early because the foals are supposed to be premature. anyone is welcome.
Pained groans and gasps for air echoed across the vast landscape of the Foothills. Overhead an orange dragon circled, his worried calls mixing in with the mare's. He could feel her fear and anxiousness as she birthed the first of two foals. Two foals who were not ready to be born yet but were eager to greet the world. As the first came to rest behind her dam he swooped down and landed next to the mare, trilling anxiously as he circled around to look at the girl-child. His head tilted and he clicked his jaws together, his body tensing as his bonded cried out again.
"Almost over." He promised as he now left the child and moved around to Eva's face. "Will be back soon." His clawed hands pressed against Evangeline's muzzle and he pressed his face against her, nuzzling her affectionately before he took to the sky once more and darted off in search of his bonded's mate. It was not time for the foals, it was why she had been alone but she needed him and he would find him and bring him even if it meant setting fire to his tail.
Loneliness swept over Eva as her dragon flew away, but she knew where he was going and she needed him to bring Validino. Tallis had barely disappeared from view when the second foal began demanding for its entrance into the world. She gave in to the demands and pushed. Moments later a second foal lay beside the first. Eva took only a moment to rest before surging to her feet to examine the early arrivals, her heart sinking as she took notice of the deformity of the smallest of the two fillies' hoof. Ears tilted back against her head as worry filled her heart, but she began cleaning both fillies, hoping that Tallis would return with Validino soon.
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WILLOW & ERMINE
.arborun lignea .. .mare. ..23 years. .. .16.3 hands.
[Needs to not be lazy and make willow seasonal versions too. SHHH pretend her picture matches the post description.]
The sounds of dragon and mother alike break easily across the land. Distress is tangled in the moans and it sets Willow to a quick pace. Shudders run all along her tree's body, nearly shaking Ermine from its boughs. He comes down, white as fresh snow upon her back, complaining of the upset.
Dull yellow leaves swing on their long tendrils as Willow hurries. Her footsteps nearly rattle the forested ground as she comes, more like thunder rolling in the sky than a benevolent mare come to assist. Combined with the rising storm of Ermine's complaints they must be a frightening sight when they burst upon the weary mare and her young.
Ermine hushes the moment he sees the frail foals. Willow's standing still but her pulse quickens as green eyes gulp up the scene. It is only a breath and then she is working.
Ears snap back as her words cut sharp at the stoat. "Ermine, Chamomile. Then get Popppy." The scuttle of claws on bark tell her that the small animal is just as rushed as she. "The girl, not the plant," Willow adds as a side, softer now, as she starts to kneel down towards the mother and children, choosing to ignore any protests from either.
She can tell that the children are small, much too small. The season is all wrong too and Willow has to wonder what madness overtook the mare to breed too late and cause birth in such an unkind turn of the land. She withholds her judgement however, the time for it long past and the deed long since done.
"Let me warm one," Willow murmurs to the dam, motioning to let her tongue cleanse one while the mare cleansed the other. They could not sit idle in this chill unless she meant to only keep one of them alive. This was often the way with twins, even worse now for their current state and timing.
Ermine leapt down then with the plant in his jaws. Willow and he often collected herbs and useful foliage in the woods, making sure not to over harvest so that the plant would return and be fruitful for them later. She kept many of them tucked and tied inside her tree top, but they mostly went unnoticed. Now however many of her leaves had fallen and it left her wood bare and naked, shielded only by a few resilient strands of autumn gold and bronze. Her storage would soon be just as lost and she feared even now the effects would be reduced.
"Chew this," Willow instructed, though kindly, to the mother as Ermine edged towards the palomino with the flower, a bundle of buds and petals. "It will give you more strength and ease the aches inside. The babes should mouth a petal each when they rouse better - they will need the strength to last this first moon."
Ermine stole away into the lands to find Poppy. The stallion the dragon would bring had not the same skills as the girl. Comfort would be of no help if one child died and left the mother in throes of grief.
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Individually, we are one drop Together, we are the ocean. - Ryunosuke Satoro
Tallis cast a deep shadow in the pallid snow as he descended. Validino's ruby ears pricked, and his teal eyes greeted him with a questioning gaze. The bright orange dragon was always an ember in the sky, so alive with glittering scales and royal elegance - but not today. The dragons wings hissed against the slapping wind, and his face torpedoed through the frigid air. He was an ember burning out, descending from the sky with smoke in his wake. The stallion's feet brooded under his weight, panic flushed his skin as the dragon swiftly sped in circles around him. Tallis swooped to grab his inky mane and release, tugging him westward. The teal-eyed warrior knew at that instant it was Evangeline, and his rear hooves were suddenly smashed between the weight of adrenaline and the hard face of new snow.
