Six of One // [Harbinger/Navya]
Aug 21, 2020 14:41:31 GMT -5
Post by admin kay on Aug 21, 2020 14:41:31 GMT -5
NAVYA RHODES
Navya and the Rhodes children had been home for a week when her water broke.
One week. That was all the difference between laboring in the comfort of the Victor's village versus the ramshackle forest hut they'd called home for the better part of a year. She had not loved their mossy home, but it had provided everything it needed to: shelter and protection from an unknown Quell.
Far away in the arena, the last few tributes fought to the death. Again.
Navya could not imagine a crueler twist.
Except, perhaps, forcing them through labor.
She stretched back, fingers digging into the wooden bed post, spine long and horizontal to the floor. Her heavy belly sagged, attempting to pull her down. She resisted. Gritted teeth and sweaty brow, Navya forced herself to breathe through each contraction. Counterintuitively, only relaxation would bring the baby into the world.
She exhaled, letting the contraction go. "I think it'll be awhile yet," she warned Harbinger quietly. "You might try to get some sleep while you can."
A ghost of a smile parted her lips. "Can you even remember what it's like to have a newborn any more?"
And then another wave started.
And another.
And another.
Through the long night. At the first hint of dawn there no longer existed a liminal space between the seizing pain. It was continuous, all consuming. Navya dropped to her hands and knees and in one violent push, caught her baby with two hands.
She brought the newest, little rhodes up to her sweaty chest, eyes gleaming. "Welcome home," she whispered.
One week. That was all the difference between laboring in the comfort of the Victor's village versus the ramshackle forest hut they'd called home for the better part of a year. She had not loved their mossy home, but it had provided everything it needed to: shelter and protection from an unknown Quell.
Far away in the arena, the last few tributes fought to the death. Again.
Navya could not imagine a crueler twist.
Except, perhaps, forcing them through labor.
She stretched back, fingers digging into the wooden bed post, spine long and horizontal to the floor. Her heavy belly sagged, attempting to pull her down. She resisted. Gritted teeth and sweaty brow, Navya forced herself to breathe through each contraction. Counterintuitively, only relaxation would bring the baby into the world.
She exhaled, letting the contraction go. "I think it'll be awhile yet," she warned Harbinger quietly. "You might try to get some sleep while you can."
A ghost of a smile parted her lips. "Can you even remember what it's like to have a newborn any more?"
And then another wave started.
And another.
And another.
Through the long night. At the first hint of dawn there no longer existed a liminal space between the seizing pain. It was continuous, all consuming. Navya dropped to her hands and knees and in one violent push, caught her baby with two hands.
She brought the newest, little rhodes up to her sweaty chest, eyes gleaming. "Welcome home," she whispered.
table coding (c) ghosty
