Skyfire is my own character. All others belong to their creators, Wendy and Richard Pini.
All words contained within # # are mental speech.
Starts 2 years and 1 month after Fire and Flight.
Skyfire dearly loved the cub growing inside her, but she was getting damned tired of being pregnant!
She felt sleepy much of the time, her back ached from carrying all of the cub weight up front, and her moods jumped all over the place, often changing from one breath to the next. Mostly, her moods gravitated from either irritation - of varying degrees - or crying. And that was often over situations that didn't warrant such reactions.
Her relationship with Nightfall was becoming strained as a result. Nightfall tried hard to be patient with Skyfire, but it was difficult for her to understand how her once-normal friend could have changed so drastically in less than two years. She felt it must have something to do with Skyfire's pregnancy, though wasn't completely positive that was truly the cause. After all, Rainsong had remained herself through both of her pregnancies. Moonshade had not seemed to change through hers, though she had seemed to cry a little more towards the end. Cearbrook and Rillfisher - who had birthed Scouter and Dewshine, respectfully - she had a harder time remembering how they had fared, but could recall nothing out of the ordinary having happened.
Redlance, with his gentle nature, was better equipped to deal with this new Skyfire. He seemed to have an endless amount of patience in his dealings with the pregnant elf - he just took everything that she dealt him without complaint or sign of irritation. Nightfall continually wished she had that same kind of patience. Often, when she showed her irritation around Skyfire, the pregnant elf would start crying. That only served to increase the level of Nightfall's irritation.
The only peace that seemed to exist between all three of them these days was when they joined for pleasure or when they slept.
Atleast Skyfire wouldn't be pregnant much longer - hopefully not more than another full moon cycle at most. It was impossible to know just when Skyfire had conceived - if they knew that, then figuring who the birth father was might be an easier thing to figure out before the cub came. Redlance would be a father to the cub no matter whose blood it carried, but Nightfall knew that Redlance did hope the cub was his - not that he would love it any less if it wasn't!
Nightfall returned to the hut she shared with Redlance and Skyfire to find her lifemate sitting just outside. He was experimenting with his plant-shaping powers by working on a small cactus. Or rather, what had used to be a small cactus. Redlance was making it grow and twist into interesting shapes that would soon form an arch over the entrance.
Redlance stopped what he was doing as soon as he noticed Nightfall's approach. He turned and smiled up at her. "How was the hunt?"
"We didn't catch much this time out. Skywise gave me his lone rabbit for Skyfire." She indicated the dead ravvit hanging tied at her waist.
"That was nice of him," Redlance commented as he stood. He dusted the sand off of his breeches and went to embrace Nightfall, nuzzling her face affectionately.
"So where is our mother-to-be?" Nightfall asked as she returned Redlance's embrace. Closing her eyes, she savored the closeness she shared with him.
"Sleeping. She only fell asleep around dawn, after I gave her a back rub."
That had been about an hour ago, Nightfall quickly calculated. "Well... why don't we go down to the hot pool together? We could bathe... among other things," she said teasingly. It was rare that she and Redlance found time to be alone with each other these days.
Redlance looked over his shoulder at the hut, thinking about Skyfire. The pregnant elf would likely sleep for several hours - until noon, atleast, if past behaviour was any indication - so she probably wouldn't need him until then. He turned back to Nightfall and smiled. "Let's go, then. But we should leave this near Skyfire just in case she wakes and is hungry." Redlance indicated the ravvit still hanging at Nightfall's waist.
Nightfall agreed. She entered the hut silently and left the ravvit, along with her belt knife, near the circular sleeping pit where Skyfire currently slept so that she would be able to see it when she woke. Then, just as silently as she had come, Nightfall got up and left.
Skyfire woke a short time later - the scent of freshly killed meat having teased her from her rest. Seeing the ravvit and Nightfall's own knife laying next to it, she gave silent thanks to Nightfall for leaving it for her. She felt sorry for having put Nightfall through such a rough time these past few moon cycles, but sometimes she just felt completely unable to control herself. Well, once the cub came, she'd try to find a way to make things up to her friend. Until then, anything she tried to do could turn out badly because of her unpredictable mood swings.
