Birthing; vi, malka, lagertha, shatter me, rhy, sunday amazonians, !!ANY!!

[Malka]

Faith is the bird that feels the light

when the dawn is still dark.

She was beginning to enjoy her time here in the Falls. There had been little interaction on her behalf so far simply because she was still getting to know her new "home". She spent a good part of her time in her quetzal form sitting on one of the many rock crevices that made up the waterfall. From up here, she could see a good bit of the kingdom and the spray from the falling water was a cooling relief.

There was a loud commotion on the border of the Falls and Malka's attention focused in on it. It took her but a moment to recognized her queen and several of her fellow sisters making their way towards the water below her. Malka waited until the arrived, not quite sure what was going on and not wishing to be in the way. As Scorch collapses in the water though and births her first foal, Malka can already see that something is wrong. She does not assume the relaxed look of a mare done foaling and instead begins to panic, screaming another name that Malka does not even know. With her history of twins, it would be no surprise if she was again carrying a pair with one still stuck in the birthing process.

The Amazons step forward and begin to care for the newborn filly and Scorch soon succumbs to her exhaustion and passes out in the waters. It takes but a moment for Malka to fly down from her crevice perch and land out Scorch's crest - a favorite spot for the mare's Erinak to stay. The quetzal gentle grooms at what little bits of hair stick up from the burned mare's neck before flapping quickly to the banks where she transforms back into her equine self. She lets her eyes fall on each of her sisters and for the moment, there is nothing she has to say to them. Instead she steps back into the water and moves so that she can push the hairless mare's head up away from the water. She needed the water to heal, but that same water could drown her if they weren't careful. Malka had not been a resident long enough to have even begin to inquire about the water's magical abilities and so, she is thankful when from the corner of her eye she spots one of the Fallians.

Once Scorch is out of danger of drowning, Malka turns to face her sisters. "What has happened here?" she questions. Malka had not been in the Jungle when Scorch had stepped down nor had she been privy to Lagertha's rise to the throne. She observes the gathered mares, looking between them and mentally taking a tally in her head. Rhy and Lagertha were both not yet present. Pomona (who had wished to fill Malka's current position) and Pharaon were also not among the gathered.

She waits until someone has filled the paint mare in on the craziness that had just befell the 'Falls before she speaks slowly one more time. "I do believe that it would be in our best interest to not strain our newly formed alliance with the Falls," she starts. She was not sure what the rest of the Falls horses would think about half the Amazons marching across their border and dropping their Queen in their waters (for as far as Malka and the Falls were aware, Scorch was still Queen). "I think those that are still necessary for Scorch and her child(ren)'s care should stay behind. Those that cannot be of immediately help should return to the 'Zons and let the remaining sisters know that she is being cared for to the best of everyone's ability. Too many extra heads will just add to the confusion" she finishes.

She does not want to hurt her sisters' feelings, but it was quite apparent to her that Scorch needed the healing waters. The healing waters would only work for the Fallian horses and though the had an alliance, it had yet to be tested up to this point. Malka hoped to keep the alliance between the two kingdoms strong, because it had just proven its necessity in the Amazon's life.

Malka

immortal, quetzal-shifting Erinak of the 'Zons