Tucked in the far corner of the Prairie, where the three points of the Forest, Thicket and Prairie met; Hirka stood with her ears pinned and her belly hurting. “Hurry up, you worthless thing.” She hissed, head swinging back to bite at her robust barrel as she had done several times already. It had started feeling strange enough that it had taken away her appetite, making the young mare pace around alone in a restless manner the entire night. By daybreak, the pain had begun. If she had been an experienced mare, or had been in the comforts of a herd, Hirka would have known these were the signs before it was time to give birth. It made her want her mother to the point she was nearly ready to thing herself to the sea, if that didn’t require traveling all the way across Luthien and a swim that would take entirely too long. Would Halcyon even still be in the Shore?
“Ahhh!” she screamed out in frustration, ears buried in her mane and her eyes squeezed shut. The cramps were getting worse and she was afraid if she didn’t keep her eyes closed, tears would start to roll down her face. How did they do it? How did mares have foals countless times over? Hirka wasn’t even sure she could make it through this once. Making a few more circles, the painted mare laid down and tried to push with no luck, only to stand and walk a few more circles. Over and over again; down then back up. She was beginning to panic, thinking she was stuck like this forever, when finally there was a give as she lay down again. Without anymore trouble, the foal finally left her body, and Hirka was shaking in exhaustion and pain as she peered back at the new life struggling at her hind legs.
“How can you be worth all this?” Hirka breathed out, getting up on quivering legs and only the soft breeze against her wet skin making her realize she was dripping in sweat. Lowering her head to the foal, she did her best to clean it despite wrinkling her nose in disgust, and then nudging at it to try and get it to stand for its first nurse. “I suppose you need a name.” Hirka frowned, peering back at the fragile newborn once she had gotten it directed to her flank. “Perhaps Zahara will do…”
mare | 15.3hhs | Ee aa nCh nT nSb| Homeless
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