Feeling ravenous, Skyfire reached out for the ravvit. Just as she closed her hand over the still-warm body, she felt some unseen thing sting her hand. She released the ravvit and quickly withdrew her hand, inspecting it closely. There was a small puncture there, just below one of the knuckles. Her eyes were drawn back to the ravvit carcass when she saw a small black stingtail - what the Sun Folk called a scorpian - crawl on top of it. She instinctively reached for the knife, intending to kill the stingtail, when it stung her a second time.
Skywise was passing by Skyfire's hut with his three lovemates - Ruffle, Maleen, and Vurdah - when a black stingtail skittered from beneath the hide-covered entrance.
"Watch out!" Skywise said, flinging his arms out to prevent the three maidens from moving forward and possibly getting stung. He heard a few gasps from behind him as the maidens took notice of the danger. He unsheathed his dagger and threw it with deadly accuracy, pinning the stingtail through the middle. He looked toward the hide-covered entrance the stingtail had come from - the very hut his sister shared with Nightfall and Redlance. Worry for his sister surged in his gut and, without speaking, he left his three lovemates standing there while he went into the hut to check on Skyfire.
What Skywise saw chilled him to his very core despite the desert heat. Skyfire looked like she had been trying to get out of the sunken bed and had collapsed half-way out. Before he realized it, he was by her side and pulling her into his lap.
"Skyfire?" he called, trying to gently shake her awake. When she didn't respond, he said her name a second time, even louder than before, and tapped the side of her face a few times with his open hand.
Skyfire managed to open her eyes to little slits and looked up at Skywise. #Skywise, help! The cub...# Then she passed out.
Skywise quickly wrapped Skyfire up in the blanket and carried her out of the hut.
"Skywise..." one of his three lovemates said upon seeing him exit the hut.
"Not now!" Skywise snarled. He rushed past the trio, heading for Cutter and Leetah's hut. The maidens watched him leave in surprise. He had never spoken so roughly to them before. Though, with his sister suddenly so ill, they supposed it was a good enough reason to explain his behaviour.
Skywise sent to Cutter as he ran, hoping that his chief and Leetah were inside their hut. With the stingtail venom coursing through Skyfire's veins, she might not have the time if he had to go searching somewhere else for them.
Cutter answered the send and was there to meet Skywise as he arrived, holding aside the beaded curtain as Skywise rushed past.
Leetah was kneeling by the sunken bed, removing her bracelets to prepare for the healing. Skywise gently laid Skyfire in the circular pit bed and released her, moving back reluctantly. He would have continued to back away but stopped when he felt Cutter's strong hand grip his shoulder in a comforting manner. He looked over his shoulder at his soul brother, worry over his sister showing clearly in his eyes.
#Don't worry, Skywise. Leetah's healing powers are stong, she will make Skyfire well again.#
#But what of her cub? Because of the cord that connects them to each other, surely it was poisoned by the stingtail along with Skyfire.#
#I... I don't know. Hopefully Leetah's power will stretch to heal them both.#
Cutter's words did little to alleviate Skywise's worry.
The two elves sat and watched as Leetah worked her healing magic for Skyfire.
#Where are Redlance and Nightfall?# Cutter asked a moment later, having just realized that neither of the two elves were present.
#I...# Skywise hesitated, thinking. #I don't know. They weren't in sight when I went to check on Skyfire and, in my panic after I found her, I didn't think to try sending to either of them.#
Both elves turned back to the two maidens as Leetah came out of her healing trance.
#I'll go look for them,# Cutter sent.
Skywise merely nodded, his eyes trained on Skyfire as she slowly began to regain consciousness.
Cutter knew his friend's mind was with his sister already so he got up and left without trying to speak to him further.
As Cutter was leaving, Skywise got up from the floor and went to sit by Skyfire's side. He took her hand in his. "Skyfire?"
She responded by opening her eyes and looking up at him, her gaze filled with a hazy confusion. "Skywise?" Her gaze shifted to the healer. "Leetah? What is going on?" She had trouble remembering what had happened.
