While she was out this way, Towhee ought to continue east and visit Fig et al at Kvarsheim. Instead, she found herself drifting south after her visit to the caldera, lured by the thought of visiting Two Eyes Cenote again. She wasn’t exactly surprised to find it claimed, though it was pretty disappointing. She quickly moved further east, with the idea of eventually heading north again to visit Stone Circle.

As she approached some dunes, she reminisced about that day she’d spent with @Sari at the cenote. Maybe she’d been part of the claim; she hadn’t lingered long enough to suss out any particular scents. When Towhee stopped at the crest of the sandy hill and saw the ravine in the distance, she had no idea that she was staring straight at S’ari’s present home.

She was thirsty, so she headed toward the water. Long before she approached the ravine’s edge, she saw a glimpse of green off to her right. But Towhee didn’t want to venture any further south now. She continued forward, at least until the scent of many coyotes suddenly filled her nostrils. Then she pulled up short, nose twitching with interest.

he hunted.

s'ari would soon be due, and @Candle lay with their four. he did not want her to desire for anything and often brought gifts of food for them both.

but wolf reek turned his nostrils. familiar? the bloodstained creature shifted his trajectory toward the place, slipping into the shadows of a redstone shape.

a wolf. alone for now. zoug watched them from the high darkness cast by a scarlet cliff, single eye blazing as if to send them away.

She could’ve sworn she picked up S’ari’s scent among the rest. Her tail twitched as she licked her dry lips. Would her acquaintance and her ilk permit Towhee to fetch a drink before she headed back north?

Before she could send up a call, a peculiar pain flashed through her abdomen, stealing Towhee’s breath. She widened her stance without thinking as what felt like a bolt of lightning arced through her hips. She glanced downward, expecting blood for some reason, but saw nothing. The pain peaked, then began to ebb.

She remained in her slightly splayed position, breathing harshly as she muttered, Fuck was that about?

Have to throw her in here. Edited because Zoug is on a cliff LMAO.

S’ari was restless with late pregnancy. She hadn’t slept well in days, unable to get comfortable, and walking had become nearly impossible. Some part of her knew she should be laying down and trying to rest but her emotions were high so she thought a walk might do her good.

She came to the edge of the territory and saw… Towhee! She had never forgotten her wolf friend, one she hadn’t seen in many moons… But she had forgotten the woman was deaf, and called out again.

She did not notice Zoug high up on the cliff.

the spine of the clan hunter spiked as he scented s'ari, then heard her voice, calling out to the wolf.

the larger form had stopped suddenly just before that, and suspicion now speared fiercely through zoug.

there was familiarity in s'ari's voice. the one-eyed man crouched to remain when he was, for now.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: septic miscarriage...

She felt warm. Was it just the desert air or something else? Towhee tried to steady her breathing, braced for another wave of pain. None came, for now, though her heart was pounding so fast that her entire body rocked gently with the movement. She licked her parched chops anxiously, eyes flicking upward.

Towhee’s thumping heart jumped into her throat at the sight of a heavily pregnant S’ari in the middle distance. She finally stood up straighter again, gauging the coyote’s expression before taking a step toward her. She felt shaky and wondered if she was simply thirstier than she’d realized. Good gods, a cold drink did sound good right about now.

S’ari, hey, she panted as she closed the distance. You’re very ro— she quipped, voice cutting off as another cramp rocked through her without warning.

This time, her blood mixed with the desert sand. Towhee winced at the unpleasant gush and the smell—the smell! Had a more horrific scent ever passed into her nose? She retched, making whale eyes at the unsuspecting S’ari.

S’ari had not realized anything was wrong at first. She was grinning from large ear to large ear at her friend as they closed the gap, and then—

And then something was very wrong.

S’ari saw the pain on Towhee’s face, saw her body stiffen, and then a horrid, godsawful smell made her gag. Of course, she was heavily pregnant, so instead of just gagging, she threw up all over the sand. Breathing raggedly, seeing the blood beneath Towhee’s body, she tried not to vomit again and said, You must… come inside the Ravine. Come with S’ari now. Can you walk? All she could think was that if her friend was going to die, or expel her womb, or whatever was happening, she could not let the wolf do it out here in the hot sand alone. Zoug and Candle’s thoughts on wolves be damned. She would tear them apart if they hurt Towhee.

when the wolf moved toward s'ari, it was too much for zoug. in silent fury he descended the red cliff, keeping still to the darkness of deep maroon until he had reached the wolf and the coyote.

the reek of blood and illness prickled zoug again. he came openly to the side of s'ari. the wolf smelt of sickness, and crimson wet the sand.

zoug did not want to touch the wolf. he wanted her to leave, to take her plague with her. but the open worry in s'ari told the clan hunter that this one was special.

that the other would bring the beast inside the ravine stirred wariness and anger in zoug, but he fell back behind the wolf and s'ari, indicating that he would bring up the rear and watch for others, as well as monitor any deepening blood-trail from the wolf.

