Three Kinds of Love - φιλία

Aliana had started to show signs of her pregnancy. Each day that passed, the small fae revealed her condition more and more. A noticeable swell had begun in her midsection, and though the morning sickness had begun to pass, the fatigue that followed was murder on her delicate form. Performing her daily chores had become more laborious, but still she did her part to keep the pack's shared estate clean, the plants, herbs, and gardens tended to, and worked on a number of poultices and salves in her down time. Her neglect to be fully prepared had gotten her into this situation in the first place, not to mention she'd allowed Dalila to be swept up into Chimera's lusts, and she swore up and down to the gods above and below that she would never be caught unprepared again.

Yet as the days passed and the children within her belly grew, Aliana became more and more worried when the affection she expected to feel for the little lives she was working on creating didn't manifest itself. Wasn't a mother supposed to love her children unconditionally? Why did she just feel... empty whenever she thought about them? Was she broken? Was she as bad as her own mother had been? All the nervous thoughts kept her anxious and awake at night, fearing what would happen once she gave birth to them. Would she still feel nothing? What sort of parent would she be then? And why, why didn't she feel anything?! Chimera had told her he loved her, and in that dizzying, confusing moment, Ali had never felt more than ever before in her short life. Why couldn't she feel something like she had in that moment all the time? Was it because she still felt overwhelming guilt for Dalila, or because she was terrified at the concept of herself being something as important as a mother? The poor girl had no clue.

Still brooding over these fears and thoughts, Ali finished mixing together a post-natal supplement of alfalfa, elderberry, and ginseng for Siren. The pregnancy and birth of the Klein children had been traumatic and taxing on the island's smallest lady, and she and Dalila did all they could to help hasten Siren's road to recovery. The mother and pups had been doing well, all things considered, and Ali intended to keep it that way. She didn't know if her fragile heart and psyche could take anymore failure and loss. Ali put the concoction into a small vial and carried it carefully down the corridors to Siren's and Dalila's chambers, quietly sliding the door open to peer inside and see if the little family was awake or taking an afternoon nap. "Lady Siren? May I enter?" she asked in soft tones through the gap in the door, maintaining the privacy of the queen and her children unless invited in.

"Aliana"