[ P ] let the lamp burn

backdated combo birth & breeding check

Senka Melnik is not built for pregnancy. It's torn through her with the force of a typhoon, first the nausea and headaches, and then sheer exhaustion. At this late stage, she's asleep more hours than she's awake, burrowed into the furs of Odysseus's bed whilst the only signs of life are the steady rise and fall of her chest, and the now near-wild ripples of disturbance against her stomach. She can feel his worry as the days pass and she grows more listless, his weighted presence a familiar force at her back—she doesn't even mind the constant shadow of him watching over her anymore, because every time she does wake, he's the first thing she reaches for.

She's long since lost track of the days when the first strike of pain wrenches her out of a dead sleep in the middle of the night. A low groan tumbles from her lips and she shoves against Odysseus beside her, wriggling herself free from the cage of his protective embrace. Rolling to the far side of the bed, Senka's paws hit the floor with a soft thump, and she begins to pace, restless and very much awake.

She does not handle labor with any more grace than she did pregnancy. In place of her weariness is the flaring heat of anger, her dwindling flame set back alight. Senka is wildly unpleasant in the hours that follow. She will neither allow Odysseus near enough to soothe her, nor will she allow him to leave the room to seek aid or for any other reason. If she must suffer, then he's damn well going to suffer in here with her. When the commotion is enough to rouse his housekeeper, and she dares to knock on the door—the concern evident in her tone—Senka's snarl says enough. Keep out.

She paces, grits her teeth, presses her forehead to the wall with each blinding ripple of pain, more than once muttering, "I hate you," to Odysseus. His sure and steady presence whittles down her volatile temperament over the hours, unfazed by her atypical nature and slowly unraveling the feral rush of her adrenaline in much the same way as he had that night he'd hunted her on the beach. Eventually, he manages to coax her back into the bed, albeit at Senka's vehement insistence that he is there beside her, pressed against the taut curl of her spine.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When all is said and done, Senka is no longer a maelstrom; she is content and sedate, staring in tired wonder at the tiny, helpless creatures nestled against her breast. A smile tugs at the corners of her lips, a unique sort of satiation and unshakeable adoration swelling within her chest. She is exhausted again, but this time, Senka has something to show for her efforts—two somethings, whom she already knows without question that she will protect until her last breath. "Odysseus?" she murmurs quietly, her weary eyes searching out his. When she finds his gaze, she smiles faintly—apologetically. "I don't hate you." I love you.

Not long after that, sleep drags her under again, this time with Senka curled protectively around her newborns as the sun crests the horizon. The last conscious thought she has is that she feels whole, and, perhaps for the first time in her life—she feels happy.

code // art

breeding check

Worry was beginning to eat a hole in his stomach. He spent most of his time hovering, amethyst eyes unreadable as he watched Senka sleep. Most, if not all, of her day was spent in bed, asleep. That made him entirely unproductive. Before that, she was vomiting and dry heaving like she was trying to make a career out of it. His nerves were shot and he wasn't entirely sure how much longer he could silently endure. His housekeeper seemed unconcerned and he wasn't sure if the soothed his worries or made them worse.

At night, she slept some more while he laid awake, listening to the steady sound of her breathing. Until one night, after he'd started to doze off, she stiffened. Eyes popped ope, his head lifting before he truly registered his reaction and hers. She groaned, shoving away from him, her boney paws digging into his ribs. Before he could oblige, she was rolling off the bed, landing with a dull thud on her feet. From there, she morphs into an entirely different creatures.

Her anger is white hot and directed solely at him. With nowhere to escape her, he is forced to endure, to take her lickings in silence. She keeps him at a distance, one that prevents him from herding her back to bed and yet she doesn't let him leave, not even when he offers a doctor. She paces constantly, stopping only when pain seizes her body. And there is nothing he can do to stop it. I hate you. Spills from her lips on more than on occasion. He can't help but smirk when she's not looking.

Hours tick by and she slowly begins to soften, tempted by the lure of their bed. When she finally dose collapse though, he is offered little reprieve.

By the end of it, Odysseus is mentally exhausted. But he is comforted now, with Senka resting easily beside him with two pups tucked against her. His neck drapes of her, amethyst eyes fixed on the two wriggly balls of fluff. Its a strange feeling, to look at someone you've never met before and know with every fiber of your being that you would kill for them, die for them.

Her voice pulls him from his admiration, inky lips lifted in a half smirk. Lifting his head, he meets her stare. "I know." He had assured her several times over the night that she did not hate him. Pressing his nose to her cheek, he settles in beside her, sinking into the furs with a newfound exhaustion. It had quite hit him that he was now a father, that he now had two little lives dependent on him and Senka. Their lives were irrevocably tied together. With Senka curled around their pups, he curled around her before falling asleep to sounds of three others breathing.

"speech"

code // art