North and Pitch join up for teamwork, as one of the reindeer give birth.
It didn't take long for North to get into some clothes and then hurry off to the stables. He almost called for some of his yeti to help prepare, but then snarled to himself when he realized he couldn't ask for their assistance, because of the quarantine. Fear of diseases or not, he wanted to strangle Pestilence.
Swearing all the nastiest words in Russian he could think of that did not involve Russian composers, he soon made his way to the stables. Pitch had run ahead, and North hoped that his reindeer would allow the dark spirit close to them, especially as they would need all the help they could get in their current weakened condition.
Which was probably the only reason he didn't immediately threaten bodily harm on Pitch, when the first thing he saw as he entered the stables and got to the right box, was Pitch standing with his arm almost fully submerged in poor Hildur's backside. All he could manage were a few furious splutters, earning him an annoyed look from Pitch.
"About bloody time, North!" The dark spirit growled. "Get over here! There's boiled water to wash your hands in, so hurry up! She's already dilated!"
"How can you be certain?" North snapped in return, as he hurriedly washed his hands and arms in the basin of nearly scalding hot water that Pitch had gotten ready, then grimaced as his harsh tone made Hildur bray in discomfort and some of the other reindeer stir uneasily. Pitch shushed Hildur gently, while he glared at North.
"We don't have time for a detailed discussion about it!" He hissed in a low voice. "Doesn't matter anyway; Right now, she needs all the help she can get!" He scowled at that. "You told me that you have helped your reindeer before, or are you just as bloody useless at that as you are at everything else?"
North glared hard at Pitch, but only went over to move next to him. "What do you need me to do?" He said, his voice somehow coming out more calm than he felt.
"Her fawn is turned around," Pitch replied, frowning. "I need to reach in and get a hold of it. I want you to stick two fingers down below where my arm is, and gently but firmly pull down until I can pull the legs out!"
At any other point, North would have argued that he should be the one doing that particular job, of pulling the fawn free. Such a task required a lot of strength, which North had plenty of, and Pitch… well, to be honest, his skinny figure did not make you think he was that powerful, especially with his lack of belief. The determined and concentrated look on his face however, was enough to make North stand and just gently stroke Hildur's side with his free hand, while he did as he had been instructed.
Pitch frowned in concentration, as he now had room to reach in with his other arm. Hildur brayed in dismay, the poor reindeer clearly wanting nothing more than to lay down, but North kept talking to her and calming her, encouraging her to stay on her feet while Pitch worked on his part.
"There, I've got hold of the legs." Pitch said at sudden, frowning. "I wish I had a rope for this, but there wasn't time to find one..."(1)
"Try to see if you can work with her contractions." North suggested, "and then hold on as tight as you can. Move slowly however, so you do not lose your grip, or hurt her in the process."
Pitch glanced at him, then gave a single nod before seeming to brace himself. It seemed to take forever, but they slowly made progress despite Hildur getting more tired and the fawn taking its time to be pulled free. North watched as Pitch would seem to make a pulling motion, but doing so only a little at a time, no doubt so neither calf, nor mother would get injured.
"I'm going to try and pull it out completely now." Pitch said, "we've spent too much time on this, and the mother is getting exhausted. If we don't do it now, we might lose the fawn!"
"I understand." North replied with a nod, "do your best. I will hold Hildur as still as I can." The dark spirit nodded, and waited until North had released his own grip and had carefully moved up to Hildur's head, and got a hold on her hackamore and braced himself.
"On three, then." Pitch said, once he was certain North was ready. "One. Two..." And then he moved backwards quickly, pulling away from Hildur and bringing along a small, four-legged form, along with a birthing sack and a lot of amniotic fluid landing on the floor with a splat. The fawn was caught quickly and laid down on some clean straws, before Pitch quickly knelt down and looked it over quickly.
