Widow legs moved as fast as she could, stumbling through the thick vegetation of the eerie forest. The world around her spun as she collapsed in pain, gasping for breath as her vision faded into a flash of white pain. As her sight came back to her, she pulled herself to her feet. Crawling through the grasses and branches, she finally found the strength to stand though it wasn't for long. No more than a few minutes later, the woman collapsed again but this time she couldn't find the strength to even right herself.

Panting, a violent contraction tortured her again. She cried out in pain as she pawed at the ground, claws digging into the dirt as she tried to escape the pain. Her eyes rolled back as the pain suddenly shifted, nearly passing out from the birth of just a small child. Of course, she wasn't aware that it was happening. Of course she knew by now that she was pregnant, but she hadn't expected this and was certainly too lost in the pain to realize it.

Widow was given a few moments of rest before it would all start over, only ten fold. The cramping started again, small in comparison at first before seemingly multiplying in severity with each passing second. She finally screamed as the final hardly recognizable, stillborn puppy was forced from her body, her head slamming into the dirt as the pain began to fade. Eyes fluttered closed, not even aware of the single living puppy weakly crying after breaking free from its protective sac as she fell unconscious.

"Speech!"
Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Fox 2022

It had been an interesting few weeks. There was a festival that was lots of fun, a bunch of strange and mysterious statues that had cropped up, and some of the lands were in some weird autumn bubble (that she occasionally kept trying to poke at to see if it would pop or something but she was disappointed each time it didn't). The world was weird, she had to admit. And just a few hours ago, she had a mysterious litter of pups! Okay, maybe they weren't that mysterious. Though she had no idea when she had gotten pregnant, or that she had been until she had them. The pups at least were something she had apparently already had an instinct for. They were fed, cleaned, and stashed away somewhere away from thieves, predators, and enemies alike. All they did was eat, poop, and sleep. So while they were asleep, she decided she was going to venture out and maybe find some food. After all, all that work of having pups made her hungry! Whether or not she would be a good if not decent mom outside of instinct was still up in the air, but for now, she wasn't worried about them going anywhere. They could barely crawl as it was, so they were fine to be alone for a couple of hours probably. With a deer cloak over her back (because man, was it getting chilly with all these random autumn bubbles!), she took off to the forest, one of the places where one of those mysterious statues had appeared, and she was on her way to go poke her nose at it when she heard a commotion in the woods. The voice sounded...vaguely familiar. But she couldn't pinpoint the owner of the voice, but whoever it was, sounded like they were in pain or something. She had half a mind to just keep going, but curiosity prevented her from walking away, and instead, she sought out whoever it was. It took a good bit as she weaved her way through the foliage and around trees, but when whoever it came into view, she came to a dead stop. She recognized that pelt. She didn't know the other girl personally, but she knew her to be one of Recluse's spawns. Asides from Ghoul, she kept her interactions with the members of Habari to a minimum during her time as a slave. But as she got a closer look, she could smell the blood, and the girl was unmoving. But...something else near her did move. Squinting, she realized that the leopard-spotted girl had just given birth. Huh, weird. Did she know she was pregnant too, or no? She had half a mind to simply walk away and let the girl to her demise. But...the pup...practically dancing on her paws at this point, she swayed in place until ultimately, her empathetic side won over and she hurried over, slinking closer like a hyena looking to snatch some prey. But instead of snatching the pup, she nosed at it and looked it over to ensure it was okay, and that's when she spotted another one. Only the other one wasn't moving or breathing. It just lay there, cold, lifeless, just a little lump. She frowned as she realized that this one wasn't alive at all. Glancing at the unconscious Widow, Medusa pulled the deer cloak off her back and carefully wrapped the stillborn in it, placing it off to her side before she settled down with the other pup, nudging it between forelegs, and then she began to wait. If Widow didn't wake soon, then she figured she'd have to feed the pup or something, considering it was already searching...but she thought it'd be weird to place the pup at the unconscious woman's side to let it suckle...after all, did she even know she just had babies before she knocked out!? Whatever the case, she'd wait to see what happened next. She did think about looking for herbs to help, but she also didn't want to leave the vulnerable pup alone without adult supervision...hopefully, the woman would wake up soon... "Medusa"

Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Fox 2022

"Speech!"
It was a while before Widow woke up. Or at least it felt like a while. For all she knew, it had only been ten minutes. It had in fact been a while, however. Although she hadn't remembered it yet, she had given birth. And now someone was with her, but her senses were too clouded to realize it for a few very long minutes. Silver eyes blinked slowly as her vision came back, pupils dilated but shrinking with time until her world had mostly focused. She laid eerily still for a while though, even she wasn't sure if she was alive.

Once her vision was restored, or mostly, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly, silver eyes flashed over to see a familiar face laying next to her. Her first instinct was to growl. Why was Medusa so close? Then she noticed the small, wiggling life and she remembered. That was her child and Medusa was... nursing it?

