Break my heart

Throughout her pregnancy, things had started out fairly uneventful. She was nauseous pretty often and was just very tired over all, but there was nothing that she couldn't bear. The dream of having their family so vastly out weighed any negative symptoms and she was willing to put up with any and all of it. Eventually those things began to fade as her stomach began to swell, the days slipping past faster than she could have imagined. It wasn't until several weeks into her pregnancy, not quite to the half way point, that she started to feel not quite right. She couldn't even explain why, it just felt... off. Occasionally she would feel some cramps or contractions, but they never lasted more than a few moments and seemed kind of sporadic. She generally just chalked it up to her running around the territory too much or pushing herself too hard in some way. She didn't think much of it and just tried to rest more, refusing to think that anything could be wrong. She kept any little worries she might of had to herself, not wanting to worry Iroh, and convincing herself that she was just being overly cautious or the new surges of hormones were throwing her for a loop.

One day she got up as normal, but some time after she saw Iroh off to go do his patrols she started feeling off again, a weird, crawling feeling settling over her skin. Her ears flicked and she decided to stick close to their den that day instead of going out on her usual explorations. Elise shifted uneasily for a while, trying to shake it off, pacing around the den occasionally. She finally forced herself to lay down, hoping maybe just making herself take a nap would calm her nerves. She had Sarabi help her make some tea, the drink calming and comforting while Iroh tended to his duties around the pack. While she rested she started feeling an occasional contraction here and there which seemed strange since she couldn't even blame it on her being too active this time, but they were light and she could ignore them pretty easily. Eventually she did coax herself into sleep, quietly hoping that Iroh would be back soon. She thought about calling him back just so she wouldn't be alone, but she didn't want to disrupt his day and worry him for no reason.

A sharp pain and a stronger contraction pulled her from her sleep almost an hour later, making her gasp as her eyes flew open. She laid there for a moment, trying to decide if she had imagined it or if it were real, but after a few breaths that same pain came again and that heavy dread returned, except now she was a reason. She grit her teeth through the pain, whining softly with her mismatched ears falling back against her head. No, no, no, no... she thought to herself as tears began to collect in her eyes. It was her nightmare, her nightmare come to life. Giving a quick glance around the den, she saw that she was alone. Sarabi must have gone out to do something so not even Iroh's companion was with her. She took a shaky breath as the contraction passed again and she used it to try and howl for Iroh, the sorrowful sound cut short as the pain gripped her again, feeling a devastating wetness between her legs that she wouldn't dare look at. She covered her face with her paws as a terrified sob caught in her chest, too lost in her own horror to even think about what she should do.

Elise Adravendi