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 Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 12:38 pm
Away from her was a line of bare, skeletal looking trees, the branches seeming to claw at the cloudless sky. Breath clouds hung around her for moments and then dissipated as she turned to look at the Village, a splash of colour against the monochrome scenery, the teepees bright against the mushy snow and snaking brown of the cleared paths. She hoped that wherever her family was that she hadn't seen in many months were, that they were safe and healthy.
A noise from above made her look upwards, and she watched a few birds wheel across the sky, a few hardy natives that didn't travel to warmer climes. She would move in a moment, head down and into the Village and make her way to the outskirts where her human lived, to make sure that the shelter was still sound. Marut was due any time she knew, and whilst it wasn't the best weather for a birth, it couldn't be helped, and all she could do was make sure it happened in the warmest place possible.
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 2:02 pm
Raniero had been polite but insistant on his initial meeting with the unicorn. He had been patient, had voiced his concerns clearly and slowly and in just a few short minutes the foreign doctor had understood his issues. Raniero's mate was due to give birth soon and while the majority of Islagiatt females would be subject to Azzinoth's ministrations, the mare had chosen her family for the birthing. The doctor could respect this and in a manner of speaking he considered it appropriate, there was something to be said for a moment like that - females seemed to appreciate being surrounded by their loved ones (particularly female relatives) during such a special period. However, it had become clear that the midwife in the proceedings would not be a unicorn or a healer and as a consequence Raniero had sought him out.
...He hadn't wanted Azzinoth to intervene in the labour so to speak, but he had wanted him to make sure that she would be okay. For a stallion that didn't profess his love, it was clear to the doctor that Raniero was more than just fond of his mate. Such genuine emotion was enough to bring a ghost of a smile to the stallion's lips and he had agreed in due course, to slip down into the lowlands to inspect both the site for the birthing and the midwife in question.
Unsurprisingly it had taken the unicorn a considerable amount of time to descend the slopes, the footing was poor and he was unconditioned to such climates. Alas he had made it and with purpose he strode through the forests, the meadows and eventually approached a place that he would otherwise avoid like the plague. When it came to humans, he was not a fan of the Kawani locals and regarded them with wary respect. He generally ignroed them and they provided him with space to drift by however it was rare for him to invade their territory in such a definitive manner.
Perhaps they would understand, he knew not of their nature or language so he wasn't sure!
Nevertheless he was sure that he was along the right tracks though and had recalled the instructions Raniero had provided him with. The midwife would be around here, somewhere in this region. Unfortunately Raniero was not privvy to the immediate birthing site but there were somethings a frazzled stallion forgot (though he may be loathe to admit it). Thus it was with a flick of his tail agains the powdery snow beneath his hooves that he came to a halt and shifted his glowing gaze across the horizon. There would be little doubt that he would stand out given his colour and height but he didn't expect any immediate results, soquili had lives beyond waiting for someone they'd never really met to arrive after all.
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:46 am
The birds had flown out of sight, and her gaze fell earthwards once again. Ardia gave a shiver as the wind seemed to pick up for a moment, a slice of cold air against her side giving her the impetus to move from the spot where she stood. As she turned on her hooves, the snow crunching as she did saw, she saw a flash of something, someone? Dark against the white, and tall as well.
'Hmm...' she made a noise under her breath, wondering if she had enough warmth in her to be polite and go over to see who this was. It was decided though after she recalled that it had been a long time since she'd spoken to anyone outside of her own family, and longer still since she'd made a new acquiantance.
She picked her way carefully over, slowly treading through the cold white.
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 9:52 am
She stood out from the snow, her natural dark coat shone like a beacon against the pristine snow and he had no issue in catching sight of her. His ethereal gaze shifted to inspect the approaching female and after a period of time, it was decided that she matched the description he had been provided with. He was not so bold as to approach and declare her name though, he'd been raised in a different manner and as such he drifted towards her with purpose but came to a halt once more at a respectable distance to provide her with ample personal space. He would address her according to the expectations of his culture and not hers, it was more comfortable.
