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+--- Thread: never grow up (/showthread.php?tid=12989)
never grow up - Sohalia - 07-06-2026
False contractions were, the way Soh understood it, to be expected during pregnancy. But if they were so common, then how was one to know when they became real?
When she first noticed the contractions on one chilly evening a few weeks after LongNight ended, she at first deigned to ignore them. After all, they probably weren’t real. She went to bed as usual, but she slept poorly, waking often as yet another contraction interrupted her attempts at slumber. She rolled from one side to another, avoiding laying on her back for fear it could compromise blood flow and unable to lay on her stomach for obvious reasons. But neither side made her more comfortable, and eventually, she realized that the contractions seemed to be strengthening and growing closer together.
[say]”Zav?”[/say] she murmured into the dark, reaching to brush a hand along her boyfriend’s shoulder. A new contraction hit, and she winced, heart rate spiking, but there was no fear to it. Only a sort of excited resignation.
It was time.
[say]”Are you awake?”[/say] she asked, trying to stay calm despite the fluttering in her chest. Their daughter seemed to shift and turn, and Soh smoothed a soothing hand over her stomach to quiet the as-yet-unborn child. Fortunately, they’d been prepared for just this eventuality. Bags had been packed; they were ready to make their way to the hospital. Or they would be, if Reva gave them the opportunity. Already, by Soh’s calculation, she’d been in early labor for several hours. What would they do if they didn’t make it to the hospital?
Soh felt doubt and trepidation begin to creep in just as another contraction hit, this one strong enough to have her teeth clenching in pain. What if she went into active labor in the street? Maybe they should send a companion to fetch a doctor and just stay here. Riding out the contraction, Soh tried to remind herself to breath and failed. Instead, in the brief moment between her question and Zavien’s attention, he would find her almost hyperventilating.
RE: never grow up - Zavien - 07-06-2026
Exhausted from his recent trip to the Grounds, Zavien slept through most of the rocking and rolling of his girlfriend. He'd occasionally reach out a reassuring hand in his sleep or mumble a question after her comfort, but he'd recently discovered that there wasn't much he could do to help a pregnant woman's sleep beyond the massages and extra pillows, and his own sleep had been so sporadic during LongNight that his sleep was heavier than usual. However, the man was acutely aware of how close they were to the birth of their child, and his soldierly instincts kept him somewhat alert to her needs despite the rumbling snores.
When she rested a gentle hand against his shoulder, his snoring cut off in a brutal roar of breath, his eyes fluttering behind his eyelids as he turned over in a drowsy flop. [say]"Hm?"[/say] The question seemed redundant as he slowly blinked his eyes open to see what she needed. Licking his lips and squinting his eyes, he took in the sight of her pinched expression, breaths coming much too fast for his liking.
All remnants of sleep were thrown from his mind like cobwebs from a window. He jolted up, his hand reaching out to brace her head, scanning her body as the world suddenly came into crisp focus. [say]"Soh? Are you okay?"[/say] He could tell she very much wasn't okay, but he also couldn't tell if it was the normal kind of pain or if something was terribly wrong.
Honestly, it didn't matter.
Panic was his first feeling, threatening to pull him into its grasp as he considered all the possibilities. But Zavien took a deep breath to gather his wits. They'd planned for this. They knew this was coming. This was to be expected. They had a plan. A plan he needed to implement.
By the time he released the breath, he was already moving. Although reluctant to step out of her reach, Zavien rose from the bed, his voice rambling on as he rushed into action, Sol appearing in the room to see what the commotion was. [say]"Okay okay. It's okay. I'm going to grab the stuff. Do you think you can walk?"[/say] Shirtless in his underwear, he snagged the bag by the door, tossing in her toothbrush and the blanket on the end of the bed, setting her shoes next to the bed before grabbing her jacket. Then he stood in front of her, eyes a little frantic and hands out at the ready, prepared to guide or support wherever he could, doing his best to be a steadying presence despite the rush in his veins or the echoing race of her heart against his chest.
RE: never grow up - Sohalia - 07-06-2026
Zav's rumbling snore cut off, but Soh was barely aware of it, this contraction having gone from uncomfortable to painful with a quickness. Still, knowing that she would worry him in her current state, she did her best to gather her thoughts and offered a tight smile that came off more as a wince. [say]"I'm fine,"[/say] she managed to grind out through short, gasping breaths, but the lie, such as it was, was laughable. Nobody, she thought, should have to endure this just to bring a tiny human into this world - and yet, here they were.
