Corvus Corax had been off on a negotiation campaign upon a stubborn backwater world whose compliance had been taking unusually long, and it felt like years had passed since Wenona last saw him. Normally, with non-violent compliances, Corvus could return to the Shadow of the Emperor every few evenings and only be on the planet for a few days at a time. But the ruler of this world had demanded that the Primarch stay on the planet for the entire compliance, out of fear of assassination. He permitted no more guests than what he deemed necessary. They had finally allotted the Primarch a chance to return to the ship, but only after two full weeks of bartering with the ruler.

He flopped onto his bed with a sigh, landing next to his half-asleep wife. She turned to him and gave him a sweet smile.

"It's good to have you back, shikąʼ. I missed you." She mumbled, cuddling up beside him. Corvus put his arm around her and held her close.

"I missed you too, shiʼáád. When I'm down there again, I swear to the throne I will be one more delay off from deploying the Legion." He groaned, clasping a palm over his forehead.

Wenona pressed a kiss to his jaw. "I'm sorry, shikąʼ. But you're here now. How many days do you have?" She asked, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.

"Just two nights. It was nearly impossible to get them. I had to lie and say I was a father!" Corvus replied with a low, tired chuckle.

Wenona kissed his cheek. "Well, we better make those two nights count…" she said, with a flirtatious smile on her lips. She crawled up on top of Corvus' chest, making him turn pink and his eyes widen.

"What… What might you mean by that, shiʼáád?" he stumbled. He knew exactly what she meant, but even after seventy years of marriage, he still clammed up before sex.

"What do you think I mean, shikąʼ?" She teased. Wenona rarely teased, but she couldn't help herself when her husband clammed up.

Corvus' blush intensified, and he expressed a soft, nervous smile. She dipped down and pulled him into a kiss, a gentle kiss that told little of the lust she felt. He placed a pale palm on the back of her head and aggravated the kiss, nibbling at her lower lip.

Wenona opened her mouth, a cue for his tongue to slip between her lips eagerly, and danced her fingertips over the lean, solid muscles of his bare shoulders. Their bodies were pressed against each other as they kissed. Corvus kept one hand laced in her raven hair and one on the small of her back. Wenona kept both of her hands busy, exploring the curves and depths of his pallid chest.

Wenona pulled away, leaving them connected by a small line of spittle. She beamed at him, her true shy demeanor spilling through. Her husband gave her a big, dumb smile back, finding it difficult to keep his eyes on her face, the black pools always darting to the tops of her breasts barely visible under her nightdress.

Corvus gulped, mouth filling with saliva when he tried to form words, before stammering, "Throne your… Your so beautiful…" He had seen her a million times before and had spoken this compliment many times more, but every time they were intimate, her elegance struck him as it had when he had seen her for the first time.

Wenona smiled and gave him a quick kiss before sitting back up on her calves. She dragged up her nightdress, Corvus' hungry gaze absorbed every inch of exposed pale skin. When the black garment reached the floor, his attention focused on her petite, perky breasts. The pink of her nipples were in stark contrast to her ivory skin, and her long raven hair barely concealed the mounds.

"Throne, shiʼáád, you take my breath away every time I see you…" Corvus mumbled, making Wenona blush.

"As… as do you, shikąʼ." She replied, unsure of how to respond.

The couple sat there for a while, staring at each other and absorbing each other's grace. Wenona's gaze raked over his form, so slim and gaunt, yet carved with rigid muscles and covered in geometric tattoos. Corvus was far from soft, all taught muscle and protruding bone. But she loved it. His strength wasn't obvious to her. She loved how he made her feel so small. She simply loved him.

Corvus' black eyes fixated on her, lithe and lean, with skinny limbs, small breasts, and narrow hips. Wenona was so small, so delicate. His gut feeling was of protection but when lust clouded his mind, he found that turned to an urge to break her.

"Turn over, I don't… I feel… I feel weird being on… on top…" Wenona whispered, kissing his jaw.

Corvus did as she called for, his skinny form looming over her. Wenona pushed his long hair behind his ears and kissed him.

"Better?" he inquired.

"Better," Wenona replied, drawing him into another rich kiss.

Corvus cupped his wife's breasts and gave them a soft squeeze, causing her to moan into the kiss. The Primarch broke it, moving his attention to the sweet spot on her neck. While he might fumble with his words, he couldn't forget how to please her.

Wenona snaked her hands along the bony pale ridge of his back, hands landing at his slender waist and fumbling off his pants and briefs in a clumsy act. Wenona enclosed her slender fingers around his half-erect cock, earning a shuddering breath. Like his body, it was lengthy yet thin, fitting so perfectly in her delicate fingers.

Corvus left a trail of wet, messy kisses from her neck to her breasts, where he took one of her achingly hard nipples into the silky warmth of his mouth. Wenona arched her back and moaned, before pumping her hand up his length in slow, steady movements. This made Corvus moan into her skin. A pleasurable sensation that sent vibrations rippling through the nerves of her breast.

The couple continued like this until his seventeen inches of alabaster flesh ached to be inside her, pre-cum prickling at the top of his greyish pink tip. The Primarch drew away from her chest and gave a breathy moan.

"Throne, I missed you…" Corvus breathed, kissing her again as his hands moved from her ribs to her thighs. His fingers looped around the waistband of her panties and he pulled them off in a swift motion.

Wenona spread her legs ever-so wider and draped her arms around Corvus' back, drawing him closer. The tip of the Primarch's cock pressed against her clit, causing her to squeak in bliss. Her pussy dripped with need, thighs soaked. "I'm ready, shikąʼ… show me… show me how badly you missed me…" she sighed.

The Primarch lined the tip of his cock up with her dripping entrance and slid into her. He had to push to fit inside her, the walls constricting around his cock. It didn't hurt her, quite the opposite in fact. Wenona moaned, a seductive sound that caused Corvus' cock to twitch deep inside her. The Primarch nipped at her sweet spot as she went, breathing in the heady geranium scent of her body wash.

Corvus didn't wish to hurt her, and he didn't want to be too harsh. But she knew he craved to be rough, he yearned to fuck her hard, and he wanted to fuck hard the whole night. Wenona could see it in his eyes, in how he gripped the sheets instead of her shoulders, and in how much care he took in not pushing in too fast.

Corvus paused and glanced at the woman beneath him, once sheathed in her warmth. Wenona bit her lip and squirmed, getting used to having something so big inside her again. His cock felt good. She missed being filled with him. Wenona stared up at him and arched her back, savoring how good his cock felt pressed against the top of her cunt.

"Don't hold yourself back, shikąʼ… I… ah, I wanna know just… Just how much you… Fuck.." any attempts at being a flirtatious tease melted away and the shy sweetheart Wenona was replacing the visage. Something that caused both of them to smile.

"As.. as you wish, shiʼáád," Corvus said, before grabbing Wenona's waist with both hands and yanking it up to meet his.

Wenona met this with a surprised squeak that soon turned into raucous moans as the Primarch set a ruthlessly strong pace. The intensity of his thrusts gave Wenona little time to think or process anything except the titillation of his length digging deep into her cunt. Her legs shook, her breasts bounced, and she dug her head into the pillow, moaning in euphoria as he claimed her.

"F-Fuck, shikąʼ! Just.. oh throne, just like that!" Wenona moaned, grasping the sheets below her.

Corvus attacked her neck with wet kisses and lovebites, sloppy and unfocused, sometimes breaking from them to whisper dirty things to her. It didn't take long for him to find her g-spot, earning him an intense moan and a forceful grip around the Primarch's back, pulling him closer.

Corvus targeted his thrusts there and kept them animalistic in speed and strength. He railed into her, gripping her small ass strong enough to bruise, growling her name into the crook of her neck. Wenona's eyes rolled into her head, throne how she had missed being fucked so hard.

"I… Ak'eed… Fuck, shiʼáád I'm close.." Corvus growled into her neck, plunging deeper than he had before, causing her to shout in pleasure. The Primarch pushed her into the bed with most of his weight, pinning her underneath him, making her cunt feel unearthly tight around him.

"I-I am too, shikąʼ! Fuck… oh throne…. Fuck me harder!" Wenona moaned, her whole body trembling from the blossoming pleasure deep in her gut.

Wenona brought one of her hands down to her slit and rubbed two fingers around her clit. Corvus' thrusts became chaotic and arduous, the pace irregular, but still strong. The warmth inside Wenona's stomach coiled tighter, hands trembling as she worked, a consistent stream of moans and begs for more spilled from her lips.

Corvus' cock dug deep, and he clamped his teeth down into his shoulder, hard enough for prickles of blood to flow into his mouth. Wenona's whole body tensed as she felt his cock twitch. She rolled her hips against him as he kept himself steady, hands unable to stay still on her body.

"F-Fuck! Fuck… Corvus… Corvus please, f-fuck me, I'm so close." She half moaned, half yelled as she picked up the pace on her clit.

Corvus growled into the bite and pulled away, leaving another similarly rough bite on her neck. "No," he whispered into her ear with a deep moan, "I'm gonna fucking breed you," he growled, leaving another bite on her neck.

