Two Eyes Cenote antimony

hare-liver, shredded. the fat of a mountain ewe's tail. bits of honeycomb. she sent these delicacies and more day by day to the room of @Nazli, citing a medicinal component in one or the other.

but she was worried, and that afternoon she went to seek the young priestess out herself, eyes lighting with happiness when she glimpsed the lilac figure.

Her belly was so big that it touched the ground, and Nazli had taken to being very slow with her work, and did not rise as Tavina appeared.

She gave a tired smile as a welcome. The fur along her distended belly had thinned considerably; all of the energy of her body was being spent upon this litter inside of her, and save for the bulk of her middle, she looked thin.

Oh? You brought me breakfast. Her tone was warm, but the sight and smell of food made her stomach roll and she did not reach for it. Her bedfurs were a mess, showing signs she could not be comfortable for long.

"yes. and i think it's time you went on bedrest, nazli."

hadn't she done this twice before? once to spare the girl the — demands of a dead man, and the second when her body had swelled the first.

and she was sick with worry, dizzied by it. tavina busied herself with preening the bedclothes, straightening them, flicking any gentle debris away. "you have eset and i to wait on you, priestess," she smiled.

It is all I can do. She softly moaned, protesting with what little energy her body retained.

But she went to the bed again, tried to settle upon it. Sitting was awkward, laying was uncomfortable. It was so unlike the first few times she had thought herself pregnant — and this was so different, so true.

She was too tired to be afraid. But she saw the look upon Tavina's face, the kind of focused worry she often witnessed during her earlier training or when work needed to be done. Nazli smiled; the look faltered as something inside of her stirred.

Oough... I cannot wait to meet them. Or to be small again. How many were there? She could not know. As large as she was, Nazli thought maybe she could birth an army.

"it can be a hard time. but it is over, and then you have a baby. or four," tavina teased a little, though she too was anticipating several more children.

"for now, i'll let you know that i'm making a new bundle of sheep's-wool and goosedown, for your back, nazli. it's a little smaller. you can move it around a little."

she still needed to walk, to go into the sun; but she had tavina for that.