In other circumstances, Towhee would’ve laughed at S’ari adding her own bodily fluids to the mix. But all she felt at the moment was abject panic. She could handle blood and pain; she’d miscarried before. But it was that smell that horrified her. It smelled like something had died… and it slowly dawned on her that something had, inside of her.

Oh fuck, she muttered even as S’ari recovered from her emesis and tried to usher her into the ravine.

A second coyote flanked her before either woman could move. Towhee took a step back, one of her hind paws sinking into her own blood in the sand. She hadn’t caught any of the words, though S’ari’s body language spoke loud and clear: she wanted to help. Her companion, however…

Even if I wasn’t expelling my putrefuckted insides, I’m not a threat, she gasped as a third pain sheared through her like a blade.

It brought with it another freshet of blood and a considerable amount of something Towhee could only identify as gore. If those had been pups, they certainly didn’t resemble such now. It was just a lump of bloodied, gnarled tissue that swamped her nose again with that rancid odor of decay.

After birthing that atrocity, Towhee sank to the ground. She didn’t feel woozy, so to speak, but her heart was still beating out of her chest. She definitely felt hot. Her tongue lolled from her mouth in a desperate pant as her eyes cut from one coyote face to the other.

Water, she begged.

S’ari tried not to physically recoil at the thing that Towhee had just birthed. Her own guts were now roiling at the sight and the smell. Gods, the smell.

Towhee sank to the ground after claiming she was not a threat, and S’ari glared at Zoug as if this whole thing were his fault. Leave S’ari’s friend alone, she warned the coyote.

Water, Towhee begged, and S’ari felt her heart twist in her chest.

She’d get it herself, but pregnant as she was, she wasn’t fast enough. She stepped around Towhee and stared at Zoug. Zoug. Bring water. Lap it up into your mouth and hold it there and bring it back. Or S’ari will do it, but she is slow. This wolf will not hurt us. She is good and kind, and— And she is dying.

S’ari opened her mouth to continue giving Zoug instruction, but her guts twisted inside her again, though much lower down than before. Something splattered on the sand between her legs. Feeling suddenly cold with dread, she looked down to see water there. Shit, she hissed.

zoug was implacable as s'ari glared toward him. his role was one of protection. a flick of his ears said he had heard her warning and would allow the wolf her peace.

but then birthwater fragrance cut the tang of blood and rotted skin; and he did not yet move to gather anything, turning his attention from the wolf to the coyote who would soon be mother.

i will bring the water. and then you will go to candle. i will bring wolf where it is safe, closer to us.

the only uttered word was the name of his mate. he let his gaze move between them and then disappeared into the ravine.

his cheeks bulged with streamwater. he brought it as soon as he was able, annoyed to be near the wolf but grunting that she should part her jaws, and would pour the offering between them.

Towhee begged for water and S’ari delivered.

Not— she panted, her voice drying up in her throat.

The more hostile coyote departed. Towhee hadn’t caught a word of the exchange, though he couldn’t imagine he was just leaving the two women here to deal with their fates. Her wide, scratchy eyes looked uncertainly at S’ari.

I think, she winced through a much less sharp spasm, I’m done shitting out ghouls. Where did your friend go?

When the grumpy, one-eyed man returned with bulging cheeks, Towhee didn’t think about what it would be like to French kiss a coyote. She gratefully accepted the sips of water taken directly from his maw as if she was a baby bird. She didn’t care at all that much of it splashed on her chin and chest.

Can I come into the ravine for more water? she asked, wiping droplets from her chin. I want to wash up. Then I can help, if you need it, Towhee offered to S’ari, who would deliver in a very different sense of the word soon.

Her nose wrinkled. That stench still clung to her, to this whole stretch of sand. Towhee jolted slightly as she realized this might mean there was an infection. Perhaps the coyotes would have something she could take for that, as much as she hated to impose. Perhaps she could repay them by playing midwife.

S'ari snorted at Zoug's orders to go be with Candle. Like hell! She would not leave her friend out here even if she was with Zoug. Maybe especially if she was with Zoug. Not that she didn't trust the coyote... except maybe she didn't trust the coyote... Not entirely, anyway. That was probably bad. She'd have to deal with that later.

She watched like a hawk when Zoug returned, his cheeks bulging with water, and slowly poured it as best he could into her friend's mouth. Thank the gods. Now she could focus on the fact that she was giving birth. Maybe. If Towhee didn't keel over and die at any second from the clear infection inside her. No normal miscarriage had ever smelled like that, and S'ari had been around a few during her time with her Home Tribe.

Towhee will come in with us, she snarled at Zoug, ears flat along her skull. She was contracting now and in pain and did not give a shit what he said. She is sick and if she dies because you turned her away... The threat was clear in her tone, though it must have sounded very odd. S'ari did not get angry like this, well, ever, really. But she needed to impress upon the male how serious she was. Towhee will come in, stay far away from the others-- she did not specify to keep Candle and her pups anonymous-- and she will drink, and she will lay down, and she will be kept safe. Or S'ari will be very, very angry.