"You were stung by a black stingtail," Skywise told her gently.
Fear suddenly flared in Skyfire's eyes. She looked down at her belly and clutched it with both hands. She found little reassurance in the familiar bulge. She looked to Leetah next. "My cub?"
Leetah had trouble meeting Skyfire's eyes. She put her hands on Skyfire's belly, closed her eyes, and concentrated on the tiny being within. She already knew what her answer would be, but felt she owed it to Skyfire to at least try to sense for the cub.
She tried, tried so hard that she thought she might pass out, but in the end she could feel nothing but the beating of Skyfire's own heart. Trembling now, Leetah slowly opened her eyes. "I'm sorry." She turned her head away, feeling shamed, as though it had been her fault that she could not have saved the cub.
Skyfire howled in agony, the sting of loss striking her directly and immediately in her heart. When the howl ended, she threw herself into Skywise's arms and began to sob uncontrollably. How could the promising spark of life unborn have been extinguised so quickly?
So deeply wrapped up in her own grief, Skyfire failed to notice when Cutter returned with Redlance and Nightfall, or when her two lovemates began to express their own grief over the loss of the cub.
Skyfire cried until she could cry no more, rocked within the safety of Skywise's arms. Then, having exhausted herself, she slipped unwillingly into sleep.
Skywise carried Skyfire back to her hut, a downcast Redlance and Nightfall trailing behind him. Villagers who encountered the small group on their direct path were quick to step aside and avert their gazes. They knew about the cub - the whole village knew by now - and were uncomfortable with having death so close to them.
Inside the trio's hut, Skywise carefully lowered his sister into the same bed he had taken her from earlier with such frantic haste. As he started to draw back, he stopped and placed a hand on Skyfire's round belly. He prayed to the stars that her body would not hold the dead cub inside her much longer. Once her body was free of the reminder of her loss, she could begin to move past it. Perhaps, with no cub to nurse and care for, her body would force itself into another breeding cycle and she could make another cub to share with Redlance and Nightfall. Such was his reasoning.
Several days later...
Skywise rose from the bed slowly, careful not to disturb his three lovemates. He couldn't say for sure what had woken him, but something was calling him from his rest. He tied his loin covering in place and grabbed his tunic off the floor, sliding it on as he strode to the entrance. He parted the beaded curtain and looked out onto the pre-dawn morning. No one was usually up at this time of day, so it was easy to spot Skyfire's wolf, Whitestar, moving between the huts.
Curious as to why the wolf would be prowling around the village when the wolf pack as a whole tended to avoid it, he moved through the entrance and lowered the beaded curtain back into place.
He followed the black wolf as she moved noiselessly between the huts, hiding behind one as Whitestar stopped in front of his sister's home.
Skyfire, her belly still rounded with the unborn cub, soon stepped outside. She walked up to her bond wolf and embraced the thick neck, burying her face in the black fur and inhaling deeply. Wolf and rider remained frozen for a long moment. then Whitestar turned her massive head and swiped her tongue across Skyfire's ear.
Skyfire let out a low, humorless giggle and raise her head. Skywise could see tears shining in her eyes.
Skyfire mounted Whitestar's back, struggling to slide her leg over the spine because the cub bulge threw off her balance. Once she was firmly seated, Whitestar turned around and began to head back in the direction she'd come from.
Skywise quickly back-pedalled and hid on the other side of the hut. He didn't want Skyfire to see him just yet. She was going somewhere with a purpose, one which he was unable to guess just yet. While he would not stop her, neither was he about to let her go off on her own. Especially not pregnant and suffering from the precarious mental state she'd been in since not long after being poisoned by the stingtail.
As Whitestar carried Skyfire up into the mountains, Skywise began to wish he'd thought to grab more than the two items of clothing he wore. Like his boots and his sword, for starters. And maybe even his breeches. But he wouldn't go back for them now, especially not for something he could do without.
Skywise kept up easily as he followed Whitestar's trail - whether wolf or rider was in charge of the destination, neither was in a hurry to reach it.