"It's not breathing." He muttered, and began to work on cleaning away the fluids. North frowned, keeping a hold of Hildur so she wouldn't disturb Pitch, even though the new mother wanted nothing more than to go to her baby. Pitch kept going however, using a clean straw to gently tickle the fawns nose or ears. "Come on, little one, breathe for me." He muttered quietly. When that gave no reaction, he leaned down and began to carefully give it artificial respiration.
It felt like the minutes dragged by, when it might have only been seconds, before the fawn suddenly fumed and sneezed, and then began to move, flailing its young, gangly limbs as it instinctively tried to get up. North let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, while Pitch gently got the fawn up on its feet. It staggered a little, before it moved over towards its mother, and North released Hildur and stepped back to lean against the side of the stable box, allowing her to move over and begin to nuzzle and lick her baby.
"There we go..." Pitch sighed, smiling with a tired, but satisfied look. "Now… that wasn't so hard, was it?" He blinked when he heard the sound of a loud thump.
North on his part had sat down heavily, his face hidden by his hands. When Pitch looked closer, he saw the others shoulders were trembling slightly.
"North..?" Pitch swallowed, feeling what could only be described as waves of emotion coming from the large Russian. A strong mix of fear, joy and relief could be felt, the latter being the most powerful, though the fear had been rather strong too. In fact, when Pitch thought about it, it had been in a consistent wave ever since North had arrived at the stables. (For not to mention at the Pole itself, since Pitch's arrival.)
He then recalled how the man had been asleep when he'd come to get him. To be woken up to a shock like that, and then go through such a massive adrenaline rush that came with working with a birth, not to mention using his energy to try and keep the birthing reindeer calm so no one would get hurt… well, a Guardian he may be, but North was also still a man. And he was right now dealing with a massive combined emotional and adrenaline crash.
"Uhm..." was all Pitch could think of saying, "just… wait here a moment? I'll be back shortly."
The fawn still needed a bit of aid. It showed all signs of being weak from its early birth and would need help with its first meal. It was something to distract himself with, Pitch decided, at least until he could figure out what to do with North.
It turned out not to be something he had to deal too much with, however. When Pitch returned to the stable with what he needed, the Guardian of Wonder was mostly in the same position he'd been left in. But now, he was sitting up against the wall and his eyes closed, while Hildur had laid down next to him with her head resting in his lap, his arm draped gently over her neck and one of North's hands resting on her muzzle. He had fallen asleep.
Pitch watched them for a moment, before he decided it at least kept North out of his way while he worked, and set to prepare some milk formula for the fawn.
North woke up, blinking slowly in confusion for a moment. He could have sworn he had been in bed a moment ago. Why would he suddenly be in the stables…?
Then he remembered. Pitch waking him roughly, Hildur being in labor, and the long, hard birth. He briefly recalled having sat down for a moment, with Hildur lying down next to him to rest a bit herself, and then…
"You fell asleep about an hour ago." Pitch's voice sounded, and when North looked, he found the Boogeyman was sitting right next to him. The little fawn was being fed from a bottle, while Hildur stood nearby, munching on something in her trough.
"The mother is fine." Pitch said, as he gently stroked the fawns neck, while it suckled eagerly. "Understandably exhausted, but there's no physical damage and she hasn't been too overworked despite the disease. And the fawn is a healthy boy. He'll be a little weak on his feet, because he was born early, but I think he'll make it."
North nodded, watching Pitch and the little fawn. The Boogeyman had taken off his robe and had draped it over the fawn. It was almost odd to see Pitch like this, looking like he had completely let his guard down when it came to taking care of the newborn. One could have expected him to be in a severe dark mood, as he was in one of the stables where he was forced to work against his will, but instead he seemed to be completely at peace. And while he showed clear signs of being exhausted himself, with slight shadows under his eyes and a clear fatigue in his posture, he was far too focused on the infant reindeer right now.
There was just something about that, which warmed something in North, and he wasn't certain if it was sheer gratitude for what Pitch had done, or something else entirely. Right now, however, he wouldn't have minded finding some way to preserve this peaceful moment that didn't involve a simple photograph or painting. It was just him and Pitch, the newborn reindeer and Hildur quietly munching away at her feed.
