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 Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:25 pm
Big News by Proxy.
It hadn't been a particularly exciting day up until that point, all things considered. Ime had been helping her mother and wandering the area in and around the camp all day, which were both common pastimes of hers and not worth remarking. During one particularly uneventful bout of time, she had wandered toward the area which some of the warriors had set up to practice before the battle everyone felt would eventually come. Most everyone with a weapon could be seen there from time to time, and the area around it had become a sort of social avenue. Ime liked to hover in the vicinity and watch everyone hone their skills in the hopes that it would give her some clue as to what she was meant to be. It hadn't worked yet, but there was still hope. Kelina had known what she wanted to do rather completely when she had come in contact with a bow, so maybe Ime could gather some sort of affinity from watching others? She had been too shy as of yet to approach anyone about trying, though, and hadn't wanted to hold any weapon enough to override her shyness. It was odd. In a casual setting, she had no issues talking to absolutely anyone, but the men and women who had fought in the battle seemed somehow beyond her grasp.
All that aside, it was one particular person that caught her attention on this particular day. Kelina was a friend and a role model, so skilled was she at her craft and so certain of herself. Ime spent as much time with the woman as she could, when Kelina wasn't with her other friends. Ime was young still and perhaps embarrassing to have around, she wasn't sure. It was she that Ime saw today, but something struck her as off.
Seeing someone with consistency meant that you noticed changes in them with some difficulty unless it was something drastic like a hair cut or a tattoo. This could be considered drastic, perhaps, but she was a bit startled that she hadn't noticed it before. There the archer stood, trying in vain to draw her bow back around her big, round belly. Kelina was not getting chubby, she was with child.
Ime gave a strangled half-yelp
For a moment, the girl considered approaching and assaulting the woman about her condition, but that wasn't really polite, was it? Besides, that would definitely be an embarrassment surrounded by others. She stood there, leaping from foot to foot and wondering what she should do. Talking to Kelina would have to wait for later, but she had to do something! Had Kelina seen a healer or a midwife? She looked nearly due! Ime turned on her heel in what was, in reality, just a glorified stumble and caught her balance just before she lost it so far as to end up in the dirt. Apparently unfazed by her near-demise, the hybrid made a beeline for the healers' tent, leaving a couple of passers-by only slightly confused.
Everyone who worked with Namora knew her daughter Ime. When this had all begun she had still been a naive child and the healers had been huge components in her growth as a young woman. For this reason, almost nobody was surprised when she burst in again, all in a tizzy; startled, perhaps, but not surprised.
"My mother?" She had barely gotten the word out when a Shifter, smiling and shaking her head, responded.
"She should be back any minute now."
Ime smiled and nodded. "Thank you."
It would be untoward to continue her hopping in a place of healing and so she tried her best to stay still in waiting for her mother. Instead, she channeled her excited energy into her hands, wringing them and weaving her fingers together. As promised, her mother entered the tent not two minutes later, which felt like nearly an eternity. Ime reacted immediately.
"Mama!" she said loudly, "I think Kelina's pregnant!"
Namora remembered the woman of which her daugher spoke. The two had met at the tournament that seemed aeons ago and had recently gotten to connect on a more adult level. Sometimes she caught the two chatting. This was all very sudden, though, so she gave the same reaction she often gave her child's random, disconnected conversation starters.
"... what?"
"Kelina! My friend Kelina! She's-- she's huge!"
Namora laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure she'd appreciate that sentiment."
Ime flushed at her mother's comment and seemed to calm somewhat. Well, women got big when they got pregnant, it was just how it was. Kelina was distinctly pregnant.
"Didn't she come to you?"
"No, Ime. She hasn't come to me."
It only made sense that Kelina would come to Mama for help. They had at least met before. Then again, she had probably met most of the healers before now...
