Not The News I'd Hoped to Share [End]

[carcinoGeneticist]

In the wake of his worries, Zuberi's frustration went almost entirely unnoticed by Apocalypse, except perhaps on some primitive level. Mostly he was trying not to panic, the memories of his own labor surfacing. He didn't remember a whole lot, other than pain and rage and blood and...

It was hard not to panic. He wasn't exactly sure of what Zuberi would need, provided that she did start to go into labor. It was only her strong words that woke him somewhat, and he blinked at her. Then he took a deep breath. Calm, Apocalypse. It was true that she could have contractions for a few days before anything happened. What really mattered was how regularly they were happening, and how long they were happening. He made a soft noise when he was prodded, setting the cookies on his desk. Then he reached up and cupped her hand in both of his, folding his fingers around hers and giving her an imploring gaze as she continued to... scold him?

That was about when something totally unexpected happened. Maybe it was the stress from her seeming outburst, maybe it was just time, but... Apocalypse yelped at the sudden outrushing of fluid, much of which ended up on his feet. He stared down at it, the smell triggering a rather primal memory. "Oh, shit," he managed to gasp, though the words would probably be lost in Zuberi's shriek. His mind was racing a mile a minute, and adrenaline coursed through him.

Fuck it, the woman was small. He pulled his hands away from hers, whispering the command word under his breath that would make them grow and fill him with strength. Then he scooped her up easily, taking care of his claws. It seemed he'd finally found a use for the retarded things. "I - I'll take you to your room and then get the doctor." He said, no small amount of panic lacing his voice.

[Nako]

It didn't matter how many times she saw those frightening things, the sight of his hands quite literally blowing up in size was always enough to make her take a step back. Wide eyed and confused as to what exactly he was about to do, she was hardly able to mutter out another expletive before he had her cradled in the almost comically huge things.

"Damnit Apocalypse!" His panic was only making hers worse. with a dress that was sopping wet from waist to ankles and desperately clinging onto one of the huge digits for support. Another contraction hit her with surprised force, and she felt her face go pale. So it was time, was it? It was really going to happen. She's been almost excited for weeks thinking she'd get the little monster out of her belly but now all she could think of was the fear of all the things that could go wrong. After all, she wasn't far off in age from Seth when he died. What if...

The general motion of the Bog dweller was enough to make her feel quite unsteady, fearful of any doorways and wall corners that he might smack her head into in his haste. "So help me, iffen ya drop me I'll throttle you for sure!"

[carcinoGeneticist]

For all that he hated the damn things, they did make it easier for him to hold the pregnant woman. His grasp was much wider this way, and he could enfold much of her body in them, even if she didn't seem too fond of that idea.

In truth, Apocalypse wasn't fully thinking, terror gripping him.

If they could hear what the other was thinking, it might have seemed comical. His own mind was almost a mirror of hers, scrambled with thoughts of Seth. He should have been alright. He would have been alright, had he been younger when the birth had finally happened. Zuberi would be alright. She was as old as Seth, but she wasn't half as pregnant as he'd been, the doctors were confident that she was only carrying one child... But the fear remained, and it was a very real fear for Apocalypse.

Another very real fear was that he might accidentally smack her head against a doorway or a wall, and he forced himself to move a little slower. That... wouldn't do at all, and Zuberi herself seemed quite anxious. Especially when she was yelling at him not to drop her. "I'm not gonna drop you," the man replied, his voice only slightly strained. He tightened his grip on her slightly, pressing her body more firmly against his chest. Hopefully, this would relax her somewhat. The feeling of her body, warm and wet against his, was almost a relief.

She was still alive. She was going to stay that way, too.

When he reached her room he nudged the door with his foot, then shouldered it to open it the rest of the way. Zuberi was gently deposited onto the bed, Apocalypse lingering above her for a long moment, his eyes seeming to search hers for something. He opened his mouth to say something but then stopped himself, leaning in and kissing her lips - a little harder than he would have, if he'd been in full control of his emotions. "I'll be right back. You're gonna be fine. Focus - focus on your breathing."