"Good morning, Ma'am," he offered softly, his voice remained low and had a mild timbre to it. Unaffected by the cold, typically warm as most males seemed to be, he smiled amiably at the mare and tilted his head in a slight nod. "I desire not to make assumptions but in this moment I must," his accent became more apparent the more he spoke as he occasionally struggled on certain words. "I believe I am to seek you out on behalf of an expecting mare and her mate - or rather, her mate," his smile deepened somewhat as though he were certain she would understand where he was coming from.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am the resident doctor of the Islagiatt herd - I seek the midwife responsible for the anticipated arrival of these children."
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:36 am
Ardia stopped when she deemed herself close enough, politely eyeing the stallion, her gaze drifting once to the long and sharp horn on his head. She nodded her head in greeting before replying to him, trying to think warm thoughts for however long they would be stood in the one place.
'Good morning to you to sir.' she smiled, wondering at the sound of his voice, as she'd not heard anyone speak like that, well, not that her old memory could recall at any rate. She listened as he spoke.
'I was not aware of your coming, but then first time mothers are so rarely able to think beyond the impending labour and the pains it will bring.' she shook her head, chuckling a little.
'And I'm sorry but I don't know that herd name, but I must assume that we are speaking of the same mother-to-be, Marut, her partner is Raniero? I am indeed to be her midwife.'
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:30 am
Argh! Had he known that then he wouldn't have struggled to say the accursed name - trying to pronounce all those syllables hurt his jaw. For a while he merely regarded her and silently cursed Raniero for overlooking this fact. Evidently he had overlooked the fact that it would have been appropriate for the midwife to be alerted to his coming, it was terribly rude to drop in on someone unannounced. Azzinoth had the decency to look abashed on Raniero's behalf and averted his gaze for a few moments as he thought of the best way to proceed. If she'd been aware that he was coming things could have gone far more smoothly, the most he could hope for was that the mare was suitably pleasant and capable of ignoring his apparent oversight, he made a mental note to double check these things in future.
...Even if that wasn't his job.
"You would be correct," he replied at last and returned his gaze to the mare, she seemed amiable enough. "I apologise, her mate evidently did not see fit to inform you of my arrival," he canted his head to the side and heaved a rather weighty sigh. "I am under instruction to check that both midwife and birthing area meet particular standards though once again I do apologise for the intrusion," he offered a rather stiff smile as though unsure of how to proceed. He was already struggling to express himself properly, to have to take part in a meeting that questionned his good manners wasn't helping much!
"I trust you will not have any objections to this? It is moreso to put his mind at rest than anything..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:25 am
'Well neither did Marut, but maybe she didn't know herself.' Ardia raised a brow, but still had her good humour.
'It's nothing to be worried about, I welcome making new acquiantances, unannounced or not.'
If Marut had known than maybe it was just an oversight bought on by nerves from the impending birth. If she didn't know; well, sometimes the prospective father liked to believe they should have a part, and at least do something, so maybe it was for that reason this imposing doctor was on her doorstep (so to speak).
His latter words comfirmed some of her suppositions and she gave a small laugh.
'The stallions get more nervous than mares on occasion. I don't mind, though I should tell you that the birthing area is near to a two-legger dwelling, it was a shelter that my human friend specifically built for us.' she looked at him, wondering if he was one of those that had little if no contact with the villagers.
'And what standards do I have to meet then?' she asked, out of curiosity more than anything. She wasn't feeling slighted, more amused.
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:22 am
Well he could be relieved in the knowledge that the mare was in good humour and hadn't taken offence at his intrusion. It had never been his intention to get in the way but when a herd member made a request he made certain to attend to it. The unicorn was definitely not grateful to the father who had failed to inform anyone of his arrival but he still had his responsibilities and would attend to them with or without introduction. His wry smile deepened just a tad at the kindly mare and while he wasn't completely comfortable in her presence he felt his confidence rising. Truth be told the male was never confident in anyone's presence except his own, too much had happened within his life for him to be at complete ease and he would not be one to let his guard down again! That being said, he was capable of giving an individual the benefit of the doubt and the mare was more than deserving in this.
Nevertheless when she mentioned that the dwelling Marut would have her foals in had been constructed by humans his eyes clouded a little. He had never really had dealings with the humans in the Kawani province and therefore he wasn't privvy to their ways. At home the humans were considerate and attended to the needs of their bonded soquili with great diligence but he couldn't make comment on the locals here. He had never been a soquili who was against humans, he had been raised by them in a temple nearby a shrine so it would be hypocritical of him to shun them! This in mind, he shook his head just a little and regathered both thoughts and composure so that he might address the mare clearly and properly - he knew his accent was thick, he would do his best to make it easy.
