Birthsong
A lilting hum floated through the crystalline bedroom. Quicksilver smiled softly. **Time for bed, little bird.**
Obediently the humming stopped. Sunstream chuckled. “Does she ever sleep?”
“At least she stays up all night quietly,” Quicksilver crawled under the covers. “Imagine if she were more like Cheipar.”
Sunstream slipped his arm around her shoulders and snuggled closer to his lifemate. “I don’t know... Cheipar’s been acting so quietly lately, and he hasn’t sworn in days.”
“Maybe our little bird’s good example is wearing off on him.”
“At least this month,” Sunstream murmured, nuzzling her neck. “Mm... goodnight.”
“’Night, Malin,” she snuggled down against the pillow.
She had strange dreams in the night, dreams of flight over seas to frigid lands. When Quicksilver finally awoke the next day Sunstream had already risen. She yawned and stretched under the covers. It seemed unusually chilly inside the Palace. Perhaps the north wind was blowing again. The winter rains had finally ebbed in the Great Holt, but it was still a full three months until the floods receded, and a crisp nighttime wind was not uncommon. But the Wolfriders all slept until just after noon – the cool morning air should have burned away by now.
She reached for her black skirt and smoky-blue leather corset that she wore in the cooler winter months. The air stung her skin with such insistence that she dug out her cloth sleeves and laced them up at her shoulders.
She exited the bedroom and almost walked into the little sprite who appeared in front of her. Weatherbird giggled, bouncing on the balls of her bare feet. The four-year-old wore her faded purple cotton dress – which she was in danger of outgrowing – but she had wrapped a white rabbit skin cloak over her shoulders.
“Mama!” she crowed in her bird-like voice.
“Hello, little bird,” Quicksilver scooped her up in her arms. “And why are you dressed up so warmly today?”
“I’m a giant hawk, today,” Weatherbird announced.
Quicksilver smiled. “Well then, you should be flying overhead, shouldn’t you?” She lifted Weatherbird high above her, and Weatherbird obediently flapped her arms, giggling.
“But Rayek isn’t here to help me fly,” she said when Quicksilver hugged her close again.
“Well, we should go find him, then, shouldn’t we?”
“But he didn’t come with us,” Weatherbird said. “I think he stayed behind at the Holt.”
“Come with us...” Suddenly it dawned on Quicksilver why it was so chilly. “Where are we?”
“At Blue Mountain, Mama! I’m a giant hawk, see?”
Quicksilver set her daughter on the floor of the Palace. “Well, why don’t you be a wolf right now and let’s run and find your Papa, hmm?”
“He’s outside with the troll,” Weatherbird said helpfully.
“The troll?”
“Two-Edge. He’s the one who called us here.”
Quicksilver jogged through the Palace’s corridors, and Weatherbird followed, humming and yipping to herself in a complex melody. They passed through the Scroll Chamber and out the corridor to the main entrance. The door was open and the crystal passageway opened onto the rocks of Blue Mountain – or what remained of it. The landscape of broken stone fragments and rock-shaped platforms was coated in snow which had melted then re-frozen into slick dunes of ice. Sunstream was talking to Two-Edge and Aroree on one of the rock platforms a few paces from the Palace. She could not quite make out the Glider’s face, as she was partly hidden from view by Two-Edge, and partly by the large hood on her fur parka. It was in fact a warm day for winter in the Old Land, but Quicksilver shivered as she lingered on the threshold of the Palace. Her boots stood tucked away by the door, and she donned them. “You stay here, Weatherbird,” she counseled her daughter. “You’re the guard today.”
“All right, Mama,” Weatherbird chirped. “I’m a near-wolf,” she punctuated her announcement with a snap of the teeth. “I’ll guard the human hut.”
“Good girl.” Quicksilver bounded down to the rocks and jogged over to the rock plateau. “Two-Edge!” she called out. “Aroree! What’s–”
She drew up short as Aroree came into full view. Even the heavy parka could not disguise the large swelling of the Glider’s stomach. At Quicksilver’s stunned expression Aroree self-consciously placed a hand on her abdomen. Two-Edge turned to his lifemate, concern written on his face. Sunstream smiled at Quicksilver.
A quick flight back across the Vastdeep and the Palace was once against settled over the nest of caves that dotted the hill overlooking the Grandfather Tree. Rain met Two-Edge and Aroree inside the Palace and quickly took them aside to one of the empty rooms.
