Duskfire Glacier one heart going both directions

Veteran is here! <3 Just reiterating, there's no posting order moving forward. Next round will begin on July 19th.

Several more labor pains washed over Lane as she waited for the requested herbs to be produced, and with every contraction more blood oozed down her legs. By the time Rye was back, Lane was lying in a puddle of sticky red. It was all over her paws, her muzzle, in her nose, in her eyes... 

It marred everything except her perfect daughter, who was curled up safely with Wintersbane. 

Lane took the herbs from Rye gratefully, all too conscious of her harrowing appearance and her pungent scent. Of course, she was in a vulnerable and embarrassing position, so Rye was here to see it. Of course. She chomped down the herbs with gusto, remembering to chew particularly well with the chervil. The medicine was in the chewing, she knew. 

Both Wintersbane and Rye would bear witness to the birth of her son-- Tzila and Imaq too, if they had a view from the doorway. In a tide of blood and pain, the boy was born. He looked for all the world like a battle-hardened soldier, bathed in blood and surveying his surroundings with a heavy silence. This would earn him his name. "Veteran," Lane croaked, her voice sounding as weak and shaky as she felt. 

There were no more children coming, which was a blessing. If there had been another, Lane probably wouldn't have survived it. As it was, she only managed a few licks over Veteran's face before she pulled away, spent. Someone else would have to finish cleaning him... Rye perhaps? Wintersbane still seemed preoccupied by Wayfarer. Before Lane could ask, she was dropping into a dark, powerful sleep-- the kind that Imaq would know all about.