As if on his command, Corvus dumped a massive load of cum into his wife, cursing in Lycean as he filled her with his seed. Wenona moaned, pressing her whole body back into the bed in ecstasy.

Corvus remained inside her until she came, pressing gentle kisses to her neck and jaw to help her. When he pulled out, he fell to her side and pulled her in close. The Primarch shuddered and sweat dripped along the curves of his face, an afterglow blush covering his alabaster skin.

"Thank… Thank you, shiʼáád… I love you…." Corvus muttered through deep breaths.

"I love… I love you too, shiką'" Wenona replied, kissing the top of his pectorals.

"I… I want… I want to go again, if… If you don't… Mind." He stammered.

"I don't at all… shiką'. Just… Just let me rest a bit..."

It had been two weeks since the Primarch left the Shadow of the Emperor . Zaucarro's compliance still requiring him to toil away on the planet's surface without so much as a vox call. Yet, according to the satellite taps; It would only be a few more weeks before the Primarch returned.

Wenona had relished in that knowledge, as within those two weeks, a mysterious affliction had gripped her. The symptoms were not major at first, merely nausea that robbed her of her appetite. She assumed it could be menstrual troubles. But as the week continued on, and fatigue, bloating and aching breasts developed instead of the cramps, joint aches, and headaches, she worried it might be something else.

She tried her best to keep these fears down and out of her mind. She told herself it was a drawn-out precursor to a heavy period, or that panic and worry about her husband had gripped her. Whenever Corvus travelled to a world without her, she became panicked. Rendering her unable to sleep. Her mind would swim with fears of all the different ways a war could go wrong. She usually never worried herself sick, though, and she had never worried about him during a diplomatic compliance before now.

It worked for the most part because she told herself that. But when the symptoms didn't abate when she heard news of Corvus' return two weeks later, she couldn't run from the fact any longer. Something was wrong.

He had come back late, according to the ship's clock. He had forfeited most of the Legion's post-compliance celebrations; saying to save them for the next day. He wanted rest.

Wenona had waited for him, sitting up in their bed, trying her best to distract herself by reading. She had wanted to tell him of her condition, that the next morning she wished to see Chief Apothecary Kaunis. But when he stumbled from his arming chamber and crashed onto their bed, not even having bothered to take his body glove off, she knew it wasn't the right time.

He grunted as she snuggled up to him, nuzzling his face into her chest. The rubbery texture of his body glove rubbed at her skin uncomfortably and the metal of his knee and elbow pads jutted into her ribs and hips in harsh spikes of bitter cold, but she didn't care. His presence seemed enough to calm her to sleep.

And she slept well. Until severe nausea and a horrible, cramping pain deep within her gut jolted Wenona awake. Spittle overfilled her mouth and she moved on pure, animalistic instinct. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and half-shuffled, half-ran to the washroom door, happy for it's proximity. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and gripped the sides of the bowl.

Something crept up Wenona's throat, and each cough brought it up closer until bile filled her mouth. It burned her throat, made her cry hot tears and blinded her senses to the extent she didn't notice Corvus' hands on her back. Not until her heaves had subsided, and she rocked onto her haunches.

"Oh throne…. Wenona, are you… are you alright?" Corvus asked, the tiredness and exhaustion wiped from his demeanor.

She shook her head no and went to hug him before the second wave of nausea hit her, making her dry heave before another bout of puke spilled from her mouth in a series of violent shakes. Corvus kept her hair back and murmured soothing assurances.

She puked a grand total of three times that morning, and it shocked her she had even had that much in her. She choked back a few sobs and leaned into Corvus' embrace. He cooed and rubbed circles into her arms with his thumbs as he held her.

"Do… Do you know why you…This happened?" He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her head.

"I don't know what… What's wrong with me, shiką', I, I'm… I'm so scared…." She sputtered between her tears, wiping them away with trembling fists.

Corvus kissed her head again. Taking a moment to think of what to say, "Let's… Let's take you to Kaunis, alright?" He said with care.

"Not… Not yet, please." The rest of her words came as a mumbled mess, tears pricking at her eyes.

Corvus nodded and picked her up, carrying her back to their bed. He laid her on the bed and cuddled up next to her, holding her tight and kissing her head and cheeks. He whispered kind things to her, that it was all going to be alright and how he would not leave her. That he loved her so much and how strong and brave she was. He held her until her sobs calmed, until she felt ready to follow him to the Apothecarion. Ready for an answer.

Kaunis presented the couple a gentle smile as he entered the door. They looked terrible. Corvus dressed in the first pair of fatigues he could find. Wenona shivering in an oversized wool robe. They were both exhausted, all dark circles under wide eyes and messy hair.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice, dìná." Corvus greeted with a sigh. "I know it's your rest hours, too."

"Apothecaries never rest, my Lord. There's always work to be done!" Kaunis replied with a light chuckle, a poor attempt at piercing the choking amounts of nervous tension in the chamber. "What seems to be the problem, my Lady?" He asked as he turned on the cogitator on his desk.

Wenona tensed up and strengthened her grip on Corvus' hand. She could not meet his gaze, staring at the floor as blush took over her face. "I… About… About Four weeks ago I… I started having terrible… Terrible nausea… Two weeks ago, I started feeling… Feeling fatigued and my… My breasts hurt… My stomach looks… Looks and feels really… Really bloated too." Wenona gripped her free hand around the front opening of her robe and stared at her husband. Their own code for him to take over the conversation.

"And then, just a few hours ago, she woke up and vomited… Really intensely, too." Corvus finished, flashing a tender smile at her.

Kaunis nodded and keyed commands into his cogitator, the diagonsi-system whirring as it spat out his next series of questions about her symptoms. The Apothecary paused for a moment as he read the rune display, a blush creeping onto his face. "Uh… My Lady, have… Have you… Have you menstruated this month?" He stammered, eyes glued to his screen.

Wenona's eyes darted along the patterns of the floor tiles in thought, and she tapped her fingers on her knees. "N-no… no I… I haven't" she stumbled, not looking at the Apothecary.

He muttered something in response as he keyed in another set of commands. He sucked in a gasp from between his teeth. "Um. When was the last time you had... You had sex, my Lord?" Kaunis asked, voice tight and small.

Corvus turned the same shade of red as his wife. "Well, about… about four weeks ago now." He attempted to stay calm for the sake of his son. But any talk of his relationship, especially such private matters as his sexuality, always made him embarrassed. Wenona covered her mouth with her hand and fastened her gaze to the floor.

"And… and did you use... protection, my Lord?"

Corvus lent Wenona a worried look, and she shook her head. Corvus cursed under his breath. "N-no, Kaunis. No, I did not." Apology hung from his tone, and he found eyes locked on the floor.

"I-I… I'm going to draw a blood test. I have a pretty fair suspicion, but I need confirmation." Kaunis had regained his composure, fiddling through cabinets for one of the venipuncture kit-boxes.

Wenona gripped Corvus' hand with all of the strength she had, unable to calm her racing thoughts as Kaunis worked. A suspicion brewed in her mind, but she refused to think about it. She wasn't interested in dwelling on it. She couldn't confront in any capacity beyond a whisper in the back of her brain because of the fear. All she could do was hope it wasn't true, that it was something else, anything else.

After each five of the little vials were full, Kaunis stood. "I'll run these through our labs. I should have a result for you both in just a half hour's time."

As the Apothecary shut the door, a loud sigh dispelling the tension that had built in her body. She leaned her head on Corvus' shoulder, and he drew her into a sideways hug.

"You're being so strong, shi'áád, I love you." He muttered.

"I-I love you too… What… What do you think it is?" She asked, gnawing her lip and looking up at him with wide eyes.

Corvus took in a sharp sigh, "I… Wen… I think- I think you're pregnant." He stammered, blush creeping back onto his features.

Wenona tensed and tore away from him, blush replaced with pallor. "Really?" She squeaked, her voice so small he barely heard it.

"Y-yeah, Russ and Freya have a kid and… And, and he was telling me she had similar problems with vomiting in the morning during… During her pregnancy. And you know, the timing and all… Matches… Up." He trailed off as he looked at her face, stark white, eyes and mouth wide open. Her lower lip trembled, and her brown eyes were glistening under the fluorescent lights. He sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I won't… Let's just wait for Kaunis. I'm sorry, I love you."

Wenona did her best not to cry. She tried her best to tell herself that it was only a possibility, that so many other things were much more likely. It was going to be alright, and it was a terrible, late period. That nothing was wrong, and she had worried herself sick. That she and Corvus would go to bed laughing and this all would be a funny story she told Calpurnia or Freya the next time they saw each other.

But when Kaunis opened the door, silent tears were trickling across her cheeks as Corvus rubbed her back.

"Is everything… Alright?" He cocked his head to the side.

Corvus nodded, "We're just… Just nervous. Wen's never been sick like this… Neither have I, for that matter." He replied with a chuckle.

