On the cusp of Dawn she wandered. The tropical birds singing whatever song was meant for the day and Carina strolled the sandy beach of the Lagoon without care. The salty sting of the air was not quite to her liking somedays but the breeze felt nice, even if it was changing to be a bit colder due to the mother changing slowly into winter. The palm tree leaves were beginning to look a lot stiffer and a lot less lively and the skin of its base a little less healthy but it remained strong in its place. Fortified against the change, just as the Lagoon was. Carina chuffed, hoping to gain the attention of @Tiamat should she be nearby though it was still rather early so it was hard to say.

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Her stomach had rounded somewhat since her time with Caelum and the Lagoon queen was well aware of her pregnancy. Though having never had children before, despite being seven years old already, she was in-tune enough with her body that she could recognize the signs and feelings for what they were. If she were to estimate, she was halfway through the pregnancy. In another month she would be welcoming her heirs into this world. Her biggest hope was that at least one of them would be a girl, capable of carrying on the family name and the warrior bloodline. Not all of them would make it, she was sure. That was often the way of things in her family.

The sun was rising in the sky, just cresting the horizon. It was growing cooler now. Her children would be born just as winter began. A difficult time for cubs, but with the medics in the Lagoon she was certain that they would be well cared for, even if the Lagoon could be a bit colder than other prides.

A soft chuff reached her ears and she was pulled from her thoughts. She had been sitting beside her den, having awoken with the morning, and had been resting in the cool air for a moment before taking stock of things that needed doing before the day began. She recognized the voice as that of Carina and did not hesitate as she lifted herself up and trotted towards the sound, ears pricked and wondering what her very young lead medic could want at such an hour.

She smiled at the girl - she had grown so much since their first meeting in the passage - as she approached her. "Good morning @Carina," she greeting the girl, settling down in the sand near her once she had arrived.

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Through every interaction that she had had since arriving in Amaryllis, she was most thankful and most attached to Tiamat. Should anything happen to her, she was not sure what she would do. Nobody else had given a single shit about her after arriving and so it was the Scillan High Sovereign that would receive every benefit that Carina had to offer. Which was why when she learned of @Tiamat's pregnancy she did not spare a single second and set to collecting as many things as she could.

Most specifically, she had had gathered gnetum from a nearby bush. Snapping it off quickly, but efficiently, as she heard her friend call back to her. Sometimes they were tricky things to get off the bush but she managed to snap it just enough that it would still be useful. Situating it safely within her mouth before trailing towards the only friend she truly had. Tia, good morning. She said through a mouthful of the herb until she eventually came a few feet away and inspected the slightly rounder version of the lioness. I brought gnetum. It help with pain you have and when time come, eases birth of child. She grins, knowing that her fast growing knowledge of healing was finally going to come in handy for her pride. You chew leaf and swallow. That was, if she was having pains.

+10 - Collect herbs (1/2)
+10 - Tend to an expecting mother and give her support (1/2)
+20 - Discuss pride, group, or family relations with another character

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The girl had learned so much in her time in Amaryllis. No doubt Tinuviel had helped with her excellent knowledge of healing. Tiamat felt lucky to have both of the women, as well as Calypso, within the pride. But she valued @Carina more. Perhaps because she had a particular attachement to the girl, whom she had fought Violarum for in a claim. Carina was resilient and tough, with a quick mind. Tiamat was glad to consider her a friend. Perhaps even as close as family in this land.

"You spoil me," she said with a chuckle, but her smile showed her thanks as well as her pride in all that the young girl had learned. "You will be there when they are born?" she questioned, though she was certain she already knew the answer. If she was going to have anyone present, she wanted Carina there. Caelum might be the father, but it was unlikely he would be heavily involved in the upbringing of the cubs. He did not seem like the type.

She glanced towards her stomach, thoughtful. How many would there be? She had known litters of as many as six at home, but she thought it unlikely that her first would be so large. Her stomach was not swelling enough yet to indicate a large litter. All for the best, really. She only needed one heir, though any that would carry on her name would be a blessing.

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There was literally no where and no one that she would rather be or be with than @Tiamat. Call it a sick dependence situation that Carina would drop everything she was doing to make sure that her friend was safe and satisfied. Anyzhing for you. She admits without fear of sounding terrible and co-dependent because if anything, she was an independent mind that was simply dedicated to the one friend she truly, down to her core, knew she had regardless of what happened in the future. I will be here for as long as you want and need me. The girl had no intention of going anywhere that her best friend wasn't going, too.

