Betrayal | Tsu'tey

XLI

Birth of the twins
Tì'ongokxil te mefrrnenti
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Oh. It was terrible. Neytiri's screams of pain hurt her ears, she cried so much. She wished she could take away her pain. Intense pain would flow over her and she had a hard time speaking.

Jake was lucky that she didn't break his hand.

But then Neteyam was here. There was little clean up, her labor lasted four hours. There was a whole ceremony for him. The first born.

At this point, Hia had terrible back pain, she was swollen up with either one huge baby, or two normal fetuses. Her chest felt dense and heavy. She couldn't bend over right and moving around was hard. Tsu'tey had to move their things into their little "birthing tent".

"I am excited for you." Hia ran her hand over her stomach, leaned back against Tsu'tey. His hands ran over her stomach.

"Any day now." He hummed he ran his hands up and down her sides, trying to soothe her aching innards. Everything was uncomfortable. She felt like she'd pop but it was still another week or two away. She experiences terrible heartburn and headaches. Always tired.

"You're so beautiful." He hummed. His face pressed into the side of her neck. She grabbed his hands, wrapping them around her rib cage, just under her breasts.

She was definitely falling asleep.

Their little hut was now a nest. Tsu'tey and she had made it comfortable, clean, a good place to rest once she's finished giving birth.

"Where should we do it?" Tsu'tey asked.

"Well, there is a small pond that could be good for a water birth, or if we can't make it in time, we'll just have to make do with where we are." She said.

He'd lay with her on her side, massaging her hips and thighs. The babies left a strain on her body in her joints and she was always in some sort of pain.

Mo'at would check her weekly, they'd both admire the little shapes on her stomach from the outline of her babies.

And then, they came early.

The first pains she thought were just discomfort. Subtly over the day, it became worse.

She shifted as she sat, holding her belly, trying to soothe the ache in her muscles. Denying that they could come almost a month early. It wouldn't be safe for them if they did. But despite that, it was undeniable when her water broke.

"Don't rush yourself, we're almost there." Tsu'tey said, holding her up as they tried to make it to the little pool. But it was nowhere in sight, only a cave was close enough. They'd been out gathering again and they wandered a little far.

"No." Hia struggled out, "no, we're going there, go and get Mother. Grab the bag in the hut near the nest, it has everything." She grit out as she began towards the cave. The rock within was smooth and layered in steps, like lava flow over stairs. It would do.

Tsu'tey helped her down. His tail flicked sporadically, fidgeting, struggling to get out his words.

"I don't want to leave you here like this." He said, it was the most afraid she's ever seen him.