The winds of change stir (Diego)

[penguin]

Milah The night was drawing in, darkening the mountain range even more than the thick, charcoal clouds had managed to. Each of the bruised shapes threatened to release the rain it carried, loitering above as there was no wind to divert them away for once. It had been dry for many days now so whilst rain would be good, the mare gazing up at the patterned canvas wished it would hold of for just a day or two longer. As much as a drink would be lovely, she was very close to the end of her pregnancy and as of yet had no idea whether the youngster would be able to survive in damp and chilled conditions. From the sharp gusts of wind that had been howling around the large boulders in the past few days it was evident that winter was coming. The silver essa was not even sure how to cope herself. She was yet to have a winter in the Arcarian Range. How was she supposed to teach her child how to live in the frigid temperatures and snowy conditions if she herself did not know? The sabino mare almost wished she had been claimed earlier on in the year, even if it meant that her time as a free soul was reduced. Despite her bearing of a foal not being her own choice, now that she was almost ready to deliver the filly or colt into the homelands she found herself becoming more and more maternal, increasingly protective of the foal. As these emotions emerged the smoky black femme realised something. It wasn't that she did not want a foal, it was that she did not want to the foal to have the sire that it did. Snorting noisily, the lass started to move towards the shelter of the cave again. Milah was becoming restless after having stood still as a statue for so long. She felt uncomfortable all the time with the extra weight around her middle, but walking around used up a lot of her energy. As her womb had been forced to expand in size with the growth of her foal she had been eating a lot more. The grass within her cave was now very short, for it was Autumn and plants did not grow quite as quickly. Venturing to the next nearest feeding ground was a little too much of a strain when she was so close to bringing a child into this world. Lowering her head the smoky black mare nudged the ground with her muzzle, her brown eyes willing the green vegetation to grow quicker. She didn't care if the quality of taste was reduced. She just wanted to fill the gap in her stomach so that she had a little bit more energy. Lifting her muzzle the pregnant lass plodded back into the sheltered section of the cave. She supposed this was a decent place to give birth, even if she abhorred living here. There was shelter for when the weather turned, like it was threatening to now, and there was an open area for the foal to practice moving around on level ground. It was an isolated spot too; no one would venture here unless specifically following her almost impossible to detect scent from where she had wandered off to find something to drink a week ago. Since then she'd been using a very small watering hole. There was barely enough to live of due to the arid conditions the summer had provided, but travelling back to the river? Out of the question. It was highly unlikely anyone would so much as dare come into this place though. The herd leader, Diego, was a formidable opponent. To try and claim one of his mares, especially one impregnated with his child, was an act of suicide of the most unpleasant sort. Sticking her head out the front of the rocks she peered into the distance. She was alone. Without being able to drift around the close vicinity of her earthy home, she was lacking a certain stimulus that prevented her from feeling too bored and lonely. Now that she was far too pregnant to do anything of the sort she was finding it difficult to amuse herself and almost looked forward to Diego's return. She still hated him and his sexist views, but his company was the only one she had. At first her pregnancy did nothing to change how she acted around him. She was as rebellious as ever, albeit equally as terrified of him. However as the gestation period lengthened she had thought about ceasing being rebellious, doing as she was told, speaking politely and generally being submissive just so he would stay with her for longer and keep her mind occupied. She hadn't. Something prevented her from behaving that way but she had been somewhat less cold towards Diego. Now that their kid was so close to labour she was prepared to act as she had wanted to for the safety of the foal but also herself. She didn't want to be battered and bruised when her foal needed her to be strong. Ears flickering she released a cautious whinny. The sound travelled quite far in the mountains, and she hoped she wouldn't annoy him but she knew she was going to give birth in the next few hours and she didn't want to be by herself when it happened. Tagged; rhianna4554 - Diego Word Count; 904 Notes; n/a

[rhianna4554]