"How did you know what to do?" North asked at sudden. When Pitch raised a questioning eyebrow at him, he gave an clearing of his throat. "I mean… you seemed to know what to do right away, with knowing the signs, and the rope..."
Pitch frowned for a moment, but when he realized North was genuinely curious and not just being polite, he looked strangely flustered and looked away.
"… Not all of my Nightmares were made from Sandersons dreams." He finally said after a moment. "Some of them were, for lack of a better word, made in the natural way." He was thoughtful for a moment, before adding: "It made some of them more loyal in that way. While others… became more feral, so to speak. It's difficult to explain. The more Nightmare they were, the more horrifying they were as well. While the closer they were to originally being a Dream, the more difficult they were to control."
North felt his eyebrows lift high in surprise, as he thought of something. "The Nightmares at the lake in Burgess…?" He asked carefully.
"Were a bit of both. Born Nightmares and still turned dreams." Pitch replied, grimacing. "The born Nightmares did theirs to protect me, while the others were more feral due to sudden starvation." He huffed, and North had the feeling that if he hadn't been focused on the fawn, he would have glared at North.
"Anyway…" Pitch then sighed, "with the naturally born Nightmares, among others, I've learned through trial and sadly, error, how to handle something like births. It's hard, and if something goes wrong, it's devastating. But when it goes well… it can be the greatest reward."
"You know a lot about taking care of animals, it seems." North said. Pitch just gave a half-hearted shrug.
"Animals are more accepting than people. Or spirits, for that matter."
The Guardian of Wonder frowned in thought at that last sentence. Pitch had either not noticed, or didn't care, but he had sounded strangely… defeated. Like it had become a fact of life, that he was only too used to. Which, North realized with a mental wince, was quite possibly the case.
Because of who Pitch was, and how he generally acted hostile and stand-offish (at least in North's experience, and according to a few others), whatever social circle he might have had, had to have severely diminished over the years. Because if spirits were good at one thing, it was holding a grudge…(2)
But animals, even spirit influenced ones (3), they always forgave. They didn't care who you were, or what you had done, so long as you provided them with food, companionship and sometimes with love. Even someone like Pitch could be loved by them, especially when he went as far as to learn how to care for them medically. Which couldn't just have been a spontaneous decision, North thought as he watched Pitch gently fuss over the fawn. Not with how long he had been at it, with his form for veterinary knowledge.
Once upon a time, Pitch had perhaps been of a kinder nature himself, but time and constant hostility from his surroundings had forged a hard shell around the Dark spirit's heart. And the rejection from the Man in the Moon had quite possibly served as that final nail in the metaphorical coffin, that had made Pitch decide he was better off on his own.
The only exception that North knew of, had been around the Easter Battle. Jack had told North and the others, of how Pitch had spoken to him in the Antarctic. A conversation, no matter how heartfelt it might have sounded, that had been written off as another of the Boogeyman's wicked tricks, especially by both Tooth and Bunny.
Just like they had written him off, back when the Man in the Moon had wanted Pitch to join them, North thought to himself.
Pitch startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned his head to give North a wary stare. His expression alone, closed off in some way, but also alarmed, told North how the other expected nothing but hostility, or pain in one form or another. Better to guard oneself against it now, than regret it later, North thought sadly.
"I'm sorry." The Guardian of Wonder said quietly, watching as the guarded look changed into a surprised expression, then puzzled and then quickly suspicious.
"For what…?" Pitch asked slowly, which North found that he was… unable to answer at once.
What could he truly apologize for? Not offering Pitch true friendship, when he'd had the chance? For not listening, when the darker spirit had offered his own ideas for how to guide the children? Or for how his fellow guardians insulted Pitch, not just behind his back but directly to his face? Or finally, for dragging him to the workshop against his will, and then basically having Sandy blackmail him into helping the reindeer?
Everything, up to and including the Easter Battle?
"I- I am sorry for… passing out?" North finally said, and rather lamely at that. Pitch did a slight double-take at first, before he snorted in what sounded like genuine amusement.