Kaunis nodded again and sat in front of the couple. "Well, my Lord, I think you won't have reason to be, given the results!" He said, a smile beaming on his face. He took in a deep breath. "Congratulations, you're having a child." His words came in an awkward stint, as if someone else had told him what to say.

Wenona tensed in Corvus' arms, gripping the fabric of his shirt with white knuckles. Her eyes were wide, staring up at his face.

"Can. Can we have a moment, Apothecary?" Corvus said, trying to hold back panic from his voice.

Kaunis nodded and hurried out, leaving them in his office.

Wenona dragged away from him, looking at him with tears pricking at her deep brown eyes. They were more panicked than he could have imagined. Her lower lip trembled, squeaking cries were trapped in her throat. Corvus pushed a lock of raven hair behind her ear, a sympathetic smile painted on his face.

"What are we going to do?" Wenona asked with a small and quiet voice.

Corvus sighed, "I don't know, do you… Do you want to, to keep it?" he asked, the blunt question being the only thing he could think to say.

"Y-yes… It doesn't… It feels like I should." She mumbled, wringing her hands and blinking rapidly.

Corvus drew her into a sideways hug and kissed the side of her face. "Then… Then… Throne… I don't know what we're going to do either, shiʼáád. I really don't know. But I love you, shiʼáád, I love you more than anything and I will not stop now." That caused her to smile, but she had nothing to tell him. Panic blinded her mind, panic so intense that it robbed her of words, leaving her mouth dry, hands shaking and heart thundering. She drew in a shaky, hoarse breath, and Corvus drew her into a tight hug.

"I love you," He whispered.

All she could do was cry.

Every day passed in the same way since her visit to Kaunis. She woke up and ran straight to the bathroom to vomit while Corvus held her hair back and murmured comforting assurances to her. She spent most of the day either asleep or staring out the windows at the stars. Her mental state, however, had never been lower, she couldn't get out of her bed most days.

Corvus did his best to comfort his wife in these moments, whether it be staying in bed and holding her, or attempting to calm her with soothing words. He felt that it was better than nothing, despite the fact that both did little.

Corvus loathed being elsewhere from his wife. He scorned that his work kept him locked in his office, on the bridge or in vox-meetings. He never wanted to leave her side. The act of it made his hearts sink.

The Primarch had finished his daily duties for the night, returning to his chambers to find Wenona curled in a ball on their bed, hidden under the covers, with her back facing him. She shifted as he opened the door and sat next to her.

"How are you doing today, shiʼáád?" He asked softly, adjusting to sit cross-legged and running a hand down her arm.

She mumbled something that sounded like 'fine', and rolled over, laying her head in his lap and looking up at him. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and a mess of black hair framed her pallid face.

"Have you been in bed all day?" He brushed some of it off of her face and busied his hand with stroking her hair, something she always loved.

She nodded and closed her eyes, breathing a deep sigh.

"I need to shower… do you want to with me?" He asked, looking down and flashing a shy smile.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, surprised, blush overtaking her face.

He chuckled, "I figured it might be a good way to motivate you."

She sat up and nodded, falling into his arms and nestling her face into the crook of his neck. He scooped her up into his arms, earning a small squeak of surprise.

The warm water of the shower felt pleasurable against her skin, but the gentle strength of Corvus' hands rubbing her shoulders felt better. He said little, pressing kisses to the top of her head and the side of her face as he massaged her back and arms.

Corvus had only whispered soft 'I love you's', little compliments about how beautiful she was, how brave she was; nothing about the baby, as those compliments would only worsen her mood. But he couldn't help himself from asking a question as he worked sage-scented shampoo through her hair.

"Why do you… Do you know why you feel this way, shiʼáád?" he said softly, softer than the cascade of water pattering off of their skin.

Wenona tensed and looked down at her bare feet, watching water trickle down her skinny legs. Thoughts swam through her clouded mind, and she brought her hands up over her breasts, fumbling with her fingers. "I… I just. I feel hopeless. I feel like… Like I'll be a terrible mother. And that… That I'm a terrible person for bringing a child into… Into this galaxy. Even if I would be good, I, Corvus, I just don't… I don't think it's a good time."

Corvus nodded in understanding and pulled his hands away. Wenona turned to face him as she washed the soap from her hair. Stark pallor crossed her face, eyes wide and lip trembling. He cupped her face with a gentle hand.

"Don't say that about yourself, shiʼáád. You'll be a wonderful mother, I'm sure of it." He kissed her gently and gave a soft smile as he pulled away.

"Why do you think that?" She mumbled, eyes darting back down to her feet.

"Because you're the most wonderful woman in the galaxy, of course."

"I'm not." She said, turning her head away from his touch. He moved his hands, now holding both of hers in a tender grasp.

"What makes you say that, shiʼáád?" He asked, cocking his head. Wenona had never had the best self-esteem, but she had never outright disagreed with his compliments.

She tensed up, tears bubbling up in the corners of her eyes. "Because I'm… I'm so dumb and shy. I can't… Can't speak to anyone and I'm always… Always ruining everything I try to do. I'm… I'm an irresponsible idiot and I-" Her own tears cut off her words She yanked her hands out of Corvus' grip and covered her face. She sobbed into her palms for a few moments, before breathing and regain herself. "I'll be such a horrible mother." She mumbled, the words quivering in tune with the rest of her frame.

Corvus had a surprised look on his face, the words like a xenos language to him. He pulled her into a hug, the smell of geraniums and sage filling his senses. "Don't say that shiʼáád, you'll be a wonderful mother. You're not dumb, you're so intelligent, one of the smartest people I know. You don't ruin everything, quite the opposite, in fact. You're so incredibly kind and patient, I just… I can't imagine why you would say these things, shiʼáád."

She didn't respond. Instead sobbing into his damp chest, he cooed and tightened the hug before pulling away.

He kept his hands on her shoulders and sighed. "Let's finish this shower before we talk anymore about it, alright? I don't want Nasturi to scold me about running the hot water down." He said with a soft chuckle, before taking her lips into his for a soft kiss.

Wenona nodded, a barely there smile playing on her lips, and wiped tears from her eyes, staying silent for the rest of the shower. But fears were creeping into her mind; fears that made her soul tremble and her fists clench.

By the time she had dressed herself and sitting on the bed, her entire body shuddered with anxious energy. She couldn't keep her hands still, switching from combing through her hair to fumbling in her lap in rapid, jerky movements.

As he came out from the bathroom, Corvus knew what was wrong. He sat by her side in an instant, bracing palms on her shoulders. "What is it, shiʼáád?" he asked, always the first question. He found it easier for her to regain her composure if she lead the conversations.

"I-I'm scared." She muttered, gripping her upper arms around herself in a tight hug, skinny fingers digging into her skin.

"Of what?" He asked, keeping his voice quiet, resisting the urge to pull her close.

"Because, Corvus, there's… There's a war going on. Your Azhé can call it… Call it whatever, whatever he wants, but… But it is still a war in my eyes. I just… I just don't want our child to grow up only seeing you every few… Few weeks and for… For their only path in life being a soldier. I realize… know you think your… Your ready, but I don't think the… The Imperium is ready." Tears fell from her eyes. Her entire body shook, and she gripped her arms tighter, blood prickling under manicured nails.

Corvus took in a sharp sigh, adjusting himself so he stared right at her. "I promise you, our child will have a good life. Nearly all of my dáas are fathers, and my Azhé understands they want to be with their children, so, He lets them take up fewer campaigns and return to their homeworlds. He has this entire system designed around me and my dáas having kids. Wen, everything will all be alright. I think we'll make amazing parents and everything will be alright even with the crusade. And I promise you, I will not force our child to be a soldier. I would never do that." His tone calm, laced with the underlying authority that he used when speaking on the battlefield.

Wenona took in a deep and shaky breath, blinking back tears. He was correct; she understood that in the darkest core of her mind. She knew that he was correct, yet her mind raced, raced with words that were impossible to say. "N-no. No, Corvus it's… It's… It won't be alright! I know it won't." She cursed herself for not making an actual arguement. But those dark eyes, that deep voice, they made it futile to fight with him, inconceivable to pull any point out of her mind. They made her understand, in the deepest reaches of her heart, that he was correct. That everything was going to be alright.

Corvus pulled her into a hug, resting his head on top of hers. "Everything will be alright, Wen, I know it will. I promise you it will be alright," he mumbled as she cried, and he reiterated those words far into the night until Wenona fell asleep in his arms, until his eyes grew heavy and his throat dry. And he meant them even more each time he repeated them.

Over the course of the next few days, Corvus found his mood soaring. Wenona's first ultrasound crept closer, and that fact made parenthood feel more real to him. He couldn't focus on anything except the future, the distinct possibilities and outcomes of parenthood. All of this brought him more joy than he had ever experienced in his life.

Yet, Wenona's feelings were the polar opposite of her husband. The dating ultrasound acted more akin to impending doom to her, similar in weight to the prenatal appointment she had gone through last month, something she felt so afraid of she had almost vomited on Kaunis as he took her blood pressure.