"Did she come to you?" Ime turned toward the tent of healers, currently lounging in a rare calm moment. A chorus of shaking heads responded. It was still possible that the person she had spoken to wasn't here, but they weren't out there with Kelina! "Well, she's out there shooting things!"
"... what?"
"Well, she's out there trying to shoot things! Not things. Targets! Things!"
"Oh my..." While there was nothing inherently wrong with practicing your craft while pregnant, it certainly wasn't advisable to try and draw a bow back or remain on your feet for so long. Perhaps she would just go and talk to the girl, see where she stood. It never hurt to check on a person in need, did it? "Well. Bring me to her and we can have a talk."
A grin split Ime's face in two. So Mama would help! That as good! There had not been a time in her life when her mother had left her hanging, but with her age came an occasional insecurity about the things she wanted to do versus what other people knew to be correct. She waved for her mother to follow. "Come on!"
At least Mama would know how to approach Kelina properly. It was always good to have someone more 'grounded' (another word people used that Ime didn't really like) run headlong into situations with her, rather than go it alone. The pair marched across the field and toward the training grounds to check on pregnant Kelina, who was apparently 'huge.'
word count- 1080
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:22 am
Another Battle Threatens.
The call to arms had struck fear into her heart. All of those who remained at the camp in Neued had known that another battle would be coming, and soon. That didn't make it any easier for Ime who clutched her chest and thought that she might cry. She had been younger when the first battle had occurred, naive and ignorant to the true meaning behind the fighting and the suffering all around her. Now she understood. Men and women would go to battle, willing to lose their lives for a cause they all held so dear. The Obans were invading, and they planned to take over the whole of Tendaji, to impose their rule across the entire land and destroy all life as she knew it. Nobody wanted war, but the Obans had brought it, and Tendaji would be forced to retaliate or else be trampled under the feet of the Fire clan.
All around her, prentices were sharpening blades and honing bows in preparation for the battle. Should she take a weapon up as well, wield it against those who threatened Tendaji? Would she be able to end the life of a father, a mother, a son or a daughter in the name of her homeland? For a time, the girl wept. Would she ever find a use for herself? Why had war come to them?
It was her mother that drew Ime from her stupor. There was no time for crying. They would need to gather more supplies for the coming battle, and Ime could be trusted to pluck and pick every helpful plant she found. The poor girl nodded and headed for the jungle proper. As she crossed, she saw a trio of children laughing and running. She had been one of them not long ago. Who would care for the innocent, the younglings, the pregnant women, the infirm while everyone else ran into battle, the infirmary tents full of wounded. The tears no longer threatened Ime's cheeks and she nodded to herself, jaw set firm. At least for now, she knew her place in this war.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:15 am
My Other Half.
Ime sprawled over the grass outside one of the healing tents, idly spending her time doing nothing at all. She spoke to many different people at the camp over time. Some had moved on or headed back toward home, but she was getting into a routine that meant visiting friends and socializing with others. All things considered, the poor girl had very few friends her own age. Finnley was a common "regular" though and she often hung around when the Shifter and her mother had a lesson. There was always more to learn, after all, and nobody knew when the next battle would commence. The girl was well able to enjoy her own company, though. She had needed to be as a child, with no siblings or friends who traveled as much as she and her mother did. It was sometimes pleasant to just sit down with your thoughts and enjoy the sun filtering through the trees or the gentle hum that existed all throughout the camp. She had not gone far this time, finding herself less in the mood to explore than to be comfortable, and the healing tent was where she spent most of her time. It was almost home. The inside was too claustrophobic to handle her mood at the moment, so she had gone just outside and tumbled down.
The young hybrid leaned back and thumped against the ground, her dark blue tresses mixing with the blades of grass. The day was perfectly warm and pleasant. She plucked a stone from the ground and rolled it between her fingers.
