I Can Sense You

一

It was a damp evening, grey clouds filled the sky which couldn't be seen. Birds could be heard chirping high in the tall trees that surround the area. But if you listened closely, you could hear the echoing screams of a woman, the all knowing sound of a woman in labour. Next to the screaming women was another heavily pregnant women who perched on her knees, shuffling forward till she could feel the edges of the makeshift fur bed. Getting as close as she can to whisper any words of comfort she can think of to help calm her friend. faintly they could both hear the jingles of the objects bashing against one another on the rope leading to the cave they were. They could tell it was someone approaching as the jingles were become more frequent and the sound of the rope grinding against the stone was added to the mix. As Maghra continues yelling out in pain, the third person announces their presence by calling out

"Calm, Calm!" Elowen breathes out a breath of relief at hearing the newcomers voice.

"Paris!"

"I'm here! the god flame is rising, a birth blessed by morning" Paris states as she makes her way to the end of the rope.

"I feel water, come." Maghra manages to say through her pants, after a while she looks over her shoulder in the direction of the caves opening where she knows Paris would be. " Where have you been?" she asks before laying back on her side so she is back to facing the location where she is grabbing Elowen's hand.

Paris stumbles to the bowl of water that was placed on the stool giving her hands a quick wash. "I was delayed" she says as she sticks out feet, swiping it about to feel the edge of the fur before getting in position on the other side of Maghra.

"her waters broke" Elowen says, having felt the fur underneath dampen. Paris's giggles could be heard bouncing around the cave as she shuffles towards Maghra's back. Elowen holds Maghra's hand in her right and keeps her left one by her head holding a cloth, so every once in a while she can wipe away the sweat appearing on Maghra face as she continues to pant and groan on the floor.

"Now, I will sing your baby into this world" You could hear the smile in Paris's voice as she rubs her hands together before placing it on Maghra's stomach, moving it around in a circular motions. "Find the way, child way, child way child. Find the way child, way to me. Prayer of the mother hand. Prayer of the father hand. Find the way, child way to me. Rise up" Her hands stop at the bottom of the womb. "ooohh, the heads coming first" the smile still present in her voice

"That's good news Maghra" Elowen says in a tone pitch higher than her usual as she can't but feel happy that the labour is going well for Maghra's sake.

Paris moves her hand to in between her legs to check on how dilated she is " Rise up, child rising up. Ah Maghra, I feel a little ear. It's like a slippery bud" Elowen couldn't but chuckle and think about what it'll be like when she goes into labour. Both of their happy moments get cut off by Maghra groan as another contraction hits her. "Ok now, ok ok"

"strong one now" Maghra manages to groan out through the pain. Elowen bites her lips to stop herself from also screaming out in pain as her hand gets gripped tighter and tighter. "Just get it out! Mother of-" Paris gives her hand a tap on encouragement before reaching her arm out to find the bottle of water and bringing it closer. "Where's Baba Voss?" Paris brushes off her question by saying he is busy and brings the bottle to her lips, urging her to drink from it.

"we don't need the big lug, this is women's work!" she brings the bottle back to the floor and rubs circles to the back of Maghra's hand.

Not satisfied with the answer she got, she pleads "I want my husband to be the first to feel the baby". After hearing the confirmation of her husbands return, Maghra gets back to a comfortable position and starts to have thoughts of what the future will be like when the baby is born until she hears the battle horns being blown in town followed by a crunching sounds. Instantly, panic starts to creep in "What's that sound?" Despite all the chances Paris took in distracting Maghra from the horn. It didn't stop the worry and fear bubbling in her, she lifts her head and grasps on to Paris's hand with both of hers "Paris, I can hear killing ropes! wh-why have they brought out the killing ropes?!" Frustrated about not getting an answer she turns to Elowen, hoping that her friend would help ease her worries.

"Maghr-"

"Our Scentiers reported a raiding party coming down the valley. Men with horses and dogs.... They're at the foot of the mountain" learning in close to Maghra to whisper to her. "Baba Voss is commanding the defence" she didn't want to put the stress and worry on both of the pregnant women especially Elowen who still had time before she is expected to give birth. However it didn't seem to work as Elowen heard her and was now the one panicking.

"Wolfgang? what of Wolfgang Paris!" desperation was clear in her voice, she instantly thought of all these different scenarios of raising their child all alone with no one beside her. subconsciously she had started to get up, instantly wanting to be by Wolfgang's side.

"Calm Elowen! he is with Baba, Both of you need to be calm and have faith in your husbands.....It is properly just some Nomads hunting for slaves, yeah?" Determined to drop the topic, Paris reaches her right hand to snake around the back of Maghra's shoulders "Up, up we go" Maghra groans as she is brought up into an upright position. Elowen waves her hands along the wall to find the ropes and guides it to Maghra's hands. Helping her into a squatting pose. Paris shuffles round the front to ensure that everything is ready and prepared for what it is to come next.

Maghra was still not content after hearing the battle horn. "Paris" she waited till she could feel a body heat in front of her, instantly knowing that Paris was by her face she continued. "if you're lying, I will hear it! Nothing escapes my ears...I can hear doors closing in your voice" exhaustion clear in Maghra's voice from the constant huffing and puffing from her speech. Elowen tried to get Maghra to concentrate on her breathing but she wasn't wavering. "I can hear secrets. What are you not telling me?" bringing herself closer to the face in front of her to hear if the heart rate. would pick up or not.

"How would I know anything? I'm only an old women"

Maghra does a mixture of a groan and scoff of disbelief "yeah, who talks to birds and hears the future in her sleep." huffing and sniffling, Maghra wobbles on her legs. Elowen places her hands on Maghra's back and shoulder to try and stabilise her.

"For three nights, an owl has been calling out in the night" Elowen felt uncertainty creep back in her as she feared what this dream could mean for her friend so she asked Paris what they were saying. reluctantly Paris gave in and explained the dream to the women. "Saying, "WitchFinders are coming." The confusion grew again in both of them. Once again Elowen asked why the WitchFinders would come to Alkenny. As far as she knew, the tribe had no run ins with witches or any known issues with someone outside of the tribe. "something tells me they've come for you." this sent a shiver down Elowen's back, she started to question everything she thought she knew of Maghra but it was cut short when a scream came out of Maghra as another contractions had hit "Focus Maghra, let our only concern be bringing this baby to our world. Push!"

Time had seemed to go by agonisingly slow for Maghra, all she wanted is to have the baby in both her and Baba Voss's arm....Baba Voss....she felt guilt growing in her, knowing that she has brought this to everyone and the possibility that it could end with Baba Voss getting hurt doesn't help the situation but the pain of labour didn't let her mind wonder to Baba Voss for long...It wan't long till she felt her baby finally come out. The relief she felt was blissful, the shrills of the baby was music to her ears. It had brought smiles to everyone in the cave as the baby continued to cry out. Elowen helped take Maghra's hand from the rope and bring to the fur on the ground so she can relax. Curiosity got the best of her as she asked straight away "is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a boy! A boy!"

--------------------------------------------A/N----------------------------------------

Hey, this is my first Fanfic so I'm sorry if it's not good :( but i'm open for suggestion on how to plan out the rest of the story or how to make it better.

I low key wanted to write a few chapters first so I can post regularly but i've been busy. It's time I finally post the first part after having it in my draft for a while. i'm hoping to finish the second part soon and then plan chapter 3

Have a lovely day and stay safe out there x