Sayuri_Nitta
snap
Aishwarya shook her head in irritation, the fly buzzing out of reach of her teeth. The damnable insect had been buzzing around her for a while, infuriating her with the dull whine that it made around her ears. She narrowed her eyes as it sailed in a lazy loop down to the ground near a hoof. She rolled her hoof over and finally squashed it, letting out a sigh of relief.

Laying back down in the shelter, her tail braid twitched on the ground a little as she tried to cool down. Sweat was beaded along her neck and on the curve of her distended belly, and she panted a little, her breathing shallow as she felt the pain again.

Ardia hurried along, the little green and black hued vixen following closely in the mares wake. Trotting swiftly around the rear of Kaliska's teepee, she ducked her head and peered inside the shelter, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the slight gloom within.

Aishwarya stirred, the pain had receded and she looked up with half-lidded eyes at her friend;
'Ardia..' she said, her voice indicating the panic she was feeling.

'The water has broken?' Ardia asked gently, and when the golden patterned mare nodded mutely in acknowledgment, she backed out and turned to Nianus.
'Hurry and find her mate Shikoba. He's a winged stallion, with an unusual feather-like tail, you can find him by the..'

'Try by the lake..' Aishwarya suggested, before having to grit her teeth against the spasm that rocked her as her labour started in earnest..

Nianus slipped away on swift paws, heading to the lake to find the mare's mate.


Nori Ishida
Shikoba lay anxiously by the familiar lake. He had been here for the past few days, waiting for the little green fox that Aishwarya had told him to look for. He was beginning to worry that something might have happened during the labor.

At every sound, he turned his head to see if it was the fox, but he still never saw it. He stood up and began to pace along the bank of the lake.


Sayuri_Nitta
Nianus flashed along, a vibrant moving object against the duller green of the grass. Her eyes and ears watched and listened as she went, looking for the described stallion. As the lake came into view she padded quicker, her brush flicking out behind her as she ran along the Lakeside. A pause to check around again and she spotted what could be Shikoba, but she wouldnt know until she was much closer.
Nianus padded up to him cautiously, moving in a circular fashion in case he wasnt the right one.


Nori Ishida
Shikoba suddenly caught sight of a bright green flash moving across the grassy area beside the lake. He quickly turned to face it as it got closer. As soon as it was close enough to tell what it was, his heart leapt. This must be it!

"Are you here from Aishwarya?? Is she having the babies now?! She's at the Village, right??"

He didn't realize it, but his feet were shuffling frantically. He was so excited, scared, nervous, and many other things, that he only half knew what he was doing. He looked around, trying to remember the direction of the Village, and looked down at the green fox.

"Can you climb on my back, and we'll fly there? Though I'll need you to tell me where to go. I don't remember how to get there."

He was already beginning to kneel down for the fox before she even answered his question.


Sayuri_Nitta
Well if the vixen hadnt known that the stallion was the right one, she sure did now.
'The labour has started,' Nianus replied, tip-toeing back on quick paws as the over-excited Shikoba seemed to dance forwards. She was not getting trampled for anyone! Her ears flattened at his suggestion and she shook her head.
'I do not fly,' she said primly, and turning with a flick of her brush she ran off, back in the direction of the Village. Having been around when Ardia gave birth the second time, she knew that they still had plenty of time before the foals had emerged into the world.

Back at the shelter, Ardia had managed to calm Aishwarya down enough so that the purple mare would actually listen to her calm instructions. She leaned into the shelter, pushing her nose against the swollen belly, feeling for where the foals where.
'Keep breathing, and when you feel the urge to push to do so,' she said quietly. The foals both seemed to have moved down, and from her pushing nose she thought that they were both in the correct position to be birthed in an easy fashion as possible.

Aishwarya shut her eyes, her mane now sticking to her sweat-drenched neck as she grit her teeth again. She whinnied loudly as a contraction started, and pushed, her body telling her in no uncertain terms that it was time to for the foals to come out..