The sun had been brightening the sky for roughly an hour when Whitestar and Skyfire finally stopped at a small oasis. The pond was three times the size of the hot water pool near the village and surrounded by boulders.
Skyfire slid from Whitestar's back to the rock awkwardly, then moved to the other side and sat, disappearing from Skywise's view. Whitestar was quick to follow.
Skywise continued to move forward, determined to find out from Skyfire why she had come alone to this place. He was willing to bet that Redlance and Nightfall had been unaware that she'd left. Even now, the pair might still be sleeping.
Hidden by the rocks, Skyfire removed her clothing and laid the pieces in a single pile. Naked, she sat on the ground and turned to lean against her wolf's side. She shed silent tears into Whitestar's black fur, thinking of trhe reason that had driven her to come out here today, to come alone - well, not completely alone. Whitestar was with her. Her hands clenched in the wolf's dark pelt.
Ever since Leetah had made her heart-wrenching announcement that Skyfire's cub had no spark of life, Skyfire had hoped that the healer had been wrong. But days had gone by without so much as even the tiniest flutter of a single limb. Her womb carried not life, as it should have, but death. Although that wouldn't be for much longer. Her birth spasms were coming, the cub would be squeezed from her body soon - before the sun was halfway to the highest point in the sky, unless she missed her guess.
"Skyfire?"
Her name, so gently spoken, almost escaped Skyfire's notice. Then it registered a brief moment later and she turned her head, instinctively searching for the source of the voice. But with the boulders next to her, all she could see was them and the sky.
Skywise's head appeared almost direcly above her, his gaze finding her immediately.
"Skywise? What are you doing here?" Skyfire felt an inexplicable prickle of fear tingle along her spine.
"I followed you." Skywise jumped down, landing near Skyfire's feet.
"I gathered as much," Skyfire said with a frown.
Skywise moved to Skyfire's side. He knelt in one smooth motion and hauled her naked body into his embrace.
Skyfire allowed the embrace with little resistance.
"Why did you come here all alone?" Skywise spoke his question into Skyfire's hair, almost as if he were asking the question of the air rather than of his sister.
Skyfire wimpered, unable to prevent the sound from escaping her throat. She opened her mouth to speak but found that she suddenly couldn't. #I... the cub, Skywise. It's my time. I didn't think anyone should have to share this with me...#
Skywise tightened his hold on Skyfire. "I'll stay."
#But- Skyfire began to protest.
"I'll stay. How can I leave you, my sister? This is not something that you should face alone."
Skyfire hesitated a moment, then nodded slowly. Truthfully, she was grateful that Skywise had followed her. She did not truly wish to be alone, but felt it would have been wrong for her to ask another elf to be with her during this tragic time. And having Skywise with her was a double bonus, for he had experience - though minor - in the birthing of cubs. He had witnessed Cutter's birth, after.
She clung to him for a seemingly endless moment, taking strength from his body and the wolf that lay so still at her back. Then her birth water broke, sending forth a gush of fluid from the opening between her legs. It was a curious sensation - almost like urinating except she had no control over it. She gasped.
Skywise raised his head at the sound and looked down at Skyfire with some alarm. "What is it? Do you feel pain?"
Skyfire shook her head. "No, no pain." None except the pain that felt like a knife stabbing her in the heart, she added silently to herself. "The birth waters have come."
Skywise released Skyfire slowly and leaned her back against Whitestar's side. Once she was settled, her pale skin a shocking contrast to the she-wolf's black pelt, he moved down to her feet. He placed his hands under her knees, raised and parted them gently. Again, Skyfire offered no resistance. Skywise released Skyfire's legs and moved in between them, leaving enough distance to allow him to easily watch the place where the cub would emerge from without having to strain his neck.
Skyfire kept her eyes trained on Skywise's head as her body worked to expell the cub. She took strength from his presence, from the sight of him. The muscles in her abdomen rippled with each contraction, which were blessedly painless - one of the gifts of being an elf.
"I see the head," Skywise said not much later. "It's almost over now, sister."