Her symptoms had only gotten worse. She puked for ten straight minutes in the mornings and, despite sleeping for far over twelve hours, fatigue still assailed her. Mild headaches and pinching gut cramps never abated, and her belly now looked distinctly round and swollen. She hated looking at the bump. Not only did she feel fat and ugly, but it reminded her how substantial this all was. That she would, in fact, be a mother in only six months' time.

When the day arrived, Corvus woke up to the sound of crying. Wenona had her knees pressed up against her breast, face buried in her hands. Her sobs were quiet things. She did her very best to suppress them. Wenona hadn't wanted to wake Corvus; she didn't wish for him to fret over her.

"Oh, Wen…. What's wrong?" he asked as he drew her into a sideways hug.

She flinched at his touch. If he hadn't spoken, there would be no way for her to realize he had woken up. She murmured an apology and tried to turn away from him, but he gripped her tight.

"It's alright, what's wrong?" He asked again.

Wenona said nothing, pressing on his chest and struggling to squirm out of his arms. She didn't want to talk, ever since this change in Corvus' mood, she didn't want to voice her worries. She didn't want to pick a fight. Her husband was a passionate man and a stubborn one, too. They almost never fought, but she had seen him debate matters of civilian casualties with Dorn, and Ferrus enough to recognize how easily he could be to anger. He had shown no outward annoyance at her depression before. But she felt that when it came to the baby, there was no way he could take it well.

"Wen, shiʼáád, what's wrong? Please talk to me…" He muttered, dragging her to his chest and holding her with as much strength as the Primarch could muster.

She murmured a 'no' and kept struggling to scramble out.

"We need to talk to each other more right now. What's wrong?" He asked.

Wenona tensed. She saw no point in trying to suppress it any longer. She relaxed in his arms, melting into his firm-yet-gentle touch. "I'm scared," she mumbled, tears flowing along her cheeks.

"It's alright Wen, I promise. There's nothing for you to be upset about. I'm sure you and the baby are alright… I promise." He kissed the top of her head and rubbed circles on her arms and back.

Wenona shivered. He knew what she was afraid of, and it wasn't that. But she said nothing in opposition, not wishing to start an argument.

He held her until her sobs subsided, her tense limbs falling limp, and her heaving breaths calmed. Corvus pulled away from her and sighed, brushing hair from her face. He smiled sadly and kissed her, a gentle thing that calmed her in a surprising way. "I love you, shiʼáád, and it's all gonna be alright." Wenona nodded and got out of bed, staying silent as she readied herself for the day. Her thoughts swamped her mind and made her movements a slow blur. All she could concentrate on were her fears and her doubts, despite her attempts to fixate on the menial tasks of drawing on her clothes, clipping in her earrings, washing her face, and putting on the many steps of her skin-care.

Wenona sat in Kaunis' office holding Corax's hand. As usual, the Lord Apothecary did not work alone. A mortal woman, Lady Kaliska, Medicae Primus of the Shadow of the Emperor's mortal medicae unit. She flashed a reassuring smile. "Lady Wenona, how are you feeling today?" She inquired.

Wenona tensed up, eyes locked on the floor. "I'm well." She mumbled.

Kaliska nodded, but narrowed her eyes. "Last appointment you were quite nervous, and Corvus stayed after to tell me about your mental health… Are you still struggling with feelings of depression and anxiety?" she asked, softly. She needed to lead this conversation. As Kaunis would be too blunt with it.

Wenona blushed and gripped the woolen fabric of her dress. She didn't know how to reply. She couldn't say she was. Corvus only knew of her anxiety. If she said she still felt depressed, she would blow her cover, Corvus would learn and there would be an argument and-

"Yes, she has." Corvus replied, "I don't want to speak for her too much. But this is a challenging thing for her to talk about." Corvus said with a soft smile, looking at Wenona and squeezing her hand in a comforting gesture.

Wenona tore her gaze from him, her blush intensifying. How did he figure it out? She hadn't talked about it or cried in front of him since the last appointment! Why hadn't he brought it up before? Was he thinking of her panic attack this morning? Was he going to fight with her after the appointment? As she struggled to concentrate on Kaliska, all of these thoughts raced through her head.

"I see, well, those emotions are typical in early pregnancy. Try to work through her concerns together, she really needs your support right now. Oh, and keep doing the things I told you to do last month, alright?" She said, words punctuated by Kaunis typing away at the cogitator, adding to Wenona's record.

Both of them nodded. She spent the past few days attempting to do as Kaliska had instructed; doing tasks that used to make her happy, channeling her senses into her poetry, sticking to a solid routine, all except talking to her husband. She knew that was the most important part, and that avoiding it actively made it worse. But she didn't want to argue. She never wanted to argue with him.

The rest of the appointment continued without a hitch, in terms of her baby's health, that was. All of her tests came back normal. Nothing appeared to be amiss, exactly as Kaliska predicted. But the pit of fear in Wenona's stomach only grew bigger and bigger the closer she got to the ultrasound. It wasn't something she wanted to happen. She didn't want to learn what grew inside her. She didn't want to look at the poor infant she brought into this horrible galaxy, the offspring she would inevitably fail.

Tears brimmed in her eyes as the grainy sonographic pict of her baby flickered into view. It looked like an infant in the lightest sense of the word. With a bulbous head carved into a little face. Small arms and legs with real fingers and toes. Corvus' face lit up more than she had ever seen it before. His eyes sparkling over a smile of pure wonder. And despite the thoughts in her mind screaming at her to panic, to cry, telling herself how much of a horrible person she was and would be a terrible mother, a glimmer of delight grew in her chest.

Those tears of dismay became tears of joy. Her shoulders relaxed, and a smile played on her face. She cooed in happiness alongside her husband, gushing over the little one inside her. She would be a mother, she thought, and perhaps that wasn't such a terrible thing.

As soon as she left the Apothecarion, Wenona could only think of one question. The words of it playing on her lips, no other sounds being able to form in her throat.

"What… What did you mean when you said yes to Kaliska's question about… About my mental health?" She blurted out once the doors to their chamber closed. Corvus turned and looked at her, confusion plain on his features.

"What do you mean, shiʼáád?" He asked.

"You… You said I was still feeling depressed and… And anxious… Did… Did you just mean my… Panic attack this morning?" Her body tensed, the tendrils of dread creeping up through her gut, tightening her throat and numbing her legs.

"No? You've been depressed for the past few weeks, haven't you?" He replied, brows furrowed.

Wenona paled. Was she a terrible liar? It was a fair question. She had never lied like that before. "Yeah… Yeah I have." She mumbled after a long, awkward pause.

"But, it at least seemed like you were happy during the ultrasound… Were you?"

Wenona's mood changed, her expression turning to a bright, and the worry cleared from her tone. "Yes! Oh- shiką', what do you think we should name them?" She beamed, eyes wide.

Corvus' eyes lit up, "Well on Lyceaus, parents would name children after something… something they wished for." He rested his chin on his palm, black eyes darting around the room as he recalled old memories.

"What does your name mean, then?" She asked, tilting her head.

"It means the Deliverer. My people always demanded freedom, that's.. that's what Branne meant. I knew a lot of other Brannes…. But I suppose they never saw a leader in any of the children before me." He muttered into his hand.

"How about a name that means peace? It's the only thing I believe we need." She suggested.

Corvus paused and steepled his fingers on his upper lip in thought. "Tallulah or… Or.. Nakos, then. I only knew one Tallulah and, well, I'm not sure if Nakos would even be the right name. I didn't know anyone named that."

"Really?" That had surprised her. She believed the population would want peace.

"Yes, while Lyceaus was cruel, it wasn't war-torn. People wanted freedom, justice, kindness, even things like water or rest. Wenona…. Wenona means love. I knew many Wenonas." He explained, staring at her with a smile.

Wenona blushed. Of course, that was the name Malcador had chosen for her. The old man loved his clever names.

"What names would you choose, shiką'?" She asked, eyes flicking up from her lap to his face.

He paused again, looking up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes, "Well, if it's a girl… Kolenya, that one means good health… Honovi, close family… Kimama, strength." Another thoughtful pause "If it's a boy… Aranck, triumph… Chatan, kindness… Or Satanta, justice… But, Wen, I like Tallulah and Nakos the best."

This jubilant mood did not continue next morning, nor any of the mornings after. When she awoke, she found herself as anxious and as depressed as yesterday morning. She realized that the feelings were temporary. That fact had been sitting at the back of her conscience, not preventing her from being happy, but making sure she didn't forget its presence.

Wenona had expected the happiness to last a few days, a small part of her hoping it would last a month. It felt like more of an emotional uppercut than she could have foreseen. For the emotions to have been so fleeting.

She didn't get out of bed today. Her heart sank as Corvus woke up next to her, nuzzling his face in the crook of her shoulder and kissing her forehead. Telling her she could sleep in as long as she liked, how much he cared for her, how excited this had him.

As soon as he left, keeping the lights dim, Wenona cried. She cried quiet, small tears, covered by her skinny hands and muffled by wool blankets.