Finally…finally I would have a son or daughter soon. It was a relief to know such a thing and in turn that relief had meant a respite for Milah. Although I hadn’t been rushing to spend every waking moment next to her I had been keeping a close eye from a distance. Watching and waiting with patience that I had not shown, or felt, since I first came across her. The times where I chose to approach I had been a little warmer in my attitude towards her something which I noticed in her own treatment towards me has the weeks passed. With a child on the way naturally I worried for it something which Milah no doubt deemed me incapable of doing. Winter would arrive soon and my child would only be days old when the snow would start to fall which meant that my child…my only child was at risk of dying. The fact that Milah was in such poor condition only made the chances of my only flesh and blood dying even worse…but I would not let that happen. I could not let that happen because if I did I would once more be alone. Alone with my fears and desperation for company with a short fuse for a temper. I would surely be seen as the Satan Milah had accused me of being every now and again. No my child would live and I would watch him or her grow. I knew every inch of Arcarian off by heart just like I knew how to survive the harsh climate…if I had to teach Milah and offer her better treatment in order to ensure she was strong enough to raise my offspring then so be it. Maybe in turn we would reach some understanding and she would perhaps willingly carry a second child of mine.

My mind could not remain on such thoughts of the future tonight however not when it was restless. Restless because my gut knew that tonight was finally the night. When the call finally came I was ready for it and glad for the agonizing wait to be over even though there had been caution in her summons. With a flick of my tail I turned legs crisscrossing as I pivoted on the spot only to break into a hasty canter. I could have slipped into a gallop but I had kept close today so it would have made little difference to my traveling time. When I did reach her I made no attempt to announce my presence even as I made no move to hide it…I just walked and when there was no small bundle to be found beside her I could not deny my disappointment. Despite this my expression remained as impassive…as unreadable as eve because I had waited this long however and so waiting a little longer wouldn’t kill me. “You called….” Perhaps they wasn’t any point to me stating the obvious but I did so anyway my midnight orbs raking over her body even as the lyrics slipped free. There was indifference in them though just like there was indifference even when I took in how poor her condition was…indifference for now because if she wanted me to play the figure of a loving partner then I could. Hell I would do so in order to help ensure my child was born healthy.

[penguin]

Milah Eyes swept the horizon with regularity after her call was released into the chilled air before she retreated back into the cave, experience a new type of discomfort that had nothing to do with the weight she had been carrying for a season or so. She leant herself against the side of the cave, shutting her eyes briefly and snorting softly. It wasn't going to be the hours she predicted, more likely minutes. A sudden gratitude washed over her, thankful that she had made the decision to call for the father, her captor, to wait with her. Of course now it was much more likely that he wouldn't need to wait. As she waited for him to get here, she considered where best to lay down. Whilst the cave was spacious for herself, adding in another horse and a foal that would want to practice standing up and it could get a bit crowded very quickly. It was probably easier for her to lay at the side of the cave, then the foal would be born more in the middle. Yes, that would work. Her ears pricked as she heard the faint sounds of movements, for once pleased to hear the stallion coming towards her. Something broke within her then for her legs and tail were suddenly being dampened with liquid from within her. Barely a moment later Diego appeared. She could tell he expected there to be a foal beside her. It was almost adorable how badly he wanted to be a father, how keen he was to have someone he could raise. Milah just wasn't sure he would be able to keep his temper under control. If he could then he would probably be a great sire to the little creature. His words weren't creative, taunting or cruel. They were in fact neutral. This surprised her slightly even though he had been getting warmer towards her during the pregnancy. His eyes showed no emotion as per usual, they just took in her condition. She wondered if any emotion would ever show in them or if he was too far gone. "It's time," she murmured quietly, turning her muzzle to indicate the fact that in the darkness of the cave her waters had broken. The words had hardly escaped her lips when she felt the first contraction. It was painful but she'd felt worse. And at least when this was over she wouldn't remember the pain. As the echoes of the pain faded away she found her breath. "I thought you might want to be here when your... when our foal is born," her words were still quiet, hesitant. Nevertheless it was the first time that she had made reference to the foal belonging to the both of them. Usually when it came up it was his foal, like it was nothing to do to her. Accepting that the foal was both of theirs was something tat would only help to stabilise their relationship a bit more. That didn't mean that she knew how to behave around him without being fearful of him however, but he had nothing done to install fear in her heart and she doubted he would, not when his offspring was at stake. As another contraction flared up, much stronger than the last, she decided it was probably time to get on the floor. Letting her legs bend beneath her she lay down in preparation for the next contractions. Her brown eyes drifted away from Diego, hoping instinct would kick in. This was her first foal and she had no idea what she was doing. Milah had never so much as seen a foal being born. Her only experience was her own birth, which wasn't going to help her now. She just hoped that the instincts wouldn't stop guiding her on the way to becoming a mother. Tagged; rhianna4554 - Diego Word Count; 642 Notes; n/a