Then he kissed her again, this time on her forehead, and tore out of the room at a flat run.

[Nako]

The change of position -was- in fact more comforting, her hold on one of his intact fingers quickly being transferred to around the man's neck. Was a birthing always brought on with such panic? No.. of course not. There had been many births in the village where she'd lived, and almost every one was met with joy. Of course... those births hadn't been soon after one that had caused great tragedy.

Having been set onto the bed, Zuberi could only look up, dumbfounded at the man who loomed above her. His expression was ambiguous. Was he waiting for her to say something? Her parted mouth was crushed by his own, taking her breath away in shock at the sudden display of raw emotion. He was.... worried.

Bewildered, she nodded at his assurances and advice and watched his retreating back... and an angry ace chicken tailing his heels till he left the door. Peh! Fluffing up his feathers, he pushed the door the rest of the way clothes before turning to look at his master curiously.

"Charlie... the baby is coming." The chicken tilted his head sideways in a comical fashion only an avian could achieve, though there was some glimmer of understanding in those dark eyes.

Carefully, Zuberi lifted herself up into a sitting position, making herself comfortable by placing a few pillows behind her. The contractions were growing steadily in intensity. All she really wanted was some tea. Well... perhaps water could do.

"Charlie. Could you get me some water. Water?" She made a gesturing motion as if she were bringing a cup to her mouth. The chicken stared for a few moments before slipping away into the other room. There was the sound of a few things falling.. but soon the sound of scraping could be heard as the chicken brought a single glass of water to her by pushing it along the smooth stone floor with his beak.

"You're such a darling..." She smiled, picking up the glass off the floor and taking a sip. Now that allt he negative energy of fear had somewhat subsided and she was between contractions, Zuberi felt a bit more at peace. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Yes. Let the good juju iiiinnnn....

[carcinoGeneticist]

As the man hurried through the hallways towards the medical wing, a trip he'd made more than once during his life, he came to a realization. He was being a thrice-cursed idiot about this whole situation. Zuberi was healthy, still certainly able to have a single-birth without any complications. There had been no reason for him to worry, at least not like this. She was a friend, yes. She'd shared his bed, but that certainly wasn't something unique. Almost all of the women he spent time with had been his lover at one point or another. This wasn't even his own child. This just... He didn't understand.

Nothing explained it other than some emotional response that he himself wasn't sure quite how to deal with.

When he reached the doctor's office, he quickly explained the situation to them, struggling to keep his voice even and calm. He wanted to yell and scream and smash some heads if they didn't move quickly enough. As soon as the midwife that Zuberi had requested was on her way, Apocalypse nearly collapsed in the hallway, pressing his face into his hands. Fuck. Fuck. He had to get it together before he walked back into that room. He knew he wasn't going to provide the kind of stability that Zuberi needed if he was in this sort of condition, and he was one of the only people who was even available to be by her side.

When his heartbeat finally calmed, he stood once more, pushing his hair back out of his face and into order. Then he walked to the Squirrel's room as calmly as he could manage, slipping into the room and giving the woman a small smile. She looked okay. Pale, but okay. "Sorry I'm late. Do you need anything...?"

[Nako]

Zuberi was undyingly relieved to see her preferred midwife enter the room. It was an older Jossigy canine who'd come from a small town similar to Zuberi; she was more keen on the old ways of doing things and wasn't a corvie which meant she wouldn't try to taunt Zuberi in the middle of labor with pain medicine.

"Not late yet." Zuberi said with a small smile, making an attempt at humor, but before she could say another word a contraction grabbed hold of her so suddenly that it made her suck in a breath.

