The slender wolfdog had scented someone heavy with pups. A familiar scent to the polyamorous nomad, she was bent on finding them and giving them a check-up.

Dread and Deluge had slipped off again, with nary a word to her and at this point, she was starting to get used to it with a pang. Maybe she should take Skald up on that offer to take her to see the giant bones. She hated to be trapped anywhere, wistfully looking over the cliffs wondering where her companions had gone. Her paws itched to explore again, so may as well be of some use. She was polyamorous for attention, she wasn't getting it if both her partners were off without her, she wouldn't begrudge them though, it was essential to have some one-on-one time.

She grabbed her wicker basket and filled it with all the herbs she could find, not knowing what term they were in she would grab quite a few. Red Clover, Red Raspberry, Wild yam, and of course the blissful Passionflower, along with some dates, chamomile, and parsley.

Holding her basket she tracked the pregnant woman to... Was that Modesty? Shit. Maybe the woman wouldn't remember her. Babies and pregnant women were her specialty though, and by the looks of it... she may be ready to pop soon, so onward she went and approached the Raid Queen boldly.

"Hello, Modesty! I'm Morwenna, have you had a check-up recently? How far along are you?" She asked cheerfully after placing her basket down and swaying her luxurious tail. Her big purple eyes looked up as sweetly as she could. Hoping to allude away from any past experiences if the woman remembered her at all. 

Busy. She liked to keep busy. Soon she would be confined to her den, and she wanted to make sure everything was as prepared as it could be. The snows would offer them some protection, most happy to stay safe and warm in their own homes, but there were cattle and goats to account for, she wanted to offer some protection from the elements for the birds that remained in the estuary, even though they had done just fine without her before this point.

The chirpy voice had her head whipping, eyes narrowing as she took the woman in. She'd seen her with Deluge and Dread, had seemed to be helping out with the healing duties around the pack. There was something else, fuzzy and distant, but as so often happened with pregnancy, when she reached for it, it slipped straight through her paws. She grunted, tipping her head towards her semi-permanent picnic spot on the edge of the ravine and the moor. She wanted to be comfortable, and she had snacks stashed over there. "Sakana was keeping an eye on me but he's been working overtime lately, I think I've got about a week left?" She sat on the furs rather ungraciously, belly bulging obscenely.

"speech"

"Ohh! Good good! Not long now then!" Morwenna wagged her long tail delightedly. Looks like she was in the clear for now then! Hopefully, she'll be able to see some tiny wrinkly babies, so helpless and new, soon! One of her favorite ages for sure.

She laid out her dried herbs, grateful for Sakana's stores and her own collection. The passionflower with her was from the same batch she had stolen from the Daagar Isle. She hadn't known she was stealing at the time, but she was being sneaky about it.

"Mind if I step in and check how everything's coming along? Babies and moms are my specialty." She chirped. When she got permission Morwenna would feel around the Queen's stomach, pressing lightly or firmly to see if she could feel each pup and what direction they were facing. Hopefully, all their heads were facing the way out when the time came.
"I think you have maybe three? Or four? Yes, that's the fourth head right there." She said gently rubbing a spot on Modesty's bulging abdomen, her other paw and elbow placed over two more.
There was only so much she could tell from the physical examination when she didn't know the patient as well as she was used to.

"Mind showing me your teeth? I wanna see those pearly whites and pink gums." She would be looking for any discoloration, whiteness, or inflammation that could spell certain distress in the mother. She smelled booze for sure, she made a mental note for whoever was helping deliver to keep an eye out for fetal alcohol syndrome. 

To have someone that specialised in babies would have to be some sort of relief for Sakana, who had found himself running midwife, not just for her, but for the Vikings too. That the little healer was even able to tell her approximately how many pups there were? Well, she certainly seemed to know what she was on about. Four was manageable, she'd been worried they wouldn't stop coming last year.

When the girl asked to see her teeth, it clicked to Modesty and she smirked, "Didn't get a close enough look on the top of that building?" But pulled her lips back anyway, ready to be poked and prodded a little more before the checkup was done.

"speech"

Morwenna froze at the Queen's remark for a moment, unsure if her patient was presenting her teeth for inspection or to bare them at her when she remembered their first encounter. She flicked her ears back and forth for a moment until it became obvious Modesty wasn't immediately snapping her head off.

The woman nervously chuckled as she went about her exam. "Heh, yep! You got me! I came with your wonderful daughter Deluge that day." Everything looked well enough in her teeth department, "Very menacing your majesty, and very well taken care of." She announced stepping back and looking over her herbs.

"Lets see, if you like you can start a tea with some raspberry leaf, chamomile, and this passion flower to ease the nerves and provide a smooth delivery since you're so close. Take no more than two cups a day, any more and the little squiggles may come a tad too early and might not be fully cooked! However, you may want to ease up a little on the heavy drink, That can affect them poorly before they've even made it out safely." She explained as she placed the collection of dried leaves before Modesty. 

