Something... something was wrong. She didn't know quite know how to put her hoof on it, but something with this pregnancy was different and it terrified her more than she could even begin to put into words.

So she didn't.

She didn't tell Hael. She didn't tell Zevulun. She didn't even go home to her mother, even though every atom of her being craved the comfort of her embrace. And she most certainly did not tell Lohan.

Instead, she worried alone, pasting a pretty smile on her lips whenever someone inquired and brooding over it alone well into the night. The agony of losing her firstborn hovered in her memory, looming over this baby like an ill-omen that Aurelie was doing everything in her power not to acknowledge. She wasn't going to lose this baby, she just wasn't. Her heart couldn't take it.

When her labor pains started, Aurelie snuck away as nonchalantly as she could manage, afraid that if it ended badly she would traumatize her children. At least this way they would not have to hear her scream and thrash, or, that was her theory anyway.

Ultimately, she didn't remember much of the terrible struggle that followed, only that as her strength began to fail and she began to fear that she was not strong enough for this after all, the sky grew as dark as her thoughts. The sun had been tucked away behind clouds for the better part of a week, showering the land with various bits of rain and storms off and on, and so she did not know if the sun turned off or if it was all in her head. But she did distinctly remember that as her second daughter slid free of her body with a rush, she remembered noticing how bright the light was, how the clouds cracked open for a moment and bathed the pale filly in gold.

What followed after was as much of a blur as the birth itself, her mind too addled by blood loss and exhaustion to do much more than the bare minimum in regards to taking care of the little girl. She made sure she was fed and standing, but the moment she went down for a nap, Aurelie followed immediately, trusting in Zevulun and his lieutenants to keep predators away. Her forehead rested against her daughter's withers, muzzle to her rump, the muddy ground around them saturated with the evidence of their struggle.

But she had succeeded. They had succeeded. Her little girl was alive, and well, and would meet her daddy just as soon as they had a moment to exist.

OOC: Open to anyone, but no responses required. <3