Lion Head Mesa pestilence

Whatever the result of her conversation with Pharaoh, she had been too low to return to her chambers much, especially as her pregnancy progressed. Maegi lingered along the outskirts of the mesa, fending off help from others, and tonight was curled beneath a small depression in a sandy wall when the pain started.

The stars pulsed with each contraction;

and she vomited up her meager supper.

Breathe.

"The rotten fruits of your womb. . ."

Visions of 

Poppy, bleeding to death at her young paws.

Iliksis, coming for Relmyna's babes—

those eyes

birthing

worms

YOU LEFT ME EMPTY AND ROTTING

"Cut them out. Give them breath."

Amniotic fluid burst forth, a dam broken; no longer able to stem the tide. The smell was fetid, fecund.

It was quick. All those seasons of children to abandon her,

So quick to leave; so quick to slip free.

Just two, and she tore their sacs open with a scream, rage burning hot in her ears as her head pounded

Blackness rose around her

They were small, but strong. They seized her teats

Jaes, they were draining her. . .

"I will keep you alive long enough to wean these wretched beings,

you are no more than a vessel for the hell you've brought to this earth."

And I deserve it all, Maegi whispered, naked and reeking and reeling at the absolute feeling of revulsion she felt upon seeing these two children;

They belonged to Potema.

They belonged to the Void.

Three pitiful creatures beneath a summer night:

they nursed, and she wept.

tags for reference @Ramesses @Sayf @Tavina @Gucci @Medusa and @Midas