Sohalia
Your little hand's wrapped around my finger And it's so quiet in the world tonight
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. "I'm fine," 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. "Are you going just like that?" 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.
"I'm okay, really. I just wasn't expecting it to be so intense so quickly." 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. "I can walk between contractions," she said slowly, reaching for Zavien's hand to allow him to help her from the bed. "They're - I don't know, a few minutes apart? I thought it was just another false alarm, but -"
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. "I don't -" 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. "I think my water just broke."
Fear flickered again. "I don't want to have this baby on the street." Her eyes flickered to a nearby clock. "Zav, I don't know if we have time to get to the hospital."
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. "Are you going just like that?" 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.
"I'm okay, really. I just wasn't expecting it to be so intense so quickly." 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. "I can walk between contractions," she said slowly, reaching for Zavien's hand to allow him to help her from the bed. "They're - I don't know, a few minutes apart? I thought it was just another false alarm, but -"
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. "I don't -" 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. "I think my water just broke."
Fear flickered again. "I don't want to have this baby on the street." Her eyes flickered to a nearby clock. "Zav, I don't know if we have time to get to the hospital."
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreamin' So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Sohalia.
Feel free to use force/magic on Sohalia.