“Any pain?” Rain asked, his hands gently searching Aroree’s stomach for signs of the baby’s health. Two-Edge hovered at her side, his arms wrapped tightly about her shoulders.
“Constantly now,” Aroree sighed. Dark circles ringed her eyes. “Shooting pains down my legs when I stand–”
“Mm, your ankles are badly swollen, I see.”
“And a sharp stab now and then in my side. I press against it and it eventually goes away.”
“And the baby is moving?”
“Always kicking. It was mostly turning, rolling over before. But now just kicks.”
“Especially at night!” Two-Edge added.
“Well, that’s a very good sign.”
“I’m always hungry,” Aroree protested. “But I haven’t been able to keep any red meat down. Stews of wildfowl and mushrooms are all I can stomach. Some days I can hardly swallow water without being ill. I haven’t had the strength to hunt since late spring.”
“Mm, the child is settled quite low. Aroree, when was conception?”
She searched her mind for the right time. “About... a year and some months. The leaves were all golden in the forest. Golden, not red. I remember that well. But I started to grow this huge back in the summer. We wanted to wait until it was closer to the birth to come here – we – we enjoy the quiet so much.”
“But when the pains in her side started–” Two-Edge piped up.
“Mm,” Rain sat back.
“What does it mean?” Two-Edge asked.
“Two-Edge, you wouldn’t happen to know how long a troll baby takes to develop inside its mother?”
“Um... nine turns of the Greater Moon,” Two-Edge said. “I remember... Mother... she once sneered that I was always more troll than elf... I was born in less than a year.”
“That explains it well,” Rain said.
“What? What is happening, healer?” Two-Edge demanded. “Is my maiden in danger? Is my child?”
“Troll children grow much faster than elf children. Your body and your child are in disagreement, Aroree, and the child is winning the argument. That explains your lack of strength and your hunger – all your energy is feeding your child. But your child wants a troll diet, which explains why you cannot stomach many foods. Winnowill most likely had an easier time with Two-Edge because she was a healer, and could control her own body’s needs and wants better. I think plenty of rest and food with the sort of food trolls eat – mushrooms and worms and stewed meat, not roasted, will do you good. And fish. Now that you’re here I’ll see you eat a lot of fish. The New Land trolls eat mostly seafood and they’re much leaner than Old Land trolls.” He frowned and rubbed his chin. “But your weight gain worries me a little. I’m not experienced in troll infants, but from what I sensed of your child – the elf-troll mix in the blood – it is not yet ready to be born. Another few months are needed for a healthy birth weight. But I’m worried about you health, Aroree. Your blood is flowing somewhat sluggishly, and if the baby gets much larger it could prove a very difficult birth.”
“Should we have come sooner?” Two-Edge asked. “I knew we should have come here sooner!”
“Everything is fine right now,” Rain assured them both. “But I think we must consider inducing the birth a month or two ahead of schedule. Perhaps in another turn of Mother Moon. Your baby will survive with a slightly low birth weight, and Aroree would benefit from delivering as soon as possible.”
“Can you do that?” Aroree asked.
“Is it safe?” Two-Edge fretted.
“Perfectly safe. I’ve done it a number of times. Once when Moonshade’s daughter Crescent – she’s rejoined the spirits now, dear girl – was poorly positioned in her mother’s womb. And once with my great-grandson Kimo, when he refused to come out and greet the tribe. You did a very good thing coming here now. You have nothing to fear. I’d like to see you every day, Aroree, so I can listen to the babe’s heartbeat and be assured that all is well. And I want you to rest. Stay in the Palace or in the caves – no exploring the forest, and certainly no attempts at hunting. Float rather than stand – if you don’t put any weight on your legs that should ease the swelling and the pain. You may be weak as a pup when the babe is born, but–”
“But whatever helps the baby,” Aroree said. “Please, Rain, I’ll do anything to ensure he’s born safely.”
“Not if it endangers you, my sweet maiden,” Two-Edge implored, burying his face against her neck. “I won’t sacrifice my mate for a child.”
“If you take plenty of rest and rich food you won’t have to sacrifice either one,” Rain said matter-of-fact. “Now stop worrying,both of you. Two-Edge, you’ll be of no use to your mate if you are in knots with fear. And Aroree, your baby will sense your tension. You need to relax more. It will help your blood flow. Now, I will talk with Savin about finding a good diet for you – she is best-versed in the plants and animals of this land. And I will prepare a tea of herbs for you to drink. Best to make yourself a room in the Palace and relax. We’ll take care of you now.”