"I have very little dealings with the humans in this province, I would appreciate being able to see this shelter?" he didn't sound terribly threatening or judgemental which was a good thing of course, he was politely curious though. Admittedly his standards had always been high but he was aware that different cultures dealt with their pregnant, injured and distressed in different ways. He always took this into consideration, if they had survived this long without the methods of his culture then he was sure they would perform admirably.
"Cleanliness, warmth, that sort of thing..." he added in response to her final question though he chose to leave the rest vague, he wasn't about to inform her that he was here to assess her knowledge of the entire issue as well!
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:16 am
'That you can, follow me.' Ardia replied quickly, pleased to be on the move again. Though no one would agree with her, especially not her close friends or family, she knew that she was getting older, and standing around in the cold wasn't good for the bones.
When they were on the move she spoke again.
'It's not right in the Village or anything, the human who built it likes her privacy, and she lives on the outskirts. So it's quiet. She also maintains it, rebuilds it after bad weather, and keeps fresh bedding on the floor.'
She lead him towards where the river snaked nearer to the dwellings, walking along the out edge towards a solitary teepee in muted browns. Beyond that, but out of sight until they moved behind the teepee was the shelter, thick branches making up the frame that was strung between several trees, thinner ones woven to make a roof and walls. Any gaps in the structure had been filled with paste made from mud and grass fibres.
'So far this has been used as birthing place four times.'
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 5:42 am
It would have been impolite to call the mare old but her age hadn't been lost on Azzinoth. He could recognise when an individual was aging, showing the strain of time but that didn't mean they couldn't remain vivacious in their day to day life. He smiled pleasantly at her hospitality and listened closely to the words that came from her lips, on occasions he found it easier to watch her lips as he attempted to understand her. Unfortunately there were so many regional accents in the Kawani province that he often found himself stumbling over them. The varying speeds, the slang and of course the 'drawl' that certain soquili had often warped and twisted words to the point that he didn't recognise them. Luckily the mare was relatively easy to understand and he didn't struggle quite so much as he tended to.
He followed after her with ease, cutting a path through the snow with his head lowered for added balance. A pause now and again to inspect his surroundings, to keep note of his whereabouts. Unlike other soquili he wasn't troubled by the close proximity of the humans, he suspected they would leave soquili be in such times and this certainly went in the favour of the midwife that now led him towards the birthing place.
It was only when they reached their destination that his gaze lifted and he inspected the dwelling. He held his silence, his head tilted to one side as he regarded it. While it wasn't a structure he was accustomed to he could recognise that it was designed for warmth and privacy, Marut would be well shielded from the wind and her foals wouldn't need to struggle to stay warm. Considering the foul weather and winter months this shelter certainly held a significant amount of pros and very few cons. In fact, unless the doctor was to be incredibly critical, there were no cons in his immediate line of sight.
"I can see why," he replied politely after he had taken the shelter in. He moved forward to inspect it, sticking his head in to take note of the warmth within. "And you, you have been present for these births or no?" he glanced over his shoulder and then returned his gaze to what lay within, for all he knew, she could have used the place herself!
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:20 am
'Well one was my daughter, one was my second birth, and the third was a friend. The other..' Ardia pursed her lips, wondering exactly he knew of Marut's background.
'I only know who it was from the scent, and I would not have been welcome as a midwife.'
She knew that the human had no prejudice, and had actually looked after the mare in question during her youth but still...it was as well then that she also knew that only in that one moment would the mare ever return here, and with luck that would never coincide with another mother-to-be.
'It looks okay to you then?' she asked, returning to the present.
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:00 pm
Azzinoth had been made vaguely aware of Marut's background but for the most part, Raniero had been vague. What little information he had received was from the mutterings of the expectant Grandfather. These mutterings had not been something Azzinoth had approved of in the slightest, rather he had been deeply disturbed but it was not his place to remark upon such things. His duty was to heal and to tend to those in need, should the time arise when he was needed due to the machinations of a disturbed stallion then so be it - it's not as if that would have been something out of the ordinary for him. Azzinoth was aware that somewhere in Marut's ancestry there was a Kalona, how recent that was remained a mystery to him.
