5.12.1164-Now? Really? (Mac)

[Mik]

((Joint Post: Taenia and Mik))

Once Mac was out the door, Taenia turned, tears brimming at her eyes. She was far more upset by the hatching of a new gold than she had expected herself to be. It felt like they were replacing Authanth already.. that this new gold would come in and take over the missing spot that Authanth had once occupied. Of course, she knew deep down that that was ridiculous, Authanth was irreplaceable.. unforgettable.. She’d wished that he was able to stay here with her tonight, to comfort her for Faranth knew she needed it, but he was the Weyrleader.. he had to show his face, his appreciation..

With a sigh Taenia wondered across to the furs and settled down there planning to sleep the duration of the hatching, at least it was only one dragon, it would be quick. At least in sleep she could block out the humming, the noises and the elation that everyone was sharing.. feelings that she really didn’t feel like participating in right now..
…and thus, she slept.

She wasn’t sure how long it was she slept but she awoke to a sharp feeling of pain from her stomach, a contraction, she knew. She’d had a child before and knew what contractions were. At 6 months in along, this baby was far too early and inwardly Taenia started to panic. Was this what life had in store for her? Take her dragon and her baby too? She cried out, no one around to hear. Shards. She thought, would anyone be in the infirmary right now? She didn’t have a dragon to call for help with either.. no Authanth to alert Mac or Dunc of her plight..

…would Dunc know to listen out for her if she called? The furs were wet around her, when had that happened?

“Duncanth!” She mentally mustered the mind will to call him, not caring if he was to answer her back, this was an emergency.. she needed Mac, and she needed him now..

Duncanth had been listening extra for any time Taenia might be trying to communicate with him since Authanth's passing. It was the wish of his Rider and something that they had both agreed on and so, when Taenia thought with all her might to beckon him, he had actually heard it. The nearly black little brown practically fell from his precarious perch in the Hatching Cavern as his dark head snapped to attention at the mental shout from his Rider's mate. Scrambling to right himself before he were to crash to the ground, the brown swooped airborn barely a dragonlength from the hot Sands. Mine! Authanth's calls! the worried brown shouted at his rider, his risky flight pattern finally righted to allow him to land at the Cavern entrance.

Tsunath grumbled at the brown's near collision with her head, snapping at him, You have no right to do that, Duncanth!

The dark brown bowed his head humbly in apology. I'm sorry, great Tsunath. I fell from my perch, the dark brown said, masking his real reason for his fall.

Stop being so clumsy, then! Tsunath snapped back, but turned her attention back to her Little Future child, having gotten her last word in.

M'cleod jumped at the shout and stepped nimbly out of the way of his frantic brown at the dragon's words. Torn between what to do, he finally made up his troubled mind about where he needed to be more. "Kolteya, I'm sorry. I gotta go. Tae needs me. Please tell me how 'is goes?" Without waiting for an answer, the Weyrleader sprinted out of the Grounds, mind-speaking his thoughts to his dragon at the same time, half focused eyes barely dodging folk that were still headed for the Sands. Dunc, get ma, please. The brown obeyed, seeking out the MasterHealer in thought and sight.

There was no knock as the brownrider reached his low level weyr, skidding through the door in his hurry. "Tae?!" he asked, trying to focus his eyes on why she had called him through Duncanth. Something was wrong, very wrong. He fell to his knees by her, dark sky eyes taking in the discolored furs from being wet around her. "Tae? Talk ta me. What's wrong?" he asked, grabbing one of her hands as he touched her cheek to let her know he was there.

[goldenauthanth]

Time seemed to last forever as Taenia wondered if anyone had heard her, her mind running through all sorts as she felt like she wanted to panic.. fall apart and just give up. In her mind she was convienced that life was taking her child now too.. Mac eventually arrived, and never before had she felt relief to hear him.. to feel his touch on her cheek. "The baby..." she all but howled at him..

[Mik]

Hearing his mate's pained words, M'cleod's eyes quickly took in her abdomen and the wet furs. He reached over and touched the fur closest to her, realizing that it was more than water, but had the faint metallic scent of blood. "Dunc, hurry," he spoke aloud as he returned his attention to the Dragonless woman. "What can I do?" he asked quickly, hoping that she could give him something to work with, not knowing where his brown was in getting his mother to help them. He was glad for instinct telling him to summon her. They could not waste any more time. She was too early.

