Torch

Sif Asgaut

Where countless times she had been pierced and ripped by fang and hardly a sound parted her lips, a primal shriek would fill the corridor of the Tiamat manse as a belated labor reached release, feeling herself split in two and the scent of iron filled the air. The sound would likely buzz to the furthest reaches of the hall, down to the study with which she last knew her husband had drifted and down further to where her children slept. The only other sound that seemed to accompany pain was the gentle crackling of torches along the walls, lighting the place dimly for those awake to tread easily enough. She was alone but she knew it wouldn’t be for too long, each breath a shaken pant between straining to push and gasping for air to cool her body. It had never hurt so much before but soon that agony would subside, at least enough to calm her anguish from spilling upon her lips.

Quickly she shuffled to her feet, a hazy gaze dappled in tears making it hard for her to see but the soft whines of a newborn would alleviate a rapid pulse and a smile crowned her lips as if she had never screamed a second ago. In a bundle of fluids, perfectly wrapped in a broken membrane, a large dark mast rested, barely squirming but enough to know it was alive. Without hesitation she had started to clean her baby, her tail swishing despite the blood that trickled down where her own flesh had torn from passing such a large offspring. A chuckle sounded a little, happy for once one of her babies weren’t concerningly small. It did not take long for her to dust the little one clean of birth to see colors that more reflected her own, causing her ears to perk as she gently brushed a kiss to what she determined was a large boy’s speckled crown with a marking on his forehead she could liken to scripture.

“Aren’t you the grown little man,” she mused softly, feeling like he had to be the only one with being nearly twice the size Haskell had been as she tucked him to her chest. He took up her hold nearly entirely on his own, as if he was a couple weeks old already.

"Fuck-" She would be truly wrong as a surge of further labor pains tore at her abdomen. The birth, however, would come easier, far less painful than the first. Her body was like a well-oiled machine as she maneuvered with experience and muscle memory to clean and harbor the second to acquire her warmth though panic would creep in far quicker at the silence. Her nose roughly nudging at the small pale chest in thought perhaps liquid had not been pressed free from lungs, but a bit of squirming would prove otherwise as it seemed almost annoyed that she was prodding at the smaller infant.

At some point, Khepri had entered the room and instructed a maid to leave, frantic to the sound of Sif's scream, but she couldn’t really hear him over her own heart purging her hearing. Her focus was so fixated on both bundles in her arms, both little boys and there would be a small tremble of her lips as she took in those golden hues. It was easy to compare him to his father, but another wolf was coming to mind, one that had fallen away from being a light in their lives when she was snuffed. “Nas-…” the start of a name gentle and barely louder than a breath.

The idea of rebirth is rare in her culture but not unheard of. What if this little bundle? No. Of course not. She would rekindle, if anywhere, from those of her own ilk. All the same, perhaps that was the very wolf she hoped these little ones might shape into and like her own mother as well. Warriors her elder three had not become. Those she did not have to worry about day in and day out from being too frail.

khepri tiamat

"You can do this, Sif. You can do this." he breathed, his tone a little frantic as he nestled near her side. It had sounded like the birth was a particularly hard one and all the bad things that could happen flooded his mind in an instant. His heart hammered in his chest at the thought of ultimately losing her but eventually, instead of that, he was blessed with two wriggling pups.

His chest ached as he looked down at the two little boys and pride filled him. One was a smoky hue like his mother while the other reminded him of himself, and...

Khepri's breath hitched as Sif spoke the beginning of Nassar's name and he swallowed the hard lump in his throat as bitter memories of her death came flooding back. He closed his eyes and pushed them away, not wanting to remember those times, but instead the good times. Where she was smiling, and happy.

He opened his eyes again and things had somewhat calmed for him, he was no longer in a panic and his breathing was more steady. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as he reached over and nuzzled Sif's shoulder. "You did amazing," he murmured softly. "Just look at them," he said. And as he said it, he did just that. Pulling back, he gazed down at the boys lovingly. They would have to have names soon and he wondered just what they would choose. They had had mullings while she was pregnant but they did not know what would come out so they hadn't fallen for anything in particular that he knew of.

"What about Rune for the big guy?" he asked curiously. He looked more like an Asgaut than any of their other children and he felt like the name would relate to her heritage. He wanted to give her that, if he could. His gaze shifted to the tawny boy beside him and then up towards Sif as he looked into her amber eye.

"We are all young and naive still."

Sif Asgaut

She was quietly examining her newborns while failing to say the very name that entered her lips at first, in a trance light state which was swiftly interrupted by the sound of a voice far from a puppy’s adorable whining. Not just a voice but a prodding touch against her shoulder that roused her attention in a less than kind display. She’d jolt a little in surprise before shielding her infants and flashing her teeth at the one that dared enter her space at such a vulnerable time, having been too lost in her own little world to recall that her husband had entered the room at who knows what point. Ears pinned and she let out a low guttural growl, a warning that was all too real and drenched in poison ready to shred into waiting flesh.

Seeing the coat of false golds, she would calm some, registering his voice and with it her tail gave an apologetic couple thumps as her tongue stuck out between her teeth a little. Her tongue gently brushed against his jaw, showing a further sense of guilt and mild submission toward him, if only to show the hostility was entirely a reaction maternal instinct had caused. He was hardly a threat to her or her offspring. Their offspring. The thought tickled her once the growl vanished from her throat, replaced with a couple puffs of air that sounded like laughing but not quite, far too hollow of a sound to count.

