Common Text
Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text
For the moment, it seemed that the spark was held at bay, having taken a small victory from its 'mother'. Qit'ria was granted a small reprieve, opening her eyes to see a confusing situation. The red-headed woman was staring at her with complete fear in her eyes, and Qit'ria had yet to realize why. She must be a weak willed woman to be so frightened of birth. Qit'ria had been there for all of her sisters' conceptions and there for their births. It wasn't that scary, and her mom screamed and fought just as much as Qit did.
The Avriel was at her right side, helping her to breathe, and Qit obliged.. And it did seem to make her feel a bit better. The bird wiped away the sweat from her brow and helped the red-head. Another massive contraction tore through Qit'ria and her hand lashed out, grabbing onto Noah's. Her grip was iron as she squeezed through a second contraction that came so much quicker than the last. Things were happening fast. Using her free hand, Qit'ria quickly undid the knots of her blouse and loincloth, throwing them across the room, baring all to the unfortunate people in the hut.
And then she realized he was here. Enrick. She wanted to be cold to him, to distance herself from him as she had been doing since they left Scalvoris. To not let him become part of her family that always resulted in other people dying. It was to protect him. But in this moment, she was selfish, and when her eyes finally found his, she smiled. A little bit. Until she really looked at his face. He was scared too. His eyes were black. He was scared, of her. Not for her. Of her. And then the fear slipped back to his normal stupid face. And Qit's fleeting smile left with it. When he offered a hand, she reached out and grabbed his forearm instead, just holding onto it for support.
And in that moment, her spark tried again. It lunged for her soul, and Qit'ria's body clenched as she spiritually buckled down, which resulted in her face clenched shut, crushing Noah's hand, and her nails digging into Enrick's forearm. The magic her spark pulled from her soul was being distributed, but Qit fought to contain it, keep it from spreading . It was a tug of war for control. As she was fighting, she heard a voice in her head, one she knew no one else could hear. It was Kashehino.
"Pick where to let it out, stop fighting it... lose the battle, win the war darling..."
And Qit realized what she meant immediately. Keep it away from the baby. She let the spark wrestle the magic from her, but kept it hemmed in. It ran with the magic, sending down through her left arm. And she cut it off there, keeping it contained. And the mutation formed. Her nails, the same nails that were already in Enrick's flesh, grew longer and sharper, digging further into him. If they could be seen, they'd now be orangebrown in hue, and made of a much stronger substance than fingernail. But as the mutation continued to finish, it began to pump the venom from the nails slowly into Enrick's arm.
The venom wouldn't be noticed right away, but the longer the nails were in him, the more that was pumped into his system. Soon, breathing would become difficult, as this Gasping Skitterer venom forced Enrick's lungs to fill with liquid from his own body. Her spark, satisfied that it got what it wanted returned to its perch on her soul, pleased with itself.
And another contraction forced through Qit'ria, and another bear's roar escaped her maw. This time it lasted longer than the rest. And that was when her father spoke up. "Well, looks like it's time. That child is about to come out. Get ready Rose, you can do this." Qit'ria shifted, for it felt more natural, sitting up, but not letting go of either arm she held. And she returned to focusing on her breathing, and responded to her body's desire to push.
And so she did. She could feel her daughter within her shifting, moving lower. Qit was no longer roaring, but gritting her teeth and fangs, now staring daggers at Rose. Her breaths were shallow and menacing, but it was nice to have something to focus on. But this process going slow for the woman now, as the baby barely moved along. Fleck'ack leaned in behind Rose and whispered in her ear, "Tell her to push, and get in close."
After several bits of pushing and grunting and breathing and squeezing, the child's head could be seen. Grey, downy feather's adorned it's crown as it worked its way out. It's skin was dark, much darker than Qit'ria's own, with a bit of a sheen to it, near black. It shifted a bit, twisting and soon it's shoulders and body were coming out much faster than the head did. Fleck'ack leaned down next to Rose, "Keep pushing Qitten, gotta get the afterbirth out too." And so she did.
The baby was alive, and squirming, but not yet crying. Fleck'ack pulled out a nice and showed Rose how to go about removing the umbilical cord, then handed it to her to perform. He then pinched the baby's ear a bit hard, and soon, its cries filled the room. And Qit's heart soared, and she smiled. She dropped her holds on Enrick and Noah, and relaxed, slipping down in her seat a bit. She hurt all over, but strangely found it not so bad. Becoming hurt so much worse than childbirth.
Fleck'ack helped provide the supplies to clean the child, and then looked Rose in the eyes, "Tell her what it is, then hand it to her, doctor."
Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text
For the moment, it seemed that the spark was held at bay, having taken a small victory from its 'mother'. Qit'ria was granted a small reprieve, opening her eyes to see a confusing situation. The red-headed woman was staring at her with complete fear in her eyes, and Qit'ria had yet to realize why. She must be a weak willed woman to be so frightened of birth. Qit'ria had been there for all of her sisters' conceptions and there for their births. It wasn't that scary, and her mom screamed and fought just as much as Qit did.
The Avriel was at her right side, helping her to breathe, and Qit obliged.. And it did seem to make her feel a bit better. The bird wiped away the sweat from her brow and helped the red-head. Another massive contraction tore through Qit'ria and her hand lashed out, grabbing onto Noah's. Her grip was iron as she squeezed through a second contraction that came so much quicker than the last. Things were happening fast. Using her free hand, Qit'ria quickly undid the knots of her blouse and loincloth, throwing them across the room, baring all to the unfortunate people in the hut.
And then she realized he was here. Enrick. She wanted to be cold to him, to distance herself from him as she had been doing since they left Scalvoris. To not let him become part of her family that always resulted in other people dying. It was to protect him. But in this moment, she was selfish, and when her eyes finally found his, she smiled. A little bit. Until she really looked at his face. He was scared too. His eyes were black. He was scared, of her. Not for her. Of her. And then the fear slipped back to his normal stupid face. And Qit's fleeting smile left with it. When he offered a hand, she reached out and grabbed his forearm instead, just holding onto it for support.
And in that moment, her spark tried again. It lunged for her soul, and Qit'ria's body clenched as she spiritually buckled down, which resulted in her face clenched shut, crushing Noah's hand, and her nails digging into Enrick's forearm. The magic her spark pulled from her soul was being distributed, but Qit fought to contain it, keep it from spreading . It was a tug of war for control. As she was fighting, she heard a voice in her head, one she knew no one else could hear. It was Kashehino.
"Pick where to let it out, stop fighting it... lose the battle, win the war darling..."
And Qit realized what she meant immediately. Keep it away from the baby. She let the spark wrestle the magic from her, but kept it hemmed in. It ran with the magic, sending down through her left arm. And she cut it off there, keeping it contained. And the mutation formed. Her nails, the same nails that were already in Enrick's flesh, grew longer and sharper, digging further into him. If they could be seen, they'd now be orangebrown in hue, and made of a much stronger substance than fingernail. But as the mutation continued to finish, it began to pump the venom from the nails slowly into Enrick's arm.
The venom wouldn't be noticed right away, but the longer the nails were in him, the more that was pumped into his system. Soon, breathing would become difficult, as this Gasping Skitterer venom forced Enrick's lungs to fill with liquid from his own body. Her spark, satisfied that it got what it wanted returned to its perch on her soul, pleased with itself.
And another contraction forced through Qit'ria, and another bear's roar escaped her maw. This time it lasted longer than the rest. And that was when her father spoke up. "Well, looks like it's time. That child is about to come out. Get ready Rose, you can do this." Qit'ria shifted, for it felt more natural, sitting up, but not letting go of either arm she held. And she returned to focusing on her breathing, and responded to her body's desire to push.
And so she did. She could feel her daughter within her shifting, moving lower. Qit was no longer roaring, but gritting her teeth and fangs, now staring daggers at Rose. Her breaths were shallow and menacing, but it was nice to have something to focus on. But this process going slow for the woman now, as the baby barely moved along. Fleck'ack leaned in behind Rose and whispered in her ear, "Tell her to push, and get in close."
After several bits of pushing and grunting and breathing and squeezing, the child's head could be seen. Grey, downy feather's adorned it's crown as it worked its way out. It's skin was dark, much darker than Qit'ria's own, with a bit of a sheen to it, near black. It shifted a bit, twisting and soon it's shoulders and body were coming out much faster than the head did. Fleck'ack leaned down next to Rose, "Keep pushing Qitten, gotta get the afterbirth out too." And so she did.
The baby was alive, and squirming, but not yet crying. Fleck'ack pulled out a nice and showed Rose how to go about removing the umbilical cord, then handed it to her to perform. He then pinched the baby's ear a bit hard, and soon, its cries filled the room. And Qit's heart soared, and she smiled. She dropped her holds on Enrick and Noah, and relaxed, slipping down in her seat a bit. She hurt all over, but strangely found it not so bad. Becoming hurt so much worse than childbirth.
Fleck'ack helped provide the supplies to clean the child, and then looked Rose in the eyes, "Tell her what it is, then hand it to her, doctor."
