Noctisardor Bypass [m]istletoe has moved into the lampshades

it felt like her eyelids were going to tear with how swiftly they opened. in her own womb, the children rolled at the sudden jerkiness of their mother, and heda grunted in pain as she ended her patrol, and dropped a fish just inside the den. she paused for a breath, shutting her eyes once more. she had been dozing a moment ago, almost dead on her feet; now heda only gathered herself.
but then she was at druid's side, murmuring with reassurance, eyes filled with a soothing she could not conjure for herself. since that day, heda had barely left her sister's side, enlisting the help of her daughters to ensure their aunt was never alone while she and glaukos hunted.
but that was becoming impossible for heda; very soon she must resign herself to being bedridden again.
"it's starting, druid, but don't worry. i'm here and glaukos will be back. just breathe," heda crooned, looking forward to the end of her sister's agony and sickness, even if druid must then contemplate the entirely new world of demanding firstborns. and that she could help with, as she had woken that morning to find her bare underbelly damp with a responsive letdown of early milk.