45th Zi'da, 717
Lei'lira had heard about the job more by accident than anything else. At Vivian's suggestion, she and Teia had begun talking to a member of the Order of Adunih about what had happened to them while they had been held captive. It had been very difficult for Lei'lira at first. Her natural shyness combined with a deep wariness of strangers that bordered on terror at times had made it nearly impossible for her to trust anyone enough to open up to them; especially about something that was so personal. But the woman she was working with was very skilled at what she did, and in a much shorter amount of time than Lei'lira had dreamed possible she found that she did trust the doctor. As a result, they were starting to make a little progress during their sessions.
It was while they were walking back to Vivian's house that Lei'lira and Teia had heard the rumors. A group of well dressed merchants were gathered around a produce stall talking about a "foolish farmer." Lei'lira frowned at the comment. How many times had she heard "fancy" folk ridiculing hard working farmers who "played in the dirt" over the arcs? At first, Lei'lira assumed that this was more of the same; the wealthy disdaining those who had to work hard for what they earned. But as they passed the message board, one of the requests that were posted seemed to jump out at her. A farmer who lived on a far out in the Stormlands was looking for someone to help them with an around the clock foal watch.
"Isn't it awfully late in the arc to be expecting new foals?" Teia asked curiously.
Lei'lira nodded absentmindedly. Typically most horse breeders scheduled their breeding times so that mares would drop their foals in Ashan. And the earlier in the season that they gave birth, the better. By doing so, depending on when the mares gave birth, they gave the newborn foals two or three seasons of decent weather before they had to face the harsh cold od Zi'da and Cylus. But it was always possible that a mare had been bred later in the arc than usual. Perhaps it had been too young to breed in time for an Ashan foal. Or perhaps an illness or injury had delayed the mare's being bred. With the aid of Saikuru, it was easy enough to induce a mare to enter heat and ensure that she was impregnated when she did.
"It's unusual, yes. But certainly not all that uncommon, especially if something happened to delay the mare's being bred. Besides, there is one thing that every horse breeder knows."
Teia looked at Lei'lira expectantly. Lei'lira grinned at her.
"Mares drop their foals when they are good and ready to. Nothing in the world short of the will of the Immortals can ever change that."
Teia chuckled.
"It sounds like horses are like people in that regard, then. Or like any other expecting mother, for that matter."
"True enough." Lei'lira said as she placed a hand on her own slightly swollen belly.
"Are you going to take the job?"
Lei'lira nodded. She felt much safer at Vivian's house than she had back on her own farm. But she found herself with a lot more time on her hands than she used to. Even with the kids to take care of, she found herself feeling restless and bored at times. The doctor she was working eith told her that keeping busy would help her with her anxiety, and Lei'lira was willing to do anything that might help her feel calmer and avoid the panic attacks she was prone to now. So with those thoughts in mind, she pulled the job listing off of the message board.
