“Of course I’m sure,” Gwyn replied firmly. “We’d love to see you both there. Wouldn’t we, Joarr?”
Joarr’s replying nod was terse and unimpressed, but thankfully he didn’t argue. And once Silfast was guiding Stella away, Joarr also marched Gwyn toward the opposite exit, his steps long and fast and clearly disapproving.
“What?” Gwyn demanded at him, once they were back in the dark corridor again. “I thought youwantedme to make friends? And are they not allowed to visit us in your garden? Even when it used to be theBautulgarden?”
Joarr didn’t answer, though his scowl visibly deepened. Suggesting that again, this was a point of some difficulty, and Gwyn sighed, and rubbed at her face. “And are they… always like that?” she asked. “Silfast snarling and raging, while pretending he isn’t? And Stella tiptoeing around him, as if to prevent some devastating catastrophe from occurring?”
Joarr twitched an unreadable look at her, and then barked a sudden laugh. “No,” he said. “Before this, you were more like to see Stella taunt and tease him, with all eager sweetness. Until he threw her over his lap, and struck her whilst she screeched for his mercy. Or his prick.”
He looked faintly amused by that, and Gwyn made herself consider it as they turned into another corridor, now tilting steadily downwards. So Stella and Silfast had once enjoyed thosegames of intimacytoo, then. And while such things of course needed to be modified with pregnancy, there was no reason to stop if both partners were still enjoying it — but then again, a difficult pregnancy could certainly have an effect on one’s enjoyment, too. And if Stella truly took Gwyn up on her offer about the garden tomorrow, perhaps that might help, and —
Gwyn belatedly startled, her steps faltering, her hand rubbing at her face. Because had she really just promised to see Stellatomorrow? To spend yetanotherday in this damned mountain, with this damned infuriating orc?!
But Joarr’s sidelong smirk at her suggested that yes, she had indeed committed to such a thing, and he hadn’t missed it, either. “This way,” he said coolly, nudging her toward another corridor, with an even steeper angle to the floor. “I take you next down to the Ka-esh, ach?”
The Ka-esh. The reading orcs, Gwyn recalled, the ones who’d discovered the truth about Joarr’s clan, and who supposedly never stopped talking. And as she was fighting to reorient her still-spinning brain toward this new objective, someone whirled out of a nearby room, and rushed over to bounce before them in the corridor.
“Oh, here they are!” exclaimed a bright, enthusiastic voice. “Oh, howexciting! Welcome!”
Gwyn jerked to a halt, blinking — and found herself staring at awoman. Yes, a woman, small and blonde and pert-looking, her blue eyes sparkling with anticipation, her hands clasped over her chest. And she, too, was visibly pregnant, her rounded belly very obvious against her otherwise slight form.
“I’m Rosa, of Clan Ka-esh,” the woman continued cheerfully. “And you must be Gwyn! It’s such athrillto finally have a real midwife join us! We always knew Joarr was a clever orc, and fully on board with the cause, but — I hope you don’t mind me saying, Joarr — this is a fate-changing feat! Amaster-strokeon your part! Don’t you agree, John-Ka?”
With that, she’d dashed back into the room, and returned dragging someone else behind her. Another orc, it turned out — and this one was strangely, surprisingly handsome. His body more human-sized, his features almost elf-like, his grey-green face entirely unmarked by scars. And he was also clearly involved with this blonde woman, his clawed hands catching easy and familiar at her full waist as he nodded toward Joarr and Gwyn.
“Ach, we have greatly needed this,” he said, his voice and eyes grave on Gwyn’s. “We welcome you among us, woman, and look forward to your work here.”
He spoke as though this were some sort of long-term arrangement, rather than a two-day — or three-day — visit, but Gwyn thrust away that awareness for now, and attempted a smile. “Er, thank you,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
The orc returned this with a brief nod, while Rosa positively beamed. “Soexciting,” she said again. “Now come, come! I hope you’ll give me acompleteexamination? Also, I’ve just finished a new copy ofA Treatise on the Gainful Birthing of Orclingsfor you. You’ll want to read it at once, I’m sure!”