Some of the stones here in Neued looked like they belonged on a person, not growing up from the dirt. They were transparent and glowing and beautiful, like gorgeous necklaces. This was not one of them. The stone she held was just a run-of-the-mill rock, grey and darker grey in color. Every so often, though, a fleck would catch a beam of sunlight and sparkle brightly. It was like someone had hidden bits and pieces of silver between the layers of plan grit. Every stone was different. Every one held its own defining characteristics. For some reason, she found herself smiling. Her attention was drawn away, though, by movement nearby. She turned to see a man approaching. He was presumably of the Ice clan, blue in flesh with sharp yellow eyes and a deep navy hair that hung down to the middle of his back. The girl stood and brushed herself off when they made eye contact and tossed her stone away. It was best to be polite, after all!
"Hello!" she chimed, "How are you today?"
"I've had worse," he said. His voice was deep, but he offered her a smile. The Ice clan were sometimes not the kindest people, although to no fault of their own. They lived so far away from all but the Wind race and their culture was so different than the others. Then again, she supposed, every race's culture differed in some way or another.
"I'm afraid I've hurt my ankle somehow." He looked down at the offending body part as if he was disappointed in it, and then raised a questioning finger at the tent. "Is there someone inside?"
"Oh! Yes, sorry. I'm just keeping watch! Go on in." She stepped up to the flap and held it back for the man who smiled gratefully and thanked her as he ducked in. Feeling as if she didn't want to sit down again,The man turned to head for a healer who gestured to him as he arrived. Ime went in after her mother instead, who ground something sour-smelling in a mortar and pestle at the back of the tent. Mama looked up and smiled, and Ime smiled back. The expression lingered a moment, and was then lost with her gaze as she began to think. She had thought in the beginning that her father might have been amongst the ranks of soldiers, but had slowly realized that she wouldn't know him at a glance and he may well not even know that she had existed.
"Mama? What did my father look like?" It was a question Ime had asked often as a child, but he had only been "big and strong" then. Now she knew Ice folk. "I mean, really. What did he look like?"
Namora sighed and turned to her grinding as if she felt awkward.
"You have his nose," she said somewhat fondly, "He was very tall, and his hair was cut close to his head. His eyes were almost white." Ime could glean for herself that he must have had blue stones and wondered if they had been in a pattern like hers. That was too intimate of a question to pose about a stranger.
"What really happened to him?"
"The plains weren't for him, Ime. He went back home."
It was the same answer she had gotten every time she'd asked, but this time it wasn't enough. She was a big girl now. She could handle it.
"No, Mama. What really happened?"
Namora stopped her work and sighed deeply. She put the pestle in the bow and set it aside before looking to her daughter.
"He did go home to Zena, Ime. He had to."
"Why? Why couldn't we just live in Zidel together? Aefur said that there's Wind and Ice people there, and it's not too warm and not too cold. Did he die, Mama? Be honest."
"No, Ime. He didn't die."
"Is he here in camp?"
"Even if he was, he wouldn't come to speak with me."
"He left us, didn't he? He just got up and left--"
"Ime, don't make such assumptions," her mother scolded. It was a gentle sound, but one that stopped the hybrid in her tracks.
"Your father had to go back to Zena, Ime. He had to. He had to go."
"Why? Why didn't he want to have me?"
Namora sighed again and ran a hand back through the tangle of curls on her head.
"It's not that, Ime. He didn't know about you. Neither did I, until after he left." She offered her daughter a small smile and touched her hand. "Ime, your father already had a family. He had to go back to them."
Ime's blood ran cold. Her father was not hers or her mother's; he belonged to some other women and some other children. She had built up such a story as a child about how he had left with plans to return and never made it back, or died in a great battle she was sure had happened somewhere over something very important. Maturity brought with it a greater power of reason, but she would never have imagined that her mother had... had an affair! She'd had an affair with a married man! And then he'd just left! Ime could feel her face falling, her lips pulling into a deep frown while her brows furrowed. She wouldn't cry. She was too angry to cry, not at her mother, but at the past. The truth was not pleasant, but she was glad to have finally heard it from somewhere deep inside. At the moment, though, it only hurt.