Skyfire could not bear to watch this part. She closed her eyes firmly and turned her head to one side. Whitestar whined pitiously and licked Skyfire's forehead. She knew her elf friend suffered but didn't know why or how she could possibly help. Skyfire refused to respond - all her energies now directed to expelling the cub and shielding her heart from the pain of the tremendous loss.
Now that the head had appeared, the rest of the cub's body was quick to follow. It slid into Skywise's hands with ease, followed from the womb by one last small gush of birth water.
Skywise stared down at the limp body now in his hands. A boy, he thought with a touch of sadness. Perfectly formed body - eight fingers, eight toes... The fact that the cub's skin was brown and the thatch of hair atop his head was pitch black meant nothing to the stargazer. So what did it matter now that Rayek had turned out to be the sire? What weighed most heavily on Skywise's troubled mind was that the cub had died before truly living. A tiny spark had been extinguished before having a chance to shine its light into other lives.
A drop of water fell onto the cub's cheek. Surprised, Skywise looked skyward, expecting to see clouds gathered for a rain fall. When he found none, he realized with some surprise that it was a tear from one of his own eyes. More fell; he did nothing to stem their flow. There was no shame in crying, especially not over something such as this.
Skyfire knew that the cub was no longer within her. Skywsie had not moved since it had slid into his rough hands, but still she could not bring herself to open her eyes to look at the cub. Maybe she thought deep down that it would seem less real to her if she did not know what the cub looked like, that it would be easier to forget. She wasn't sure. All she did know was that not even the weight of the two moons could force her to open her eyes and make her see.
#Skywise, cut the cord, please...# She begged, nearly moaning her agony aloud.
For a moment Skywise said nothing. Then a question fell from his lips. "Did you bring a blade with you?"
Skyfire shook her head. She felt panic begin to rise within her chest, panic against the pain of feeling too much for a life lost before it had the chance to live.
Skywise saw Skyfire fidget on the ground uncomfortably. Worried for her, he did the only thing he could under the circumstances - he lowered his head and severed the cord with his own teeth. Blood spurted in small amounts into his mouth. He swallowed it and continued to chewed through the cord, soon severing it. He raised his head again now that the task was done and spit out the bit of cord that had remained in his mouth. The blood he had accepted without thinking, but this flesh was for a mother's consumption only, to nourish her after the effort of birthing and to pass nourishment on to the cub through her breast milk.
"It is done," Skywise said, sounding tired and full of defeat.
"Take it away," Skyfire begged, her voice sounding harsh and choked. "I can't bear to see it."
Skywise could not force Skyfire to see the cub if she didn't want to, even if he thought it was the wiser choice to make. He rocked back on his feet and stood. He took a quick look around and decided the best place to bring the cub was the other side of the pool, just past the boulders that lined the opposite side. There, Skyfire would not be able to see the cub's body even when she left the small oasis. He started to take a step when something surprising happened.
Savah appeared over the middle of the water. Savah, yet not Savah, if that made any sense at all. Multicolored muted lights amassed in the form of the Mother of Memory's body.
Skywise, so shocked by the sight, took a misstep and tripped over a small rock. He fell forward, unable to stop his forward momentum. The cub, still slippery with birth fluids, slid out of his hands and flew briefly through the air before landing in the water with a loud splash.
"Savah!" Skywise yelped, sounding almost as if he was reprimanding the ancient elf for startling him. He quickly jumped into the pool and waded to the spot where he'd last seen the cub. It may be dead, but he wasn't about to leave its body to rot beneath the water.
Skywise dove beneath the water's surface, quickly located the cub, and brought him back to the surface.
"WAAAA! AWAAAH!" Tiny limbs flailed, protesting the rough treament that the whole body had just received.
Skywise stared in open-mouthed amazement as Skyfire's cub proclaimed his living status with loud wailings.
"Skywise!" Skyfire called out sharply to her brother.
Skywise turned and began to wade back to Skyfire. She'd gotten up on her hands and knees, birth cord trailing between her legs, her eyes locked anxiously upon Skywise and her brown-skinned cub.
When Skywise reached Skyfire, she took her cub eagerly from his arms. She fell back on her behind and examined the cub intently. She began to laugh and cry joyously, making noise to rival that of her son's.