[rhianna4554]

My neutral tone has her surprised but my mind does not linger on the fact especially when I take note of the stains on her legs. When her voice disturbs the silence seconds later the two words threaten to have a tremor run through my frame whether it is out of excitement or fear I do not know. I have no idea how to answer her and thankfully I don’t have to for her breathing hitches for a moment. When she breathes again there are more words spoken ones which have some amusement forming a smirk once more playing at the corners of my lips. “So you have finally decided that the child is yours as well then…I can’t help but wonder if you will make such a claim still when the child is born. After all I’m Satan to you…” Knowing that now is hardly the time to retreat back into my previous treatment towards her the words are spoken with the same neutral tone used before. When her body begins to lower my orbs follow her movements a slight frown forming when her gaze slips away from mine. She has never done this before…never once has she carried a foal and while initial there was slight smug satisfaction in that fact now it only raises concern. All I can do is pray that instinct will get her through this. “What do you want me to do?” The words were spoken barely any louder than a whisper my body hesitantly slipping a step closer to her. Although I don’t mind comforting her for the sake of the welfare of my child I have no idea if my touches and words of comfort would be welcomed.

OOC: sorry for the short reply

[penguin]

Milah Silence settled for a little while before Diego spoke. The smoky lass couldn't tell if he was trying to taunt her or not with his words, questioning her abilities of being a competent mother. They had no emotion in them so it was difficult to tell however she couldn't help but smile slightly with the last few words, regardless if he meant them maliciously or pleasantly. "I don't believe you are Satan, nor have I ever said that. I said you act like him, not that you are," her tone was light, not argumentative or rebellious like it normally was. More importantly her lyrics were honest. As much as she had fought him and despised his actions towards her, after their last tiff when she'd attempted to run away she had seen another side of him, one that was more vulnerable. The femme had come to realise that he was damaged goods but not a monster. Because of this dawning notion she had found it much harder to hate him because she was also jaded. Milah was much more like the essa she had been before he'd claimed her and she'd turned feisty in this precious time. It was nice for her to be her true self for once, to not have to pretend that everything was okay because for once everything really was okay. In this situation they were on the same page and they were far from being enemies. Her brown gaze had shifted back to him as she spoke, a thoughtful expression on her face. Her ears pricked at his quiet words. He was so different! It made her wonder how much of his behaviour in the past had been sparked by her attitude before. Sure she didn't want to just give in, but less beatings wouldn't have been unwelcome. And now... now he was asking what she wanted of him in her time of need. If someone had told her he could be so sensitive before this moment she would never have believed them, and in fact would have bet against it ever happening. His hesitance didn't go unnoticed either by the mare. It was the first time he'd seemed unsure of anything. "Just stay with me..." her concentration on him was disappearing as the contractions became more regular. It took a further ten minutes before the foal started to free itself from her womb, and in that time all Milah could think about was how perfect and how false this moment was. The stallion did not care for her. That had not changed. He was being pleasant because she was giving birth to his foal, and it was as simple as that. As much as the black equu could pretend otherwise, nothing about this relationship was loving. It was more about being tolerant of the other. No doubt when the foal was born and no longer needed its dam things would go back to the way they were. The illusion wasn't enough to live by, not when Milah had been feeling her mind start to unravel. Her physical condition wasn't too bad really but mentally there was so much damage it was questionable as to whether she would ever fully recover. Mercifully the foal distracted her, and she began to push instead of dwell on the lies of this moment. First came the front legs, then the nose followed by the head and the rest of the body. The hips were the worst part but after many painful minutes there was a membrane-covered filly on the floor. Wearily, she moved her brown eyes to Diego again. "Congratulations, you're a father," she exhaled softly, her body condition not having done much to make the process of giving birth any easier. Lifting herself slightly, Milah turned her head to gaze affectionately at the cremello sabino girl as she opened her blue eyes for the first time. Extending her muzzle, the proud mare gently nudged the baby as she looked around the cave, a bewildered expression imprinted on the very young face. "What do you want to call her?" Tagged; rhianna4554 - Diego Word Count; 681 Notes; You don't need to apologise - there's more than plenty to work with <3