Dragoncrest Cliffs Merry ground

"Your mother?" Portia echoed, worry in her voice as she gave Wildfire a comforting nudge. The Bandrona just nodded mutely, unable to find her voice for a moment before finally saying, "She died giving birth to my younger siblings at the beginning of the year." She had processed through her grief and loss by now, yet she felt a surge of fear that she could share in her mother's fate. Was that kind of thing hereditary in some way?

She swallowed again and again, trying to push down the sudden and overwhelming feeling of terror. Portia's soothing voice and reassurances helped and Wildfire shot her a grateful look. "They'll be okay," she repeated softly, trying to reclaim some of her earlier joy. There was no way of knowing what might happen when the day came and worrying about it wouldn't do her any good. Besides, Portia would be somewhere near at hand, if anything did go amiss...

It took her a few more moments to fully recover from the brief episode of panic, which ended with a giant, gusty breath. "Thanks, Portia," Wildfire murmured, feeling a little sheepish for bringing down the room. "Think I'm gonna head back to the den, get some rest while I still can... I'll see you later." She nudged the medicine woman's cheek, then turned and padded back to her redwood tree, chanting, Your babies will turn out just fine, with every footstep.