The soldier's gallop was a whisking blur in the wind. His legs tore at the Foothill's frozen turf as worry and realization bled through his brain. He was thinking a mile a second, and any minute now he'd be with her. Validino's steps were long and fast like the pessimistic thoughts whirling in his brain. He knew whatever it was, was bad at the least. A fraction of thought was focused on the madness he'd find when the two would meet. 'Would it be the last time?'
No, it would never be the last time.
His eyes were a quick squint, and he saw Tallis' birdlike body dive downwards not too far up ahead, and before he knew it, he was there, eyes drinking in all of the blood dripping and the two dark, weak bodies covered with steaming mucus. "Oh Gods," his voice was a mere worn whisper he couldn't control the things streaming through his brain. The stallion then caught sight of the tall tree-lady, holding them close against her body in efforts to keep the children warm. His trot slowed, and he came right up to the grief-stricken eyes of Evangeline. His tongue slipped out to help clean away the chestnut's bodice. He hooked his heated neck over the baby's fragile back to clean the outside of her legs, and it was then that he noticed the terribly deformed foot.
"Oh, Evangeline..." Dino's hopes plummeted, and he locked eyes with her. His electric eyes flashed to Willow. "She'll be okay, right?" As soon as he'd spoken, the stallion continued licking the disgustingly sweet mucus away from the child's thin fur, braving himself for the terrible news that ought to come. "They'll be okay, right?" His head was working at only a few words a minute now. Numbness seeped through his brain, shocking all of the muscles that had labored such intense adrenaline before. This was a much too familiar feeling, and the white memories of prematurity entered his thoughts with a ghastly whisper and a cool breath of deceitful winter air.
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early because the foals are supposed to be premature. anyone is welcome.
Shortly after standing Evangeline lay back down beside her foals, trying to give them as much warmth from her body as she could by tucking them close to her body. It was frightening and the prospect of losing both of her newborns was frightening and heartbreaking. It was only the beginning of Frostfall and already the temperatures were plummeting. How would they survive the bitter cold? How would the one with the deformed foot even be able to travel? The snow and ice were already dangerous to walk on, but with a deformed foot? The mare felt tears welling in her eyes, but she blinked them away as she continued licking her foals in turn and trying to warm them.
Her head jerked up when another mare arrived, a tree jutting from her back. What kind of madness was this? Evangeline looked back down at her daughters as the mare began to bark orders to a little white Ermine that was riding on her back. When she offered to warm one of the foals Eva nodded, grateful that someone was coming to help. Overhead Tallis shrieked and swooped down and she knew that Validino would not be too far behind.
As the dragon landed Eva looked at him. "Tallis. Go find sticks. Branches. Anything you can burn go get it and bring it back." The dragon nodded his head once then darted back into the air and flew away. Shortly after Validino arrived and began asking if the foals would be okay. She didn't have an answer and she didn't know if Willow did. Movement caught her eye and Eva's head jerked to the side where she saw the ermine bringing flowers to her. Willow explained and Eva did as she said and chewed the flower.
Nearby Tallis dropped an armful of sticks before darting away again. Eva nudged a few of the petals to the side to save for the foals then went back to work trying to warm them enough while Tallis brought back sticks and branches, piling them up near the horses. "That's enough Tallis." Eva said a few minutes later. "Light it." The dragon did as he was told and set the sticks and branches aflame. "Make sure it doesn't go out." She instructed the dragon who nodded his head and stood vigil over the fire as well as the rest of the group that had gathered.
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WILLOW & ERMINE
.arborun lignea .. .mare. ..23 years. .. .16.3 hands.
Bright, if weary eyes, jumped up to meet Willow's gaze as she crouched and laid beside Evangeline. The mare thankfully did not resist the help provided as many are want to do, nor did she move to judge Willow's nature. Although still harboring dissatisfaction at the irresponsibility of these parents, Willow softened, knowing the dam was fully concerned and willing to put the effort into saving her foals.
A stallion, who Willow could only assume was the sire and likely lover with the frantic way he arrived and spoke, seemed horrified when he arrived on scene. Rightly so, Willow through with a gentle snort. "We'll see," was all Willow could offer in response to his plethora of queries. She would not give him anything else on that matter, it would be cruel to promise him something that might not prove true in the hours to come. "If they survive this, they'll likely be strong. Gotta have spirit to live."
The orange dragon that the mother commanded gathered warmth fire to provide warmth. Willow was wary of the licking flames, her tree like a meal for the hungry fire. Ungracefully she rose to her hooves and edged away from the red glow. It was better to let the stallion be beside his mare and foals now anyway, but Willow would stay until Ermine's return.
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