"It doesn't matter," he said with a slight chuckle, looking slightly puzzled to himself as if he hadn't expected himself to make that sound. "At least you waited until the fawn was properly delivered."
North chortled at that, before he pulled his hand away from Pitch's shoulder, and rested it back in his own lap. "That is very true." He agreed, before he smiled gently as he looked at the fawn, albeit with a worried expression.
"The disease… does it affect the little ones, do you think?" He asked slowly. Pitch frowned at the question, but didn't look at North as he gently rubbed the fawns ears, as it lay snuggled up in his lap.
"I can't say for certain," he said sincerely. "But he is very weak, and will need to be watched closely over the next few days. When was Hildur originally supposed to give birth?"
North sighed and shrugged, "Not until around mid march. Most of the reindeer give birth around may or maybe early June, but some of them had… early season urges."(4) He frowned, not knowing how else to explain it, without adding salt to the wound about how the return of a spiked belief from last year had made his reindeer extra randy. Pitch thankfully seemed to understand what North meant without taking offense however, and just shrugged it off, frowning as he watched the fawn climb to its feet, shake itself (dropping Pitch's robe to the floor as it did so) and stumble over to his mother to nurse.
"It's still too early to tell," he said. "We'll just have to keep an extra eye on them both, and any other reindeer who might decide that now is the ideal time to give birth." The Boogeyman grimaced at that. "We're going to have some long nights ahead of us, especially since I still have to work on the vaccine."
"Then we will have to prepare ourselves." North said, crossing his arms. "I watch over reindeer, while you work on the vaccine. Yeti caravan should be here any day now, with the rest of the supplies." He frowned in thought at that, looking at Pitch. "Do you think any of it would be of use for the vaccine?"
"I would have to look thoroughly through them, but right now, I'll have to say no." Pitch said with a frown. "If any modern medication could be of use against this disease, then it would have been invented a long time ago. But since the disease is technically extinct..."
North just nodded with a sigh. He had expected Pitch to say those words, but if one didn't hope just a little…
"Still," he said slowly. "I thank you, for all the effort you have worked with when it comes to the reindeer. Even if not all of them make it, I appreciate it."
Pitch gave him a strange look at that, before frowning, as if he was surprised by the others words. Instead of responding, however, he muttered something under his breath about checking the rest of the reindeer that North didn't quite catch, and finally climbed to his feet, brushing some hay off of his leggings before he bent down to pick up his robes.
If he noticed North's gaze lingering slightly on his legs and his bare back when he straightened back up, he didn't say anything as he shrugged his robe back on, and hurried off to continue his work.
North looked after him for another few moments, before he got to his feet as well, groaning as his body reminded him that he had been sitting in nearly the same position for what had possibly been a few hours. With a pained stretch, followed by several movements to warm up his stiff muscles, North followed Pitch to see what other work there was that needed to be done.
Chapter notes:
1 - The closest I could find for research on this, was basically a WikiHow article on How to Help a Cow Give Birth. Part 5 of this reads "f the calf is in normal position or in a position where you can pull from, put a set of calving chains or a rope (not twine, as twine is often too thin and too sharp to be used on a calf) on the front legs of the calf."
2 - See also: Greek Pantheon, Queen Titania and King Oberon of the Fae, Pitch Black and of course one E. Aster Bunnymund and Easter Sunday of 1968 =P
3 - There are a lot of animals in mythology or fantasy fiction, that sometimes get influenced by spirits or gods. The White Stag of Celtic and Hungarian mythology, a LOT of animals symbolizing Death (Black hound, church lamb, black swine, Hel horse to name a few) and so on. I figure some of these, depending on their influence from spirits/gods have either mostly animal intelligence, or close to human intelligence.
4 - The mating season for reindeer is usually in late September to early November, with calves being born in May or June. But with North keeping his reindeer in a safe and warm environment (lots of food, good caring, no predators), I figure some of the breeding can happen at different parts of the year.
