In The Darkness, I Found The Light

Aliana had become a husk of herself in the days that followed her miscarriage. All throughout her pregnancy, she'd struggled to come to terms with the way the puppies had been conceived and finding the motherly love for them she thought she should have right away. It turned out all she needed was to lose them forever to find out she'd loved them all along. The ash and snow fae's heart was broken into a million pieces. She did nothing with her days anymore; she didn't tend to her gardens or mix medicines and concoctions in her study, she barely ate and didn't speak to anyone. At night she laid awake and stared at the walls that seemed to close in on her from all sides. Had she any tears left, Ali would be crying nonstop.

It was during one of these dark, silent nights that Dalila's call for help pierced the quiet like an alarm. Aliana didn't move beyond a flick of her ears. She stared blankly at the walls, knowing Chimera would go sprinting to her and that Siren would respond in turn. Her brain just refused to cooperate. She wanted to lie here until the darkness consumed her entirely. It was what she deserved for being so totally and utterly useless. But this wasn't about her. This was about Dalila—her friend. She was about to go through the pain she, Siren, and Viper had endured. Dalila had been there for her, and she was only pregnant by Aliana's fuck up, so the least she could do was help her through it. Afterwards she could return to fading away, but right now, Dalila needed her.

Rising slowly to her paws, Ali slid her aching body off the bed to the wood floor and walked down the corridor in the opposite direction to her study, slipping into the dark room to grab a small vial containing a clear liquid of trillium, alfalfa, and meadowsweet extracts—her own personal mix carefully measured to be a one use medicine during childbirth. She'd been intending to use it on herself, but... well, she had no use for it now. Dalila would benefit from her work though. The small paw also grabbed a beeswax candle and the flint and steel from her desk, then headed to the opposite wing to find Siren already tending to Dalila. Ali didn't say a word as she slipped in almost silently, setting the candle down and striking the flint to spark the wick. All at once, a dim orange glow illuminated the room, allowing both healers to work.

Moving up toward Dalila, Ali pulled the cork stopper from the end of the vial and passed it to the mottled woman with the simple, impassive direction of, "Drink this." With the medicine passed off, Ali placed a paw to Dalila's forehead to test her fever, then moved about the room, gathering up the swaths of linens and setting up near the end of the bed to prepare to receive the pups as they were birthed. Her usually bright aquamarine eyes were dim and foggy as she worked, moving almost on autopilot and quashing her emotions down while she did what she had to. She just prayed that Dalila's birth went infinitely better than her own had.

"Aliana"