She thought that she was a failure to her future family. Two different mindsets warred for dominance in her mind. While both spoke of her failures, the reasoning differed. One said that she would be an appalling mother, one that assaulted her with her own faults. Magnifying and distorting them into character-damning flaws that made her into the worst person she knew. The other called her a disgusting person not because of her personality's setbacks; but because of her inability to be happy. The mere fact that she held herself in this light.

This newer mindset soon eclipsed the other, screaming in her skull how terrible she must be for not being happy for her child. For Terra's sake, she would be a mother. She should be overjoyed! She had nothing to be upset about. She and her baby were healthy, and she had a supportive, loving husband. She was pathetic, she thought, so dismayed over nothing.

Corvus swung the door open early in the evening, a a radiant smile on his face. The Primarch flopped next to the woman. He shook her shoulders lightly, and she stood up, looking at him with eyes raw from crying. Which he didn't notice.

"Oh, shiʼáád, did I wake you up? Ah- I'm sorry." He chuckled, a light pink blush dancing on his face. "I'm excited, that's all. I had a vox-call with Leman… Our fleets are meeting for a compliance we need to tackle collectively."

Wenona cocked her head to the side. She knew that wasn't what he could so enthusiastic about.

"But that's beside the point. We had such a delightful conversation about parenthood! Leman was telling me about how amazing it was to raise Baldur… He was telling me all about the summers they spent on Fenris, how cute it was to see Baldur playing with Salvatore and Nezha and how they've all grown up together… How closer it brought him to… To Freya…" He trailed off, smile faltering.

Wenona hadn't given him as much as a simper. Her fingers were tensing with the sheets and she kept her gaze focused on the digits instead of her husband. No words came from her, and she didn't notice that Corvus had stopped talking.

Corvus exhaled and nothing, breathing deeply for a few moments. He dragged her eyes up to him through some unknowable force. She couldn't pull away from his gaze. She drew in a trembling breath underneath it, where once pure joy had glistened and flickered in those black pools now lay an empty sorrow.

"C-Corvus…" she mumbled, reaching out her hand in apology. He pushed it aside and turned from her, shoulders hunching together and head dropping.

"I'm going to take a shower." He grunted, standing with his back facing her.

"Wait." she protested, hand still outstretched.

He faced his wife, eyes narrowed in a sorrowful glare. "What." He said. Not an ounce of coldness in his words permeated his words. But a tightness. Sadness permeated his remarks instead of wrath.

The words caught in her throat, words that she didn't even know. She sat there, lips parted and eyes wide. She felt so tiny underneath him, underneath the burning sorrow of his gaze. This feeling of insignificance only made the blocking of her throat worse. She stammered and found her eyes falling back to the floor, body cramping up.

Corvus took in another sigh, running hands down his face. "Throne, Wen. Really?" He asked, clapping his hands back to his thighs with dramatic emphasis. "Really?" He repeated, voice softer. "Look, shi'áád, I understand that you're depressed and that this is extremely hard for you. I understand. I really do." He groaned and pressed fingers to his forehead, pacing around the bed. "But could you at least look at me? Respond to what I'm saying?" He paused in front of her, making an exaggerated movement with his hands.

A shiver went through Wenona's person. She wrapped her arms around herself and hung her head, mumbling an apology.

Corvus took in a sharp breath, returning to his pacing. "This hurts me too, Wen, seeing you like this. I… I'm trying as hard as I can to support you and just. You just give me nothing back, throne, Wen I haven't seen you smile in three months! We've barely talked! I… I thought things were going to change after that ultrasound… that, that it was gonna make you realize. Realize something, and help you…. At least feel better, but. Ak'eed, Wen." He hesitated and sank to his knees in front of her, gripping her shoulders. She looked at him with tear-brimmed eyes, and he stared deep into her soul. "Do you want to have this child?"

The question took Wenona aback, her complexion paling. It was something that she hadn't considered. She dropped her gaze from his face, looking at her hands as they fumbled in her lap. She stammered a string of words he couldn't quite hear, which made the Primarch produce a heavy sigh.

"Answer me, shi'áád. I… I don't care if you don't. I'll understand if you're not ready. I'd much rather we go through terminating it now then… Then you having to spend eighteen years doing something you're not ready for."

She didn't respond again, closing her eyes as trembles and shakes wracked through her body. Tears fell from her eyes, and she covered her face with balled fists.

"Please talk to me, shi'áád, please… I love you. I don't want to force you through this. I promise I will understand. You should not do this to yourself. Please, shi'áád." He pulled her into a tight hug, pulling away after what felt like hours of silence. "Please." He said, tears of his own bubbling up in the corners of his eyes.

"I… I do…" she mumbled, hands tensing and releasing around the sleeves of Corvus' shirt.

"Do you? Please, shi'áád, don't lie to me. I promise I won't be upset if you don't. I… I want children, yes, but your comfort is far more important than my wants on this. Please, shi'áád." He begged, a tear running down his cheek.

"I do, Corvus, I really do. I… I want to have a baby, this baby!" She stammered. Wenona wasn't lying when she said this. She wanted to have a baby, a legitimate yearning for motherhood buried underneath all the depression and all the fears was. She couldn't deny that a bond had formed with the little one growing in her belly.

"Then please, shi'áád, can you at least…" he hesitated for a moment, "I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but can you try to show it? Because Wen it feels like you don't… I believe you that you do and, I really understand that you're depressed, but… But please, Wen, I don't want to keep feeling like I'm forcing you through this."

Wenona looked up at him and took a sharp breath, pulling him into a deep hug. She squeezed the fabric of his shirt, burying her face into his shoulder. She cried into him, whispering apologies into the wool. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and sighed. Holding her like that all night.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Wenona noticed her mood improving, to an degree. She had taken Corvus' plea to heart, and discovered that repeating to herself that she did want this child offered some level of help. She spoke to Corvus about her woes more as well, but they were nothing compared to the comfort she got talking to Freya. Corvus was calming, reassuring, and beyond sympathetic. But the words of another mother held far more weight.

She spent most of her time these days with her sister, their husbands - and Freya's son - attacking deep upon the marshes of Eternium, Freya choosing to keep out of the fight to spend time with her sister. Before her pregnancy, Wenona rarely sought Freya's company hersel. She always accepted her sister's invitations to meet with enthusiasm, but never once had she extended one herself. Yet with this compliance, Freya spent more time on the Shadow of the Emperor.

Motherhood made up most of their conversations. Wenona asked Freya nearly every question about each and every worry. From how much childbirth hurt to what it felt like sending Baldur to his Aspirant trials.

Most of their discussions today, however, comprised of Freya telling stories of things she saw Corvus do when they fought collectively, all of which got a laugh out of Wenona. It didn't take long for the conversation to turn back to motherhood, after a particular story involving Corax and Baldur fighting together on Dizippe.

"Look, Wen, I know I've repeated this a fuckin' million times now, but you're just gonna love parenthood. And I've said it so many times because I mean it, it's just unlike anything else in the world. It's just wonderful, better than any thrill I've ever experienced before." Freya declared, throwing her hands up in the air.

Wenona laughed, "I know, sister, I know…" she leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. "what was your favorite age? To parent I mean."

Freya's face lit up with a bright smile. "easily when Baldur was a baby! He was such a good boy, most of the time, he always got into trouble, já? I'm sure your smár-barn will be a vandræðagemsi, just like their father." She chuckled. "Don't let that dissuade you, though. They never get into any real trouble! Me and Leman always laughed about it sometimes even as it happened!"

Wenona gave a small laugh, ignoring a kernel of doubt in her mind, covering her mouth out of instinct. "What was the funniest thing you think he did?" She spoke through her hand.

Freya hesitated for a moment, before laughing bawdily, "When he was oh… Nearly two? Já, nearly two, he…" She paused, stifled a bought of laughter, "he would always struggle to get on Freki's back and ride him around the Hrafnkel. Freki would always try to bite him to throw him off, but he never gave up, já! Always he would grab onto his legs and try to scramble up. It was always so funny to watch him. Oh, throne, especially if Russ had to get involved." She paused, mirth still wracking her lungs. "Baldur never let Russ pull him off of Freki without a fight. It was always so funny."

Wenona shared her sister's good humor, until Freya calmed herself with a deep breath, relaxing back into her chair. The two sisters sat for a while, Freya lost in memories and Wenona unsure of what to say.

"There's just something so wonderful about seeing a man… Especially a man like Leman, hold a baby in his arms. Really makes me realize what I'm fighting for, já?" Freya eventually said, her voice soft.

"Definitely, I've dreamed of Corvus holding our child, of how tender he'll be as a father. And, throne, even just the thought of it makes my heart flutter." Wenona added, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Just wait 'til you actually see it, systir. It'll make you want to weep. Fatherhood brought out a different side of Leman, one I didn't know existed. That was only around when Baldur was a baby, so you savor your smár-barn's time as a kǫgursveinn! It goes by quicker than you think, já?" she responded, making flowing hand movements to stress her point.

"I look forward to it. What was Russ like, then?" Wenona asked, steepling fingers on her chin.

