat, nude and glistening with a thin layer of sweat, her hair a mess and her eyes wild. But there was a grin dancing on her lips, white fangs a reminder that she wasn’t at all that huggable. “Silly goat girl. Get on me, it will be quicker than that miserable thing.” She motioned toward the horse with her chin then another blast of light and she had reverted to her feline form, waiting patiently for the goat girl to mount her.

[Dhanya]

They'd been walking long enough for Dhanya to have two painful bouts of contractions. Both were spent leaning into Pon's saddle and clutching the stirrups against the pain. She wasn't sure she could make it, she had no idea how long a labour was supposed to last. She was almost considering laying down on the side of the road when she heard the sound of grass swaying beyond what could be brought by wind.

They both realised something was coming. Even a creature as stealthy as Mao could be heard when she was running in for the kill. Still, knowing and avoiding were two entirely different actions. Dhanya thought, not for the first time in her life, that she was going to die without doing one thing to prevent it. She was entirely outraged by the timing.

Then Mao appeared, first the cat then the woman and even if Pon knew a Kelvic when he saw one, he was still a horse. The sight of her dark fur and claws set him screaming, reigns torn from Dhanya's hand as he stamped his forehooves down in front of the bloodthristy girl. He was galloping down the road, thankfully towards Sanctuary, before Dhanya had a chance to blink.

Everything she owned was on that horse. She only had water and money on her. She gaped at the big cat for a moment. She didn't even know if she'd be able to hang on. She wanted to cry.

"I've got nothin'." She said aloud, because there really was no reply that adequately reflected how she felt about this entire situation.

So she gingerly climbed onto Mao's back, wondering if a Kelvic would try to eat another and finally understanding why Hirem might have thought Kelvics were weird and Ari'Yahal might have spent most of her time hiding her son from Dhanya's sight.

She considered telling Mao that she was crazy but thankfully thought better of it. She was not about to look a gift Jaguar in the mouth. The teeth were off-putting.

[Kavala]

The Konti was out in the arena with this years brood of yearlings. She was working them systematically - bringing them in from the pasture to mill about the arena so they could watch her work them one at a time in the round pen. Their lessons were easy at this age. Accept hands on them. Pick up their feet. Allow grooming. Allow hoof trimming. And then with a gentle halter on their heads, she taught them the basics of groundwork in a small round pen adjacent to the arena. They slowly learned how to move out, reverse direction, and halt on her command. She also carefully stretched each one, draped her tools on their back, and fussed with whatever each one needed fussing with. All and all they were a good lot - some purebred - some mixed and bread to provide mounts for the general populace of Riverfall. They were large too - larger than the assortment of horses of similar ages elsewhere. Kavala had carefully selected Sanctuary's herd to produce horses capable of carrying Akalak into battle. And the men of Riverfall were big. Incredibly big.

And so she trained with size and battle in mind as well. Hatot and Sorian were invited to swing swords and make noise at their leisure when she was training. It helped her to desensitize the young horses to the sight of battle or weapons. It also gave them exposure to the Akalak, exposure they greatly needed to be successful mounts in the future.

And so it was that she had just finished with a Zavian filly and was turning her out into the yearling pasture and about to start on a cyphrus strider when the new horse came charging into her courtyard. She threw up her hands and softly cried 'woah... woah boy... what's got you so frightened?' She asked softly, trying to work her naturally calm aura to her advantage. "You're safe here. Look around. No one's upset. Just curious." And then she stepped to the side, allowing the frightened horse to charge past to the dark confines of the area around the veranda and washroom so she could hurry forth and close the gate. Indeed the other horses weren't seemingly afraid. Instead, heads hung over stalls and eyes bright with curiosity followed the newcomer filled with questions phrased in equine sight in all different varieties of "What's all the fuss?"

The horse would be injured if it continued to charge around like it was, fully tacked up, dragging its reins, and looking for all the world like it carried someone's entire set of worldly possessions in its saddlebags. Kavala, being who she was, shut the gate first and went to calm the horse. Once the animal was secured and safe in a stall minus its tack and gear, she'd slip on a horse and ride the road to see if she could backtrack and find anyone injured from a fall. And if she could get it calm enough, odds are she could 'peak' at its thoughts and find out what scared it.

