.svg/2000px-Google_Chrome_icon_(2011).svg.png){kind=icon}
They had no answers, no more than she did. Perplexed and worried Shadow watched the child as it staggered onto weak legs, anxiously hovering as the little life wobbled, fell, and started to cough. It was a horrible sound that cut through the mare like icy shards, and it drove her to rise even though the strain made black spots dance before the eyes and caused the world to revolve and lurch dangerously. She was dangerously weak, she could feel it, and she would need a healer really soon unless she were to fall down and become unable to rise again. But every thought of her own predicament was pushed to the side in favor of her firstborn daughter.
The mare ignored the thick, salty smelling liquid that kept oozing slowly from beneath the tail. Instead gentle lips comforted the pale filly as the cough dragged out, lipped and licked and cleaned the damp coat until it was free from foul mucus and the lass had stopped squealing and squirming about. They had to hurry, had to get going, but even though she nodded and agreed with Vadim in a quiet hum the blackbird made no attempt to walk anywhere until the foal was able to stand properly and had found her teats.
Not until she felt a tiny, cold sigh of contentment against her inner thigh Shadow looked up from the hazy, weary snoozing of the little wooly frizz on the pale rump.
"Alright then" she murmured, inwardly terrified of the increasing numbness in her limbs and the prospect of the long, arduous journey on foot they had ahead of them. "Let us go. Badger, you don't have to follow if you do not wish. You have already saved my life... Words alone cannot express my gratitude."
Violet eyes lingered thoughtfully on the pudgy healer, quizzical but unusually kind. Regardless of his answer however it was high time to leave. Shadow collected her daughter and reached for Vadim to lean against his strong shoulder as she started towards the winding path leading down from the plateau.
As they left she noticed how the filly threw a long look over her shoulder at the pale tree they left behind, standing alone in the moonlight. The shadow mare smiled quietly, but didn't say anything.
HP: 42Healed
