Blackfeather Woods the ones that we love.

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The woman was more "with it" as of late, feasting greedily on whatever food was brought to her in the cavern, beginning to tend to her newborns (who weren't so new now, almost a week past their due date and growing strong). Parvati still slept for long stretches of time and left much of the care for her children to whoever came to visit. All the children needed was a constant warmth (which Parvati provided) and food (her milk was rich even if she felt weak), and of course someone to coax their bodily functions to work; it was a messy job that Parvati had not the strength to perform, leaving it to Maegi.

Today was no different; the pale woman had slipped out after a brief visit, leaving a rabbit carcass by Parvati's head. She slept until the herbal, earthy scent of the cached creature entered her nose and then moodily roused. Beside her was @Sobek drinking greedily, while his twin @Sakhmet appeared to have found her stability with crawling. The ghostly child, @Anansi, was nowhere to be found - though Parvati did not look far. Moments passed, and she thought she could hear the distant blurring voice of @Maegi near the cave mouth - perhaps she was tending to him.

The woman breathed the stale air of the cave, and with a nudge she sent Sobek rolling backwards with a full belly. Milk dribbled down his chin and he gave a sharp squeak as he came to rest on his back, flailing like a tortoise. Mmn, hungry little thueban... She murmured, and while the sentiment might've been less than pleasant, she soon became enthralled in watching his struggle and kick, until he began to drowse. Soon her babies would be opening their eyes - time was moving so fast.

Parvati was growing stronger and more alert, and with this rise in spirits came a rise in concern on Maegi's part. She had got it within her head what she must do—but the woman getting stronger by the day didn't quite work to her advantage. She was barely repressing the rage and disgust she felt toward Parvati; upon seeing her watch Sobek flail helplessly, the hatred bloomed, a sharp, hot flame in her stomach.

And then she spotted Anansi, wandering far from his mother as well. Maegi took him by the scruff and padded close, placing him gingerly against his mother's milk-woman's belly before doing the same with Sobek.

You're not supposed to let them away from you like that, she said censoriously, casting a cruel stare upon Parvati. They need to keep warm. She gave Sakhmet a loving muzzle and pushed her nearer the woman before stepping back, one eye wandering to keep an eye on the babes while she retrieved the gift (ha) she had come to bring Parvati.

The leaf came unfolded as she set it down; upon it were five black poppy seeds, almost like tiny bugs in the dim light. Eat these, Maegi said quietly, though her tone invited no challenge. They'll help you relax, which will make the milk flow better.

It was a lie, of course, at least in part. But she needed Parvati drowsy, unable to impose whatever will she possessed on these Melonii.

puppy cameo

With each day it grew easier for her to move about. Mobility, she was learning, was a fruitful thing. Although she never made it far or fast. Crawling was what she was capable of and that took energy. The touch against her was welcomed. It offered a relief from the coolness she found away from siblings and mother. Along with a bit of stability to her wobbly, squirmy form.

Then it was gone. She would have offered protest had it not been for her finding herself moved back against the bigger warmth.

Now she was hungry, tired and blissfully unaware of what might transpire around her. The small child's only mission now was to eat to her heart's content.

They had been adamant inside her womb, and now that they existed terrestrially she thought they'd be different. They slept as much as she did, rolled, kicked, complained with their tiny lungs and greedy mouths. Parvati was no longer lost in her delerium but she felt only a vague sense of connection to these whelps; she wanted to love them, was desperate to, and thought upon their birth that a switch would be flicked and she'd be so enamored - her sisters had always spoken so fondly of their role as mothers. Yet as her strength grew, her love dwindled. She didn't seek to comfort the crying babes or to reposition them when they escaped from beside her. Thus when Maegi brought one roaming baby back to Parvati's breast, the woman took a breath and loosed a drawn sigh.

The woman corrected her, shuffling one of the trio close so that they could stay warm against her round belly. Parvati felt them there but didn't move to inspect them; there was no need, Maegi was mothering them enough, keeping them safe while Parvati was their incubator and warming blanket, buffet, all rolled together. Eat these, Maegi instructed, dropping something by Parvati's cheek that smelled strongly aromatic - but also enticing, which was a shift from her usual reluctance when faced with meat. Pregnancy had made food repulsive for a while but now she was starved, so she took to the meal without thought.

The meat was tough, old, but didn't bother her much as she tore in to it and worked at it with her molars. Eventually the whole mess was downed, and Parvati busied herself with a cat-like grooming routine of her paws and muzzle while her precious babies wriggled nearby. Maybe it was the full belly, maybe it was the slow, sluggish warmth that descended upon her by way of the children's bodies crowding her, but soon Parvati began to feel sleepy and so she let out a yawn - her mouth sliding open while a second deep breath pulled from her, blocking her ears for a moment. As she licked her lips and blinked away the sleep as best she could, she focused on the cave's mouth and thought she could see -- no, nothing. A trick of the light.

The yawn came after a while, a wonderful sound, a wonderful sight. Maegi watched Parvati drift away, eyes fixed, cold and steely, on the half-slumbering woman. She moved to lay behind the milk-giver, wrapping her limbs around the woman in an awkward, grotesque embrace. Almost like how Mou—

No. She would not think of him, not here, not now. He had left her. He had forsaken his place in the woods.

Instead, Maegi rested her chin on Parvati's shoulder and stared at her suckling, sleeping children, lips gentle and barely parted. Her whispers grew into a soft chanting, grew into something no more than gibberish to a prayer with substance, with meaning.

Peryite, ñuha āeksio, ñuha Jaes, she intoned, breath stirring the soft brown fur. Dohaeragon ñuha riñar naejot mazverdagon rōva se kostōba. Dohaeragon ñuha riñar naejot gūrēñagon naejot glaesagon mijegon bisa ābra. Mērī pār kostagon pōnta sagon dāez.

Please, Maegi hissed, sounding almost pained in her desperation.