Gate latched, Kavala turned and went to catch the loose horse.

[Mao]

It seemed in that instant that the kelvic cared not that there was a foreigner touching her, as she usually only allowed Kavala or Navis to do such a thing. But here in the midst of all this green, and a breeze pushing them along, the great cat pounded her paws forward into the dirt, propelling her forward at speeds she never thought possible. Even at the same time, she made sure to keep herself steady, so the pregnant goat girl riding shotgun on her back wouldn't slip and fall or bounce up and down uncomfortably. She could see the buildings, however, and Mao began to slow to a steady walk. Up through the edifices she followed the familiar scent of Kavala. It hadn't been long until she found her, rallying up a stray pony, most likely this girl's and attempting to calm it down. Mao stood and growled in an attempt to gain her attention on the other side of the gate. She wouldn't shift until she knew the goat girl had slipped off her back, but her thoughts were screaming, Goat is with child, need help.. Whether the Konti would catch that or she'd look up to see Pygmy and Mao (an odd sight to be sure), was a whole different matter altogether.

[Dhanya]

It was almost worse than the eagle. In fact, it was worse because she had another contraction while on Mao's back and almost fell off into the wild beyond, which was speeding by. She hadn't felt the same sense of it while in the air. The road was a blur and the wind so fast she almost could not breathe, not until Mao stopped by the gate.

She wanted to throw herself off but had to settle for sliding down gingerly, her heartbeat arrhythmic. Dhanya clutched at the nearest solid object, which was the gate that Mao was looking over. She could see someone else there.

She laughed hysterically, though she meant to say hello.

"Did I get blood on you?" She asked Mao, who would have seen her goat eyes big and black. "Sorry, ha, sorry."

She wondered at the inauspicious beginning she was giving to her children and figured it was just a sign of how bad a mother she was going to be. Already her breath was coming slower than was needed. She looked down to find her hands were shaking and it was all she could do to keep the world from fading away. She couldn't even get past the fence on her own.

"Open the fucking gate, please." Already she had segued into another bout of brittle, sharp laughter.

[Kavala]

The horse was not difficult to catch once it had been assured there was no place to run and nothing that was going to eat it. Stripped of its tack and placed in the round pen to calm down with some hay and fresh water, Kavala was getting ready to throw Windsong's yvas on him to set off down the road to see if she could find a fallen rider - or at least what was left of one.

Mao, however, interrupted. The kelvic's thoughts hit her like a hammer - Mao was like that for the most part. There was no middle ground with her. Only silence and then violence... and her thoughts were a barrage. But they weren't alone. The Konti threw her awareness open, the repeated image of Mao's companion etched in her mind via Mao's familiar projections. Another kelvic? Her labor struck Kavala immediately - the pain, the confusion, the weakness. She could smell the blood on the stranger via Mao's sharp sharp sense. And though she was surprised, Kavala suddenly realized Mao was guarding the goat, protecting her, showing leadership.

The Konti came at a run, shouting quietly for Aweston to prepare a birthing stall and bring boiling water and towels. He knew what to do, even though the circumstance was a bit odd. Sanctuary had a large super clean birthing stall they kept full of fresh sweet grass around the clock during the spring and summer seasons. It was stocked with everything a healer might possibly need and a few add-ons to help. It wasn't used for humans, but it was definitely closer than Kavala's own bed upstairs in Sanctuary which would have been her first choice.

Quickly unlatching the gate and throwing one half of it wide, Kavala slipped a supporting arm under the strange woman's body, pulling her free arm up and over Kavala's own shoulders. "Mao.. take the other side... please... thanks for bringing her. You did well.. very well." The Konti was slight but her body was well corded with muscle so she was strong enough to take the kelvic woman's weight.

"It's going to be okay. We're healers here. You're in labor right? Can you tell me everything you know quickly? We're going to settle you in a nice stall for a moment, until we figure out whats going on, though I have Aweston running water into the tub if it isn't too late. What sort of pain are you having? Is it steady or is it coming and going? Are you bleeding?" She kept her questions to a minimum, and her voice calm, reassuring, authoritarian. All the while, she helped the stranger into the facility, past an enormous stone courtyard that housed a riding arena and a rather large round pen. There was a forge and a lovely porch area all laid out to enjoy the view of the arena and the stalls which opened out into its stone square. A fountain bubbled just inside the gate, fully functional now after a bit of well work.