Sunstream and Quicksilver set the visitors up in a room in the Palace, but Two-Edge insisted on building his own cave in the hillside. He rejected all efforts by Ekuar or Aurek to shape him a den, and dug it himself with only a large pick.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Rain said. “Two-Edge was never at ease in the Palace when we all lived in the Frozen Mountains.”
“Aroree isn’t looking too good,” Skywise said. “Are you sure she’ll be all right, Grandfather?”
“Was it of Recognition?” Eyes High asked of Swift. “Do you know?”
“I don’t think so. Not the way Aroree speaks of it.”
“I never would have imagined it... Two-Edge and Aroree!” Dewshine exclaimed.
“I must say... it makes sense,” Tyldak said.
“So the troll got her with pup,” Skot remarked to Pike and Vaya. “Well, I guess that answers that. Gotta say, still can’t imagine them rutting–”
“Oh, shut up, Skot!” Vaya moaned.
Aroree obediently restricted herself to the Palaces and the caves, and drank seven cups of the pungent herbal tea Rain had prepared each day. A heavy stew of fish and capbell mushrooms put a glow back in her cheeks. But a darkness seemed to linger in her eyes as she drifted about the hillside, visiting with old friends and kin.
“You’re looking well,” Aurek said as he beckoned Aroree to sit on the fur-covered stone seat.
“I am feeling... less than well.”
“You’re a brave soul, Aroree.”
“I do not feel brave some days. Some days... I feel very... frightened.”
“I can only imagine that’s to be expected, so close to the birth of your first child.”
“I... I mediate on the Egg. Try to see the patterns of time and interconnectedness. It... it helps me.”
“That is good.”
Aroree forced a smile. “But enough about me. What of you? How do you find the Great Holt? Have you mastered the Scroll yet?”
“Hardly. I think Sunstream’s little daughter has a better understanding of it than I. But I am learning. And I am already at work on a new Egg.”
“Another one?”
“Why not? After all, yours was my second attempt. I think I may even make some improvements on this third one.”
“And Vaya?”
He chuckled softly. “Who have you been talking to?”
“A few familiar faces.”
“Vaya... is a most intriguing creature.” A tender smile graced his face. A moment later he heard a commotion outside the door to his cave, a familiar voice raging. “However... I must admit... I had not anticipated the... unique difficulty inherent in this relationship.”
“What is that?”
“Dealing with her other lovemates.”
Just then Skot charged down the sloping corridor into Aurek’s room. He hustled a young boy, about eight or nine years old, ahead of him. “You! Rockshaper!”
Aurek sighed wearily. “Yes, Skot?”
“What did you do to my boy?” Skot gave Cheipar a little nudge forward. “Cheipar – say something!”
The boy looked up at his father. “Why?”
“Just, say something. Anything.”
Cheipar blinked. “What?”
“Anything! Say – say hello to Aurek.”
Cheipar shrugged and gave Aurek a clipped nod. “H’llo,” he mumbled.
“Hello, Cheipar.” Aurek looked up at Skot. “He seems fine.”
“Fine? Fine? He’s... dumb as a post! You’d have better luck talking to a tree! Where’s the little monster who’d never shut his hole? He’s better barely said eight words today! And whenever he does talk, it’s always ‘why?’ Why, why, why!”
“Cheipar? Do you have anything you’d like to say?”
Cheipar shrugged and shook his head.
“He doesn’t have anything to say,” Aurek ruled.
“You. Mush-brained Glider. He’ll be speaking in riddles next. You stay away from my fawn, you hear. And if I catch you teaching him how to float–”
Cheipar’s eyes lit up. “Can you?”
Aurek chuckled softly. Skot clenched his fists and raged silently.
They heard a shuffling sound in the entryway. Two-Edge hurried into the room. “Maiden!” he exclaimed. “You should be resting!”
“I’m all right, Two-Edge–”
“No! You need to be in bed. You shouldn’t be flying about. Aurek can visit you. But you need to lie down.”
Aroree reluctantly got up from the bench and joined Two-Edge. Skot regarded Two-Edge warily. Cheipar stared at the half-troll with huge eyes, unconsciously leaning back against his father for protection. Two-Edge gave Aurek, Skot and Cheipar a perfunctory nod of the head. Cheipar shivered slightly.