"Any worries or questions? It's not like you haven't done this before at least!" The healer beamed, hopefully pushing aside their previous encounter smoothly with a swish of her long streaming tail and tilt of her head.

Her chuff of laughter escaped as a puff of air from her nose. It was easier, now Gil had returned to them. She'd eased up on drinking, it was never her go-to but the little healer was aware anyway. "We'd been through some turmoil, I couldn't be sure you weren't another Ethne pain in my ass come to stir up trouble." She offered instead of an apology, "And that girl... She needs all the looking after you can spare." It was offered softly, something like worry pinching around the corners of Modesty's eyes. While she was sure Dread was more than capable, well, Deluge needed friends too. Her ability to patch them up, was just an added bonus.

Tea was far more preferable, and nodded her thanks as she absorbed the directions, "Eviction in order to breathe sounds incredibly tempting," she teased, though she had every intention of following the healers orders. She'd already lost one child. She didn't plan on having the same happen again.

When it came to questions though, she couldn't come up with one related to the pups. "How are you finding it here?" She should take the opportunity to get to know a newer member while she had the chance... before she was drowning under her own children, and Jael's.

"speech"

"Ethne?" Morwenna looked concerned, "I have a friend who said she was joining them. That's all I know of them." Mel didn't seem the type to get mixed up in packs that caused trouble. Morwenna was far more at ease with people who took action to defend themselves and others. She wasn't keen on the raiding as much but as long as she wasn't involved in the raiding parties she wasn't going to put up that much of a fuss, well, as long as Deluge wasn't pregnant during one.

"I'm glad to have the opportunity to look after them both, actually." She smiled warmly and somewhat forlornly as the subject turned to Deluge and Dread. The pair held a special place in her heart.

She knew Modesty was teasing about evicting the children early but a coy glare from the wolfdog made it obvious she'd only let teasing go so far before there was a scolding.

The queen expressed interest in her of all things!
"Oh! I'm..." She looked askance for a moment, the chipper vain healer mask slipping for just a moment as she quickly thought through what was bothering her and whether it was worth bringing up. "I'm well. I'm used to traveling constantly, but it's nice to have a place I can dig into and start a good cache of healing supplies. Some regular patients and problems keep the mind busy." She shrugged. She didn't want to bother the queen of the pack with feeling lonely and bored. It seemed as soon as she joined, the pack moved, and Deluge and Dread barely stuck around before galavanting off again, and then as soon as they returned they were gone again. She was used to being alone, but she had thought... They'd want to get to know her a little better as well. Or was she just being needy and dramatic?

Modesty managed a snort when the girl mentioned a friend in Ethne, "Usually we're quite welcoming of friends, but unfortunately, I won't be able to extend the invitation to her if she's joined them. Their alpha is a fucking idiot that can't leave well enough alone. They maimed my daughter, twice and attacked my husband in a group. Kenway thought he was dead. What you do on your own time away from pack lands is little of my concern, but I have a long list of grievances with them, don't make me add them causing an injury to you to it. They are lawless and reckless, and cry to others when consequences bite them in the ass instead of accepting responsibility for their own actions." There was less bite in her words than she might offer to outsiders, a genuine care for the members of her pack warming her tone.

That the girl was used to travelling didn't come as a surprise, Sakana was quite similar and took to healing as an interest. "We certainly don't expect you to tie yourself to us, if your feet are itching, feel free to check in with Sakana, he has a map of where most herbs are found, and he has contacts in a few of the other packs. He might even appreciate some extra paws to send to market, Gods know if Kenway had two braincells to rub together he might be dangerous, and Jael won't be much up for travelling in the coming weeks." She wanted her wolves to do what gave them the most joy in life. While the warriors were encouraged to raid, to blow off their steam constructively, the healers and navigators were welcome to explore and wander. If more of them got out there, it might even do a little to polish up their tarnished reputation.

"speech"

Morwenna's face grew more and more concerned and aggrieved as she heard of the terrible things Modesty had experienced at the paws of Ethne. She stood and shook her pelt heavily to get rid of the prickly feeling itching through her fur. She was suddenly worried for her friend and wondered if Mel knew about these atrocities. Did she know Mel well enough though? Maybe Mel would even side with Ethne on these events... She'll give Ethne a wide berth for a while.

[b]"How awful, Modesty," Morwenna replied, looking up earnestly to the dire woman, "What a terrible experience you've all endured!"[/b] She sympathized, "Please if you ever need me, don't hesitate to call me. You can always bend my ear." She offered and placed her paw forward in sincerity.

She suddenly remembered a certain plan Deluge was making. If the Raiders were to be her clan, would there be these political lines drawn within it? She was a healer though, and her own inner compass disregarded political ties and acts of such self-preserving tactics. She would provide care to any who asked of it, no matter who they were, strangers, friends, and even enemies. Would extending her ear as an offering to Modesty betray Deluge? Well... The marble woman wasn't here, what else could she do?