Two hours of this went on. Two whole hours of constantly changing positions and breathing went on before Zuberi found her way into a hot bath for delivery. Her contractions were coming faster than her body could compensate, and the water slowed them down enough for her cervix to catch up in dilation. Instead of the screaming that would often come from frightened women in a white-walled room, her sounds were deep groans and glutteral calls as she coped with the pain.

One of Zuberi's biggest fears was that the creature within her would be a huge thing; a feline or a horse.All things considered though... once the head made its way into the world, the rest slipped out almost unbidden. There was a searing pain.. and a little bit of blood as the perinium split a very small amount as something sharp came in contact with it, but it would not need stitches later on.

There was no crying until the baby was unceremoniously thrown onto her belly, still connected by the life giving chord that still pulsed with the blood running into it. The midwife had said something about letting the chord stay intact until the chord stopped beating, but Zuberi hardly heard her as she wrapped her hands around the fuzzy creature on her belly. It squirmed and quailed with life, long tail ratty and body slick with fluid and water. Already she felt her heart soaring up into her throat with a raw emotion...

Until she looked down.

Blue. Blue.....

And the bones.. the color of the pelt. There was no pink or green, and the small face was covered with a mask of bone.. and those wings They were animate skeletal things.

Slowly her head hung back against the lip of the tub and cried.

[carcinoGeneticist]

The humor didn't go completely over the pale man's head and his smile widened, the points of his teeth showing in what she might recognize as genuine amusement. It was good to see that Zuberi was feeling well enough to play a little, and it made it just a little easier for him to keep calm.

Then she was having contractions again, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. The room was small, and he crossed it in only a few steps, coming beside her and kneeling at her side. He turned to give the midwife an imploring glance, seeking some answer. But he knew. He knew from experience. This could potentially be a very long process, and without drugs, it was going to be painful. But he knew better than to push that on the woman, not when she'd made it abundantly clear that she just wasn't interested in that kind of treatment. He knelt beside the bed, lacing his fingers into the woman's and turning his gaze back to her.

The next few hours were painful. He wanted to do more, especially when her low moans of pain sounded particularly terrible. He held her hand, he used a wet cloth to wipe down her forehead, he made encouraging noises whenever it seemed she needed to hear them.

Where was everyone else? He shot a worried glance to the door from time to time, whenever it seemed he could spare a moment.

It happened in a rush. One minute, he was reclining against the edge of the tub, idly running a long claw with surprising tenderness over her cheek. The next was a flurry of activity in which he was pushed aside, out of the way. He waited. Then he heard the wail, and scrambled forward. The form of the child atop the woman made something in him freeze. He wasn't sure what aspect was the most horrifying - but all of it together brought something to mind.

That fuckoff that had ripped of Bernard's head, that had melted off Xiven's tail, that had ripped off his fingers. It was almost as if the man was mirrored before him, in miniature, albeit with more squirrel.

So lost was Apocalypse in his own confusion that he didn't notice Zuberi's crying until a few minutes after it had started. His mouth hung open. Then he made a soft noise, moving close and gently wrapping a hand around the woman's head, the pads of his huge hands gently sliding across her skin. "Zuberi... It's a girl."

[Nako]

Those huge hands were pulling her face toward him; and she did not have the strength or the will to resist him. Her mismatched eyes stared up at him as he told her... it was a girl.

It. The child. She... hm. A pronoun for a living.. sentient being. Not a monster. But the hair...

"It looks... like him." She whispered, barely able to be heard over the frantic squeals of the child. The cold air hitting its body and causing the reflexive wails.. but it was something more. It was a noise of panic and fright, with limbs kicking and scrambling at the motions above her. Zuberi could not look at the child... but her hands would not let it go, either.

But it had come out of her... still connected to her via the chord which still pulsed with life, filling the child with the last drops of blood from the placenta that caused the almost blueish, pale skin beneath the thin fur to begin shining a bright red as an independent circulation began to form, and the oxygen from her screaming lungs began to aerate the blood in her veins. The Jossigy had watched from afar, paying no mind to the issues of the mother but rather focused on the baby. Finally, she seemed satisfied and put a towel over the child, rolling it over unceremoniously to sever the umbilical chord. Zuberi's hands held fast for a moment before realizing what she was doing, and let them fall uselessly to her sides.