[goldenauthanth]

She was crying by the time he asked her what could he do, another contraction wracking through her body - they didn't look like much but it certainly hurt. "Make it stop.." she begged. Nileod hadn't felt anything like this, this.. this felt like it was tearing her up inside, like it was so early her body wasn;t ready... she wasn'y ready..

[Mik]

"Ma's comin', sweety. Just stay with me," Mac said, brushing her hair from her face. "The baby's fine. You're fine," he said, his mind warring with his words on the situation.

A chilly draft forewarned of Duncanth's arrival on the ledge and moments later, Eodira stepped into the weyr. "What's goin' on, Mac," the MasterHealer asked as she hastened her step and knelt on Taenia's other side, her satchel laying down on her side.

"She says it's the baby. Ma, it's too early. What's goin' on?" M'cleod replied.

"Ya' had any contractions, sweety?" Eodira asked as she assessed the woman before her, for once glad of her son's sleeping habits upon the floor.

[goldenauthanth]

Taenia didn't waste any time in responding to Eodira's question. "yes" She confirmed. No point in hiding the truth, Eodira was here to help her. Taenia was very relieved to have the women here on two accounts, firstly her healing knowledge, but also the fact that she was a good as her own mother - or at least her Weyrmates mother which was as much as the same for her.. she'd been with Mac for so long they they were all part of the family. "It's so much more painful than Nileod's" she explained, they hadn't been there for Nil's arrival.. afterall, the lttle boy have arrived in the past.

[Mik]

Eodira thought to her notes on Taenia's pregnancy so far, one of the many times that she was thankful for her photographic recall. The baby was quite large. Perhaps he or she just wanted to come early because they were ready. She had been thinking lately that Taenia could have twins as she had carried twins herself, having the wonderful miracle that both were fine and healthy and still were. "'Ow close're the contractions?" she asked, moving Taenia's tunic to expose her lower abdomen so that she could feel the baby's positioning and make some decisions herself. Before she heard Taenia's answer, she looked up at her son, saying, "Have Dunc git Macira. We might need 'er."

M'cleod nodded, carrying out the task to his anxiously waiting dragon. Go get Macira, please. The baby's comin'. A silent, comforting confirmation came from the small brown as the Hatching of their new golden dragonet was lost to memory with the coming premature birth of His and Authanth's Little.

[goldenauthanth]

"umm....ummm" she muttered closing her eyes, how many contractions had it been since she'd woken up? "Two...three maybe... Since i first called mac.." how long had it been? It felt like ages already. Thankfully she hadnt noticed the wet furs were wet with blood and no just water fluid.. She might have paniced more if she had. Another contraction swept her body as she finished talking, her teeth clenched she couldn't help but cry out and pant afterwards. She was feeling the pressure from below and the urge to push.. And push now.

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[Mik]

Eodira's hand had been in the right place when Taenia had another contraction, feeling the muscles tighten rock hard. It was long enough to tell her that this baby was coming now. "Yer babe's comin' now, sweety," she said, paying no mind to the earliness of the infant. First, they had to get the baby out, then they would deal with keeping both alive even though a baby this early had a low chance of survival. "Mac, 'old 'er foot fer me right 'ere," the MasterHealer said as she moved the former Weyrwoman's leg to bend in a way that would be beneficial for the delivery of the baby. If they could do this naturally, she would be quite happy. "Tae, sweety, I wancha ta breathe as deep as ya' can when ya' feel the next 'un," she said, moving to position her other leg properly. Once she had Taenia positioned well enough, she pulled a jar of her own concoction of numbweed from her satchel, unscrewed the lid quickly, then placed it where the baby would be coming at to help ease the delivery. She could not see the babe yet, but she knew that it would be soon. "Tell us whatever ya' need ta, deary.

Mac listened to his mother's instructions, wishing that he could have been there for Nileod's birth so that he had a better idea of what he could do to help. He just hoped that he was not going to lose Taenia through all this, too. It was bad enough that he had lost part of her when Authanth had died.

[goldenauthanth]

Yes, she had figured out that the baby was coming now.. The way that each contraction was going.. She remember this all from Nileods birth 4 turns ago. She did listen well to Eodira as she told her everything she said moving her legs into the right position.. This was it then. The baby they had been waiting for was finally going to make his or her apperance..