She perked up her ears to the idea that she was free to wander as she would! "Oh! I might do that!" She replied, "I wouldn't want to be gone for a little while yet, not with newborns around." She squinted cutely at Mod's belly. She wondered if she'd ever have her own. Half the season had already passed, and her own heat was soon to pass with it. Though she had known of some females to fall pregnant outside of their seasons, a rare occurrence though.

[TW: Post natal depression, D-MER, vague mentions of suicidal ideation]

Modesty wasn't much of a one for airing her grievances openly, but she appreciated the offer none the less. Her nod in response was non-committal, but a nod none the less. At the mention of staying close while there were newborns around though, she did manage a sly grin, "Then should I be sure to call on you first for babysitting duty once they are out and full of teeth?" Children were a blessing, and a curse. She could only hope the darkness wouldn't swallow up the early days of these ones too.

Perhaps if the woman was familiar with, specialised in childbirth, she might have come across it before. "After my first litter, I struggled." The words were stilted, unsure if she should be saying them at all. "I didn't feel any joy in their presence, couldn't bring myself to leave the den, every time they fed I was filled with dread, I wanted it to end. The second I almost drowned birthing them and had an awful cough I couldn't shake for months, so it was hard to tell if the desire to die was related to them, or the fact I was actually dying." She wasn't looking at the wolf beside her, but rather somewhere out into the middle distance. "Have you ever heard of such a thing before?"

"speech"

Morwenna smiled knowingly as she read between the lines of the leader's agreeable nod. Her ear will be bent in this conversation, she already knew it would be coming.

She laughed with a chime at the mention of babysitting. "Oh hell no! Not when they're tiny dragons! Please! I've had my fill taking care of those monsters when I was too young myself! I'll take my own toddlers, thank you! But these guys should have more than enough aunts and uncles to step in, no?" Her patience was always severely tested around smaller children. She liked to play and teach older children and teens. She did not envy those toddling piranha years!

Ah yes, the conversation did eventually turn down a route Morwenna knew was coming since she offered. She settled in comfortably and listened attentively. Nodding and looking inquisitively at appropriate junctions.

The healer looked sympathetically at Modesty, not pity, not charity, but a knowing sympathy.

"Yes. I'm so sorry you've endured such curses. You're far from alone in experiencing that." She shifted her weight towards Modesty to lean on one hip and swoop her tail over her toes.

"I grew up in a pack with very open definitions of relationship policies. They wouldn't lift a goddamn finger when they saw an injustice and had an opportunity to help, but besides that, children and mothers and many lovers abounded among them. Two mothers experienced that strange bad feeling whenever they were nursing. They hated every second of it, one of them was certainly in more agony than the other. They didn't love their children any less, and since there was usually another mother or two available they were able to give her a break and let another mother nurse her kids when she needed it. It was probably what kept her alive." Hopefully, her experience was a comfort for Modesty.

"It's also unfortunately more normal to also have those feelings of not bonding with your children right away and almost hating them when they're in the newborn stage. It's okay, it just means you need the village to step in and help out more. It doesn't make you a terrible mother or evil, or anything like that. It's just sometimes the way it is, especially if you are feeling alone and needing more support than you're getting." She tilted her head to Mod, "Does that help some?" She asked sweetly.

A weight lifted from her shoulders that she didn't know she was carrying, with Jael seemingly due around the same time she was, it gave her some hope that they would get through these trials together. Hopefully, the other woman would be more predisposed towards newborns than she was. "It does help, thank you. My mother told me as a child that bringing new godlings into this world would bring me closer to divinity, but it's hard to believe that is the plan my ancestors laid out for me when it brings such misery with it." She sighed. "It is good to have you with us and I apologise, for back on the isle. I hope you won't hold it against me." Was she getting sentimental in her old age?

"speech"

Morwenna tilted her head, her gentle wisteria eyes soft and sympathetic. She could see the weight lift from Modesty as if the worries were crushing weights on her shoulders. The slight woman was glad she could assist in comforting the queen.

She didn't have any experience with such beliefs as divinity and godlings, so her expression shifted to soft confusion as to why such beliefs should even be placed on something as normal as motherhood. Motherhood was a sacred ritual all on its own, it needed no help from other divine entities to place more expectations on a time in a mother's life so fraught with unknowns and potential mishaps.

"I'm happy to be of service. I didn't get very many opportunities to be as useful out on my own. No hard feelings on my end. You were doing your job, I was a brainless bimbo looking for pretty flowers." She chuckled lightly at her self-aggrandizing joke.

"If you have any worries, even if these same worries crop up again, please don't hesitate to call me. Now, I have to go tell Deluge that I lost a race to Scald." Morwenna tittered in a playful tone, ready to find the woman, unless Modesty required further attention.