"I'm sorry, Naga," Korra whispered pulling a limp, wet puppy into her lap. The Avatar's animal guide whined and pressed her nose into the shoulder of her dead pup. Korra rubbed her head and stood up, cradling the lifeless body against her stomach, not caring about the sticky afterbirth soaking through her clothes. The Polar Bear Dog whined loudly as Korra pushed the door open with her shoulder.
Naga had been hard at work bringing her first litter into the world. The new mother was nestled in a cozy, straw filled stall in the South Pole, but despite the warmth the barn provided, a different kind of chill was snaking its way wrapped the puppy in a blanket and placed it in a large pile of straw on the to her side of the near-empty stable hoping to spare Naga the smell of death on her very first pup. She hurried back to Naga's stall and waited at her hip for the next pup. She stroked her friend's fur and whispered words of comfort.
Korra hadn't been able to tell for sure, but through her healing waters, she had guessed Naga to be carrying anywhere from three to five puppies. She hoped to Yue that this first one was just a fluke. She knew Naga felt pain over the loss of her puppy and Kora felt it too.
It wasn't especially cold out during the summer nights but too cold to allow Naga to have her pups on the snow as all Polar Bear Dogs did. Korra didn't want to take any unnecessary risk, especially since this was Naga's first ever litter.
It was dark outside, the only light coming from a dim lantern hanging from the ceiling in the corner. Naga's wild counterparts almost always gave birth in the dead of night but since Korra was going to be with her animal guide all night, she figured she would keep a dim light going just in case anything went wrong.
And oh had things gone wrong. The Avatar sighed sadly and rubbed her eye on her shoulder. The first puppy had been delivered easily and without a hitch but it just...wasnt alive. She drew a handful of water from her companion water dish and placed her hands along Naga's soft underbelly. There was life in there, that was apparent, but how strong or how many, she didn't know. She had never had to heal any animals before. Naga whined and pushed one of her back legs through the straw as another contraction tightened her muscles. Korra took her position and waited with damp arm to bring another life into the chilly world.
Morning found Korra propped up against the wall outside of Naga's stall. Her elbows perched on bent knees and her head cradled into recently washed hands. "Korra?" Bolin's voice cut through the frosty morning air. She didn't even seem to hear him. Beside Bolin walked Mako and Tenzin, accompanying Bolin to see the new Polar Bears pups. Mako felt a twinge of panic upon drawing near enough to see all the blood. It was dried and flaking from just above Korra's wrists to her elbows. The front of her clothes were entirely soaked in the sticky, wet, fluid. Mako feared the worst but Bolin beat him to it. "Is Naga-"
Korra shook her head cutting him off. "She's fine."
"And the puppies?" Tenzin asked.
"All dead." It was then the men noticed her wet cheeks. Her shoulders quivered and she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I am so sorry, Korra," Tenzin said with a deep sigh. "It's very hard for a mother to lose her first litter. Naga will need you now more than ever."
"I know...and there's still one more coming. But I just...had to take a break, she's so tired. There was just so much blood, and she was just...s-so sad," Korra sniffled, hiding her face.
"I'm sure you did everything you could," Mako comforted. Korra shook her head, her heart wrenching in guilt. Maybe if she had been quicker, or less nervous maybe... She stood shakily and went back inside. Tenzin left Bolin and Mako to comfort their friend.
Bolin sat at Naga's head and pet her affectionately and told her jokes, hoping to maker her feel better despite the fact she was a thousand pound animal. Naga closed her eyes and set her massive head on Bolin's knee. She was exhausted. Korra knelt at her hindquarters and took a deep breath. Mako stood a ways behind her, making sure he wouldn't be in the way.
"Come on, Naga," Korra encouraged upon seeing the black nose of another puppy. She waited nervously hoping that Naga could deliver this last pup without assistance. But as the minutes ticked by it became apparent that Naga wouldn't be able to push hard enough and do this by herself. And just as the two puppies before, Korra reached inside and grabbed hold of the pup's front feet and pulled. She waited until she felt Naga's muscles tighten in a contraction and pulled again, her butt sliding through the bloodied straw as she pulled fo rall she was worth. Her shoulder nearly brushed the straw when she pulled again.
With a mighty howl from both Naga and Korra, the last pup slipped into the straw. Bolin would have gagged at the raw truth of Korra reaching inside Naga and returning with a pinkish sac, laced with white and yellow globs of who knows what. However, Mako watched in silent, stunned revere as she busted the sac with her fingers and pulled the motionless pup into her pulled mucous from the baby's nose and mouth, clearing the airways. Mako now understood why his friend was covered in blood and gore.
"Come on," she whispered, vigorously rubbing the puppy's white back. Bolin rubbed Naga's neck as the new mother watched her baby in her master's lap. "No," she breathed, her chin dipping to her chest in defeat. This one was dead too. Mako put his hand on Korra's shoulder and was about to open his mouth to comfort her but a squall cut him off. All eyes snapped to the puppy.
A smile burst forth on Korra's face as the pup's legs twitched a little. Korra hurriedly pulled the slimy sac off the wet puppy and lifted it's head onto her knees. She rubbed his neck and then his back, hoping to encourage him to take deep breaths and it was working. "Good job kid,"" Korra smiled. "I'm so glad you made it," she grinned. Naga's eyes literally sparkled upon seeing her last puppy breathing. "I-" Korra began to speak to the pup but her hand froze in mid-stroke. Everything was eerily still. The puppy's breaths suddenly became ragged and labored. In the blink of an eye Korra's hands glowed with water as she worked to ease the pup's breathing.
She felt his life slipping through her fingers. "Come on kid, don't do this," she begged, working twice as hard to save him. The puppy breathed his last and was gone. Korra broke down in silent sobs. Mako reached for a cloth he saw in the corner and and laid it over the puppy, lifting it from her lap. Bolin held the door open and followed his brother out, leaving Korra and Naga be. The young woman crawled to her best friends head and sat cross-legged in front of her, holding her head in her lap in a tight embrace. She buried her face in Naga's fur and cried.
She could feel Naga's slow, mournful breaths. Korra never thought thing would turn out so badly. Naga would have been a great mother, as all Polar Bear Dogs were but Korra knew Naga felt more pain than any of her wild cousins. She could feel her best friend's heart beating raggedly against the wicked hole in the center that was torn out when she lost that last pup. Korra rest her cheek on her head and sobbed. "I'm sorry, Naga, I'm so sorry I couldn't save your babies."