She was eagerly gesturing toward the nearby door, and Gwyn felt herself inexplicably hesitating, angling another glance up at Joarr. At where he was twitching a wry, reassuring half-smile back down toward her, almost as if to say,I warned you about these Ka-esh, didn’t I?
And despite Gwyn’s still-present irritation toward him, it helped, somehow. Settling the tension in her shoulders, bringing a more sincere smile to her mouth. “Of course,” she said to Rosa, as she followed her inside. “I’m happy to do whatever I can.”
The new room was also made of stone, not dissimilar to the others Gwyn had seen so far — but it also had stone workbenches cut into nearly all the walls, as well as several stone tables rising from the floor in the middle of the room. And upon the workbenches, there stood neat rows of mismatched opaque bottles, multiple thick books and piles of paper, and a variety of familiar-looking steel implements. Of…medical tools?
“It’s a… clinic?” Gwyn’s astonished voice asked, as Rosa hopped up to sit upon the nearest table. “A medical clinic?”
“Yes, and you’re more than welcome to make use of it as you need,” Rosa replied. “Our approach to healing is a collaborative one, isn’t it, John-Ka? Oh, and speaking of which, Gwyn” — her bright eyes flicked toward the door — “surely you don’t mind if a few of our medics observe our consultation, as well?”
Gwyn whipped around, and discovered that there were indeed three more orcs striding into the room — all of them again surprisingly handsome, and all eyeing her with wary curiosity. “This is Salvi, and Eben, and Aaron, all of Clan Ka-esh,” Rosa announced from the table. “And this is our new midwife, Gwyn, of Clan Bautul!”
Gwyn, ofClan Bautul?! Gwyn couldn’t hide her reflexive twitch, or her sharp look toward Joarr — but he was conveniently looking elsewhere, his mouth thin. Leaving Gwyn to attempt a smile at these new orcs, while desperately grasping for some kind of focus. “Lovely to meet you,” she said. “Though I’ll warn you, my consultations aren’t very exciting. Mostly talking, I’m afraid.”
The orcs gave a variety of nods and hand-waves, apparently undaunted, so Gwyn drew in a breath, and returned her attention to Rosa’s expectant eyes. And then, while intently fighting to ignore her watching orc audience, she launched into her usual list of questions from the top.
The list was of course very thorough, built over years of practice, and encompassed everything from dates to diet to moods to symptoms to sleep. And while it soon became clear that Rosa and these orcs were very well-informed about many facets of pregnancy and childbirth, they also seemed to have surprising gaps in their knowledge, several in deeply crucial areas.
“No, I’m afraid your birth can’t happen here,” she told Rosa, glancing around at the room, once Rosa had announced this as her plan. “Not unless you can bring in a large basin of hot water, and keep regularly refreshing it. You’ll most certainly want to plan for a water birth — and the option to remain mostly vertical — especially with your first, and with the inherent size difference in cross-species births like this. Perhaps we should look into getting you a birthing chair, as well.”
“Truly?” Rosa asked, glancing uncertainly at the orcs around her. “We brought in a human midwife for Jule’s birth, and she didn’t mention anything about water. Or being upright.”
“Well, every midwife has their own set of practices,” Gwyn replied, with a shrug. “But in my experience, having these options available improves outcomes considerably — as well as your comfort. I can certainly direct you to a few reliable references, if you like.”
“Oh, yes, please,” Rosa said, with genuine-seeming relish. “As many as possible, if you don’t mind. And what do you think about pain management during the birth?”
Gwyn of course had extensive thoughts on that front, and talked Rosa through the best available options, and the assets and drawbacks of each one. And once Rosa and the orcs seemed satisfied, Gwyn finally proceeded with the actual physical examination, in which she checked Rosa’s pulse, breasts, and pelvis, listened to the baby’s heartbeat, determined the baby’s current position, and thankfully ruled out any obvious infections or concerns.
