Redsand Canyon I will love you until the last breath leaves my body

Germanicus seemed pleased; he brushed a kiss against her cheek, and Ruenna's air left her in a happy sigh. "They will be Mereo's pride," she agreed with him, smiling tiredly. The little bean she called Cornelius began making a pathetic sound, and Ruenna nudged him gently to her belly. 

She then looked to Aquene, who was finishing her examination. Were the children latching? Did her milk production seem sufficient? There were still so many ways things could go wrong, Ruenna knew. And yet, despite knowing this, Ruenna was not expecting what Aquene told her next: there was one more child still inside. Dread dropped into her belly like an anvil, and emotion began to claw its way up her throat. 

Towhee moved forward, an oblivious question on her breath. Ruenna fixed her panicked gaze on her closest friend. "I.. I think I'm dying," she answered, cold fear draining her already wan expression. It was another feeling that she couldn't explain, she just knew. She began trembling from head to toe, and she hugged herself around her precious children. 

With Aquene's medical intervention, Ruenna's contractions would eventually restart, but the fear would remain in the pit of her stomach. The bleeding started too; at first just a little bit, but then more and more as the contractions strengthened. Finally, the last remaining child was born in a wash of blood. Ruenna licked at her weakly. "Alivia," her voice trembled weakly. 

She looked up to Towhee with a desperate, pleading gaze. Darkness was edging at her vision, and she opened her mouth to speak, but the words slipped away from her. Thankfully, Towhee had never needed to hear words to understand a message. Take care of them. 

Ruenna's gaze shifted to Germanicus. She had never told him she loved him. Now she felt she never would. 

Darkness drowned Ruenna's vision, and she lapsed into unconsciousness.