"I'm sure he would have loved you very much, Ime. I have no doubt about that. Your father was a good man."
A good man cheated on his wife? Ime's eyes flickered up, but she couldn't manage words.
"I'm so sorry that I couldn't give him to you, Ime. I know that you deserve a father. I'm so sorry." Namora was crying softly, a single tear striking down her cheek.
"Mama, no!" Her disappointment and shame had been beaten out by concern. She jumped off of the cot she had been sitting on and wrapped her arms around her mother. She felt the heat of her breath and the dampness of tears against her shoulder. It all made sense. It had bothered her that a clan in Zidel had refused a mixed-race child, but that wasn't it at all. She and her mother had been ousted or escaped long before she was born, long before anyone saw the color of her skin. It was so much different than her childhood assumptions, but it was real, and it was true. Her mother had not only bore her with no help from family and run to a strange settlement, she had raised her without prejudice or shame in the face of society as a woman with no husband. Ime smiled and felt herself crying too. She pulled her mother into a harder hug.
"Mama, thank you. Thank you, Mama."
The two embraced a long while. When they broke away, Namora smoothed a lock of her daughter's hair and smield affectionately, eyes red. Ime put her hand over top and smiled back. There was no greater love in all of Tendaji than that which her mother held for her, of that she was certain.word count- 1510
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:24 am
Where I Belong.
It had been quite the intense and amazing affair. She had not been specifically asked to attend the birth of Kelina's children, but she had been told it was time and arrived nonetheless. Part of her was horrified by the long hours of agony and the idea of it all, being a young woman herself. In the end she had decided that she was just too young to worry about squeezing out little people yet and left it there. The energy was a sort of frantic buzzing as first as Kelina moaned in pain. Ime wasn't sure what to do with herself aside from the errands her mother sent her on; retrieve some water, hand me this, grab me a pinch of that. Women did this all the time, but Ime had never been involved. In fact, the last birth Ime had been present for had been her own! She was not so young any more, though. Apprentices began training at her age and she had already seen so much and gore during the battle and the days that followed. Her worry was in her novice, and knowing that had somehow put her at ease. There was a first time for everything. It wasn't as if Kelina had ever gone through this before either!
Slowly, even beyond Ime's own understanding, the girl began to fall into a comfortable set of actions. Cool water, floral oils, dab her forehead, soothe and coo and let Kelina crush her hand while her mother checked all sorts of things Ime couldn't begin to understand without explanation. She felt much less in the way as time went on and actually began to be of some use. Her mother gave less direction perhaps because she needed less, and in the end she held a squalling infant still covered in blood, come so soon after its twin that there had been no choice but to step in. The children were cleaned and handed to their mother, and Namora gave a quick lesson in breastfeeding before she and her daughter left the happy little family to their day. There had been an offer that Mama was always there to assist, and that was that. It was over.
On the way back to the tent, Ime was oddly quiet. Even Mama must have noticed with the amount she turned to face the girl, apparently expecting some question or statement to burst forth as they usually did. Ime barely even made eye contact the entire time, her body going through the motions while her mind wandered somewhere over the horizon. Mama busied herself with organizing some of her supplies and plucking some of the plants from the line that were now dry enough to use. Ime simply jumped up on an empty cot and felt the warm breeze against her skin.
This whole experience had been eye-opening for the young woman. For so long she had considered herself to be skill-less and classless with no path to follow. Cradling a seconds-old child had been entirely surreal. At that moment, there was literally nobody younger in all of Tendaji. Even more strange was the sudden realization that she had enjoyed the entire experience. It wasn't the fact that someone had been in suffering, but to be able to help comfort Kelina through the pain and help deliver to her the greatest gift ever imagined. There had been good after all, and working toward it had opened a door in Ime that she had never imagined.