Skywise, suddenly remembering Savah's surprise appearance, turned to see if she was still there. She was, shedding sparkling tears of light even as she smiled.
"That you, Savah," Skywise said. He bowed his head respectfully.
#But I have done nothing, young Wolfrider,# Savah sent gently. #The cub was already alive, even if he didn't seem to be so. He must have been, else he wouldn't be breathing now. I think the scorpian poison merely paralized him, even his mind, to the point of death. And that's why neither Leetah nor myself could sense the spark of his life.#
"But we do owe you thanks, Savah!" Skywise protested. "If the cub hadn't awakened, he would have been left here for any passing predator."
Skyfire had calmed down from the initial shock of seeing her cub alive and was now putting him to her breast for his first suckle. Thankfully, his birth hunger matched his lusty wails and he latched on to her nipple almost immediately, beginning to nurse. Skyfire winced as his tiny, deceptively powerful gums clenched down on her nipple. Then the pain eased, to be replaced by a curious pleasure as her milk began to flow.
#I cannot remain much longer,# Savah said. #It taxes my strength to appear before you thusly.#
Skywise nodded in understanding.
#I will let the Wolfriders know where you are so that they can come to you and bring you back to the village. Savah's body of light began to fade as she prepared to return to her body.
Skyfire raised her head suddenly. "Savah, wait!" she cried. "Not yet!"
With visible effort, it took some moments for Savah to bring her body of light back from its half-dissipated state to its full form. #What is it, child?# she asked, her voice both gentle and strained.
"Without the Sun Folk, he..." she paused to indicate her cub with a nod of her head, "would not be here. He shall be raised as a Wolfrider, but I want him to have a Sun Folk name so that no one will ever forget just to whom his very existence is owed. I want you and Leetah to choose something fitting, then be there to greet us with it upon our return."
Savah smiled and nodded. #So it shall be, child.# And with that, Savah was no longer able to remain. She totally faded out, her spirit returning to her body back at the village.
Skywise hauled himself out of the pool and sat next to Skyfire, shielding both her and the cub from the sun as best he could. He placed a hand on her scarred shoulder and pressed his forehead to the side of her face.
Skyfire turned her head and rubbed her cheek against Skywise's with a gentle, needy affection.
Whitestar, tired now of being the patient back rest, wanted to inspect her elf bond's new cub. She got up, jostling the trio in the process. The cub's mouth slipped from Skyfire's nipple and he began to cry. Skyfire, rather than putting him back to her breast, raised him for Whitestar's perusal.
Whitestar sniffed the dark-skinned cub from end to end, giving small licks as she went. Satisfied that the cub was sound, Whitestar sat back on her haunches and pulled her lips back in a wolfy grin, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth.
Back in the Sun Village, the Wolfriders waited anxiously for Savah to come out of her trance. They had seen the tears falling from Savah's eyes when her body of light, miles away, had done the same. Something must have gone wrong, they thought, else why would she be crying?
Redlance and Nightfall clung to each other in their sadness. They each blamed themselves for not waking and stopping Skyfire from leaving their shared hut earlier. Now they feared for their lovemate's life.
As Savah's spirit re-entered her body, a deep, audible breath announced her return. She opened her eyes and wiped the tears from her face, taking a moment to compose herself before she spoke to those that had assembled before her.
"Savah?" Cutter asked, taking a hesitant step toward the tall, regal elf.
Savah raised her gaze to meet Cutter's and she smiled gently. "Mother and cub are both alive and doing quite well," she said with great joy.
Choruses of "What?", "Huh?", "Mother AND cub?" were spoken with no small amount of surprise by the assembled Wolfriders.
"Yes. I have seen them both. The boy has a good set of lungs on him."
"A boy!" Nightfall asked.
"A son!" Redlance cried. "We have a son!" He grabbed Nightfall's hips, raised her high in the air and swung her around in a tight circle.
Nightfall laughed at her lifemate's antics. "Put me down, Redlance," she said between giggles. "Let's go get our new family."