The contraction passed. Whoever had told her to breathe through the pain had vastly overestimated the Luminary's ability to do so, and as it subsided, she gulped air like a drowning woman breaking the surface of the sea. Zavien was already up, shirtless and in nothing but his underwear, and Soh's crooked, teasing smile was more genuine as she carefully pushed herself into a seated position. [say]"Are you going just like that?"[/say] she asked. When she managed to swing her legs over the edge of the bed without bringing on another contraction, she sighed with relief. Maybe she'd have a few minutes to catch her breath.
[say]"I'm okay, really. I just wasn't expecting it to be so intense so quickly."[/say] First-time mothers tended to have longer labors, or so the birthing classes had explained, so she had been prepared for a lengthy, slowly intensifying experience. This felt faster than anticipated, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. [say]"I can walk between contractions,"[/say] she said slowly, reaching for Zavien's hand to allow him to help her from the bed. [say]"They're - I don't know, a few minutes apart? I thought it was just another false alarm, but -"[/say]
She paused, bracing for the next wave of pain that she felt approaching. Her grip on Zavien's hands tightened, a quiet, muffled gasp working its way from her throat as everything in her body seemed to clench and tighten at once. Riding it out, she resisted the urge to sink back into the bed, stubbornly remaining on her feet through sheer willpower.
By this point, Anani had joined them in the bedroom, chiming her own sleepy greeting. The cloud wyrm floated through the air to settle behind Soh on the bed, seemingly reluctant to burden her with additional weight when she was already going through so much. The woman was distantly aware that everyone in the house was currently focused on her, and the urge to wave them all away, to insist that she was fine, that women had been doing this for eons surfaced. She didn't want a big fuss, even though she knew it was unavoidable.
When the pain faded half a minute later - the longest thirty seconds of her life - Soh breathed out through her mouth, a half-sigh that seemed to allow her to muster the courage to take the jacket from Zavien and tug it haphazardly around her shoulders. [say]"I don't -"[/say] she started, but abruptly cut herself off as a pop echoed through muscles and sinew and a rush of wetness spread down her legs. It was the strangest thing she'd ever felt, and the look on her face probably reflected the oddity of it, caught somewhere between amusement and despair. [say]"I think my water just broke."[/say]
Fear flickered again. [say]"I don't want to have this baby on the street."[/say] Her eyes flickered to a nearby clock. [say]"Zav, I don't know if we have time to get to the hospital."[/say]
RE: never grow up - Zavien - 07-06-2026
His hands braced against her sides, helping her sit upright in bed while she caught her breath. Despite her words, concern still deepened the line between his brows, eyes continuing to scan until finally landing on her attempt at a smile. He looked down at his own attire, skin and boxers on full display. He hadn't even registered the cold, and he certainly didn't care how he looked right now, but the idea was slightly funny - if they weren't about to have a baby.
Zavien's lips quirked at the corner, kneeling to help put her shoes on her feet. [say]"If I have to."[/say] He stood to take her hands, suddenly gripped by her intense strength working on cutting off the circulation to his fingers. Letting her expend the pain however she needed, Zavien freed one hand to rub it over her shoulders, pulling her close. The movement was solid and soothing, as if it could work the pain from her muscles, as if it could ground her in the moment rather than the feeling. He couldn't tell if he was talking or not. There might have been words of [say]"Breathe"[/say] and [say]"It's okay"[/say] and [say]"I'm here,"[/say] but he was so acutely focused on her that he just wanted to do or say whatever would ease the suffering.
When her fingers released their vice grip on his hand, he straightened, pausing for a moment before helping guide the jacket over her shoulders in a hurried motion. They had to move fast if they were going to -
He froze, fear clutching him as he watched the blood drain from her face. His hands moved instinctually to her shoulders, ready to brace her should Soh lose her balance; but Zavien felt like he was the one who might fall over when she admitted to her water breaking. He didn't know much, but he knew that meant they didn't have much time, and he felt the timeline shrink.
Nodding his head, Zavien looked around. [say]"Okay okay. That's okay."[/say] Whether that was reassurance for her or him, it seemed to help anyways, his mind racing to catch up. [say]"We have two choices."[/say] He looked to Soh, leaving the choice up to her as he said, [say]"We can stay here and hope the doctor can get to us, or"[/say] Zavien shrugged his shoulders, [say]"I carry you there."[/say] The determination in his eyes made it clear that he'd do it too, without hesitation. He'd trained all his life. Carrying his pregnant girlfriend a few blocks would be a piece of cake.