It wasn't a sudden epiphany, but it was all beginning to make sense. As a child, she had been immediately drawn to the comfort of the wounded. After the initial shock of a small child wandering amongst the bleeding and screaming victims of war, they had decided that Ime could be mad of use. She was small and fast, good for delivering things from one side of the tent to the other. In her off time, she had still remained in the healing tents. She remembered a man delirious with pain and stress, missing an arm from some gruesome attack. The wound was horrible, but it had not bothered her to hold his other hand and keep him company, to sing for him until the day when she woke and he was no longer there. She understood now that he had either died or been shipped back to his homeland to heal, but she treasured the weak smiles she had been able to draw from him. Nowadays she was able to treat people on her own. Granted, nothing nowadays was especially needing surgical attention or intense bouts of magic. She had treated infections, though, and cuts and scrapes. Men and women still wounded themselves during training exercises, and Ime was there and glad to help. She worked to make them smile and to take their pain away the best she could, or at least to let them forget it for a little while. There was always a great sensation of fullness and joy after she had helped. She had never needed to treat a severed limb, but there was no way to know how she would fare against such things except in the heat of battle. That time would come, she was sure, but for now she was given a feeling of worth.
Magic would certainly help her, wouldn't it? She could learn some spells and try it out, see if healing was the way she wanted to go. Her mother might even have an old staff for her to use. It may not be the end-all class for her, but at least she would try. It would even be a boon to the war effort to have another healer, no matter how inexperienced, to care for the smaller wounds that sometimes got pushed aside when worse emergencies arrived. She knew some herbs, some salves and poultices already...
"Mama?"
Namora looked relieved when she finally turned to Ime.
"Yes?"
"Could I be a healer?"
Mama nodded, smiling as she approached and sat beside her daughter.
"I think you would be a wonderful healer." She had always been supportive, and Ime had expected nothing less. The girl smiled back and nodded.
"I'd like to start learning," she said with a little nod, and Mama pulled her against her shoulder, giving her a one-armed hug.
"Of course, darling. We'll start tomorrow."
word count- 1066
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 4:16 pm
Purpose.
Ime spun the ring on her finger and pushed her mouth over to one side, dimpling her cheek. She was not a girl who tended toward jewelry and other forms of ornamentation, but this ring was special. It had been a gift from her mother upon her turn from Neued with her newly-earned rank. Mama had been so proud! Then there was the battle. It had not been Ime's first experience with war. She had been raised in a world torn by invading forces, at first too young to understand and then thrust right into the healers' tents under her mother's guidance. Now, though, she was qualified. She had been able to offer healing directly off the battlefield and work on her own knowledge at her own pace. She had been useful. She had been accepted.
She and Mama had remained in Neued for a short time following the battle, just offering help to a settlement that had been ravaged by war. When they left she ad been unsure, but continued with the belief that she had at least done some good. She was fond of that place, what with its diseased trees and rising dead. She had really accomplished something there and it felt good. It was in her nature to want to help. It made her the happiest. Her very fiber urged her to do so.
Travel had never bothered Ime. She was raised with a permanent home in Kesris, but Mama always moved between the settlements to deliver this or that, for trade or to offer healing to others. Little Ime had always been dragged along, lacking any definitive family members to keep her occupied. She had always liked to wander, much to her mother's chagrin, and she adored meeting new people and seeing new places. Lately her world had grown big and wide, and while it made her feel small and insignificant it was like an open invitation. I'm here, come and discover me. All you have to do is look.
The were back home now, back in Kesris where they knew everyone and day to day life was rather predictable. Grievous wounds were rare and now that the war was over it was all scraped knees and loyal customers. Although she assisted with a smile, something didn't seem quite right in her heart.
