Ada wasn't sure if pregnancy was a blessing or a curse. She'd panicked when she'd first noticed the swell of her sides, had hoped that she was just getting fat because she hadn't been running around as much as she had in Dorobo. When she felt the movment of the foal inside of her she panicked again because she wasn't ready. Yes, she'd told Tembovu that one day she'd like to be a mother. One day not now. 

A sigh slipped past Ada's lips as she meandered through the meadow. She'd been restless for the entirety of her pregnancy thus far and had been unable to make herself stay within the Edge's borders. She was a wanderer, she couldn't just stay in one place and like it. And, besides, the wandering helped ease her nerves when she became anxious again about her pregnancy.

More than anything she wished that there was someone that she could talk to. She hardly knew anyone in the Edge, mostly because she hadn't gone out of her way to get to know anyone. She didn't feel like talking to Kiuaji, she didn't think he would understand or know what to say if she told him 'Tembovu knocked me up.' Likely, she expected, he would have some smartass comment that would only grate on her already irritated nerves.

Rexanna came to mind and Ada wished that she knew where the other mare was so she could go to her because she knew that Rex would understand what she was feeling. She thought about what the pale mare had told her had told her about being scared and about how she had found solace in her son, Rein's, movement in the womb before he was born. It made her wonder why she couldn't find the same solace in her own child's movement. It wasn't right that she didn't feel excitement, but she just couldn't make herself jump for joy. 

The stream loomed ahead and Ada headed toward it. Once she reached it her head dropped down and she drank her fill, lifted her head and stared at her reflection. A frown pulled the corners of her mouth down and she swore to herself that if Tembovu were there she'd kick him in the head.

"."

are you who i dreamed?
or just a memory?

The Thief had meandered her way down from the Basin once again. This time, she wasn’t in search of her children, wasn’t accompanied by the Time Mender to spread the word of the festival, and lastly, wasn’t in search of Tembovu. She figured he’d come across her path one day, and until that day she’d stray far and wide from the home of mist and sea spray – away from the blushed Pegasus that had called her out for all her previous mistakes. So the gilded mare journeyed to the Meadow, sure that Marembo would be capable of keeping an eye on her children from wherever they were. Kiada had been rushing to the threshold more and more, and originally Rexanna had worried about her crossing the Threshold and not being able to find her way back home. But the filly was smarter than that, and assured her mother that she wasn’t stupid, and knew what she was doing. As hardheaded as her children were, she only imagined that they got it from their father – of course shifting the blame entirely from herself and placing it on the King of the Edge.

As she made her way through the meadow, she let her oceanic gaze drift across the grasses to the waters immediately spotting something out of the ordinary. Ashen dipped legs carried her body over toward the mare, and as she grew closer she recognized the lithe (but yet plump) body and the familiar spots that lined the feline mare. Rexanna moved slow, as to not startle the mare. “Adaeze!” A grin spread across her exotic striped face as she moved to stand beside the Edge mare. Her ears flicked forward as she took a quick glance at the mare’s sides, noting the signs of pregnancy that had appeared since the last time they had met. “You look radiant. Congratulations.” She added in, reaching her muzzle out to hopefully brush the spotted mare’s shoulder. Retracting her head, she remembered that there were more important things at the moment that the Thief needed to discuss with the mare – the slight feeling of regret at having used both the names Adaeze had been so kind enough to tell her.

“I’m so glad I found you. Unfortunately, I ended up using both the names you suggested.” A slight frown crossed her features as her eyes left Ada to view the water that slithered below. “Fortunately, I had a healthy set of twins. A boy and a girl.” Her gaze trailed up to study the mare’s face, to see what she might think of the news. Her head tilted slightly to the side, golden chains slinking across her face with the movement as if encouraging the mare to tell the Thief about her experiences so far with being pregnant again after such a horrible experience the first round.

