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catalysts always burn brightly;;
She’s ruined you, snarled the ice king. Kobato squirmed underneath Kenshin, opening her mouth to fight back the hateful words he was spewing, but Kenshin’s weight went to her throat and she coughed, feeling sick already, nausea making her darkening vision swim even more rapidly. Do you hear her calling for you, you worthless wretch? I could have cleaved weakness from your uselss carcass, and instead you fucking find it on purpose- Kobato got one last bout of words out as her body wiggled and Kenshin was forced to return his weight to her shoulderblades. ILL KILL YOU! Did those words really come out of her mouth? Had she said them before? The headrush she had at the moment was unbearable as it soon turned into a migraine. She was pushed into the ground further and she gasped for breath, saliva dripping down her jowls after being practically strangled. Ko… Kobato’s heart did a seismic toss. She fought against her captor so that she could turn straight towards her dragon. Toffee dreamcatchers met his own amber spyglasses. Wasn’t this how one of them was going to die? Didn’t they always tell tragic tales like this? Where the knight knew that they both wouldn’t make it out alive so he sacrificed himself? Or in this case… her dragon… A whine and scream mixed together to create the most hurt sound one could think of. Absolute pain, emotional and physical, in a single, vocalized moment. If this were so… she wasn’t leaving alive. She couldn’t live without him. He was her life support now. She desperately wanted—oh god how she wanted to struggle and claw her bloody way closer. Touch nares with him, let him know that it was okay for them both to end their lives today. She would be honored to give her life for her beast. But as she called out to him, a kick sputtered against her thin waist. A baby’s kick. And Kenshin voiced it to his commander.
And for a blissful, cherished second… there was only silence. Silence that could have encompassed a tiny world with a blanket of warmth. Then, Is that so? Kobato swallowed hard, though she did not have a smidgen of hatred or anger within her. It was not Kenshin’s fault for reporting it. He had quite possibly, and unknowingly, saved her Vladya’s life. Goodness, you two, I don’t know who to be surprised at more: the innocent waif or the sexless cur. They ARE his, aren’t they, Miss Kobato? Kobato seized, the pain from Kenshin’s weight pressing down on her stomach taking all her attention and strength just to push away and not cry out to. Those tears that had already begun to form in her beautiful eyes spilled over and she shut them, opening her mouth to breathe in gasps of air in attempt to fill those crushed lungs under the brindled warboy’s weight. Let’s open you up and make sure-- his voice was cut short. In an instant, the dove’s eyes were reopened, wide with surprise and absolute fear. Vladya had taken what he could grab and had run with it. Kobato choked back a cry.
What had she ever done, in her life, to deserve this? It was one of the first times she had ever felt sorry for herself. Normally the girl was not so shallow. But Vladya was going to die. Even if he had Kershov now, there was no guarantee he could keep him. She was going to be cut open. Her babies were going to be killed. And they would all see one another die. Her choked back sobs faltered against her will. It is well known that if one is stressed enough, their body will shut down for them. Help them relax until they were strong enough to be awake once more. And it was here that Kobato felt her instincts kick her. Some chemical pulsed through her, loosening her up. Kenshin looked down, surprised at the fact that she had become limp, hollow. At first he believed it to be a trick. But when he began to take pressure off, she didn’t even move a single inch. So he, following his master’s wishes, moved her hips so that he was positioned well and then he took her flesh within his teeth, her white fur contrasting against his dark lips. The warboy released some of his grab so that he would only tear the skin, not her organs. She was too skinny. It was unlikely that she would even be able to survive what he was going to do. And then, suddenly, it was not Kobato, the prisoner he’d been assigned to since he’d first brought her to Abendrot. It was… Kahlan. Staggering, the soldier felt a spear plunge into his heart. Kahlan? Amber lamplights ventured down. What if she was sick because the pups were causing a problem internally? Would she die? Kenshin moved himself more strategically and kept his eyes wide open as he slit the flesh with his incisors. As soon as the flesh was broken, he released it, maneuvered his jaw so that a flap of said skin was in his mouth and then he tore it as carefully as he could. Crimson stained her white underbelly. Was she screaming?
He looked up, carefully taking in the expression on the girl’s face. Her eyes had grown in size and her mouth was parted, completely open in a silent scream. But there was no sound. At least none that Kenshin could hear. And though he refocused, he still could not hear it. Kobato was letting out no sound whatsoever. Or perhaps she was, but it was so high pitched that none of them could pick up on it. Kenshin couldn’t imagine that kind of pain. She seized again as he carefully cracked her uterus. It was a sensitive organ, but… it would heal. If treated properly, she would be okay. But not if she lost all of her blood. Working as quickly and as gently as he could, the assassin, still seeing Kahlan, removed pup after pup. Some were not even formed all the way. She was close to due date… so perhaps she would have had a miscarriage. No doubt she would have… look how skinny and malnourished she was. It was when Kenshin had masterfully retrieved them all the he pressed her shut as well as he could, willing the blood to clot quickly.
Kobato felt like she was dying. The pain was so intense that her body couldn’t even react properly. She wanted to be kicking. She wanted to be screeching. She wanted to be crying. But her mouth only opened and closed, a fish out of water. Was her time ticking down? Kenshin closed her up quickly, using his maw to pack snow into the wound, clotting it. Kobato felt her head move for the first time against the soil. A grain of dirt and snow hit her eye, but she couldn’t close it. Those tears? They were still flowing, freezing against her flesh. Her vision was faulty. It blackened in and out every few minutes, catching on a hook she couldn’t grasp it free from. She looked to the left and then to the strongest smell of blood. Immediately she wished she hadn’t. For there, in a heap, lay three pups, all too small, all not moving. In that moment, she screamed absolute murder, seeing that only one of the children was breathing, if only . And this time, the sound actually came out. A horrible, heart wrenching scream that sent her back into shock once more after mere seconds of letting the sound out of her larynx.
“V…V…Vladya…” she begged, hoarse and raw. Vladya… Brielle… she’s breathing… but I… She swallowed hard, desperately yearning to get close to that child born too early. Still Kenshin was packing her with snow, stopping the blood flow. He was helping. He wasn’t killing her. He was doing his best. I… I can’t reach her… Kenshin looked at the premature younglings, then picked out the one she was talking about, bringing it to her face, allowing her to touch noses, even keep the little one next to her nape. Instantly, maternal instinct was a player in her chess match. She did her best to clean the small, pale thing, but she could barely keep her head steady to do so, and so the little one shook, trembling in the subzero temperatures. Not moments later she blacked out again, not even being able to shiver herself despite the ice stuffed in her wound due to her complete lack of energy.
Kenshin seized the opportunity and smashed into Vladya, a snarl ripping from his throat as he took the hessian down to the dirt, freeing his King. Whether or not he put up a fight, he would still address his commander. My King, Kobato will die soon. As will Vladya if we allow him to rot by her carcass. They’re useless now. We’ve gained a prize, however. It would seem one of the pups survived. It was true, the wiggling mass was whimpering loudly in little shrieks for warmth or for food, only Kobato would be able to tell. Though from the way it was already attempting to suckle on her unmoving palette… it would have been easy for any of the males to assume the correct answer. Ever the stoic one, it would be impossible for Kershov to tell if his dog was feeling pity for the duet or if he simply saw the most appropriate answer. Though to be honest, he wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling, himself.
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