Aroree dutifully remained in the Palace over the next few days while her lifemate continued his work in their cave. Two-Edge had carved out the main room of the new den, and was hard at work hewing a recess in the wall for a bed when he heard a little chirping sound behind him. He turned and saw Weatherbird standing in the doorway, watching him.
“You’re Sunstream’s child,” Two-Edge said, a little too bluntly. He was still so uncertain around children. Cheipar’s reaction to the massive half-troll had not gone unnoticed. He thought of his own unborn child and worried fleetingly how he would ever be a good enough father. But Weatherbird only nodded and smiled as she surveyed the cave.
“Why don't you have a rockshaper help you?” she asked finally. “Aurek or Ekuar could hollow this out for you in no time.”
“I... I want to do it myself. No rockshaper can match the work of a troll who sets his heart to it.”
“Why?”
“To... to show my maiden...” his voice trailed off.
“Show her how much you love her.”
He started. How could a four-year-old be so perceptive? “Yes.”
Weatherbird giggled. “But she already knows you love her. Liar. You can’t fool me – you just like to dig. I like to dig too. I was a badger once, you know. I dug a big den in the ground.”
Two-Edge found his own smile returning. “Really, little maiden?”
“Not a real badger, of course. I’m not a shaper. Just a pretend one.”
“Of course,” Two-Edge nodded, feeling that perhaps children weren’t such frightening creatures after all. “Perhaps, little maiden, I can teach you how to be a troll.”
“All right,” Weatherbird exclaimed, and she rushed to his side to observe his chisel strokes.
Despite her careful regime under Rain’s care, Aroree continued to grow larger, until her once-slender calves were dangerously swollen and her face once again lost its pink glow. Yet a restlessness grew as well, and she often strayed from the den Two-Edge had built for them.
One evening Skywise was studying the Scroll of Colors when Aroree sought him out. Her gaze was frantic, like a cornered animal’s. “I can’t take it in here much longer, my little friend. I feel... caged. Take me somewhere... open. Somewhere where I do not feel hemmed in by stone and crystal. Somewhere where I can see the sky clearly.”
“I don’t think Two-Edge–”
“Two-Edge is out foraging for mushrooms and roots for my stew. Please, Skywise!”
He didn’t like the look in her eyes. She seemed ready to bolt, and he knew well the caution Rain had given them all to keep her calm. “All right. Let’s go up for the some fresh air.”
They climbed the stairs – Skywise walking, Aroree floating – up to the top turret of the Palace. Like the rest of the Palace, it was disguised to resemble the hilltop, and beyond the little doorway, the turret was all moss, grass and stone.
The sun was just setting and the sky was already a vivid crimson and orange. They could see the canopy of the rainforest stretching out all around them, and beyond the deep blue sea which ate up the sun. The brightest stars were just beginning to shine alongside the moons.
“It’s so peaceful here,” Aroree breathed.
Skywise rubbed her shoulder gently. “Want to tell me what’s biting you?”
“Oh, my little friend... I feel so alone.”
“Alone? Here in the Great Holt? With that little ankle-biter kicking at your stomach whenever you move?”
Aroree squeezed her eyes tightly closed and tears welled between her lashes. “Hey, Aroree, come on,” Skywise said. “What is it? Are you in pain? We can take you to Grandfather and he’ll put a stop to it right away.”
“No... Skywise. Not pain. At least... not the kind of pain a healer could mend.”
“The kind of pain a good friend can?”
A desperate light seized her eyes. “Perhaps you can help me. You fathered two daughters. You know something of childbearing. Tell me, am I going mad?”
“Mad?”
“I am consumed with fear – I have been since the summer when I began to grow so large. I feel the baby kicking and I certain it is in pain too. Whenever I am ill I fear I could die. I am terrified of having this child, more terrified of having to rear it. What do I know of babies? I doubt I will even know how to nurse it. I always imagined, should ever I bear a child I would love it from the moment it sprang to life inside me. But I fear it. Some days I.... I hate it. Oh, I could never tell Two-Edge. He has known nothing but joy since I told him I was with child. Do you know, Skywise, the day I told him, he wept... forever it seemed – so happy to have his greatest dream realized. And I will do all I can to give him this child. But what I thought was my greatest dream too is becoming my nightmare. Am I unnatural? Tell me about your mates, their times bearing your children. Can you give me any comfort?”