Family. The word had never sounded more sweet than it did at that moment.
The party that went out to retrieve Skyfire and the cub arrived at the oasis in less than half the time that it had taken her and Skywise to get there - due mainly to two eager elves who raced their wolves all the way there.
When the oasis came into sight, Redlance and Nightfall began howling to announce their arrival. The chorus was taken up by the other Wolfriders and their wolves.
Skywise leapt to the top of the rock and began to howl in reply, telling the tribe in wolf speak of where they were and that all was well.
The retrieval party stopped and Redlance and Nightfall dismounted before the wolves had come to a stop. As the two elves passed Skywise to get to Skyfire and the cub, each nodded to him quickly and continued on their way.
Skyfire was sitting with her legs crossed and her back against one of the boulders. She cradled the cub in her lap with Skywise's damp tunic draped over her front from shoulders to knees - creating a cool shelter for the cub to protect him from the sun's increasingly harsh rays. She looked up as her two lovemates crossed the boulders and came to kneel before her. She smiled at them, glad to see them, glad that they were finally with her.
"Come look," Skyfire said when both the other two hesitated to remove the covering that hid the cub from view. "See our new son."
It was Redlance who finally reached out to Skyfire's shoulders. He took Skywise's tunic in both his hands and pulled it away, then lowered it to the ground and allowed his eyes to feast on the sight of the tiny boy.
Skyfire held the sleeping cub out for both of them to see. Nightfall gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. Redlance reached out to touch the baby elf. He did not see the brown skin and black hair that proved the cub was not of his blood, what he saw was a tiny, breathing infant more beautiful than any he could ever recall having seen. He saw a cub that he could be a father to, be a teacher that would guide him through his cubhood until he claimed the mantle of a fully-grown adult and perhaps even beyond.
Skyfire leaned forward and placed the cub in Redlance's arms. He looked shocked for a moment and continued to stare at the tiny being in absolute wonderment. The cub's body jerked, almost as if from some scary inner vision. He jerked again, then his eyes began to open. He blinked a few times and stared up at Redlance, looking as if he was surprised to see a new face. He gurgled and waved his tiny limbs around. Whether that was a sign of his approval or not was anyone's guess.
Redlance felt suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. His whole body began to tremble and he bowed his head over the tiny, naked body cradled in his arms. He started to cry, his heart so filled with love that the excess emotion had to force itself out in other ways. His tears seemed to be contagious. The next thing he knew, Nightfall and Skyfire were both crying and clinging to him.
The tears only began to stop flowing as the cub began to voice his displeasure at the situation. The three of them separated and Redlance handed the cub back to Skyfire once she'd raised the hem of her shirt to expose one pale breast. She put the cub to her breast so that he could feed. It hadn't been long since the last time he'd had his first suckle, but he hadn't fed long then. He accepted the offered nipple eagerly and clamped down with his gums and lips.
Once assured that the cub was content, Skyfire turned her attention to her two lovemates. "I'm sorry for causing you worry. If I'd only known..." She looked down at the cub, then shook her head helplessly.
"You couldn't have known," Nightfall said, placing a hand on Skyfire's shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort. "Not even Savah herself could find any life in the cub." She paused to think over her next words. "We would have shared his death with you, just as we would have - just as we will share his life. But my heart is glad that he lives."
The three elves turned to watching the cub feed in silence for a few moments.
"So what do we name this little one?" Nightfall asked as she stroked the cub's tiny fist. He opened his hand and gripped the finger, all while continuing to feed uninterrupted.
"Well, what about-" Redlance had been about to make a suggestion only to have Skyfire swiftly press a hand against his mouh.
"It is not for us to name this one." She removed her hand from Redlance's mouth and returned it to supporting the cub's lower body. "Savah and Leetah are deciding that now." When Redlance looked confused, she explained further. "Three times now this cub would not have existed without the Sun Folk. Leetah healed me and sent my body into an early breeding cycle when we first came here. I believe - now - that enough of Leetah's healing magic passed through my blood to the cub's to keep him from dieing from the stingtail poison. And if Savah hadn't startled Skywise into dropping him into the water-" Redlance and Nightfall gasped at hearing of the near disaster, "-then we wouldn't have known he was alive. We would have left his body behind for the first predator to come along." She didn't include Rayek being the cub's sire as one of the reasons for the cub's existence because Redlance could just as easily have been his sire - would have been, if she hadn't joined with Rayek.