And then S'ari released a long, low groan as a full contraction hit her.

im sorry D:

zoug did not understand s'ari's attachment to this wolf, but was growing fiercely annoyed by the aggressive way in which she defended the bleeding other.

the reek of vomit and blood slowly stiffened his spine. s'ari's snapping was understandable, given the rapidly changing state of her body, but zoug had his own additions to make.

not in the cave. outside. this time his gestures were sharp.

he did not want a wolf close to his pups, and zoug stared at s'ari as she began her labor, eye hot with clear refusal to compromise further. in his mind, they were bringing a predator already far too near for his comfort. even if she was too weak to add physical injury to anyone of the tribe, it was clear to his male mind that she was diseased, oozing illness. her bad spirits could injure mother and child alike.

and he did not care if the wolf died. what mattered to zoug was that s'ari and her pups lived. it was evident that she would not move without assurance from him. no harm comes to this one you call friend. water. food. rest. i have spoken, the man added with a punctuating grunt. nature would drag s'ari into childbirth in a matter of time. he would not argue with her over it, and stood deliberately and far aside to say that the wolf might pass into the ravine for the things offered.

the choice belonged to s'ari. if she did not choose, her children would be born near the churn of ill things. he did not think she wanted this, and waited for them both.

S’ari began arguing with the male, who Towhee presumed was the father of her incoming pups. Her orange eyes cut back and forth as she tried to follow, though the male’s rebuttal wasn’t one she could understand despite the resemblance to her own conlang. She wanted to cut in and offer to find water on her own, though S’ari’s aggression toward him made Towhee hesitate to leave her with the riled man. Besides, she might need more of their help…

S’ari, she said quietly, wearily, if you’re alright with it, and here she paused emphatically, I can go find water myself. I won’t go near anyone else. I won’t bother anybody, unless I start actively dying, I guess. Will that work? For everyone? she added, including the one-eyed stranger.

Never apologize for keeping things interesting! :D

S'ari is not going to-- She cut herself off, remembering even in her current state that Zoug did not want Towhee to know of Candle or the pups. Haltingly, she switched to Clan-speak, as it were, though her motions were not sure. Dug out own den, she told him. Not cave. Wolf will stay far from Candle. Not worry. Then she added, aloud, Zoug will not chase Towhee from these lands until S'ari speaks to her again. Not unless she is a direct threat, which she will not be.

Then, without waiting for Zoug to respond, she glanced at her friend. Come, she said stiffly, wincing, wobbly on her paws. S'ari will lead you to water, then you will stay and S'ari will go away and have her babies, yes? She began to lead Towhee inside the Ravine. And if this one, she looked at Zoug, gives you trouble, come hide in S'ari's birthing den. Then he cannot reach you, for fear of hurting the sunlings.

There would probably be hell to pay for her behavior later, but she did not care. She would not leave a helpless one out here to die in the desert heat of some nasty infection. She stopped walking as another contraction rolled through her and gritted her teeth and moaned, but then kept walking again. The contractions were still spaced out, so it would be some time yet. She hoped.

[Last from me? Cos then I can go make an actual birthing thread.]

if the terms were less than acceptable to zoug, he chose not to show this. his eye was filled instead with wariness for s'ari, for despite her tight jaws and annoyances, he did not think a bad thing was between them.

that the wolf would not come to the cave satisfied zoug. he grunted to show his agreeability with s'ari and fell away behind she and the wolf.

letting out a call to @Koa, @Hazelnut, and @Candle that the stranger among them was beneath the tribe's protection, zoug oversaw their journey to water and then melted away, back toward the cave and its precious inhabitants.

When she and S’ari were alone again, Towhee mumbled, There won’t be any trouble, and then fell into silence, focusing all her energy on the trek to water.

Once they arrived, she didn’t bother dipping down for a drink. No, Towhee stepped right into the shallows and then buckled her legs in a controlled collapse. It was frigid, which suited her. She pressed as much of her body under the surface as she could manage, wincing only a little at the stinging cold of it.

While she situated herself, she lowered her head to drink, cooling herself from the inside out. Towhee felt her heartbeat slowing a little. She let herself rest a few moments, orange eyes trudging back to S’ari.

She wanted to offer the laboring coyote her help, especially with her experience, but she didn’t want to cause any problems with her baby daddy. Besides, at this point, Towhee didn’t want to move from the water. She would soak here a while, try to clean herself, and hope she could beat any infection.

You got this, she told the coyote, waving her away to her whelping den as she offered a grateful smile.

When S’ari was gone, Towhee tried not to think of how she must look like Caracal when he lay dying. What if she did the same and the coyotes found her face-down in the stream later?

Well, at least one of them wouldn’t be too sad about it.