Skywise rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. “Well, for one I wouldn’t call Mardu my mate around Savin. But... let’s see. Mardu... she had already borne so many children... six babies that survived their first winters and three that weren’t so lucky – before she had Yun. It was a familiar habit to her. And me... well, I didn’t even know she was with cub until she had almost finished her first year. That’s the way Go-Backs are, you know. And I didn’t know for certain that I was the father until she came to the Palace with the baby in her arms.” He smiled at the memory. “I was high in the Scroll Room – this was in the time when the Palace was dead stone, not living, and we could not shape it to our will as we can now. But I heard that she was coming and I ran down the stairs – I met her just inside the great doors. And she was holding this little baby all wrapped up in a snug fur. This little elf-child with a wisp of white hair on her head and huge gray eyes.” He laughed. “My newborn daughter, and Mardu up on her feet and barely even out of breath!”
He considered it further. “With Savin it was different. With Yun, my work didn’t start until she was born. With Quicksilver I think I was more nervous that Savin! Always fretting about her health, wondering how I’d ever take care of both a lifemate and a cub – and me with another cub barely three years older. But Savin – it was her first – only – child, but it might as well have been her eighth. She’s...” he chuckled. “No-nonsense is putting it mildly. So is saying she’s ‘self-reliant.’ She made it quite clear from the get-go that she wasn’t going to change her way of doing things just because she was Recognized and with cub. She might be fat as a whale and sick as a foaming white-stripe, but she wouldn’t let it stop her. Some days... she was nervous... even – if she’ll forgive me – a little terrified. But she always just squared her shoulders and got through it. It’s scary, no doubt about it. But you muck through it, and before you know it, it’s the easiest thing in the world. You know.... you might want to go talk to Sunstream and Quicksilver. By the end of her two years ‘Silver had a crying fit every other day or two.” He frowned slightly. “Never came to me, though. Always went to her mother.”
Aroree giggled softly.
“Look, Aroree, you’re not going mad. You’re not unnatural. Trust me, if I had a little ankle-biter in there drumming away like a woodpecker in my gut, I’d hate it too!”
“Shh. Skywise, please–”
“Of course you don’t hate your cub, Aroree! You hate being fattened up with cub. There’s a big difference. You can’t possibly like it all the time... unless you’re Nightfall. I don’t think she ever wanted Spar to pop out.”
“Skywise...”
“I’m just telling you, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. And hey, why are you telling me this, huh? Where’s Two-Edge? Isn’t that what we lads are for, to be shoulders to cry on and pretend not to be terrified by our lifemates’ wild mood swings and freakish appetites!”
“He frets over everything. I don’t want to worry him.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You’re breaking the rules, you know. You lifebearers don’t get to own every part of the whole birthsong. Not the good parts, and not the miserable parts either. You have to let your mates in there somewhere. Otherwise you might as well be back in Sorrow’s End in the old days when Shenshen didn’t even let the lads show up at the birth!”
“But... what if he is hurt? Because I am not as... overjoyed as I ought to be.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that. In fact, he might just be relieved to know he’s not the only one scared witless.” Skywise rose. “Now come on, let’s get you back to your room. I know you must feel like a caged wolf. But it’s for the best, really. You’ll be flying free again in no time – maybe with a little floater-baby in tow, hmm?”
“I don’t think the baby can float. It’s certainly not floating now. Just... squirming, unhhh...”
Skywise helped Aroree rise and supported her as she floated lightly above the moss-covered stone. “It’s nothing,” Aroree murmured. “Just... unh... another shooting pain in my hip. But it’s gone now – it’s – ahhhh!”
She doubled over in pain, and Skywise caught her a moment before she would have hit the stone. **Rain!** he sent. **Two-Edge! Aroree needs help.**
Two-Edge had caught up with them by the time Skywise carried the semi-conscious Glider back to her cave-den. Her face was drained of all colour and her skin was cold and clammy to the touch. Rain took one look at Aroree and his face grew solemn. “I was afraid of this. The pressure of the blood pumping through her body has dropped rapidly.” He laid his hands on her full abdomen and scowled. “This baby needs to come out now.”
“It’s too soon,” Two-Edge snapped. “You said a month! A month! We’ve only been here two eights-of-days!”
“The child is strong. It will survive outside its mother. But Aroree will not survive with the child inside of her!”
The half-troll’s eyes widened. He clutched Rain’s hand desperately. “Whatever it takes. But save my maiden!”