Now in the throws of labour time seemed to stop as all Taenia could concentrate on were the contractions that came and went.. Each one more intense and more often.. She pushed, as nature had intended.. And seemed like she pushed for hours with nothing happening.. The first time around the babies head had followed after a couple pushes. This time..it still hadn't made its apperance yet.. Taenia was tiring.. Sweat covering her head, her hair soaked and she breathed heavily between contractions trying to catch a bit of a rest.


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[Mik]

After several pushes and no progress, Eodira was thinking of the endless possibilities. Something was wrong, but she was not going to let it be known to her son or the young woman that she had come to think of as a daughter until she was sure of what it was.

Another draft signaled the return of Duncanth and by that, the help of another Healer in Macira. "I'm here!" Macira said as she hurried to the trio on the floor of the weyr. "I brought some birthin' things," the blonde said as she opened the satchel that she had brought. Duncanth had told her of what was happening and she had brought the necessary items, another few Healers on their way in case they would be needed.

"I think the babe's turned, sweety," Eodira said as she prodded at Taenia's abdomen to figure out the position of the large baby. What she discovered was what she had feared. "Tae, honey, it's gonna hurt, but I gotta git it turned. It's breached," she said, hoping that they would understand as she started to find the right points around the baby to turn it without having to reach inside Taenia to do so.

"Breached?" M'cleod questioned, unable to keep the worry from his voice. It was bad enough that the baby was coming too early. Now it was stuck inside Taenia? Duncanth warbled from where he was on his ledge, beginning to pace like his Rider would do if he had not been by Taenia's side.

[goldenauthanth]

Taenia didn't feel like she had the energy to worry about a breached baby or what Eodira was going to have to do.. or even the prospect of further pain. She was so so tired.. tireder than she remembered feeling before.

She felt Eodira turn the baby.. and cried out again, moving subconciouslly as the pain registered on her mind, another contraction followed directly afterwards, Taenia tried to push again. "I can't do this.." she moaned, pushing hard.. something felt different this time, the baby was crowing..despite the numbweed Taenia still felt like she was tearing down there..

[Mik]

M'cleod tensed as his mother caused Taenia more pain in turning the baby right to get it ready for coming out. "I'm here, Tae," he said despite his mind spinning with so many possible problems and ultimately the loss of one or both of them.

Eodira smiled. "Yes, ya' can, sweety. I see the babe. Ya' gotta push. Ya' gotta try. It's almos' 'ere," the MasterHealer said as she got ready to get a grasp on the baby to help Taenia finish the delivery. "Jus' a few more pushes, sweety!" she tried at encouragement.

Macira readied a few things for the arrival of the baby, towels and a blanket at the ready to get the baby dry and warm as quick as possible.

Mac smiled, feeling a bit better at the idea that the baby was almost born. "C'mon, Tae, push. You can do 'is," he told her, his tone more encouraging than it had been mere moments before.

[goldenauthanth]

"No..." She cried, she didn't want to do this anymore, of course, she didn't have much control over the contractions and as another one wracked her body she found herself pushing again as hard as she could, squeezing the first thing she could get her hand on as she arched up from the furs, yelling with her activities. It hurt, it hurt alot.. she felt like something was tearing before, now felt it had ripped, whatever it was. Having ridden out the contraction, Taenia fell back against the furs breathing heavily.. soaking wet with sweat. Was that it? Please, faranth, let that be it. She thought to herself.

[Mik]

With Taenia's instinctive push with a contraction, she had pushed the baby far enough out that Eodira was able to get a hold of it, helping by pulling steadily with Taenia's push. "'At's it, sweety! 'At's it!" the Healer said as she took the tiny baby in her hands and swiped a finger in its mouth to clear it of any fluids. There was no cry with this baby, but she saw goo-filled eyes squint open. "C'mon lil' 'un. Give us a cry," she said as she presented the baby to Macira to tie a string tight around the umbilical cord to cut off the connection between mother and babe.

M'cleod grit his teeth as Taenia's hand squeezed his hand harder than he had ever imagined. That was going to be sore for awhile, but that particular thought was far from his mind as he waited and hoped to hear a baby's cry to say the baby was okay. Hearing his mother's words, he risked a smile, but the mumbled words from the Raider woman caused him to frown. Not crying? Weren't babies supposed to cry just after birth? What was wrong? Was he or she okay?