So she had thought on it for days. Where had this feeling come from, and why now? Home had always been enough, but she only wanted to reach out and see the rest of the world. What would Mama think? She had been Ime's sole guardian from before birth and they had always been together, through every delight and bickering match. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her own mother. She owed that woman her life and learned nearly everything she knew from her tutelage, but weren't there babies in Tale that needed birthing? Didn't people in Jauhar catch diseases and need help? She'd like to be able to offer her skills to more than just the people of Sauti. Imagine, bringing new life into the world all the way out in Jauhar!
It had been just under a week when the young hybrid had decided to speak to Mama about her ideas. she was nervous, fiddling with her ring and unable to make solid eye contact. Nothing like this had ever come up before. It had always been Ime wandering off just a little ways, Mama panicking and coming to get her, scolding her about leaving even though she knew it was bound to happen again. Ime wasn't a child any more, though. She knew more about safety, and about purpose.
Mama took one of Ime's hands gently in her and smiled. Concern was clearly wrought over her face. "What is it?"
Ime breathed deeply and finally looked up, although she could only hold her mother's gaze for a moment.
"It's nothing bad, I just-- I mean, I--" she sighed and shook her head, giving her mother's hand a squeeze.
"You can tell me anything," Mama reassured her, but of course she already knew that.
"I think it's time for me, to...um. I mean, I think I want to... start. Traveling, you know?"
Mama shook her head. "What do you mean?"
"Like going out and helping people. Like Neued," the girl offered hurriedly, "Like... everywhere. People have babies all the time, Mama. I know how to help. I was able to explain the sickness in Neued and I think that I could do more. I want to do more."
Realization slowly dawned over Mama's features, and with it came a sort of gentle sadness. Her little girl was growing up, as little girls tended to do. She had known it was coming, but that could only dampen the experience so much. A silence stretched between them until, finally, Mama spoke.
"Alright," she said, her voice soft, "We can get you set up for that." She paused again and swallowed hard. "You'll visit?"
Ime looked shocked. "Of course I'll visit! Mama, this is always going to be home. I don't want to go away forever. I just feel like I could be more help if I... went around? I want to see places, Mama, but home will always be here." She gestured to the hut in which she had lived since childhood and spoke with truth. Home was where the heart was, and her heart would always be here.
"I understand," Mama replied quickly, although it seemed that relief had crept into her features, "I do." Her thumb stroked the back of Ime's hand and she nodded. "When do you want to leave?"
"Not just yet. In a couple weeks? I need to learn how to do it, yenno... on my own. I figure since we move around so much anyway, you could... yenno. Teach me the ins and outs." She smiled softly. Striking out on her own would be frightening, but she was sure it would be rewarding too. The idea of setting herself up for a night in a strange inn made her chest constrict, but wasn't that half the fun? It'd be one heck of a rush.
"Of course," mama said finally, leaning forward to touch one of Ime's cheeks and kiss the other. "I know you can do it."
Ime's smile broadened and she leaned back, eyes sparkling, to look at this woman who gave her so much and asked for so little. She make her Mama proud, she decided. She had to.
word count- 1097
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 5:34 pm
Blooming.
Tale had been a surprisingly pleasant stay. Ime hadn't been able to nab any more healing gigs while there but it didn't really matter. She had still had a good time. Still when she thought of Thorn she smiled, even blushed from time to time. She had never felt that way for a boy and it had been a little hard to leave. It wasn't likely that she would ever see the boy again unless she specifically sought him out, but that might just happen. She'd have to go back through Tale to return home anyway. For now, though, she was sticking to her original plan. She would be off to see Kelina and the family, having not spoken to them since separating after the last battle. It was hard to maintain friendships when the world was so large, and she even worried a bit that she would not be especially welcome. She had been babysitter, though, and she thought a friend. Clearly her worries were unfounded... she hoped.