Nori Ishida
Shikoba stood back up and glared a bit at the little fox. He knew that it would be quicker to fly, but there was no time to argue about it now. He followed after the fox, slightly surprised at how quick it could move on such short legs.

Cantering to keep up, he followed the fox into the Village. Once he was there, he could remember where Aish's shelter was, and ran past the fox to the edge of the village, stopping abruptly at the small shelter. He turned to the other mare there, panting slightly.

"Is she ok? Have they been born yet?"

He peeked past the mare and could see the golden glint of Aish's markings, but could see nothing else.


Sayuri_Nitta
Nianus slipped quietly away once she realised that the stallion would be fine the rest of the way. A birthing was Soquili stuff, and she didnt fancy hanging around Shikoba as he'd almost squashed her once so far.

Ardia turned as Shikoba charged up to the shelter, a look of slight amusement on her face. It never failed; stallions were all the same at foal time, bundles of excited nerves.
'Aishwarya is doing well, and the foals have not been born yet. It will be soon though, her labour is proceeding fairly quickly.' she looked back in at the pushing mare, who shook her head.
'Please, if you could step back for a time, I can attend to your mate.'

Aishwarya had heard Shikoba approach and the conversation that went on between Ardia and him, but she didnt want him inside the shelter with her at that time. She'd never been a vain mare, but she highly doubted that looking as she did in her labour pains would ever be endearing...she cried out as the contractions got closer together, and she pushed again as the compulsion to do so struck once more. She felt...something, and twisted as she panted away, peering down to see the membrane covered head of her first child.

Ardia moved inside the shelter further, encouraging Ardia in her pushing, and eventually the whole of the foal slid out. Ardia made Aishwarya move to clean the purple filly, watching as the little creature wobbled its head on the dried grass covered floor of the shelter.
She left Aish for a moment, poking her head out and looking at Shikoba;
'Your first born is a healthy filly..' and she ducked back inside again as Aishwarya called faintly to her as her contractions started anew..


Nori Ishida
Shikoba nodded as the mare asked him to step back. He started a bit as he heard Aish scream. He remembered her saying that it would hurt, but he didn't know it would be that bad. As it continued, he stood back, trying to peek his head around to see if he could catch a glimpse of Aish, but the other mare blocked his view.

When she turned around, he stepped forward, thinking that it might be over, as Aish's screams had stopped, but when she said that he had a daughter, all sounds around him stopped.

He was a father now....he stood where he was, his mouth hanging open, caught up in the elation of this new state of his life. Finding out that Aish was pregnant was nothing compared to how he felt now.

As his gaping mouth slowly curled into a smile, he came back to earth, and heard Aish struggling again. He still tried to peek over the other mare's shoulder, now trying to see his newborn daughter.


Sayuri_Nitta
'Please, a while longer.' Ardia asked of Shikoba over her shoulder as she felt a slight nudge as he tried to peer in. She smiled gently;
'I understand you wanting to see your child, but I need the light and Aishwarya needs her space..'

Aishwarya was tired now, mane in array with strands of dried grass dotting it, her tail braid had loosened. She scrabbled at the ground with her hooves, bearing down as the contractions tore through her body once more, and she pushed as Ardia encouraged her into one last burst of energy.
'Is - it - over - yet!' she cried, and Ardia moved forwards, pressing her nose against Aish's sweat covered forehead.

'You've done well, very well,' Ardia got Aish to move and attend to the second and tiny winged filly that had just slithered into the world. The first was moving a little, blearily taking in the world. Having performed her midwife duties, she turned again to Shikoba.
'Two little girls..' she announced, before edging past Shikoba and out into the fresher air. She needed to get Kaliska to bring the baskets in, but for now the new parents could have some small time with the newborns before they were placed into the woven 'incubators'.

Aishwarya lay exhausted, but proud, quietly marvelling at the two tiny, but perfectly formed foals. She peered out from the gloom, and called for Shikoba.


