Totoka River [m] fire dancer

she had stolen it from him, his moment of complete domination, where her body would smoke and twist for him no matter what she wanted.

cen loomed close, placing a paw against the swell of her side as if he were a midwife. in fact, it was them he was considering now, and their lack.

it was not unknown for two lanzadoii hunters to travel the plains together. it was far less heard of that these hunters should be one man and his pregnant wife.

he had been angry, but anger had no place here now. beating red leaf would only ruin the future she now delicately carried. there were no other women here to call out, to order a halt when she needed. no midwives for her birthing shelter. no hunters to bring meat, save cen.

it could be done. and by all rights, he should force her to march until it was time. but that was it; now neither of them knew when this could be, he assumed.

cen grunted. "we will travel until we find a village. the dreamer taught me words. i will use them. you need a woman to look at you. if she says you are well, we will go along the coast."

he said nothing to the rest of her small plea for reassurance. that would come when she delivered fat sons for him. in the interim, as a show of goodwill, cen began to lay out the camp himself. "lie down. rest."