Her nerves were half-numbed in the cloud of a crush anyway. Ime had never had one before, not on anyone at all. In fact, she had begun wondering if she wasn't just meant to be alone. Maybe she wasn't into dating, that would be fine! But no, this stranger had stumbled into her heart with his delusional ranting and clumsy charm. He had touched her in a way unlike any boy before, and not only figuratively. It had only been a gentle touch to the neck and a few compliments, but when you lived your life traveling and disconnected from the opposite sex it meant a lot. She smiled when the thought of him, she twirled her hair and imagined him touching her, maybe even kissing her, and blushed violently into the sun. She tilted her head up for its warmth and for the cool breeze off of the jungle. It was a fuzzy, joyful sort of travel into Jauhar. Once she broke the treeline, though, her attention did turn somewhat to work. This was a prime area for several different sorts of healing plants and she would need to keep a good stock of it all if she planned to heal and travel. As of yet she hadn't made a particularly reliable connection in vendors and healers rarely sold their own product, so it was up to her and she didn't mind. It was sort of a game, to try and spot the proper herbs in the underbrush. She turned to her reference book often, although it was small and handwritten, and tucked various herbs, leaves and bark unto her bag. She could grind and combine them later when she found the next inn, hopefully in Ast and nearby her friends. She also had a fair amount of coin and could sell certain potions and poultices if needed like any of her craft, so she was not particularly worried about having a place to stay.
The amount of hybridism in Ast was a wonderful surprise. Many citizens seemed to be a mix of Shifter and Alkidike, but there were others she could only guess. It was easier as a child to start conversations, though. Nobody looked at you funny if you asked what their race was when you were three feet tall. Now it was impolite, even if her intentions were the best. She felt shame now, believe it or not, and so she only admired from a distance. She did have to ask around, though. The young hybrid had never actually been to Kelina's home and the directions she had once been given were not necessarily specific enough to walk right into their front yard. Every now and then she would ask a person if they knew Kelina or Sauron, and sometimes she would get some directions, sometimes they weren't the greatest, but in the end she had found the house. Nerves sparked in her chest as she knocked on the door, but they all fluttered away at the smile offered when it opened.
Good. So they were alright.
As it turned out, Kelina was again with child... potentially enormous child. Her belly was bigger than it had ever been before and Ime had immediately offered herself up to help with whatever she could, be it household chores or caring for her friend. She definitely approved of Sauron. He loved his wife, and that was all you really needed. She also tried her best to not cry or embarrass Kresimir and Sezarra when she saw how big they had grown. Actual adult conversations were possible!
So it was decided. Ime could herald these new children into the world as she had the first pair, and she was honored to even be considered. There were many midwives out there and most had more experience than she herself did, but they trusted her. It was worth everything to be trusted.
So she spent her days with the family and around the settlement, and at night returned to the inn and worked and slept. At least, that had been the plan. The babies had a different idea. Kelina's pains began in the night, disrupting everyone's rest. Ime went to her bag to try and help, to try and ease some of the pain and stress. Both babies were going to survive, Ime had decided that at the start, but things could go wrong. She had not shouted when she saw that her supplies had dwindled, not wanting to worry Kelina. Instead she had pulled Sauron aside and told him the news after searching in front of the house. She had been robbed, probably in the rush here, in the hustle and bustle, and Kelina needed it. He had left quickly, because he loved his wife, because he was a good man.
During Sauron's absence, Ime did the best she could. She let Kelina squeeze her hand, helped her to breathe, dabbed her forehead, gave her belly massages and kept an eye on the babies from the outside, and then he had returned. He had thrown the bag and left, and she was going to let him have the time he needed. The pain would subside somewhat with the rare bitter root and the muscles relax with the help of a cooling herb. Delivery went more smoothly then, even if the first thing to appear had been a rump and thighs. The baby was fine, as was the next, and the next. In the end there were three, and Ime cried as she handed them to their parents, cried as she stood back and let the family have their joy, and absolutely beamed when she assisted in feeling the children and in keeping them occupied to give poor Kelina some rest. It was Sauron she approached to sign off on the delivery in her ledger, and on her past assistance as well.
Yes, this was where she was meant to be. This was it. She had found her place.
word count- 1166
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