She had told the Curse that the children weren’t due until late spring, but Isilya had told her - via the flower bird - that they’d arrive early in the season. When Mazikeen had spun that simple lie she hadn’t known what she planned, just that she wanted more time. And now she’s glad for it as she presses a farewell kiss to Gale’s sleeping form as sun glints on his iridescent coat.
She still isn’t tired of seeing him in the daylight.
She wishes she could warn him about what she’s about to do, that when she comes back it’s going to seem like she’s putting herself in harm’s way but really, she’s going to find a way to save them all. This just needs to come first.
Mazikeen takes her time leaving Hyaline, leaving trails of her scent in case she’s missed, and then as soon as she crosses the border she’s moving as fast as her body will let her. She’d noticed the early signs, sharp pains rolling through her body, just before dawn and she had no idea how long she had but she needed to put as much space between herself and Hyaline before it really began. Flying feels dangerous but it’s the fastest way and the one that will not leave a trail behind her to be followed. She uses large black osprey wings, ones that she trusts.
Gale had asked her to keep herself and the twins safe, and she could only do one of those things today so she is going to try her best to make sure she at least does it well.
She’s near the border of Tephra and Taiga when she realizes she’s out of time and she scrapes up her body as she finds the ground in a thicket of trees. There, in a hidden spot, Mazikeen gives birth to the twins and the ache she feels for Gale’s absence is a weight on her the entire time. She can almost feel his touch against her face, brushing aside her hair, soothing her as her heart races. But he’s not here, that’s the whole point. And throughout the delivery, Mazikeen’s orange eyes are wild and white-rimmed as she watches the surrounding area - both wishing that she weren’t alone for this and fearing that someone will find her.
Once they are both born, she gives herself a short moment to let the fear and uncertainty wash over her. She has no idea if her plan makes sense, if it’s the best choice, but she doesn’t know what else to do. Everything she’s involved in feels too big for her - she never wanted to be alpha, to be a mother. She hadn’t expected to fall in love, or for her promise to Gale to lead them here. None of it felt like a choice. She once told Firion she would never stop running, had once thought she’d blaze wild and without bonds all her life, but then she had found roots worth keeping. And all that came with them.
Mazikeen’s legs shake much like the newborn foals when she stands and then, with a deep breath, she shuts out those fears and looks at her children for the first time.
She both loves and hates that they look so much like Gale. Why couldn’t they be plain and easier to hide? But she cleans them, names them, feeds them. She whispers warm nonsense words she vaguely remembers hearing from her own mother and kisses them both twice to welcome them to this world, once for their sire and once for her.
She leads them then into Tephra where they find her friend. “Wishbone. I have a favour to ask.” She swallows thickly and looks back to the twins, Malik and Sickle - each blinking at her with an orange and a blue eye. And when she looks again at the purple mare her eyes shine with all the emotions churning inside of her - heartbreak, love, anger, fear and that resolute determination that overshadows all the rest. “And it’s a big one.”
And then Mazikeen tells her everything.
@[Wishbone]