Her features softened from the half-snarl she had formed and she took a heavy, much needed breath. If Medusa meant harm, she probably would've done it by now, right? Unless she was going to use her child against her. If she was nursing, it meant she had puppies somewhere too. Widow wasn't sure she could trust the woman with her pup, but she knew better than to make risky moves when the cards weren't in her favor. Not like she had the energy for the fight anyway. Instead, she just laid still and after a moment her silver eyes relaxed and closed, choosing to offer Medusa her trust considering her odds weren't great at the moment.

The leopard-spotted girl was taking forever to wake up. And during that time, the mewling pup she had taken to keep warm had been searching for food, and eventually found it. Medusa didn't stop it. If it was hungry, then it would eat. She didn't care if the pup was hers or someone else's, she couldn't deny what it needed. It would be cruel. Just like her mother had been to her when she was young. Abandoning her and leaving her to fend for herself. Medusa had grown up without any knowledge of how to actually fend for herself and instead was forced to just wing it. Yep. She had flown through life by the seat of her pants and despite what others might think, she figured she was doing just fine. Barring the many bad things that happened to her up until now... Habari's cruel treatment of her, and the judgment of others for the way she talked or did things. She paid the latter little mind after a while, though deep down it still hurt in some form. As Widow began to stir, Medusa simply watched. It took a while longer for Widow to come around, but hey, at least her eyes were open! Occasionally, Medusa shifted her body a bit as the pup finished nursing and eventually fell asleep. But Medusa kept watchful eyes on both the pup and its mother. Despite the strong opinions others had of her, she wasn't all that bad. She still had a heart. Still had a conscience. It was just given less freely to those who abused her. While Widow was the daughter of her mortal enemy, Widow herself hadn't done anything to hurt Medusa. And the pup certainly hadn't, either. And even though Widow growled and showed teeth, Medusa didn't flinch or respond with any aggression. She was content to sit here and wait. She didn't really need to say anything and didn't feel inclined to. She was tired from her own ordeal of giving birth just a few hours prior to finding Widow. But it seemed that eventually, Widow softened up a bit and even closed her eyes as the tension left her and she relaxed. That was fine, Medusa figured she would be quiet for once and let her rest...especially considering that Widow had just lost something precious. "Medusa"

Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Fox 2022

"Speech!"
Widow dozed in and out for the next hour or so, finally stirring with a groan and lifting herself only enough to prop up on her elbows to face Medusa. Her child laid peacefully at the woman's side, having clearly nursed on the other new mother and seemed at ease. Though, she had to wonder where the other woman's pups were. Had she lost her litter, or had she left them somewhere?

Her mouth was very dry, so much so that she struggled to form the words to speak for a moment. Once she finally did, her voice was hoarse and weak. "How long have I been out?" She asked through jagged breaths, feeling as if she had just ran some kind of cross continent marathon with how she needed to catch her breath still.

"Is she doing okay?" she finally asked, breathless still, as she motioned towards her child nestled at Medusa's side. She looked alright other than being absolutely tiny, but Widow couldn't be sure. Besides, as much as she wanted her child nestled against her own belly, she hardly had the energy to fight the woman should she decide to use the possession of her child against her.

The leopard-painted girl drifted in and out of sleep for a while. As she did so, Medusa kept the pup warm and kept watch. She wasn't too worried about her own pups that she had left behind. Umbra was watching over them, and the cougar was a fierce protector. Medusa trusted her companion to keep them safe. She'd keep watch for as long as she needed to, but she was sure that if Widow didn't wake soon, she'd probably end up taking the pup back to her own den and then come back to haul Widow there herself, too. But luckily, she wouldn't need to do all that running around because Widow began to stir. Medusa watched her, head tilted to the side as she blink-watched the younger woman slowly stir and struggle to prop herself up enough. Her words sounded like she had just done a shit ton of exercise or something, and Medusa flicked a pierced ear at Widow's question. "Medusa has been sitting here since the sun was at the treeline, and now it's over the trees." She glanced up, noting the sun's position for a moment before firmly nodding. "Habari girl has been sleeping for a while." Or was she former Habari now? An Insomniac? Technically? Medusa was still wrapping her head around it all, but either way, Widow was still considered as Habari simply for the fact she was a part of the shitshow Recluse had created. "Is she doing okay?" Medusa turned her head to look at the pup, shifting carefully so that Widow could better see her newborn child. "Pup was hungry, Medusa didn't want to let it go hungry while you were sleeping. She is fine," She nodded firmly to confirm that fact. But then she remembered...the other one. Her ears flattened as she remembered the other one she had wrapped up and placed on her other side. It hadn't survived, and she was unsure if Widow was aware of that. "Habari girl had two...that one was not fine...Medusa has been sitting with it, too...." If Widow wanted to do something with it, she'd hand it over. Otherwise, she was likely to bury it somewhere herself. But for now, with the pup in her possession, she wanted to wait and see how this whole thing with Widow would play out. So far, the girl didn't seem bad. But also, she had just given birth. Medusa certainly wasn't sure what to think of her just yet, but as usual, she hoped for the best. "Medusa"