Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Good!" Ulani cried encouragingly. "Good! Again!"

Without looking away from what she was doing she called out, "Alyse, get a blanket, and make sure the water's warm - not hot, just lukewarm!"

Alyse nodded and checked the water, making sure that the basin was close, and then got a blanket ready for her grandmother.

Elnara wanted to cry, but she found that she was simply too proud to allow herself to do so - that was, she was until Lore kissed her and murmured those words of encouragement. At that point, her tears became more uncontrollable - tears of pain, of exhaustion.

She cried loudly as another contraction hit, and this one did not pass quickly as the others had, but remained for nearly a full minute.

Elnara pushed once more with all her might at Ulani's encouragement, her grip on Lore's hands so tight that her knuckles were turning white, and shortly after the contraction passed a baby's cry broke out, filling the room with angry protests.

Lore had to grunt a bit at the pain in his hands. Though knowing Elnara was faring far worse kept him from thinking anything other than just it hurt a bit.

"I'm right here," Lore murmured, "And just one more... she's a pretty girl."

From what he glimpsed though to him both would be beautiful.

"I can see the second one!" Ulani grinned as Elnara worked. "Come on, just a few more times ... it's nearly over ..."

She held the second blanket ready to welcome the second baby into the world.

Elnara cried out again with the passing of another contraction, and once she could breathe and think again, she looked up at Lore, her exhausted, tear-brimmed eyes filled with laughter.

"H-Hana," she repeated, panting heavily. "F-flow-"

She sucked in her breath as another contraction hit, and once it had passed she laughed softly, weakly.

"L-Lore," she sniffled through tears, "you ... al-always ... s-so ... thought ... ful ..."

Lore chuckled a bit as he braced himself for another death squeeze on his hands.

He was glad to have come up with a name at all he kept bouncing around between names.

Ulani held the baby carefully, wrapping it in a blanket, and she smiled warmly at Lore and Elnara once more.

"A boy," she murmured, just loud enough to be heard over the cries of the two infants. "Congratulations ... and may the Valar continue to bless you."

She brought the water near, made sure it was a good temperature, then unwrapped the boy and dipped him just long enough to wash all of the birthing fluids from his body, then re-wrapped him in a new blanket and held him out to Lore and Elnara.