The way the mother was acting was.... strange... but it was not the Jossigy's place to ask questions. Swatching the child, she turned to Apocolypse.. but considering the expression that had went across the man's face, decided to merely put the screaming child right back upon the mother's chest. Zuberi flinched as the child was placed back on her, waves of blue hair streaming into her face.

A hand was suddenly pushed into her abdomen and she gave an awkward sound as the older woman worked to stimulate her uterus to get rid of the afterbirth. Even in her silence and rough hands... there was a sureness that made Zuberi fill less ill at east. It would be how she'd expect any midwife back home to act. There was a flush of blood, and a sense of passing... something, and it was done.

"There now. Out the tub wit' ye. Keep her steady, Highness." The old woman said with a certain sharpness, sensing the tension in the room. With one hand on Zuberi's elbow and another steadying the child she now held to her chest.. the Midori woman carefully slipped out of the tub. She could only stand there numbly as a towel was wrapped around her and was led to her bed.

Charlie watched from a safe distance, eyes flickering with emotions not usually seen within those dumb, beady eyes. Keen on the bundle his master was carrying, he hopped up onto the edge of the bed and made a curious noise.

The child just.. wouldn't stop crying. Zuberi's eyes began to well up with tears again. "Does... does she look anything like me at all?" Zuberi whimpered. Every time she tried to glance down at the child.. all she saw was that damned blue hair.

[Satra]

Heilyn was a nervous wreck, barely holding it together at this point. She didn't feel she could face Zuberi just yet. That didn't stop her from ordering the staff to inform her as soon as the Squirrel went into labor. Heilyn was in the middle of pretending to do paperwork when there was a knock on her door. This was it. Heilyn dropped everything and went to where she was told Zuberi was.

She saw Apocalypse and stayed out of sight, waiting to get in front of the door when he was allowed in. When waited what she thought was ample time before knocking on the door.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Him.

Never before had a word carried so much weight to it, and Apocalypse's stomach twisted as he looked down at the babe where she rested. To Zuberi, it meant the man who had attacked her. To the King himself, it meant the man who had crashed in through the window on that fateful morning. Would the situation now be better or worse, had that event never occurred? He couldn't say. None of them could. All he knew was that his body was screaming for him to take a step back, a visceral reaction to the pain that still raced through his body.

He forced himself to stay by her side. "Shhh, shhh..." he soothed, to the best of his ability. He focused on woman rather than newborn, on the pain he saw there. The infant was screaming, was alive, was healthy.

The woman he had begun to care quite a lot about clearly was not.

He smoothed a hand across her damp forehead, not knowing what to say but understanding that he needed to keep close. She needed someone - probably not him, but he was all there was. He helped to hold her steady as the Jossigy worked, easing his hand around the woman's body as he helped her to her bed. This was not like most births, he understood. Had the woman looked at her infant again after that first glance...? And the way she was holding it, there was something strange and stiff and not at all maternal there. As she settled onto the bed, he sat on the floor beside her, resting his head on his crossed arms.

Slowly, he glanced down at the child.

He tried to smile. "I can't say for sure, seeing as I've only ever had the pleasure of seeing your human form, but... Based on what I do know..." He reached out, gently cupping the woman's shoulder in his hands, stroking it slowly. "She has your ears. Your tail, too, and I'm sure those wings are from her momma, too. But most of all..." He raised his gaze back to her, brushing her cheek with a finger. "She's got your eyes. Not the color, but the kindness. I can see it already."

Was that the right thing to say? Dimly, he was aware of a knock to the door. He looked up, making eye contact with the Queen standing in the hall. "Heilyn's here. Shall we let her in?"