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 Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:36 am
How easy stallions were, Izusa smirked inside as she saw the expression he pulled when she praised and made her nicer advances. Roll over for a little bit of sugar, so very easily. In a small way it was good, fighting in this condition would only happen out of absolute neccesity, and not because she had a fit of pique.
She hiccuped slightly, moving a few steps away and picked at one of her wing's claw tips before answering Taraxippus.
'Given how large I am, a matter of weeks I would think.' she remembered the last time she had felt so encumbered; and that had result in a triple birth. Her ears flattened at the mere thought of history repeating itself.
'That wont be necessary. I have a means to getting them myself.' she winced as the foals started up their womb play again.
'They will be strong,' she muttered with closed eyes.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:01 am
It was probably a good thing that Taraxippus was no mind reader. Regardless, given Izusa's pregnancy with his foals, he was more willing to be more accommodating than perhaps was normal for the dark stallion.
"Well that is good news." Taraxippus kept the smile from his mouth with concentration. " You will be relieved of the burden soon, then. Although unfortunately it will probably only get worse until they arrive." He paused, looking the resting mare over. "And of course they will be strong." He finally allowed the pride to slip back into his demeanor.
"Can I be of... further assistance...?" He offered it almost reluctantly. She at least would have to ask. He did have other family members that would need seeing to - but he could afford some independence for a time at least if it was necessary. And if things went well, he would be adding to that family, and perhaps securing some other interesting alliances.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:59 am
'Want to feel?' Izusa offered, in a moment of generosity and thoughtfulness that however brief, the stallion would need to take full advantage of. It was amazing what effect a full belly had in calming her.
'Yes, I remember.' she said, her tone and demeanour slipping slightly as she remembered the pains of labour. She didn't really want to think about the indiginity of being in that position until it was actually happening to her.
'In what way?' she said with a sly grin.
'I mean, I'm already in a predicament. Besides, do you have any other skills than hunting?' she showed her fang teeth as she smiled at Taraxippus. She had to admit that there was a grudging like for the stallion, but that would never become outwardly apparent.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:50 pm
Taraxippus paused, ears flicked forward. Feel them? The thought had, surprisingly, never occured to him. The offer caught him off guard, and a smile even found its way to his face. "I... I would like to." His children! He moved forward and lowered his muzzle to her swollen side. Taraxippus's touch was so soft and gentle. He held his nose there, waiting. Then, feeling the trembling, he whickered softly and pulled his head back, clearing his head in the process.
Talking with Izusa was like some sort of battle - trying to be careful not to either give or gain too much ground. Give too much, he seemed soft and gave her power, lost respect. Push too hard and she could be a formidible opponent physically. It was very different than the soquili in Taraxippus's herd - his extended family. And he liked it.
"Of course I have skills other than hunting." Taraxippus sniffed indignantly with a swish of his tail. "I am more than capable of protection - if you need or desire it... from predators or from other soquili. I am sure that you would not wish to be bothered with undesired company of the latter." He offered, trying to not emphasize that with her condition she may not be as well prepared to fight off a hungry cougar.
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Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:41 am
'Then do so,' Izusa said, standing still as his nose touched the curve of her bump. He didn't have long to wait as the foals inside her drummed against her womb.
'For Kalona's sake..' she hissed, her ears flattening against her head.
'Bloody little beasts.'
Aww..she'd gotten his back up again. She fanned her sides, moving away a little and lowering herself back to the ground, her legs aching too much to stand and banter with Taraxippus.
'Anyone that blunders across me and doesn't know when to run, deserves to die,' she said with an amused tone.
'But I am tiring easily these days, and I suppose if you think that you can do so, you can stay in the vicinity until the birth.'
Her head lowered, resting on a folded foreleg, and she tucked her wings tightly as she stifled a yawn.
'You stand there and look..manly,' she spoke now in a drowsy tone.
'I'll be shutting my eyes for a while.'
Izusa grinned as her eyes slid shut.
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Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:46 am
It felt so odd to actually feel the life inside her moving about. Long before they were independent soquili on their own, there was undoubtedly life and movement. They WOULD be strong foals, bearing the heritage of their parents.
Taraxippus smiled in bemusement at Izusa's exasperation. "Well, they are healthy and strong. Eager, it seems, to join the world of the living." His ears pricked and he stepped back respectfully as Izusa stood, and then took a rest off of her feet again.
He nodded his head. "You need your rest. I can imagine how draining carrying such lively foals must be. And you can rest well to know that none shall disturb your slumber." His mouth quirked up into a smile again as he drifted silently around the perimeter of the clearing, listening for signs of movement, or strange scents on the breeze.