If need more gnetum, I can go get. She paused. Zay the word, I go. Gnetum was very easy to locate and collect so she would have no issue getting a few more leaves of it. There were also several herbs that she would likely have to end up grabbing one the birth was a little closer to the date but for now, they would stick with the basics. Last thing they needed was for a plant to be eaten before its intended use. Must rest lots. she tried to instruct the woman not knowing if she was familiar with birth personally (carina wasn't, but as a medic she knew what kind of strain could be put on a body through the simplest of things). You are sil'nyy. Ample time to pause. Strong. She instructs her best friend, knowing that she could produce capable children, even if the father wasn't in the picture.


I meant to zay... I heal lion from Bluffs other day. Though, now that she was thinking about it -- they had never actually exchanged names. I do not know name but dark in color wiv dark blood eyes. If Tiamat knew plenty of the Dieudonne, it would be quite the obvious pick out of a crowd who it was that she had helped. Zhey are allies, da?

+10 - tend to an expecting mother and give her support (2/2)
+20 - discuss pride, group, or family relations with another character (1/2)

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Tiamat's eyes softened at the girl's declarations. "Oh @Carina," she said softly. "I will always want you around." And it was true. She loved the girl, perhaps in a way that would be closer to family than friendship. It had been a joy to watch her grow in her skill as well as in her adaptation to a foreign land. "As long as you are happy," she offered - because she would never restrict Carina to staying with her if she wanted to go elsewhere and learn or experience new things. "Then I will be happy for you."

She chuckled at Carina's eagerness to help. "I think this will be enough," she gestured to what Carina had. "But if I need more, I will tell you." Warriors of her clan were not known for easing the pain of birth. It was considered a weakness, and she was likely to do the same. "Carina, I must tell you, my clan is known for stillbirths," she warned the girl with a little more sternness in her voice and gaze. "Not like....Tinuviel's," she continued, her voice breaking a little with the sadness that still brought her. "But there may be one or two that do not survive."

She wouldn't tell the girl why that might be. That would be a private ritual.

At least she could warn the girl before it happened. And she was certain that it would happen, as not all of them would be strong enough to carry the warrior bloodline. "I will rest when I need to," she assured the girl with a chuckle, moving on from the darker topic. That was basically her way of saying she would rest if she felt that her body needed it and not a moment before. She was a warrior queen and she would act like one until the day her children were born. Once they were nestled against her side she could settle in and rest for a short time before beginning to raise them.

Her ears pricked forward as Carina explained that she had healed a Wolfbron lion. That was curious information, and some she could particularly use if she wanted to seek a closer relationship with the Wolfbron pride - which, eventually, she did. She needed to make a trip out there, but she was thinking it might be best to wait until she had given birth and the cubs could be looked after. "Not quite allies, but close," she corrected Carina. "The Mire is allies with them, and we are allies with the Mire, so we are not enemies with them." She tipped her head thoughtfully. The Lagoon was yet a small pride, but she had plenty of healers and a few warriors to offer allies. She could offer the Bluffs such things.

"This is good to hear," she told the girl. "I want to be allied with the Bluffs. Helping them is good."

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Even if she half-expected it, to still hear her best friend say that would always want her around was enough to lift her sky high. Carina had never felt like she had a deep desire for validation from others but apparently, she could be surprised from time to time. I zhink I am quite happy here, in zhe lagoon. With @Tiamat specifically, of course. That was the only place she could ever believe herself happy. Truly happy, but she was also still very young and had little experience with being significantly close to anyone else.

At the sudden notion that her very best friend would likely have to deal with what Tinuviel had had to go through, her heart sank drastically. Remembering that terrible day where she simply could not remember if she was the cause or not. There was only severe silence as she stared at her friend's face. Not quite knowing what to say or how to say or even if there were words that could be said about it. On one paw, she felt that at least Tia knew that it was going to happen. That her odds of it were high... and was prepared for it but she was certain Tinuviel had not been. Do.. do you zhink zhat Tinuviel's .. clan .. also has same problem? The question was dark, wondering if perhaps that information might have saved them all the pain of that day but it was hard to know if the Sovereign knew of the chances. If she had, would the pain have been lesser?

