Emberwood the black hills, the bad lands, the calloused east

After a moment, the pups settled and she looked up towards Cortez. She hadn’t even realized that she had closed her eyes, but for a moment, they had been. “What are you looking at?” she teased, giving the argent man a nip on the cheek. “Haven’t you ever seen a pregnant woman before?” This all was just the cost of doing business when it came to making babies.

Olive looked for something else for them to talk about — it would have been a fine time for a butterfly to flutter across the scene, or a bird to chirp and grab their attention. There was nothing, only silence, and just like that, she felt her puppies begin to squirm again. The pale shewolf grit her jaw and cut her steward an uncertain look. This time, there was a dull sense of discomfort and tightness around her belly where it hadn’t been before. They were probably just as tired as she was; it was certain that her movements were keeping them awake.

She rose back to standing, a strong smile braced upon her features. “No, let’s just.. Walk around for a minute…” she waited for Cortez to join her and she braced his side, not afraid to use his body as a crutch. Eventually this cramp would pass, and then they would head back, and then they—

Searing pain tore through Olive’s side, as hot as lightning. Almost immediately her knees buckled and her elbows drove into the earth. A hiss emanated from her mouth, out from behind clenched teeth; though the hot pain had only been for a second, the discomfort lingered. She rose back to her feet, looking over her should to the comfort of her brother, shuddering and whispering her next suggestion. “Maybe we should go back—” she didn't know where this proverbial place they would 'go back to' was, maybe Diaspora, maybe Elysium, but it didn't matter because again the pain struck, driving her to knees once more and sucking the breath from her lungs.