The Art of New Life [Birthing Lesson!]

First to arrive was his sister. Justice was her usual snarky self, but he had to wonder how much of it was genuine. His gradated eyes gazed deep into hers as she greeted him, black painted brow points lifting slightly. “Come now, they’re our cousins. Family needs to stick together, and these particular ‘rugrats’ are very, very bright. And quite the sight to behold.” He winked at this last hint.

His tone was light, even playful, but the words within his response were a warning and a plea to stop distancing herself from him and her other siblings. Exodus had returned from his grieving. The three of them were all they had left here, as far as siblings went.

His gaze released her as Domari arrived, and he returned the easy good humor with a smile, answering, “Birthing. I think Solveiga has Aramis out on a healing lesson of their own, and she knows and has experienced birthing herself, so we’ll carry on without them—oh! Hello, Aurielle.”

His tone warmed greatly as the young Future came racing up, a grin parting his jaws as the girl checked her stride to a more dignified trot and approached. Her query was met with a nod. She was young, but ever curious, and eager to learn anything she could. It was an advanced topic, or at least, parts of it were, but he figured she wasn’t squeamish and would be fine. “Of course.”

He drew a breath to fully introduce the shimmering pale girl to his sister, but the arrival of Etain brought a raised brow. She couldn’t have attended the lesson Solveiga had held, but now she was making an appearance? His gaze lifted to search the path behind her for Kalliope, but the blind healer wasn’t in tow, though he could smell the woman on the girl’s coat. There was illness in there as well. Something to check in on.

He waited for several heartbeats before clearing his throat and announcing, “Well, since we’re all gathered, I suppose you should all know what we’re going to be covering today. Today, we’ll be covering birthing. Starting with the basics, and on to advanced information, such as what to do when things go wrong, and how to diagnose a miscarriage. I’ve set up our learning space inside, so, if you’ll follow me.”

He rose to his paws and led the way through the ravine, keeping a pace that the young limbs of Aurielle and the hopping, three-legged gait of Etain could keep up with and led the winding way down the corridor to the cave he’d set things up in, hopping up onto the sunbathed boulder to sit behind the line-up of herbs, implements and hides he’d arrayed for the lesson.

He waited for them to gather around before he smiled warmly at them and began the lesson.

“Birthing is a beautiful moment. But it can be dangerous, as well. Things can go wrong, pregnancies can be lost. The most important thing for any healer or midwife to know is when do we step in to help, and when should we let the mother do her task on her own. What do we watch for, smell for, listen for, and feel for? What are the first steps to take in assessing a mother? What do we give her for the pain that won’t harm her or the new pups? These are answers I hope to give you today.”

His eyes swept the three older wolves in the group before he asked lightly, “What do you say are the first real signs of labor in a wolf?” A test, right off the bat, to make the lesson interactive. He knew his young cousin was listening intently, and he gave an encouraging nod toward the girl, silently signaling to her that it was okay to voice her own guesses, too.