As it were, that seeping sadness of losing children to excited to-be mothers was horrible. A pain that she had hated to see in their faces when she knew that there was nothing she could do to ease that kind of pain or to make the child not be gone. So she was more than easy to move away from the topic and onto a lighter but still serious topic. He haz promised me protection in exchange for my zervices. Not that she truly expected to ever need his help but she supposed she would be given priority in any circumstance. The male was nice enough and charming, though she was beginning to believe they were all charming little snakes there. I am happy to heal our allies and zhose zhat are close. Apparently medics were not as common as she had thought. The Lagoon just happened to have quite a few expert, mediocre and fledglings while other prides did not have the courtesy of any.

+20 - discuss pride, group, or family relations with another character (2/2)

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Tiamat beamed at @Carina's admission that she was happy in the Lagoon. She was glad the young girl was happy here, with her. A soft purr hummed in her chest. "I'm glad you're happy," she said, her tail thumping against the sand. "Just don't hold yourself back, alright? Even if you aren't with me, I'll always be there." In spirit, as a mentor, never really too far away. Distance did not matter so much for friends and family, who would always be a part of her heart.

Tiamat lifted a paw and attempted to place it around Carina's shoulders, leaning in to give her a quick, affectionate bump with her head. "I will be fine, azizati," (my dear) she told the girl calmly. "My clan believes when a cub is born still that the warrior spirit was not strong in them," she explained. "It happens, sometimes one or two, sometimes none. It is sad, but I am well-prepared." She already knew there were plenty of healthy cubs - all kicking at her sides - rolling around in her womb.

She dropped her paw, hoping she had provided some comfort to the young medic. She wasn't certain how to answer the question about Tinuviel. Tiamat turned her head to the sky, deep in thought for a moment, before she finally answered. "Alaric is very big, and Tinuviel is very small," she said finally, clinging to what made sense in her mind. "I think, maybe the cubs were too big for Tinuviel to deliver, but..." she shakes her head, lowering it and glancing sadly at Carina. "I don't really know. Maybe there is something in her family line that makes it hard to have children." She was certain that it was not a punishment, as Tinuviel had thought it was.

Moving away from such thoughts was good, and she gladly listened to Carina's explanation of her deal with the man. "I would like to talk with Wolfbron about an alliance," she said, the gears in her mind turning. "Would you like to come when I do?" Perhaps the man she healed would be there to confirm the story, and Tiamat could make it a point to offer her plethora of medics for their use if they were to have the need.

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Carina wouldn't even know what holding herself back would even look like. Though, the admission of what @Tiamat's clan beloved in the stillborn was kind of a nice thought. In a way, it gave the terrible news a little more spirit. Not all children could withstand the world they were going into and it was a morbid thought, but she was glad that she had had a warrior spirit and had lived to see it. Even more so to hear her friend's theory on why their sovereign hadn't been able to deliver. So, don't mate with someone stupidly larger than myself - got it. Was her first and only thought as to wanting to avoid not being able to conceive. Though, unbeknownst to her, her own family suffered infertility -- but she hadn't ever known them long enough to have that information.

Yes, I vould like to go. If anything, she wanted to be able to showcase her talents to those of Wolfbron in case any of their members needing healing, too. Seeing as the male from there kept being injured and never looked to be patched up by anyone else, she assumed they likely had no well-trained medics there while Scilla had many. I vould not mind being a healer for zhem if zhey need it. She expressed, wanting to be a part of it all if her friend was asking.

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Tiamat gave the girl a strong smile, glad that she was willing to come along with her to her meeting with Wolfbron...when she was finally fit to put together such a meeting. "Very good," she said to @Carina with a firm nod. "When the cubs are born and settled we will go there," she informed her. Better to wait until she was not quite so vulnerable since she wasn't sure what kind of impression being visited by a pregnant queen would make on that pride in particular.

"I will call you when I go," she said kindly before standing and stretching. "Now I am going to go get that rest like you told me to." She gave the girl a kind smirk and a little wink before turning and heading away, toward her den. She looked back over her shoulder. "Thank you Carina. You are a good friend." And then she slipped away, to rest herself a little.

/Exit

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