Skywise reappeared, poking his head over top of the small group. "You almost ready to go? Everyone is anxious to meet the cub."
"Soon, brother," Skyfire replied, smiling up at him. "Once he's finished his feeding."
"I'll let Cutter know," Skywise said. He passed a small bundle of hides to Redlance. "From Moonshade. To wrap up the cub... and the afterbirth," he explained.
Redlance nodded as he accepted he bundle. He picked up Skywise's tunic and handed it to him.
"Thanks," Skywise said just before he disappeared from view. He pulled it on and approached Cutter and the rest of the tribe.
"She's just feeding him now," Skywise said to Cutter, speaking loud enough for the others to hear.
"And they're both doing well?" Cutter asked.
"Yes. I was worried about Skyfire during the birth - she couldn't bring herself to look at the cub at all, thinking that he was dead, but then... she took to him, just like a she-wolf with her first litter. And the cub..." Skywise raised his hands and stared at them with something akin to awe. "When I pulled him from the water, when I saw that he was alive... The feelings... Cutter, I couldn't even begin to describe what I felt."
Cutter capped a hand on Skywise's shoulder and gave him a friendly little shake. "You've both done well today."
When the new family was ready to leave, Nightfall carried the cub over the boulders while Redlance took charge of what remained of the afterbirth - Skywise had found a sharp rock to sever crude slices to feed Skyfire with while they'd waited - and kept a close eye on Skyfire just in case she needed help.
Everyone was eager to get a look at the new cub, elves and wolves alike, and if anyone had a problem with his brown skin, black hair, and yellow eyes, they didn't share or show their opinions. In fact, they all seemed delighted by the tribe's newest member. Even Strongbow, who rarely expressed emotions outwardly - excluding all forms of anger - cracked a smile as the cub yawned hugely.
When the Wolfriders arrived back in the village later, Savah and a heavily pregnant Leetah were waiting to greet them. Savah rarely ventured from her hut, especially during the day when it was so hot, but she had given her word that she would greet Skyfire upon her return with a fitting Sun Folk name for the boy cub.
Skyfire, with Redlance and Nightfall by her side, walked up to where the two Sun Folk women waited, and silently presented the cub to them. Savah took the cub in her arms and peeled the blanket away from his face. Leetah placed a hand on Savah's arm and leaned in for a closer look. She had to sniff to hold back a few tears as unexpected emotions surged within her. A little replica of Rayek rested in Savahs hands. She hadn't known for sure that the cub was of Rayek's blood, not until this moment. She thought it was wonderful that a living, breathing piece of her life-long friend and former lovemate still existed in the Sun Village.
After a few moments of gazing at the child, Savah raised her eyes and looked directly at Skyfire. "Mathias. For an elf that lived here long ago, who was known for taming scorpians - or stingtails, as you call them."
Skyfire considered it a moment. "Mathias," she said, nodding her approval.
"Bringing a cub back from death," Skywise whispered to Cutter a short distance away. "It'll be hard for you to top that."
Cutter smiled. "Wait and see, soul brother."
A few days later, Leetah bore twins - a boy to be named Suntop for his sunny yellow hair, and a girl to be named Ember for similar reasons.
Author's Note: For those of you that don't know, Mathias is the name of the Rock in the movie, the Scorpian King. I thought it appropriate, and it sounded elfish enough by Sun Folk standards that it wouldn't seem out of place.
Also, This is the last story I wrote in advance for the Power of One series. I still have plans to continue it for many years into the EQ timeline, but at this point I will be typing up all the stories for Alternaverse and getting them onto the site so that it will be caught up. Hopefully it won't take long and I can continue with both universes.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Your praise and feedback are much appreciated. It wouldn't be wort all the time and effort I've put into this if there weren't people out there to enjoy what I've written.