They walked almost the full length of the stone courtyard up next to the veranda where the two women could hear water filling a stone tub nearby. They didn't go into the washroom immediately though. Instead, Kavala steered them into a large double sized box stall that was knee deep in soft hay. A worn but incredibly clean horse blanket was thrown over the hay to make a soft cushion, and before the strange woman could complain, Kavala was systematically stripping off her clothing from her shoes to hair. "I'm sorry.. I wish we had more time, but I have to look at you." What she didn't say was that she had to see what physical condition the kelvic was in and how far along she was. "It's going to be okay though. I promise. I'll give you something for the pain in a minute when I know more about whats going on with you." Kavala said, gently urging the woman to lay down. Kavala touched her calmly, stroking her hair as she spoke, pausing to glance up into her eyes to make sure she understood. And then... she examined her.

Quickly, efficiently, the whole while her calm voice speaking and telling her what she was doing while she was doing it. Kavala didn't leave an inch of the woman untouched, from the tips of her fingers to the bottom of her toes. And gently, but with firm insistence, she opened the kelvics legs and took a long professional look at her birth canal and where her cervix was in terms of dilation. All the while she stroked the woman's leg, thigh, stomach... soothingly, and not only spoke to her but to the extended belly as if it were a real person and not some extension of the woman. She listened to her heart, her lungs, and then to the belly itself.

Kavala also extended her awareness feeling for life... animal life and felt nothing - no greeting back at her, no sense of if the babies were in distress. She could hear three heartbeats, so she knew it was going to be a multiple birth.

"We've got a little time. You aren't quite ready yet according to what my body is telling me. Also, your not giving birth to Kelvics. I need to know the race of the father. Akalak? Human? It's going to make a difference. My name is Kavala, I'm a healer here. I need to know your name too. What we need to do is get you into a warm bath, lady, and let the water help your muscles. You also need to roll over onto your side for a moment too... I want to give you something for pain. I can feel how much your back is hurting you. We can make that stop immediately, and its distracting me." Kavala said. If the woman agreed and managed to roll over, Kavala would get up, put on leather gloves, then swab something over the kelvics back that would warm her skin then make it go instantly numb easing the pain in her lower body.

Then, if Mao helped, they could help the woman next door and into the enormous tub of warm water.

[Dhanya]

It was all moving so quickly, even now that she off Mao's back, her heart still drumming out of sync. She could barely find one coherent thought within her addled mind. Dhanya barely kept in step, gasping through the adrenaline and the fear. She was surrounded by unfamiliar smells and unfamiliar people, longing for one kind voice that she could put a name to. She was struck by the fact that she didn't know at all what she was doing or if it was supposed to hurt so badly and every instant that she managed to force a calm into herself was followed immediately by shaking panic. She answered Kavala as best she could, which was not very well. She was in labour, with twins, she'd been told it was twins and the pain was maddening; so much that she wasn't sure if it was coming or going or if she was imagining it and she could smell blood, did that mean she was bleeding? Was she going to die? She hadn't known it would be like this. She couldn't stop babbling, though she had no idea what she was saying.

She hadn't asked any of the older women in the caravan about childbirth. She'd looked too old not to know about it, to not have experienced it through a sister or a friend. Dhanya had been too embarassed to ask.

She longed for her mother, for Khiara or even to have Vanator be there because he always seemed to know what he was doing, though she'd fucked that relationship up as far as she could tell. What would Jenon have thought? He'd never denied her comfort when she'd been hurt. Dhanya sobbed when Kavala tried to sooth her with her hands, overwhelmed by a sharp urge to hide somewhere sheltered and quiet. She was naked and exposed more than she had ever been and for all the kindness the Konti was giving her, she was desperate for one comfortable thing, one face, one smile, one recognisable feature. Someone she had established trust with. She was surrounded by the sound of horses and other people and she still terrified and alone. She wasn't ready to be a mother to her children. She thought herself under-qualified and wished they could meet someone better.

