![Image](https://i.imgur.com/UlVkwca.png)
15th of autumn, 521 AV
Asterope wasn't unfamiliar with children; however, she was unfamiliar with childbirth. When Jala had gotten the call from a breathless street child, she had been showing Aster some of the bones in her collection. She still seemed hesitant to actually teach Aster anything concrete when it came to the bone magic, but she had explained some more of malediction, enough that Aster had a basic grasp of what it was supposed to do, anyway.
"Different bones from different creatures can have different effects," Jala was saying, as Aster turned over a small bird skull gingerly in her hands. "It can be rather unpredictable, to be honest." The child bursting into Jala's tent startled them both, Aster barely managing to not drop the delicate skull.
"Miss Jala, Brega sent me to get you, one of her girls is giving birth!" The young girl was panting for breath, and Aster wondered how much the girl had been paid to run quite so fast. Jala was immediately all business, grabbing a bag and a few items before beckoning for Aster to follow as she followed the child in a hurry. Aster followed as well, close on their heels; she was there, she might as well do what she could to help. It wasn't the first time she'd accompanied Jala to a whorehouse, and the two worked well together. She didn't think of the potential danger of running into Alard; there was a medical emergency, someone needed help, and she was going to do what she could.
However, standing in the room behind Jala, Aster suddenly felt very nervous as she realized her lack of experience with the specific situation of childbirth. The woman lying on the bed at the far end of the room was very pregnant and very clearly in pain, crying out; another girl sat beside her, holding her hand tightly. Brega, the woman who ran the brothel, had showed them in. "Let me know if there's anything else you need. Try to treat her well, she's a customer favourite." Despite the aloof words, Aster could see concern in the woman's eyes as she ushered everyone except for Aster, Jala, and the woman whose hand was being gripped out of the room; nodding at them, Brega followed, shutting the door behind her.
Jala was already crossing the room, talking to Aster as she moved. "Get some water boiling over the fire," she said, and Aster jumped into action, doing so as Jala helped the woman position her legs, sliding her dress up and glancing between her legs, her expression carefully neutral and clinical. "You're doing wonderful," Jala said to the woman, who let out a grunt, her face pale and clammy.
"Did you bring poppy tincture to help with the pain?" Aster asked, as she opened the bag Jala had set by the door, beginning to rifle through it anxiously. Glancing over her shoulder, she felt vaguely nauseous as she caught sight of the woman behind Jala. She had never been squeamish, blood had never bothered her; she'd seen people die. But birthing was, apparently, an entirely different thing.
"No, she needs to be as awake and alert as possible. There's rosemary ointment in there to help with the contraction cramps, bring that. And thankfully we found that delaviv not too long ago. It's a purple-ish liquid in a corked bottle, go ahead and pour a glass of it for her." Jala didn't even glance up as she spoke, and Aster quickly found the requested jar and bottle; the liquid was a darker purple than the flowers had been, and the consistency was relatively thick. Uncorking the delaviv decoction, Aster poured some out into a nearby glass, and made her way over to the bed.
Word Count: 624
"Different bones from different creatures can have different effects," Jala was saying, as Aster turned over a small bird skull gingerly in her hands. "It can be rather unpredictable, to be honest." The child bursting into Jala's tent startled them both, Aster barely managing to not drop the delicate skull.
"Miss Jala, Brega sent me to get you, one of her girls is giving birth!" The young girl was panting for breath, and Aster wondered how much the girl had been paid to run quite so fast. Jala was immediately all business, grabbing a bag and a few items before beckoning for Aster to follow as she followed the child in a hurry. Aster followed as well, close on their heels; she was there, she might as well do what she could to help. It wasn't the first time she'd accompanied Jala to a whorehouse, and the two worked well together. She didn't think of the potential danger of running into Alard; there was a medical emergency, someone needed help, and she was going to do what she could.
However, standing in the room behind Jala, Aster suddenly felt very nervous as she realized her lack of experience with the specific situation of childbirth. The woman lying on the bed at the far end of the room was very pregnant and very clearly in pain, crying out; another girl sat beside her, holding her hand tightly. Brega, the woman who ran the brothel, had showed them in. "Let me know if there's anything else you need. Try to treat her well, she's a customer favourite." Despite the aloof words, Aster could see concern in the woman's eyes as she ushered everyone except for Aster, Jala, and the woman whose hand was being gripped out of the room; nodding at them, Brega followed, shutting the door behind her.
Jala was already crossing the room, talking to Aster as she moved. "Get some water boiling over the fire," she said, and Aster jumped into action, doing so as Jala helped the woman position her legs, sliding her dress up and glancing between her legs, her expression carefully neutral and clinical. "You're doing wonderful," Jala said to the woman, who let out a grunt, her face pale and clammy.
"Did you bring poppy tincture to help with the pain?" Aster asked, as she opened the bag Jala had set by the door, beginning to rifle through it anxiously. Glancing over her shoulder, she felt vaguely nauseous as she caught sight of the woman behind Jala. She had never been squeamish, blood had never bothered her; she'd seen people die. But birthing was, apparently, an entirely different thing.
"No, she needs to be as awake and alert as possible. There's rosemary ointment in there to help with the contraction cramps, bring that. And thankfully we found that delaviv not too long ago. It's a purple-ish liquid in a corked bottle, go ahead and pour a glass of it for her." Jala didn't even glance up as she spoke, and Aster quickly found the requested jar and bottle; the liquid was a darker purple than the flowers had been, and the consistency was relatively thick. Uncorking the delaviv decoction, Aster poured some out into a nearby glass, and made her way over to the bed.
Word Count: 624