Keep guard, fetch food for the sake of his offspring until they were born? He could do that.
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:56 am
Izusa had waited till the early hours of the morning, moving off as silently as her bulk allowed when she assumed that Taraxippus was asleep. His breathing certainly seemed even enough, and she'd been watching him through lidded eyes to make sure he was still before she moved. Her waters had broken, her labour pains had started but she only moved when she was sure that the stallion wouldn't follow her. Nothing ruined mystique in a relationship so much as a mare in the throes of giving birth.
Her tail dragged along the floor as she made the long trip to the outskirts of the Village where the birthing shelter was set up. She'd visited the two-legged one that she had once relied upon in her filly days, showing her the size of her belly before vanishing again. She never visited the woman, only when she had need of her, but the one thing she did know of her was that she was soft touch and could be relied upon to supply what was needed for the foals.
Izusa needed shelter in a place for a time when she couldn't protect her own self, and the shelter by the river at the edge of the Village was the perfect location. The mindless head-chatter carried her on as she tried to ignore the contractions that were slowly happening.
She stepped quietly now, ears flicking, nostrils flaring as the structures ahead came into view. Tense, she stood watching the shelter as time passed, time that she could ill spare. When she was satisfied that no creature was about, she headed over, slipping under the low entrance made of woven branches and lowered herself onto the dry grass covered floor.
She had no idea if Tara would be able to track her here, but here would now remain through the duration of her confinement.
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:59 am
When Taraxippus awoke, he was startled to find himself alone. Finding his feet, he looked carefully around the clearing that Izusa had made her home. As the pregnancy had gotten later and Izusa progressively bigger and heavier, she had not moved much from her resting spot. Taraxippus had taken it upon himself to be on extra careful watch, but even the shadowy stallion had to sleep from time to time.
He snuffled carefully around the clearing. And shortly, exactly what had happened became evident. It was time. Her water had broken. Between her strong scent and deep hoofprints, following after where she had gone was a simple task. However, It had been many hours since she had left. She hadn't disturbed his sleep, which meant that she must have taken extra precaution to leave quietly. She wanted her privacy for this moment of pain.
So as Taraxippus followed her trail that eventually lead to some human-made shelter, he hung back. He listened carefully for the sound of her breathing to make certain she was still all right, and then faded back into the shadows. He waited for a time, the breath caught in his throat. His foals, THEIR foals were on the way.
And she would be hungry after this. Deciding to grant her her privacy, he went to hunt, following the scent of a deer that had recently crossed the area.
.
.
.
It was about two hours later when Tara finally returned dragging the corpse of a young buck. And he waited, listening and smelling to see what might be happening inside the hut.
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Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:28 pm
For a while there was nothing but pain. Shifting, trying to get comfortable but knowing that it would never happen, Izusa grit her teeth, hard, her fangs tearing into her lower lip, blood in her mouth, blood on the straw covered floor.
At one point her eye opened, the sweat on her head stinging them for a moment, tense as though she had sensed someone outside. A new wave of contractions overcame her and any thoughts of a presence were forcibly pushed from her mind. It wasn't as though she could move anyway, she was pinned to the floor with the labour, wings feebly fanning her sides, tail twisting on the floor.
Kaliska was nearby, the woman had been awake since Izusa had entered the birthing shelter, staying close to her teepee, alert as she could be as she had no knowing if the father of the foals would turn up. She had baskets ready, woven with care and waiting to receive their precious contents. When Taraxippus had first shown up the Villager had first thought she was seeing a ghost, but when he later returned with a meal in tow she came to the conclusion that he was real, and possibly the father.
She slipped around the rear of the shelter, there was a small entrance, wide enough to allow a person in which she crouched by, listening to the sounds within.
Izusa dug her hooves into the ground, bearing down as the urge to push became overwhelming, and all at once a foal slithered from her, falling in a fluid covered heap on the dried grass beneath her. She turned her head, attending swiftly to her firstborn as already she could sense that this was most definately not going to be a single foal birth. Through the slight haze that had fallen upon her she noticed traces of Taraxippus in this once, the foal had a slight ethereal look to it. Once the foal was cleaned she nudged it one side, with a gentle touch that no one else would ever feel. She gave a short nicker, alerting the woman outside of the arrival and fell back on her side for a moment before her body pulled her back upwards sharply, the contractions shuddering through her once again.
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 5:48 pm
Taraxippus occasionally saw a small, human figure flitting in and out of the teepee. There were very few humans that Taraxippus tolerated, let alone trusted, but he knew that it was times like this that sometimes even the strong, like Izusa, needed assistance from those who knew what they were doing. Still, he refused to get close to her if he could avoid it. He flattened his ears and glared at her when she looked his way, and melted back into the shadows.