"Talk."

rexanna

Ada's head turned when she heard her name called and she watched Rexanna as she approached. It was as if her subconscious had beckoned Rexanna forth and the pale mare had answered. "Rexana..." She called back, though her voice was far less entusiastic than her counterpart. She shook her head as Rex told her she looked radiant. "I don't feel radiant." The spotted mare admitted. "I feel bloated and fat and hungry." She frowned as she looked from Rex and back down to her reflection. "I look like a hippo." And she blamed Tembovu, who clearly couldn't control his urges.

She sighed as she felt Rexanna's muzzle bump her shoulder and she finally looked away from her reflection-- the more she looked at it the more upset she was bound to get. Thankfully Rex spoke so there wasn't too much silence, but then Ada felt her stomach twist up in knots. Twins. Rex had twins?! The thought of possibly having twins hadn't entered her mind until then and oh god she wasn't ready. What if she had twins, too? She couldn't handle it. She couldn't deal with it. She wasn't sure she could handle one foal, she just hoped and prayed to whatever gods Helovia had that she didn't suffer the same fate as Rex-- thuogh the other mare didn't appear to be suffering.

"Congratulations." She breathed. "Twins... how?" How did you survive pushing two foals out? She blinked and stared. "Is it hard having twins?" She asked. "They must keep you busy." Honestly, she couldn't imagine Rex having much down time if any at all.

"How long ago did you have them?" The cheetah pressed on. "I still need to meet them. You know ... since I'm their godmother and all" She joked and even managed a smile.




"."

are you who i dreamed?
or just a memory?

Adaeze seemed just about as happy to see her as the Thief was to see the spotted mare. Joy spread through her chest and billowed into her smile, and like a wildfire it spread to her eyes. The spotted mare continued on, talking of not feeling radiant and how she was bloated, fat, and hungry. All the Thief could do was emit a small laugh and a nod. She knew those feelings well, having birthed the set of twins and Rein beforehand. Rexanna wondered if the mare’s joints were just as sore as hers had been, if her back was far too exhausted having carried such a heavy weight for what felt like eternity. “You’ll feel better when it’s all over, I can assure you that.” She added in just before Ada spoke of looking like a hippo. Tilting her head slightly, Rexanna just passed a smile off to the mare. “I’ve never seen a hippo.” The Thief admitted, perhaps a bit sheepishly, willing to add in another little comment about how hippos must have been pretty if they looked like Ada. But Rexanna felt as though her jokes and guiles were better off for another day, perhaps one when her children met the cheetah woman’s own heir.

Nevertheless, Rexanna’s fluted ears perked to her friend as she spoke, wondering how she had twins and if it were difficult. A slight nod slipped from the Thief, remembering how she only expected one child and ended up with two – and hand in hand, double the trouble. “Nothing with birth is ever easy.” She admitted, turning her gaze away from the mare as she recollected her thoughts on just what happened when she gave birth to Kiada and Kianzo. “It was normal for me, I guess. I thought I was done after the first one until my body decided to toss me on another round of the rollercoaster.” Her gilded blanket covered shoulders shrugged lightly. “I guarantee you something, though, when I see the father again he’s getting a hoof to the mouth for making me that fat.” She joked, winking to the spotted unicorn. In no world would she actually try to harm Tembovu. Perhaps in words, but never physically. Besides, it was something they both had wanted, and despite having not seen the Elephant King as of late, she only hoped he wanted it now as well.

“How long ago did you have them?” She listened as Adaeze began, nodding along. Rexanna laughed slightly as she finished and grinned, nodding to her gently. “I had them at the very end of Birdsong. I’ll bring them to the Edge at some point so they can see you. They’re hellions, these ones.” She admitted with another small laugh. “The filly, Kiada, was born with magic. Her spine is on fire and takes shape of different animals depending on how she’s feeling. It was terrifying at first until I realized the flames didn’t burn nor did they seem to bother her.” She reminisced fondly. “Anyway, what do you hope you have?” She cocked her head and shifted her weight with her question, remembering that when she first found out she was pregnant she had wanted a girl.

"Talk."

rexanna