Ouroboros Spine ᐊ aniuvak

ippiksaut brightened, a quiet glow blooming across her grey features — not sudden, but warm, like dawn pushing through a thin veil of cloud.

a women’s circle, she echoed, the words full, reverent. yes. we must form one here. the moon favors the gathering of her daughters.

she shifted a little closer, careful not to jostle raindrop’s swollen belly, and her tail swept once along the den floor in soft approval.

your body remembers this path, she said gently, listening to the trembling beneath raindrop’s breath, but each litter has its own way of claiming the world. queasiness, the shifting of the hips — these are signs the little ones are testing the doorway.

her paw drifted to the herb bundle, selecting the chamomile with a practiced touch. sip this when the trembling grows sharp. it will tell your muscles to soften. a pause, eyes warm. and breathe it slowly. your breath teaches theirs.

then, with a small, earnest smile:

if you wish to learn, i will teach you what the women taught me. herbs, bindings, breath-work, the rites spoken over new life. a healer’s knowing should be shared.

she brushed her shoulder softly against raindrop’s, a gesture of sisterhood.