Nori Ishida
Shikoba just barely missed running into Ardia as she left and allowed him to enter the shelter. He knelt down and looked around at Aish and his two new daughters before laying down so he could be closer to his family.

He looked at Aishwarya and beamed. He nuzzled his nose up against hers and sighed.

"How do you feel?"

He looked down at his two daughters who were squirming around, getting used to their new surroundings.


Sayuri_Nitta
Aishwarya opened her eyes, she'd pretty much dozed off after calling for Shikoba, and when she moved she winced as everything was still tender.
'Like I just gave birth.' she replied in wry fashion. She nuzzled him back and looked at her foals again.
'We're a family,' she whispered, a little lump in her throat as she suddenly felt more than a little emotional. The second filly to be born feebly flexed the tiny winglets on her back, and Aish's heart swelled with pride at both of them.

Ardia approached the shelter again, standing a little way from the entrance, the Village woman close behind her, two woven baskets balanced one upon the other in her arms.
Ardia cleared her throat and gave a discreet little cough.
'The baskets are here.'


Nori Ishida
Shikoba chuckled softly. It was a bit of a silly question, but he had more meant to ask if she was ok. He looked at his two new daughters and felt his heart swell. It seemed that both of them had inherited some of their mother's gold markings, and one of them had his wings. Between the two foals, he could see a bit of each of the parents.

When the other mare returned, he started a bit. He had forgotten that there was anybody else around. He knew that it was important to get the babies into the baskets so that they didn't become ill, so he left Aish's side so that they could be safely put into their temporary homes.


Sayuri_Nitta
Ardia had told her of this, so Aishwarya simply watched as the native woman reverently placed each of the newborns into a woven basket, and with quick fingers, secured the lid to the base with a couple of thick dried grass strands.
Once done she slipped out as quickly as she had arrived, Ardia leaving as well as she had done what Aish had asked of her.

Aish rocked herself, moving so that she was away from the baskets and slowly got to her hooves, her legs tingling with pins and needles sensations from having laid down in one place for so long. She nudged each of the baskets in turn, listening to the little signs of the lives within and then wobbled her way to Shikoba's side, pressing her nose into his neck.

'I need air,' she said, squeezing past him. The autumn breeze touched her sweat damp body and she shivered a little. She tottered off to take a drink and stretch her legs, safe in the knowledge that he would watch over the baskets and the precious cargo inside.


Nori Ishida
Shikoba moved to help Aish up, standing by here to make sure she didn't fall. He could tell that she was weak still and wasn't feeling completely better. As she pushed past him, he moved around so that he was standing by the baskets, but he could also see Aish as she took a drink. Her stomach had shrunken significantly, and she still looked a little shaky.

He turned his attention to the baskets. They matched the colours of the newborns inside, and he wondered how the native woman knew what colours to make them. Perhaps two-leggers who lived so closely with Soquili knew these things. He bent down, sniffing at the baskets and could hear his two new daughters moving around and breathing in their own safe havens. He stood back up and looked towards Aish.

"How long do they stay in here?"


Sayuri_Nitta
Aishwarya had wandered slowly back and moved carefully back inside the shelter. The air was a little ripe now and she nosed each of the baskets outside slowly, pushing them out into the autumn air and the sunlight.
She shook out her mane, letting out a long sigh of relief and contentment.

'For as long as they need to..' she replied. She looked at Shikoba.
'You'll stay around until they emerge from their baskets? I feel as though I need a long, slow walk, and to graze for a while.' she went over and pressed her nose against the side of his neck.
'I'll be back before sundown.' she said quietly.


Nori Ishida
Shikoba smiled as Aish nudged him. He was so proud of her, and proud of his two new daughters. Though he had been hoping for a son, he was still immensely happy that he had a family now.

"Of course I will. Take your time."

He moved over to stand by the baskets and watched Aish as she left.

"Aishwarya.....I love you."