54th Summer 511AV
Waisana was both nervous and excited. She had been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to help attend to a birth. Once she was familiar with how it all worked--in practice as well as in theory--then she would be one step closer to being a proper medic. She wanted to be as good as her father, or any other person who worked in the Opal healing tents. The idea of having babies did not appeal to her just yet but that wouldn't stop her from bringing them into the world.
The commencement of her moon blood cycle had entered her into the ranks of womanhood and with it came new knowledge. The facts of life were explained to her--although childish whispers had long since given her the gist of it--and it was determined that she would have to see pregnancy and birth for herself. With time she would come to see women in all stages of pregnancy in her work setting but today she would be part of what it culminated in: the birth of a child.
Not much would be expected of her, she knew. She would need to prepare the birthing area of course, support the mother when necessary and comfort her, but as for the actual birthing process, she would have little part in it. The other healers made it sound easy enough, pointing out that it was more difficult for the mother, but the teen knew from experience that what was easy for them was not initially easy for her. New information and procedures always had to be gotten used to and put into practice, something that her elders had already done. What was new and tricky to her was almost second nature to them. As a result, she was glad that she wasn't expected to attend to a prospective mother alone just yet. Better to observe her peers closely and hope that she would have as many opportunities to do so as possible before she was thrown into the fore.
Perhaps they would be reluctant to force her into the experience too early in case she messed up. Babies were valuable to their society, where death was their constant companion and the strong and healthy were just as prone to it as the weak and helpless. If it wasn't illness then it would be injury that got a Drykas man or woman, girl or boy. Considering that their community could be quickly decimated by events out of their control and they could lose numbers to the harsh conditions of their life, it was only to be expected that all new life was important. Being born to Drykas didn't automatically make you Drykas either. If you didn't bond with a Strider then you weren't truly part of the horse clan society. Mishap was unavoidable as time went on but it was expected that it would not be allowed to happen during a birth where possible. A child could not be lost because of a mistake and so an incompetent girl couldn't be expected to do more than help just yet.
At least, so Waisana hoped. The blonde was fast approaching the true threshold of womanhood when she would be counted as a real woman and be expected to have children. Sixteen and true adulthood wasn't that far away and she'd taken a massive step towards it thanks to the appearance of her moon blood. This winter would mark her fourteenth year and maybe she was already considered responsible enough to do this on her own but what if-
"Waisana!" The barking of her name snapped her out of the reverie she'd been in and back to reality. She'd managed to follow Hadria without being fully conscious of where she was or where she was going but succeeding in getting to her destination all the same. However, they were standing inside what must be the right pavilion--when had that happened?--and she had been lost in her own thoughts.
"Stop daydreaming and remember why we're here. Sort out the birthing area! Quickly!" the older woman ordered, turning to the panting woman who was leaning heavily on the arm of a man (her husband) and offering an apology. As she set to work, she caught the words "young", "immature" and "first" but whatever else was said failed to reach her ears clearly or was conveyed in sign.
The girl quickly took the appropriate items from the bag of supplies that she had carried. Clean blankets were set out on the floor in a large square that would be able to fit the mother regardless of her position. A small blanket was placed near the newly kindled fire to absorb its heat, but far enough away that the material wouldn't catch alight from an errant spark. Containers of water were emptied into a pot and set to boil on the fire and the teen arranged cushions in such a way that they would accommodate the woman's lying back.
Before she was completely finished, Hadria was guiding the woman over, the husband vanishing from their presence as if commanded to do so. It was just the three of them left, two of them there to tend to the red-faced woman whose face was etched with pain. Waisana didn't know what to do with herself and so hovered by the area, waiting for Hadria to get the woman into a comfortable position.
"Now, Waisana. This is Tridi. This is her third birth so she knows what to expect. Her previous births have been quick and easy so we shouldn't be here long," Hadria explained as she helped the woman lower herself. Tridi shifted herself around, using Hadria's help when necessary until she was on a position on her hands and knees. It was a position that surprised Waisana, who had expected the woman to lie on her back but she had been warned that a woman would get into whatever position seemed comfortable to her. Tridi was wearing a dress, the skirt of which was thrown up over her back by the older healer to allow a better view of her nether regions. The woman started rocking back and forth, leaning her weight forward onto her knees and then back onto her knees as she let out a wail. The girl was beckoned closer and knelt down beside Hadria who had positioned herself at the woman's rear.
The Opal girl had never expected to have a woman present her backside to her while delivering a baby but it seemed today was going to be quite the learning experience.