The noises from the hut grew louder, more painted. And despite Taraxippus's reserved temper, he felt anxiety heavy on his shoulders. Izusa... his foals... Despite how skilled a midwife or shaman this woman might be, there could always be complications.... especially considering how diverse the blood that flowed through those foals was.
He paced in front of where he had dropped the deer, waiting. Waiting for the pained whinnies to quiet, watching the woman for signs of how the birthing was going. He wouldn't interfere. She left on her own for a reason. And there was little good that he could do right now.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:46 am
Kaliska edged inside, staying far from the cloven hooves of the labouring mare. She moved with bated breath, slowly coming into Izusa's eyeshot and being to careful to make noise so that she didn't scare the Kalona.
Izusa watched through slit eyes, her sides heaving as the second foal was trying to make its way into the world, watching the human move towards her child with a basket in tow. She hissed, rattling her spikes but it was all posture designed to keep the human on her toes.
Kaliska stopped next to the foal, now sure that the waiting stallion outside was the father. It was scooped up, lowered carefully into the waiting basket and the lid was replaced, secured with hardened grass ties. The basket shivered as the foal inside moved around a little before settling. Kaliska swiftly retreated, just in time as Izusa's tail sliced through the air where she'd been crouching moments before.
Izusa scrabbled against the floor of the shelter, tail arching to one side as she once again bore down, pushing, pushing until she felt her insides would come out with this next foal. Eventually it too joined its sibling in the world, slithering out in a tangle of legs and blood, and there was a repeat of before as Kaliska crept back inside the shelter with the utmost of care.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:02 am
Three times the Indian woman went into the shelter, and three times did Izusa's labored moans reach a pique. Taraxippus smiled despite the pained cries of the mother. Three children: what a boon indeed. Although he was certain that right now, Izusa would not have agreed with him.
He flitted closer to the shelter, although not the entrance that the woman was using to come in and out, and listened against the hide of the teepee. The smell of blood, but also new life was heavy in the air. A strange mingling of both his and Izusa's scents, and yet with unique aspects all to their own. His children. They were here. Although it would likely still be many weeks until he could meet them. The tradeoff for the multiple children for their kind seemed to be that they were born so young and helpless. It was hard to think that he was ever so small.
He listened carefully for Izusa's breathing, trying to determine if she was awake or asleep after her ordeal.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:39 am
Izusa most definately did not agree with Taraxippus right now, she was extremely sore and tired. For she was still going to helpless for a while longer, with how raw she felt she would not be moving from the shelter for at least 24 hours.
Her wings were limp and her head had lolled to rest on her front legs. Kaliska had secured the last basket and left once more. Before going she had moved one of the woven sections of the roof of the shelter, propping it open to allow some light and air to filter inside. She would not return now because the fragile truce would be over once Izusa had regained her strength.
The mare blinked, stirring. She'd obviously dozed off, passed out even. She shifted, dragging herself over to where the three baskets had been left, nosing them in a curious manner, listening for the noises within. She'd not seen much of the three before they went inside their baskets, just enough to know that all were healthy.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:56 am
A shadow appeared at the threshold of the teepee, and with it the scent of blood. Making his presence known and nosing into the teepee cautiously, Taraxippus, dragged in the deer carcass and lay it down in front of Izusa.
He had intended on saying something encouraging, or stating the obvious regarding the dinner he had brought her. But instead, his breath caught in his chest as he gazed down at the three new baskets. Their children. They were right there. Still encased in the protective baskets - and he knew better than to consider opening them to gaze inside. But they had made it to the world. He could feel the warmth inside, and as he lowered his head to smell and nuzzle them, hear the tiny heartbeats.
He had never felt particularly fatherly before, but knowing that these were theirs, everything seemed to make perfect sense. After all, Taraxippus's dreams of power and dominion required him to be a firm figure in command, and being a father could only hone those skills, right?
His amber eyes returned to Izusa finally, waiting to gauge her temper.
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:33 am
Izusa's tail lashed, and she unfurled a wing, covering the baskets with an accompanying hissing noise. She'd not realised straight away that it was Taraxippus that had entered, and when she did recognise the stallion she only folded her wing back, her eyes watching him from her prone position.
She sniffed the air, above the scents of the birthing and of the stallion, she could smell what he'd bought her. It was just a pity she didn't feel like moving at all, as her stomach was reminding her how long it'd been since she'd eaten last.
'You been out there long?' she managed, her voice sounding scratchy, water was also becoming a necessity. She would have to move and soon, but not whilst the young male stood there. She would not get to her shaky hooves in front of him!
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