“It was the most painful one, his little head isn’t so little compared to my pelvis… but the most kind emotionally,” she admitted as she adjusted her legs in some subconscious thought to try to hide the blood that oozed from a small wound and directed his attention toward the first born. Her lip parted into a smile, however, as she decided to change the direction of the conversation. “Can you believe there’s two more? It feels like home again,” She felt so much more whole to not be the only Asgaut she knew of, now there were four that carried her name. There would be five if she could have it her way, but Aurora was only hers by birth, her right to her having been stripped the day the girl was born. Two more little boys to not be taken from her alongside Haskell and Sheik whom she believed would be marvelous carers for their baby brothers. She could only imagine Sheik would be all the more protective of her family, driving harder in their little training spars.

The mention of names would cause her head to tilt back down at the little squirming whelps, her lips tightening since Haskell had been a name that had come so easy to her because her son looks so much like her birth family. These two, what would she name one that looked more like her, the abomination of the family genes? Both were bathed in golden hues which was comical, it seemed the curse choosing to follow in her blood just like it with her second daughter. “Yes Rune…I think it fits him. His markings look like those scratches in the books. Maybe he will grow to be a scholar like you,” she agreed without much fuss.

Her attention would shift toward the one that made her heart wobble in her chest, her thoughts go crazy with musings that made little sense. Her mouth moved to speak a couple times, but it would fail her before she finally would get the gull to say what she wanted to. “What about Nasirye to honor your sister, so he might grow to be just as brazen and strong? She gave us so much when she never had to. I want to give her something back and to always keep her with us. Never forgotten,” she looked up at her husband with a tender gaze, hoping she had not walked a line she shouldn’t have.

khepri tiamat

It would seem little Rune, if that were to be his name, was the most trouble as of yet but he knew there was no helping it in birth. As she adjusted herself he could not hide his concern. "Are you alright?" he asked. The scent of blood mingled in the air and he thought that perhaps the birth had been especially hard on her smaller frame. She was still conscious so it could not be a great loss and he did not see any on the floor so there was that at least. He just wanted to make sure she was okay. He did not know what he'd do if he lost her. His heart thumped in his chest at the thought and he returned his gaze to the children as she commented about this feeling like home. He pushed the bad thoughts away and drew in a breath, nodding his head in agreement. "I can't believe it," he said. He was still in awe with their arrival despite having a few months to get ready for it. It had been the same experience with Sheik and Haskell, and even Lia when she had been born. Just looking at their tiny faces brought him a joy he could not comprehend.

She was agreeable to the name and he smiled softly, thinking of him being a teacher like him someday. "I would be proud no matter what he became." he said. Whether he joined the Army or the College or simply went another route, he did not care. What mattered was that he was happy and fulfilled.

It wasn't until Sif suggested a name to honor his sister that he felt that painful pang return to his chest. He eyed the other boy, his swaths of gold and tan mingling together and reminding him very much of his sister. "I'd... I'd love that," he said as he met her warm gaze. While the smile he gave her was slightly weak, due to the sadness that pressed on his heart whenever he thought of his sister, he was grateful to her for thinking of him and Nassar in this beautiful moment. He moved closer to them, nudging the small bundles with his nose. They whined and wriggled, snuggling in closer to their mother for warmth and safety. He grinned then, his heart melting at their tiny movements. He flopped down onto his belly and looked up at Sif, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears and happiness. "I love you more and more each day, I hope you know that. You've given me everything," he said. She'd given him a second chance at a new life and he would never be anything but grateful.

"We are all young and naive still."

Sif Asgaut

A smile eased her mild distress as he offered her tender concern, shaking her head with a little huff. “It’s the curse of being tiny, I’m surprised this is the only time it happened. I’ll be fine, I just need some time to heal. I’m not bleeding out or anything too serious though,” she assured him, for the most part comfortable with her adjustments. “But it might be nice to have a little extra cushion to rest on for a few days,” she admitted without looking at him at all, feeling a little bad for being needy. It would be up to him if he took the hint to go get her some more pelts or not, she wouldn’t complain any further unless it got infected. She had dealt with worse pain in her life, and she was starting to think she knew what her mom meant by her brother being a pain in the ass the moment he entered the world. Maybe she had had the same unkind experience as this.

Seeing that lack of sorrow and desperation on his face brought her comfort, thinking maybe his mind would finally be full of things to keep him away from those tempting sins. Unlike last time where her eyes could never seem to fade from her new whelps, she found herself more enamored by her husband’s expressions, feeling like she could watch either all day long.

“Perhaps we need to make a few dozen more, you produce the cutest babies,” she teased lightly, not meaning it at all. She was content with having the amount that they already had, and it was the sorrow of an empty nest that prompted these two into existence now and she had no plans on having anymore. “Though I think I can settle for future grandchildren instead, leave the labor and back pains to someone younger,” she leaned into him a little as she jested. Neither of them is getting any younger but that was okay. The future looked bright for a family she never thought she’d have just a couple years ago.

She felt like she could feel every ounce of his pain as she mentioned Nassar and she instantly felt some extent of regret as her head dipped down, trying to think of how to recover from this. It didn’t seem she needed to as his words were quite the surprise, followed by a sense of happiness he liked it. It took the edge off, that was for sure.

As he dropped down, she gave a tired chuckle, watching with him and occasionally toward him too. Leaning over to him, her tongue gently swiped his cheek before resting her head down too, curling herself all the more around the newborns without blocking Khepri’s view of them. “You have given me every reason to keep living and my heart will always yearn for you. Unfortunately, the rest of me needs a rest. My eye… my everything is so… heavy,” she yawned, the adrenaline from labor running dry as peace found her swiftly the moment her eye shut. She held no worries the two potatoes would be looked after during her attempts to dream.

-sif exits via sleep-