Waisana was both nervous and excited. She had been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to help attend to a birth. Once she was familiar with how it all worked--in practice as well as in theory--then she would be one step closer to being a proper medic. She wanted to be as good as her father, or any other person who worked in the Opal healing tents. The idea of having babies did not appeal to her just yet but that wouldn't stop her from bringing them into the world.
The commencement of her moon blood cycle had entered her into the ranks of womanhood and with it came new knowledge. The facts of life were explained to her--although childish whispers had long since given her the gist of it--and it was determined that she would have to see pregnancy and birth for herself. With time she would come to see women in all stages of pregnancy in her work setting but today she would be part of what it culminated in: the birth of a child.
Not much would be expected of her, she knew. She would need to prepare the birthing area of course, support the mother when necessary and comfort her, but as for the actual birthing process, she would have little part in it. The other healers made it sound easy enough, pointing out that it was more difficult for the mother, but the teen knew from experience that what was easy for them was not initially easy for her. New information and procedures always had to be gotten used to and put into practice, something that her elders had already done. What was new and tricky to her was almost second nature to them. As a result, she was glad that she wasn't expected to attend to a prospective mother alone just yet. Better to observe her peers closely and hope that she would have as many opportunities to do so as possible before she was thrown into the fore.
Perhaps they would be reluctant to force her into the experience too early in case she messed up. Babies were valuable to their society, where death was their constant companion and the strong and healthy were just as prone to it as the weak and helpless. If it wasn't illness then it would be injury that got a Drykas man or woman, girl or boy. Considering that their community could be quickly decimated by events out of their control and they could lose numbers to the harsh conditions of their life, it was only to be expected that all new life was important. Being born to Drykas didn't automatically make you Drykas either. If you didn't bond with a Strider then you weren't truly part of the horse clan society. Mishap was unavoidable as time went on but it was expected that it would not be allowed to happen during a birth where possible. A child could not be lost because of a mistake and so an incompetent girl couldn't be expected to do more than help just yet.
At least, so Waisana hoped. The blonde was fast approaching the true threshold of womanhood when she would be counted as a real woman and be expected to have children. Sixteen and true adulthood wasn't that far away and she'd taken a massive step towards it thanks to the appearance of her moon blood. This winter would mark her fourteenth year and maybe she was already considered responsible enough to do this on her own but what if-
"Waisana!" The barking of her name snapped her out of the reverie she'd been in and back to reality. She'd managed to follow Hadria without being fully conscious of where she was or where she was going but succeeding in getting to her destination all the same. However, they were standing inside what must be the right pavilion--when had that happened?--and she had been lost in her own thoughts.
"Stop daydreaming and remember why we're here. Sort out the birthing area! Quickly!" the older woman ordered, turning to the panting woman who was leaning heavily on the arm of a man (her husband) and offering an apology. As she set to work, she caught the words "young", "immature" and "first" but whatever else was said failed to reach her ears clearly or was conveyed in sign.
The girl quickly took the appropriate items from the bag of supplies that she had carried. Clean blankets were set out on the floor in a large square that would be able to fit the mother regardless of her position. A small blanket was placed near the newly kindled fire to absorb its heat, but far enough away that the material wouldn't catch alight from an errant spark. Containers of water were emptied into a pot and set to boil on the fire and the teen arranged cushions in such a way that they would accommodate the woman's lying back.
Before she was completely finished, Hadria was guiding the woman over, the husband vanishing from their presence as if commanded to do so. It was just the three of them left, two of them there to tend to the red-faced woman whose face was etched with pain. Waisana didn't know what to do with herself and so hovered by the area, waiting for Hadria to get the woman into a comfortable position.
"Now, Waisana. This is Tridi. This is her third birth so she knows what to expect. Her previous births have been quick and easy so we shouldn't be here long," Hadria explained as she helped the woman lower herself. Tridi shifted herself around, using Hadria's help when necessary until she was on a position on her hands and knees. It was a position that surprised Waisana, who had expected the woman to lie on her back but she had been warned that a woman would get into whatever position seemed comfortable to her. Tridi was wearing a dress, the skirt of which was thrown up over her back by the older healer to allow a better view of her nether regions. The woman started rocking back and forth, leaning her weight forward onto her knees and then back onto her knees as she let out a wail. The girl was beckoned closer and knelt down beside Hadria who had positioned herself at the woman's rear.
The Opal girl had never expected to have a woman present her backside to her while delivering a baby but it seemed today was going to be quite the learning experience.