"Let me tell you, if it was not for his height and his tattoos, you would not believe him to be my bóndi. He was so soft and kind, and if you believe it, he was soft-spoken!" Freya exclaimed, throwing her hand up in the air.

"Leman Russ, soft-spoken?" Wenona said, eyes widening and hand withdrawing from her chin in surprise.

"Aye, systir, never had I heard him speak as quietly as he did to Baldur. It blew me away!" She responded with a bawdy laugh.

Wenona chuckled, "Throne, I can hardly imagine what Corvus will be like with our little one. He's already so gentle, and," she paused, blushing as she always did when speaking of her husband, "just such a sweetheart. If fatherhood can temper a man like Leman, I can only imagine how it will elevate my husband!"

Freya laughed, "I can't imagine he'll be anything less than ágætr, systir."

Underneath the red setting sun of Eternium, hidden in the bombed-out shell of what used to be the library of one of the planet's poor shanty towns, two Primarchs sat by dim lamplight. The Wolf King and the Raven Lord, bonding over the wolves' customary rations of mjød.

"How much longer 'til Wen is expected?" Leman asked after a deep swig, leaning back on his haunches.

"A while. She's only four months along," Corvus responded, swishing the bottle in his gauntleted hand.

"Ah, and how's pregnancy been treating her?" Leman asked again, taking a sip to punctuate his question.

Corvus drew in a deep breath, body tensing with nerves. He pressed fingers to his forehead and took a slow sip. "Not well. She's been struggling with morning sickness and fatigue. But it's more than that." He paused and drank again, Leman cocking his head to the side, ear grazing his shoulder in a more animal form of the gesture. "I'm worried about her. She's been depressed."

"Depressed? I thought pregnancy made kvennalið joyful. Well, joyful and angry, if my víf is any guidance for how these things go." Leman laughed.

Corvus didn't respond to his brother's joke. "I didn't expect it, that's for certain. She's always been anxious, and like all of us a bit broodish at times but… throne I never expected it to be… Real, you know?" He explained, throwing his empty hand up in the air.

"Aye, I understand. Kvennalið are strange, aren't they?"

Corvus smiled at that, before going for another swig. "They sure can be. I just. I dunno, brother, I'm so worried. I don't know if she wants to… to have the baby." Corvus whispered, dropping his voice. "We… We talked about it and she says she does, but, ak'eed, she's just. I've never seen her like this before, she hasn't, throne, Leman. She smiled at me for the first time in three months. Imagine that, three months without seeing Freya smile. Imagine what that would do to you.

Leman's face paled as he stared into the lamplight. He clapped a hand on Corvus' shoulder and muttered a Fenrisian apology.

"She's at least… feeling better, I think. Talking to Freya seems to lift her spirits. I just hope she can get over it before she's due. I mean, I'll do everything I can to support her but, throne…" he buried his face in his gauntlets, the rest of her words lost to the Wolf King.

"She'll see it through. She's a good woman," Leman said.

Corvus nodded into his hands, saying nothing.

As the morning sickness, aching breasts, food cravings, heartburn and mood swings of her first trimester passed, Wenona foolishly assumed the worst of her pregnancy symptoms were over. But now, five months in, fresh pains and woe assailed her. She experienced light and tight false contractions every so often. Painless annoyances that aggravated her worries more than her body.

Light brown patches grew on her upper cheeks and under her eyes, around her lips, and on her neck, mottling her pale complexion. Wenona never wore much makeup in the past, but the spots made her far too self-conscious to leave her quarters without it. The skin troubles were not only one thing that dragged her self-esteem into the deepest pits. Her ever-growing belly, heavier weight, stretch marks, spider veins, and red blotches on her legs robbed her of the austere elegance she used to own. No matter what Corvus told her, no matter how many compliments he showered in and how many kisses he pressed to her, she could no longer see elegance in herself.

She suffered through a few nosebleeds, waking up to find herself covered in blood, something which never failed to make her scream. But even those scares were not the worst of her troubles. Leg cramps, bleeding gums, and dizziness didn't come close either. The migraines were the worst. Like clockwork, once per week a migraine would sear and cut through her skull like hot knives. She could do nothing to stop them. The painkillers Kaunis had her take were insufficient, all they did was put her to sleep. She could only lie on her bed in the dark and cry.

Corvus wold hold her and press kisses over her face and head, saying nothing. Any noise caused the pain to heighten. It did little to soothe her, but the comfort of his presence helped make it easier to recover.

Tonight, Corvus lied with her. He held her, hands clasped on her belly and legs tangled with hers. He kissed her neck as she withered in agony beneath him, teeth gritted and eyes screwed shut as the pain hammered into her skull again and again. An unrelenting symphony of anguish behind her eyes. Sweat dripped along her pallid skin, it soaked the grey flannel sheets below her. It was typical, this one, but 'typical' for her meant six hours of agonizing in her bed as the nerves in her skull screamed with anguish.

Something distracted her, a fleeting moment, something small inside her belly. A little tap right where the tips of Corvus' middle fingers met. Wenona opened her tear-filled eyes, a task that felt impossible through the pain.

Corvus drew away from her neck, having felt the tap as well. Before he could murmur in confusion, he realized what had happened. He nudged her ear with his nose and she glanced at him and nodded that it would be okay for him to talk.

nother tap, making Corvus smile. "Wen, our… our baby just kicked!" He said in an eager whisper, trying his absolute best not to raise his voice.

Wenona creaked out a smile, passion welling in her eyes. She had felt her daughter moving before, but this was her first kick. Something that would've caused excitement if it wasn't for the searing knife cutting through her nerves. She smiled, the only movement possible through the suffering. The pain made it impossible to talk. Corvus nuzzled her face and kissed her. He held that kiss for a long time, attempting to bring her something of comfort. When he pulled away, he dappled her face with soft and fleeting kisses.

I love you both, he mouthed, not wanting to talk more than necessary. He caressed his nose with hers before pulling her close.

The next morning, despite the headaches and cramps, genuine excitement overcame Wenona. It was a prenatal day, but also something more. Her second ultrasound was today, the most important one of her pregnancy, according to Kaliska. She suffered none of the anxiety she had suffered at her last prenatal, something that had surprised her.

Kaliska hovered over Kaunis' shoulder, quietly explaining what he was looking at and what he should search for. Wenona gripped Corvus' hand tightly while he rubbed circles into her hand with his thumb and stared at Kaunis with bright eyes.

"We are looking for… Ah," The Apothecary trailed off, glancing at his mortal aid for guidance.

Kaliska rolled her eyes. "This is going to be your most comprehensive ultrasound, my Lady. We are going to take a intricate look at your baby's anatomy to make sure everything is in order, which Kaunis is going to help me with. We also, with your permission, can determine your baby's sex." She said, her tone steady. Admirable for a mortal in the presence of two Demi-gods.

Wenona glanced at Corvus, silently asking if they should accept.

"Yes, my Lady," he said, excitement clear in his tone.

Kaunis acted more like Kaliska's assistant more than a Chief Apothecary. He didn't hold the transducer, nor did he clack commands into the machine. But he rubbed the glycol gel onto Wenona's belly with clambering hands and a nervous expression on his face.

The transducer looked ridiculously oversized in Kaliska's hand, the ultrasound machine was scaled for use with Astartes. Kaunis and his men used it to assess Aspirant's bone growth, check how joints heald, evaluate blood flow, and other menial scans. Kaunis knew his way around the machine. He didn't know why Kaliska insisted on him simply standing by, but he didn't want to pick a fight with the woman. Kaliska scanned the taller woman's belly, a sense of tension in the room as she searched around for the baby.

"And… there's the little one, keeping out of sight just like her daddy." Kaliska mused as the grainy black and white sonographic image of the baby flickered onto the screen. Corvus' smile grew, and Wenona gave him a modest one in return.

The baby had grown immensly since the last ultrasound. Wenona's smile swelled when she saw it, it had visible arms and legs and the barest outline of a face. It resembled a real baby now, something which only added to her joy.

"So adorable…" Corvus mumbled through his full smile.

The ultrasound took tediously long, Kaliska and Kaunis took their time carefully examining and zooming in on each organ. The baby anatomically, looked like Corvus, with two hearts, three lungs, and heightened sensory organs. Stronger muscles, dense bones, and fast pumping blood. Kaunis could pick out the rudimentary forms of the oolitic kidney, Larraman's organ, preomnor, and other transhuman structures. These forms confirmed the two medicae officer's suspicion that a Primarch's child would be born with Astartes enhancements. Kaunis noted it all on a data slate, which he would send off to the wider Apothecarion Network for deliberation and comparison.

Kaliska repeated everything in non-medical terminology to the couple, relief washing over them with her calming words.

"And…" Kaliska muttered, clacking commands into the keyboard and zooming in on the sonogram, "it looks like it's a healthy baby girl!" She beamed, turning to grin at the couple.

Corvus' smile widened, white teeth beaming behind blue lips. He looked at Wenona with excitement, those black eyes sparkling with joy. He squeezed her hand, and she chuckled with a meager smile. Her slight gestures did seldom to show the pure joy in her soul.