...Frankly he didn't care.
"Say no more," he murmured in case she opted to explain, preferring to remain in the dark about some of the individuals who may have visited this place. His immediate concern had always been to inspect the dwellings for faults or potential risks, he wasn't here to gossip in relation to the past. He was a private soquili himself and saw no need to receive too much information. Nevertheless when she mentioned the number of births that had occured and her presence at them he did have to nod in recognition of her experience - whether Raniero liked it or not, it appeared that Marut remaining in the lowlands for her birth was perfectly acceptable.
A small part of Azzinoth rejoiced at this - he'd finally have a day off!
"It does," he admitted as a small smile teased at the corner of his mouth. "I can find no flaw or fault that would cause issues in a birth, your shelter has been well cared for," he agreed and pulled away from the interior. He turned his gaze to the mare and released a tiny sigh. "Though I must ask if you have knowledge of how to deal with - how should I say it -" he paused and tilted his head to one side in thought. "Complications?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:42 am
'You wouldn't get me to anyway,' she said, though placidly. She figured he might know something from his response, but if he did, was too much of a gentleman to go needlessly gossiping. She knew Marut wasn't ashamed of her background, after all her mother Neve was a perfectly lovely mare, but it also didn't need to be gossiped about.
'Well I'm glad for that, Neve was set on her daughter having her foals under my supervision anyway.' Ardia said.
'Complications? No, it's never arisen before, thank the spirits.' she looked at the stallion.
'You have much experience in that particular area yourself?'
Ardia wouldn't pass up the opportunity to expand her knowledge, after all it must have only been luck that none of the foals she'd supervised, nor her own, had been birthed with any difficulty beyond the usual pain of labour.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:01 am
Azzinoth's expression clouded some at her query and after a considerable pause he nodded slowly. He was a rather old stallion by all accounts, but a careful diet and ample exercise had ensured he looked younger than his years. He had only been four when he had adopted the role of doctor and now many years later he had been privvy to the pleasant and decidedly unpleasant aspects of this profession. He had seen creatures he could save from minor bumps and cuts, he had seen those with more serious wounds and there had been those far beyond his ability to assist. In more than one case he had been forced to be merciful and while all others had failed to show such strength it had been he who had brought a 'swift' end to the suffering. Yes, it would not have been a lie to say that the stallion had killed but never in cold blood... only out of compassion.
"I have more than any individual could possibly wish for," he replied grimly, his vision still clouded as he shuffled through his own discomfort and coaxed his emotions back into the shadows of his mind where they belonged. She didn't need to know that on one occasion he had had the unenviable task of lulling a mother to her final slumber, nor did she need to know that while the foals had survived only one had lived beyond the age of one. He hadn't been able to save it either, he hadn't truly understood what was wrong. Perhaps if he had been privvy to the knowledge that there had been a hole in his heart then things would have been different, alas, it was far too late now.
"While some complications are easy to correct, there are others that require the assistance of humans or in more severe cases..." he lapsed into silence for a few moments and sighed. Schooling his features into a more neutral expression, he regarded the mare for a few minutes. His gaze grew hard and it was in these moments that he had to make sure she recognised the importance of what he had to say. "Only magic can save both mother and child, no amount of herbs and coaxing will protect them," he finished flatly. He coiled his tail around his hindleg rather firmly and stood back a little, "Nevertheless, Marut is healthy and given all her current signs she seems perfectly capable of proceeding through her birth with as much ease as can be afforded for one in labour..."
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Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:17 am
'I am sorry to hear that,' she said with feeling, catching the expression on his face. That was the thing about life, there was death too, no matter how much anyone would deny it, they all came to an end one day.
Ardia nodded after hearing his words, she had listened fully and understood what he had to say. For all her experience there was much she couldn't do; she didn't have the useful appendages that humans had, and nor she was a healer.
'As you say, everything should go smoothly. If there were any complications beyond my expertise however, you would be easy to find?' she wasn't worried, just covering her bases, making sure that should there be a problem she would know immediately where to send someone to fetch for him.
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