Brovish #2
I tucked the notes into my pocket and entered the pen, walking over to where Laina knelt beside Abagail. Sofia chirped happily on my shoulder.
“Sofia made herself at home last night,” Laina said without looking up, her hands moving carefully over Abagail’s woolly sides.
“Did she cause trouble?”
“She demolished my favorite sofa pillow, but I was able to put out the fire before it caused any danger.” Laina glanced up, smiling. “I woke up to find half my bedroom floor covered in scorched stuffing and her sitting proudly in the middle of it.”
“She takes everything seriously.”
“I noticed. She arranged the fluff in a circle, then kept adding every small object she could carry. A pair of my earrings. A pen. My hairbrush.”
“She built you a gift throne,” I said seriously. “It is a high honor among emberkits.”
Laina’s eyebrows rose. “My gift throne had my earrings.”
“Those are the jewels of your new nest realm. It’s traditional.”
“Should I be concerned she’s planning a coronation?”
I studied Sofia, who preened under the attention. “She has been gathering small shiny objects for weeks. But I believe you may already be crowned in her mind.”
We talked about Sofia in general and about Abagail, exchanging insights. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed having someone to share observations with who understood both the clinical details and the small, personal moments that made each creature unique.
Laina leaned back on her heels and frowned at Abagail. She tugged her stethoscope from her lab coat pocket and listened to Abagail’s lungs. Her belly. Finally, she placed the stethoscope in her pocket and dropped to her knees to examine Abagail further.
“I think she’s pregnant,” Laina said.
“That isn’t possible.”
“If she was with other snugglethorns before she arrived here, it’s very possible. I’d say she’s pretty far along. I hear more than one heartbeat.”
“Will she deliver soon?”
“Maybe. I need to do some research online before I’m certain. But in addition to more than one heartbeat, I can feel movement. One, maybe two, baby snugglethorns.”
“Pregnant snugglethorns are considered blessed,” I said, keeping my voice low so Abagail wouldn’t startle.
“They’re given special foods and protected spaces.
The highest families used to compete to have a birthing snugglethorn in their compound.
It was considered a sign of good fortune, the female choosing them for protection. ”
“Here, we have storks,” Laina said, her fingers still gentle on Abagail’s side.
“Storks?”
“People used to say that storks bring babies.”
I tilted my head. “How is that possible?”
“It’s not. I guess some people found the idea cute.”
Humans were very strange creatures.
“The snugglethorns remain pregnant until they find somewhere safe. They will hold off delivering if they can’t find a secure location. If they deem a place unworthy, they can delay birth for weeks.”
“That’s remarkable,” she whispered, and the wonder in her voice made my chest warm.
I knelt on the ground beside her. “Are you certain she’s pregnant?”
“Feel here.” She guided my hand to Abagail’s side. “That firmness is not bloat. And if you wait a moment—”
Something shifted inside Abagail’s belly. “Ah. She is going to have an orcling. A snuggler, that is. That’s what we call baby snugglethorns. We didn’t know she was pregnant when we took her in a few months ago. The rescue was rushed. The information we received was incomplete.”
“When did she arrive here?”
“Forty-three days ago. Snugglethorn gestation is—”
“Sixty to seventy days.” She looked up at me. “We need to adjust her diet immediately. More protein and specific minerals. I’ll make a list. And we’ll need to prepare a birthing area.”
“Snugglethorns prefer small, dark spaces for birthing. Warm but not hot. They need privacy but not isolation.”
“We could convert the back corner of her enclosure. Add walls, soft bedding, a heat lamp with a dimmer.”
“And we’ll need to monitor her vital signs daily. Increased checkups.”
“I can run blood work today to confirm and check her electrolytes.”
We built the care plan between us, each adding details the other hadn’t thought of. I suggested particular foods that snugglethorns craved during pregnancy; she detailed the vitamin supplements we’d need. Our knowledge fit together well.
I hadn’t realized how close we’d moved until I looked up and found her face a short distance away from mine. Her eyes, warm amber in the morning light, held mine. Her breath touched my face, soft and quick.
I leaned forward, closing the last space between us and kissed her. Her lips were soft against mine. When she cupped my shoulders and moaned, I slid my hand around the back of her waist, drawing her closer.
She was small in my arms, but she didn’t feel breakable. She felt like the person that had always been meant to fit there, a piece of a map I hadn’t known I was drawing until she filled in the missing corner. I brushed my fingers across her soft cheek, and her breath caught.
Time stretched and compressed all at once. I lost all awareness of anything that wasn’t Laina’s touch, her sweet scent, and her quiet sigh against my mouth.
Abagail headbutted into the space between our bodies. She made a low, rumbling sound that might have been approval or complaint.
Laina laughed, her face flushed. “I think someone wants us to pay more attention to her.”
We untangled ourselves from Abagail, both a little flustered.
Laina’s eyes remained on mine, wide and startled, but not in the way humans sometimes looked startled by orcs. This was different. Her fingers lingered on my shoulders.
“I didn’t plan that,” I said softly.
“I’m glad you didn’t stop to plan it.” Her cheeks flushed pink.
“It was alright?”
Her smile lifted. “If you’re looking for critique, it was amazing. If you’re asking if we should or shouldn’t be doing it, I think we should.”
“Ah.”
“Yes, ah.”
We left the pen and walked back inside the building.
We ran into Traig in the entryway.
“We’re leaving now to meet up with Ranz for the new intakes,” he said. “We’ll stay overnight and arrive in the morning.”
Drogar strode from the hallway. “Brovish, you’ll have the facility to yourself.” His grin widened as he took in Laina. “Well. Almost to yourself.”
My ears went hot.
Krem shouldered past them both, juggling two bags and a thermal carrier. “I packed extra blankets for transport. The forecast says rain all evening.” He paused, glancing between Laina and me. “You’ll be alright here alone?”
“We’ll manage,” I said.
“I’m sure you will,” Drogar said, his eyes gleaming.
Greth appeared last, silent as always, and nodded once in my direction before following the others outside and toward the transport vehicle parked out front.
Traig climbed into the driver’s seat, and Drogar waved from the passenger window as they pulled away.
The facility felt larger with them gone. Quieter.
Laina headed for her office, and I went to mine.
I tried to work, but my body hummed like a hive of thornsprigs. My tusks felt too large for my mouth. My hands remembered the curve of her waist, and I kept touching my lips, trying to recapture the warmth of hers.
The kingdom had words for this feeling, this thunderstorm inside the chest, this hunger without belly pain.
None of the surface words seemed big enough.