"We're gonna have such a beautiful daughter, shi'áád!" He whispered, nuzzling his nose into her cheek.

Unlike the last ultrasound, the bliss Wenona felt from the appointment lasted a few days, and those days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months, and before she knew it, only two months remained until her due date,

She still experienced the occasional anxiety attack, the odd nightmare and the heavy conversation with Corvus. Her self-esteem was still low, but all her doubts came from her appearance instead of her personality. Knowing she carried not only a vague human form inside her, but a true baby girl who could move and kick and hear made it all feel right. It soothed her, reassured her in a way that only Freya's words had before.

Her appointments with Kaunis, now every two weeks, no longer struck fear into her core. While she still tensed up and had trouble speaking from her nerves, it was the shyness she had always struggled with instead of crippling, whole-body fear that made her sick to her stomach.

She still suffered through bouts of fatigue, but they were nothing without the depression that had clouded her mind in the early months. Most of her body ached from her shoulders to her ankles, the only symptom that bothered her in any actual sense of the word.

She and Corvus stood on a terrace of an unnamed tower, somewhere nestled between two minor peaks of the Diagothians. It was by her request that they came here. Wenona wished to be enveloped by natural beauty, instead of the stuffy, cold halls of the Ravenspire. She didn't hate the Legions Fortress, not in the slightest, but she preferred the fresh sierra air and vistas of endless conifers to the moon's artificial atmosphere and perpetual, gray salt plains. The tower served as a major outpost within mountains, where librarians would return from vision quests and where most of the Aspirants stayed. But for now, it served to be the temporary home of Corvus and Wenona.

Corvus hadn't thought the Emperor would allow him to stay with Wenona on Khiviar, but he had conversed directly with his Father about the matter. He had done his best to make the issue urgent, but not to beg. His Father did not like to begging. To his surprise, his Father had not only granted him five months of leave after his daughter's birth but the last two months of Wenona's pregnancy as well. He wanted to return to his homeworld, and while he yearned for Ravenspire, the tower in the mountains was more alluring.

As always, the midnight sky was impassive. The deep forests hummed their song of chirping insects, cawing nightbirds, and howling coyotes. The tall evergreens swayed in the late summer breeze, wind whistling between their needles. But the sky was still, as serene as a mirrored mountain lake. The four moons hung low in the night sky, hemmed by small pricks of distant stars. It was clear and still, picturesque in scenery and weather.

A vivid nightmare jousted her awake that night, something that had become commonplace over the past days. Corvus always woke up with her. He always knew exactly when she awoke. If she couldn't fall back asleep, they often moved out onto the balcony to watch the forest.

"What was your nightmare about?" Corvus asked, pulling her back closer to his chest.

Wenona looked out to the trees, fumbling with the sleeves of her robe. "Oh, it was… it was about." She pulled in a soft sigh, "it was about the future… Our, our daughter was… Was fighting on… On some world…. World with you…" she paused again, and gripped the railing, body tensing. "And… and she… she got-

"I understand, it's alright. You don't have to say anything else." He whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer.

"That's all I've been able to think about, Corvus. Her… her cry was… I can still hear it in my mind. Corvus, what if she gets… gets hurt like that? Or… or oh throne, Corvus, what… what if she dies… dies young? What will… what will we do?"

"Do you remember my wedding vows, shi'áád?" He asked, voice quiet.

"Of… of course I do, shiką'." Wenona muttered, turning to him with confusion plain on her expression.

"I declared I would stop at nothing to protect you. To devote myself to keep you safe. That I would never allow harm to come upon you as long as I lived." He took in a deep breath. "I made a vow, shi'áád, and I'll make that vow to our daughter."

Wenona smiled, softly, "I love you, shiką'."

"I love you too, shi'áád," Corvus said before leaning to kiss her, soft and slow. "And I'll never break that vow, never."

"I know you won't."

Wenona wasn't certain what happened. It was weeks before the projected birthday, so she wasn't positive what caused the stomach cramps and lower back pain. At first, she had assumed an attack of false contractions, but she hadn't had a false contraction for months!

"C-Corvus?" She stammered, her speech taut with alarm. It felt as if someone had tied her uterus in a knot, a tight and burning ache that shot through her entire frame.

Corvus looked up from his work, worry crossing his face at once. "Wen, are you alright?" he asked. She stood in the doorway to his "office", which looked like more of a cleared chamber fitted with a too-small desk. Because although he did not have to fight, a Primarchs menial, bureaucratic duties never ceased. Her fists gripped the opening with a white knuckle grip and her whole body shook with vigor.

"I-I don't. I really… It feels like… Like the false, false contractions I was having.,... Having a few, a few months ago." She sputtered through gritted teeth, biting back the dull anguish that radiated from her gut, choked by raging spasms. Standing became harder and harder, her knees wobbling underneath her weight.

"Do… Do you think it's one?" He asked, panic growing in his tone.

"I-I-I don't know! I-I haven't… Haven't had one in… In three months!" She gritted her teeth and dropped her head, cursing in Lycean.

"Wen…. Wen, I think… I-I think it might be.." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"But… but it's so early! I-I know Kaliska… Kaliska said that... But, oh trone, its… It's early!" She looked up at him through her wispy bangs, eyes full of fear and misery.

"Wen. I, I think it's… I think it's happening. What did Kaliska say… say about this?" He stood in front of her now, moving so fast even her heightened senses couldn't follow him.

"That… That. Fuck. I-I'm sorry, it's… there's… It really hurts. Fuck, just.. It'll…" She exhaled and released her hands as the pain fleeted. This happened with each one. Searing, gripping agony jolted through her body for a minute, before fleeting, giving her about fifteen minutes of breathing room. She gulped down the last of the pain and stood, wheezing.

"Wen, what… What's wrong?" He asked, placing a gentle palm on her back. "I just. The… The pain is really… Really intense. For about… About a minute, and then it… Then it goes away for… For a while… I'm sorry." She shuddered, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

"No, no, don't be. It's alright. Just. What did Kaliska tell you?" he asked, resting his free hand on her side, doing his best to support her. She took a sharp breath. "That… That about… Up to a day before birth, I-I'd start… Start having contractions. But, but it's so early, Corvus, I-I'm scared, what if… What if something is wrong and - throne - they… They hurt… They hurt so much…" she muttered, digging her head into the crook of his neck.

"Well. How long have you been having them?" He asked, struggling to form a plan in his mind.

"Two… Two hours." She groaned as her breathing steadied.

"Should we see Kaunis?" He asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I-I don't know… Kaliska told me that… that I should relax during it… Stay out of the apothecarion."

Corvus gnawed on his lip, deep in thought. "Lets just. Let's just have you relax if… If it gets worse we can go to the Apothecarion, alright?" He said, seeking to regain a calm composure.

Wenona nodded. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to their bed. There, Wenona rested through her contractions for the rest of the day. Corvus continued to work on the floor, and Wenona spent the space between them reading or listening to Corvus speak of the meaningless things he worked on. She did her best to busy herself, to take deep breaths and try to converse with her husband. In the time between contractions she did everything execpt lie still, whether it was pacing around her chambers or scribbling in the journal Kaliska had advised her to keep.

For the next three hours, her contractions came every twenty minutes, and every fifteen the next, and every tenthe next. Late night crept closer by the time her contractions happened every five minutes, and she could only focus on the pain. She hadn't stopped gripping Corvus' hand in those last three hours, with increasing strength, and the space between her contractions grew smaller and smaller. They had become stronger as well, the pain became blinding and rendered her mute and tense during the forty-five seconds that they gripped her.

One more hour of bursting firecrackers of pain in her stomach passed until her water broke. A soft pop, audible only to Wenona and dampness underneath her served as the only signs. She tightened her grip on Corvus' hand, squeezing it as hard as she could.

"Corvus!" She yelled, getting his attention instantly.

"What? What is it, Wen?" worry plain in his voice.

"I-I - fuck, oh throne -" another tedious contraction stopped her speech. It came three minutes after the last, the fastest of them so far. "I-I think my… I think my water just… just broke." She said, staring at him with panic in her eyes. Corvus stood, blinking and uncertain what to say. She exhaled, the contractions easing as quickly as they had arrived.

"Can… can you walk?" He asked.

"I-I think, but… but can you steady me?" She groaned.

Corvus nodded, resting an arm around her shoulders as she slung her legs around the edge of the bed. Corvus hurried her to the apothecary, with her leaning on his shoulder and occasionally shivering with the pain of the contractions.

Kaunis had, luckily, been in the main hall of the Apothecarion when Corvus had swung its heavy doors open. He and Kaliska had followed the primarch back to Khiviar, not wanting to abandon the couple at such a crucial stage.

"My lord, what is the matter?" Kaunis asked.

"Wen- Her water broke!" Corvus half-yelled.

Kaunis glanced around the chamber for Kaliska. "stay…. I-I need to find… I'm sorry my lord, but I need to find Kaliska… Ah," Kaunis stumbled, at a total loss for words. The panic of his Primarch seeped into his aura, only made worse by the murmurs and stares of his fellow Apothecaries.