“I’ll save both mother and child, Two-Edge.”
“What can I do?” Skywise asked nervously. “Can I help?”
“Go find your lifemate,” Rain said. “Tell her I need a pot of hot herbal water brought here. She’ll know what I mean.”
“Right. Hot herbal water.” Skywise got to her feet and raced out of the cave.
“Aroree,” Rain urged gently. “Aroree, I know you want to sleep. But I need you awake. It’s time for your child to be born. Two-Edge – help her sit up.”
Two-Edge moved behind his lifemate and propped her up on the fur bed. Aroree moaned softly as she regained consciousness.
“What’s happening?”
“The baby is lying poorly. And your blood is too sluggish. I’m going to induce your labour. It should move very quickly, but I need you to stay awake.”
“So cold...”
“I know. You’ll feel better soon. I need you to be brave.”
Aroree clutched Two-Edge’s arm tightly. **I’m sorry...**
**Sorry? What for? You have nothing to be sorry for!**
“I should have taken better care of myself...” she whispered. “This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not!” Rain rebuked her. “Now I need you to concentrate, Aroree.”
Aroree turned to meet Two-Edge’s gaze. **I should have let you in more. Shared... my fears... my pain. Oh, lifemate, I’ve been so afraid–**
**I know.**
Her eyes widened. **You do?**
**You’re my mate, Aroree. Of course I know.**
**But... you never said anything–**
**Because you didn’t want me to know. And you felt better thinking I didn’t.**
Aroree smiled wanly. “You know me too well, lifemate.”
Her pains steadily increased, no longer the sharp stabs lacing down her legs, but the hard drum of contractions. Rain helped her into position, one hand always on top of her swollen stomach to sense the placement of the child. At length Savin rushed into the hut, bearing an iron pot of steaming water. The Islander sat down at Aroree’s side, and mopped her forehead with a damp cloth.
“This is an old pirate recipe,” she said. “Eases the tensions for mother and child. My mother swore by it with me, and I’d never had survive Quicksilver without it. Do you need anything more, Rain?”
“No, I think I have all I need, Savin. Too much fussing is as bad as too little.”
“Now’s there truth if I ever heard it. All right. I’ll be outside. Send if you need anything.”
“Two-Edge,” Rain handed him the damp cloth. “Keep Aroree’s forehead warmed with this. She’s too cold.”
Her pains grew sharper, but Rain’s worried expression told the expectant parents that the birth was still taking too long. Aroree continued to drift in and out of consciousness until at last Rain told her it was time to bear down. But she was too weak to muster any great effort. “Push!” Rain commanded, more sharply. Aroree grit her teeth and bore down. But still the birth was not advancing. At length Rain felt the position of the baby again and cursed under his breath.
“What is it?” Two-Edge asked.
“The baby’s stuck.”
“What?” Aroree gasped.
“All right. We need this resolved now. Two-Edge, I need you to lift Aroree a little higher. Straight-backed. Aroree, listen to me. Are you listening?”
Aroree moaned softly and nodded. Her lips were bloodless.
“I’m going to give you the extra strength you need, and I’m going to nudge the baby free. It’s going to be swift. And it’s going to be painful. When I tell you, I need all your strength.”
She nodded.
Rain closed his eyes and splayed his fingers across her bared abdomen. Aroree flinched as she felt a sharp jolt of pain forcing her muscles to contract. Another burst of pain and she swooned, but Two-Edge continued to hold her up.
“All right, the baby’s moving. Aroree... when I say... now!”
Aroree bore down, biting her lip until it bled. Waves of pain overwhelmed her as Rain’s healing magic wrung the extra strength from her weakened frame. Every nerve in her body seemed on fire, and she cried out as loudly as she could. She felt as though she might shatter from the inside out. The baby was going to kill her just as she had always feared.
Suddenly the pain eased, and as it retreated it drew away the last of her strength. She sagged back against Two-Edge, moaning, “No more... please...”
“No need!” Rain cried out in triumph. “You have a son, Aroree.”
Aroree looked down at the child now cradled in Rain’s hands. A fat little boy with a troll’s strong limbs and a full head of white hair.
“A son...” Two-Edge whispered, dazed. Tears rose in his eyes.
Rain covered the baby with a soft blanket and rubbed his limbs briskly. At length the baby summoned a mewling cry. Aroree held out her hands, but Rain continued to dry and massage the newborn until his cry grew stronger. At length Rain passed the child to the exhausted mother.
