Blacktail Deer Plateau Ain't nothing but a heartache

I hope it's okay to bring this up to the present. If not, let me know. :)

While noticing her baby bump for the first time had been thrilling and feeling them move had been likewise enthralling, things had taken a turn for Pied in the past few days. The swelling seemed to have doubled in the space of a week and, the more the puppies moved, the less it felt like a fluttering and the more it felt like... well, like being socked in the gut. More than once, it left her breathless and reeling. Once, she'd cried out from the pain.

Today, Pied didn't bother moving until her bladder—abused particularly by the feet of the innocent—forced her to her feet and out her front door. She only walked a few steps beyond it before squatting and relieving herself. With a slight wince, she then made an about-face and prepared to slip right back down into the burrow when a mournful howl arrested her.

Although the idea of inflating her lungs and further crushing her innards did not appeal to the Tau right now, she recognized Blue Willow's voice and thought this a good opportunity to solicit some medical advice. Perhaps the Healer would know of a way to treat the pain. She'd anticipated some of it but it was much worse than Pied had ever feared. She was just barely past the halfway point of her pregnancy too... she couldn't bear this for another four weeks.

"Blue Willow! I'd love to talk with you if you'd come by my den," Pied replied to the medic's howl. She then gingerly stretched out on the small, grassy slope just to the side of her den, positioning herself carefully to put the least amount of pressure on her distended belly.