"Don't stand there and apologize, Kaunis, go!" Corvus commanded.

It didn't take long for Kaunis to return with a flustered Kaliska, who scolding him under her breath the entire time she hastily lead the couple to a private room. The bed was too small for Wenona, at this moment, she cursed herself for not spending these last months at Ravenspire. Where a bed dedicated to the rare occasions when Corvus needed medical attention.

"I want you to relax, my Lady." Kaliska had said. She stood in front of Wenona's splayed legs. Kaunis stood at Wenona's side, taking rudimentary vitals, blood pressure, pulse, temperature, normal according to transhuman standards, and attaching the transducers of a tocodynamometer. "I know that your contractions are painful, but this is an early phase of delivery and the calmer you are, the easier it will be down the line."

Wenona took a deep, trembling gasp and gripped Corvus's hand tighter. He whispered encouraging remarks into her ear and kissed the side of her head. Her back had ached, a dull and throbbing ache aggravated by the white-hot bite of the contractions as they passed.

"Just keep breathing, my Lady. I need to do a pelvic exam before I can let you move. Once you move, it will help. Kaunis, are her vitals good?" She said, glancing up at the marine as she snapped on her gloves.

Kaunis nodded down as he keyed on the tocodynamometer. "Will we need an IV, Lady Kaliska?" he asked, all the fluster gone from his tone.

"Not yet. You're doing wonderfully, my Lady," Kaliska replied, turning her answer into encouragement. "She's bleeding a lot, however…" Kaliska said, pausing. "I want an ultrasound before I continue. I can't risk placenta previa."

Kaunis nodded and voxxed a command to a lower legionnaire. "Is something wrong?" Corvus asked in a panicked voice.

"Not at all, my Lord. Bleeding at this stage of labor is normal. But I cannot perform a pelvic exam without confirmation that it is, in fact, normal." She explained, "My Lord, it might help her pain if you rubbed her shoulders a bit." She murmured.

Corvus nodded and crept his hands up to Wenona's shoulders. Wenona still gripped his sleeve, her white knuckles in stark contrast to the gentle squeezes he gave her shoulders.

"You're doing so well. I love you so much," He whispered, kissing her head.

Wenona gave a weak smile and leaned into his touch. Trying to focus on it through each one of her contractions. She melted into his hands throughout the ultrasound, throughout the pelvic exam, and throughout most of this stage of her labor, shifting and changing her position, as per Kaliska's instructions.

She revealed in this chaotic peace for two hours until the worst of the contractions struck her. It hit her like a bolt round to the gut, making her cry out in suffering and clasp her hands around Corvus' wrist. Her ankles shot up in the air and her back arched. The contractions were worse, the back pain was worse, and the bleeding between her legs became far more intense.

"Transitionary phase has started," Kaliska noted, eyes flicking to the readings on the tocodynamometer. "Kaunis, start an IV. There's a heavy amount of blood loss."

"I-is that normal?" Corvus asked again.

"Mhm. There aren't any signs she's at risk of any tears or placental abnormalities. In mortal women, it's common to bleed heavily when delivering a large child. I believe that is happening to you, my Lady."

Kaunis pulled her arm away from Corvus' wrist to prepare for a line that would both keep her hydrated and deliver extra Larraman cells into her bloodstream. Wenona mouthed a sorry and Kaunis mumbled something she couldn't quite hear.

"Now, my Lady, you're going to want to push, but you need to stay still. This will not last for much longer. The last few contractions before delivery, alright?

Wenona gave a small nod and leaned back into Corvus as another contraction rang through her body. This painful series of contractions and bleeding only lasted for approximately twenty minutes. After which Wenona gave her loudest cry of the night. She dug her nails into Corvus' hand, and he moved to pull her into something of a sideways hug, running a soothing hand along the side of her head.

"Kaunis, I'm going to need you to deliver," Kaliska mentioned.

"Wh-why, my Lady?"

"Your hands are bigger." She said matter-of-factly.

Her whole body burned at each stretch, every nerve ending set ablaze by the contractions. Her toes curled, her back arched and her nails drew blood from her husband's hand.

"I need you to push during your contractions, my Lady. Take them one at a time. Your little one will be here soon."

Wenona panted out an affirmation, but it was more of a wet choke instead of speech. The pain suffocated her, choking her and filling her senses. It was painful to move, troublesome to breathe, let alone push. Pushing only made it worse, far, far worse. Each time she pushed it felt like salt was being poured over wounds, like blazing coals being thrown over exposed raw nerves. It raged, it burned, and it agonized her.

The space between contractions offered little ease from the pain. The anguish in her womb dampened, but her back screamed, and the burning ache of being spread so much radiated from between her legs. It was more of a fleeting opportunity to catch her breath instead of a true rest period from the pain. Her body was numb from the burn, having to be moved into the different positions by Kaunis and Corvus each moment Kaliska ordered them to.

"My lady, you need to push harder." Kaliska had suggested during one of these breaks.

"I… I… I can't…" she sputtered out. Not only was Wenona choked by suffering, but she was exhausted. It had only been thirty minutes into the second phase, but if it hadn't been for the pain, she might have collapsed.

"Why?" Kaliska asked, remaining ever calm.

"P-pain." Wenona gasped.

Kaliska nodded and withdrew from her position at Kaunis' side. "I'll start you on painkillers. Kaunis, keep telling her to push."

Kaliska left, pushing past a growing huddle of Raven Guard crowding around the door, a huddle that was being shooed away by an increasingly flustered Gherith.

When Kaliska returned and ran painkillers through Wenona's IV, things became easier. The pain dulled, barely enough for her to push. It still hurt more than anything else she had ever experienced.

In the end, that pain only lasted for six hours more. Six hours of hot, burning agony as she pushed and pushed, stretching herself beyond anything imaginable. Six hours of pure agony, onlydulled by the medication and barely soothed by calming hands and supporting assurances.

"Congratulations, my Lady, you're crowning!" Kaliska's bright remarks brought the first wave of comfort Wenona had felt since this all began.

Wenona responded to her with a sigh of comfort and an excited babble of 'I love you's and more reassuring soft words from Corvus.

"Just a few more contractions, my Lady. You're nearly there," Kaunis said, cupping his hands underneath the head of the baby, peeking out from her swollen womanhood.

The final contractions didn't so much hurt, but burn. Burn as the head of her daughter, whisped with black hair, stretched her wide. Burn worse than anything had burned her before.

She barely heard her daughter's first cries over the thundering aftershock cocktail of pain and exhaustion. She only realized it once Corvus had excitingly whispered about it, musing about her strengths and how much he loves her.

"My Lord, would you wish to finish the delivery?" Kaunis asked.

Corvus looked at his wife, as if for permission. She nodded weakly, now gripping the sheets of the medicae bed with the same white knuckle strength.

Corvus knelt in In front of her, and while she couldn't see his mouth from under the mask Kaunis had him wear, she knew he was smiling at her. Kaunis and Kaliska hovered above him, still telling her to push when her contractions crashed over her like breaking waves.

Corvus held his daughter's head in his hands, eyes full of joy as he slowly guided her body out. It only took ten minutes for Wenona to deliver the child in a series of agonizing shakes and groans.

Corvus held his crying daughter to his chest, cooing at her and musing how much he loved her. He had Kaunis cut the cord, not wanting to accidently make a mistake. He knelt next to Wenona, handing her their daughter. Little Tallulah sniffled back cries, waving ivory hands up at her mother. The baby girl opened her eyes, and to her parent's surprise, sparkling pitch-black pools gazed up at them.

"She's beautiful, Wen…" he mused, unable to take his eyes off his daughter.

She beamed at him, too exhausted to speak.

"I'm so proud of you. You're so strong. I love you. I couldn't love anyone more than you. I'm so glad I have you, shi'áád." He mused, kissing the tip of her nose.

"I… I love you too…" she stuttered, panting with her eyes closed.

Corvus rested alone with his wife after the delivery, Kaunis and Kaliska only staying for as long as they needed. Wenona required space, peace, and quiet.

Tallulah slept on her mother's breast. She was healthy, despite the premature birth. At nine pounds, she could even be large for her size. She has her father's eyes, but not his complexion. Something that had been of particular note to Kaunis.

Corvus knelt besides the bed Wenona barely fit in the thing and he worried he would break it if he tried to join her. He still has one arm wrapped around her, the other holding her hand, thumb caressing her knuckles. His head rested on her shoulder, eyes only focusing on his daughter.

"I love you both…." He whispered.

Wenona smiled, half asleep, "how many more times are you gonna say that, shiką'?"

"I'm never gonna stop, shi'áád." He answered with a chuckle. "Throne, I never even dreamed I would be this lucky. If… if you had said to eighteen-year-old me… That I would have the most magnificent, strong, kind wife and the most perfect little daughter… I don't even know what I would say, I wouldn't be able to believe it."

Wenona nuzzled her face into her husband's hair. "She is perfect, isn't she…"

Corvus hummed, "more perfect than anything else in the galaxy."