“He’s... so big,” she murmured. The child’s eyes were closed, tipped with white lashes. His red face was screwed up as he cried heartily, but Aroree could clearly make out the strong nose and cheekbones of his troll heritage. “How can he be so young and be so big?”
“Perfectly normal for a troll-baby, I would imagine, even though he's only a quarter-troll.” Rain felt her cheek and smiled at the renewed warmth flooding her skin. “And you’re looking a little closer to normal as well.”
He reached for the boiled leather cord with which to tie off the birth-cord, but Two-Edge seized his hand.
“Thank you, healer,” Two-Edge whispered.
Rain smiled. “All in a day’s work, Two-Edge.”
The entire tribe of the Great Holt had assembled outside the caves to greet the new tribemate, as was custom. Whispers ran though the crowd – what did the new baby look like? Was Aroree truly out of danger? Would Two-Edge and Aroree stay in the Great Holt or return to Blue Mountain?
“I hope they stay,” Weatherbird whispered to Cheipar.
Cheipar nodded.
“It's just not fair... Teir and Ember are always away with Halycon - we need some agemates to play with.”
Cheipar simply nodded again.
It was just past sunrise when the new family finally emerged, Two-Edge holding a little bundle in his arms, Aroree walking unsteadily, Rain and Savin supporting her as she picked her way down the moss-covered steps. Two-Edge sat down on a large rock, and Aroree joined him.
Two-Edge looked up at all the expectant faces. “This... um... this is my son. Our son,” he corrected swiftly. “This is our son.”
“As I see is a blanket,” Skywise teased. “Come on, Two-Edge, let us have a peek.”
Two-Edge eased his tight grip on the bundle and drew back the corner of the cloth wrap slightly. The baby was now fast asleep, and the angry red shade had faded from his face. The eager elves glimpsed wide-spaced eyes, a round jaw and a down-tipped nose. Sharply pointed ears rose from among the thatch of white hair.
“His... his name is Brightmetal,” Two-Edge said, his gaze once again imprisoned by the newborn.
Swift grinned. “The most precious substance a troll can forge. Well-named indeed.”
“The greatest treasure...” Two-Edge murmured, then became aware of all the eyes on him – the many smirking faces. Somewhat bashfully, he stammered, “We... we’re going to stay here for a while. Maybe until summer. It’s too cold at Blue Mountain for a newborn, and... and Aroree needs a lot of rest.”
“You’re all welcome to stay as long as you wish,” Swift said.
“Blue Mountain is our home,” Aroree said. “But it will be nice to escape the white-cold.”
“And rest,” Rain cautioned. “You’re still very weak, Aroree. I want you in bed now. A good meal and a long sleep and you’ll be much better prepared to care for your baby.”
Aroree sighed wearily. “Yes, you’re right. Two-Edge... will you come with me?”
“Of course.” Two-Edge got up, clutching Brightmetal to his chest tightly. At the longing faces of the elves who had hoped for a better view, Two-Edge said, “It’s too cold for Brightmetal out here... he’s too little to be out for long.”
“Little?” Quicksilver whispered to Sunstream. “Weatherbird was nearly a year old before she was that big.”
“Well, I don’t think Weatherbird is a fair comparison,” he whispered back. “You practically sneezed her out.”
“We’ll be out tonight,” Aroree said apologetically. “But Rain’s right... we... we need a little rest now.”
“A long rest,” Rain corrected. “They’re be plenty of time for visiting later.”
**Feeling better?**
Aroree turned at the sending, and locked eyes with Skywise.
**You were right, of course, little friend. About Two-Edge.**
**And the cub? Still afraid of him?**
Aroree glanced down at her son fast asleep in Two-Edge’s arms. **A little.**
Skywise laughed in her mind. **Give it a month or two. You’ll muck through, all right.**
Aroree smiled. Her eyes lingered on her lifemate and child as Rain helped escort her back into the cave, the deliberate care in Two-Edge’s steps, the way his lovestruck eyes never left his son’s face. And she decided that Skywise was right, and that everything would work out just fine.
Elfquest copyright 2014 Warp Graphics, Inc. Elfquest, its logos, characters, situations, all related indicia, and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks of Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved. Some dialogue taken from Elfquest comics. All such dialogue copyright 2014 Warp Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved. Alternaverse characters and insanity copyright 2014 Jane Senese and Erin Roberts