Then Kavala told her that her children would be human and she smiled, eyes bright, "they're human? Thank the gods..." And then she wept, face pointed up towards the sky, miserable.

Human. She didn't know how she felt about that. They would never be like her. What had she done?

"Drykas, he's Drykas, oh gods. Dhanya, he called me Dhanya." She was not going to live long enough to see her children grow up. "I don't think I can move, it hurts so much. I don't know if I can afford medicines..."

The chemical fear seemed to wear away and as her heart slowed, fatigue swept in. She was exhausted already, worn out from walking and frayed by stress. How would she pay back Kavala? Was the poultice she was about to use expensive? Was it safe?

Her children would not suffer being Kelvics, they would never know the joy of transformation, they would be small and weak for years before growing up. They would live long lives. They would have respect for what they were. They would ride Striders across the Sea of Grass.

And she was not going to see it happen.

[Mao]

When the goat finally slipped off her back Mao shook out her fur. She didn’t much mind if the goat girl soiled her, but the overwhelming scent of her was intoxicating. In the wild, if she had been a goat, Mao wouldn’t have cared if she were pregnant or not. She would have struck her down right then, and made her lunch! But now, as Kavala approached, Mao shifted in a flurry of lights and helped the konti settle the kelvic onto her padding. She stood back, allowing Kavala to look over the goat girl and did what she had to do. Mao knew not the procedure of childbirth, nor was she ready to learn. Dhanya might have thought herself an unfit mother, but if that was true, then Mao would be horrendous! She tried not to think about it, and instead listened to the rapid heartbeat of the other kelvic girl and the konti’s combined. Goat girl was scared. She could feel it; taste it. Fear! But she was not prey! No, she was kin! When Kavala finished examining the girl and asking her questions, Mao stood and helped her enter the tub. She did not speak, she had no reason to, but she did absorb everything and anything she could. She toyed with various soaps and scrubbers, putting them in line for Kavala to use as she saw fit. She was only a helper in this case, perhaps one that should take great care to pay attention.

[Kavala]

Kavala felt better after Dhanya was in the tub. Water soothed pregnancies. She just wished she could talk her horses into water births as easily as she could get kelvics into the waters. With Dhanya though it was easy. The kelvic was already half out of it with pain and fear, one Kavala could solve with medicine but the other was something she'd have to solve with her voice.

"Shhh... you're going to be fine. This is going to be easy, Dhanya. You're in good shape, strong, and healthy. This is going to be easy for you." Kavala glanced at Mao, surprised she was sticking around, but grateful that she was nevertheless. She'd be next to birth, though her child would be Akalak rather than human. These babies would be Drykas. Kavala smiled. "You are in luck. I was born on the grasslands. I'm Kavala here, but there I am Kavala Denusk of the Denusk Pavilion, Sapphire Clan. My father is Ankal there. I learned my medical skills and healing on the Sea of Grass among the people there. I helped many births there. I know how to bring a Drykas child into the world properly. The father will be proud." She said softly, stroking Dhanya's head and soothing her.

"Basically, we just wait at this point. Try to relax. You're body will start pushing as soon as your birth canal is open enough for the children to pass through. You'll have them one at a time slowly, then pass the placentas out. Your body is only about halfway to the 'ready stage' so we need to relax you and get you breathing deeply and slowly. That will help slow down the contractions which will make it easier on you. Do you need any water?" Kavala said, dipping a washcloth that Mao had thoughtfully set out into the tub and gently wiping the sweat from Dhanya's face. "I learned about water births on Konti when I went to study medicine there at the Opal Temple. The babies love it because inside of you they have grown in a fluid filled sack. Being born into warm water is a lot less harsh on them in the long run making the transition from being safe inside you to exposed outside of you." Kavala said helpfully, keeping her voice calm and trying to make her actions unhurried, stoic, and confident.

The more the strange kelvic worried, the harder the birth could be. Kavala needed to keep her quiet and soothed... or else give her something to artificially stimulate that in her body. "You're having two. Have you wished on a gender or picked out names yet?" The konti asked, interested in Dhanya's thoughts.