As if by fate, or maybe just chance and a trickle of luck, Essetia heard the ominous pounding of hooves upon the sand. Romul was quick to react, though his snarling was short-lived and a bit dumbfounded by the sound of it. At first, it seemed to resonate evenly across the beach before tapering off into the wind when sure notes of uncertainty struck the tune from its crescendo.  The mother-to-be turned her head just enough to catch the blending of bronze and black, her eyes rolling heavily into the back of her head with some effort. “Of course,” she muttered bitterly and without reservation. However, the waves of pain and ocean water continued in time with one another. When they reached their peak, she growled deep enough to match the threatening rumble of her wolf as her guests drew near enough to scent. Ulrik’s unmistakable musk threw her off kilter and Essetia caught her breath on a particularly sharp tearing in her gut.

However, she managed to turn a fiery eye toward her pursuer and his… familiar friend. She’d met the colorful stud on the very beach she now wondered if she would ever leave. Surely there was some relief from the agony she now endured- no one had warned her of it. Otherwise, she might have reconsidered her scuffle with the Engineer. Though their previous encounter had been no true scuffle in name, Essetia imagined it might later become one… when at last she’d escaped the grip of “death”.

When Urik was close enough to speak her name, the very sound of it upon his lips encouraged a brash and unforgiving laugh that resembled a heated groan. However, once her voice had rid itself of the rasping whip of agony, she did indeed resume her callous greeting. What could he do? He could undo what he already did.  Romul stepped forward to position himself at the spy’s shoulder, but did little else in the way of keeping Ulrik from her side. His protective nature had certainly grown tenfold, but not enough to warrant a fight with the man. While working to reposition herself across the sand, Essetia lifted her eyes to those of bronze, still ashamed and still unsure of how she’d managed to avoid him for so long.

The Engineer had lowered himself onto the sand as well, but the spy took little from the gesture. It was weakness, pure and simple, that had landed her here and without the fire and strength to push him away, Essetia felt more vulnerable than ever. These were intimate moments to be shared with those one loved, but Essetia could not say she’d ever shared the words with anyone else, aside from her father. Heat had gathered in her cheeks at being unable to conceal the pain and the sheer lack of decency she found herself in. But nothing could prepare her against the waves of utter agony that soon left her speechless. Her child would wait no longer.

“Just… don’t do anything,” she finally pressed between grit teeth. In one last attempt to find solace before a new, unknown future, she pressed her face into his neck and let her body do the rest.