The thick trace of an old woodfire suddenly filled the atmosphere and enveloped the pair, it's soothing scent flooding Orin with promises of warmth, safety, and shelter. Just a moment after she detected the lingering scent of the waning fire the silhouette of the church appeared before them, and soon the women were at the threshold. This place of salvation was a shadowed blot against the darkening sky, but to Orin it was carved from gold. Despite her wonder at having arrived at a church – a place she had never visited before – she did not stop to marvel at it's threshold. Instead she moved inside seamlessly with Tala's guidance.
Within, everything felt like a nightmare turned dream. The mother felt as though she had entered a state of limbo, still too shocked to feel relieved yet no longer experiencing the terror she felt in the graveyard. As she moved through the aisle with Tala, her eyes scanned the long pews, studied the dais, and searched the high, vaulted ceiling. Soon it was all out of view, though, and it was up up up. Up the stairs they went, though here Orin needed Tala's assistance most of all, and leaned on the woman. Her own arms remained clutched to her daughters, and her legs were so worn and weak that she was hardly able to clear one step, let alone an entire staircase. Yet she needn't fear, for the seraph, in her great mercy, helped.
“Oh, I shouldn't take your bed,” she started to protest before taking time to absorb the room they had come to. Despite speaking the words, she knew she would accept if the woman insisted, but if she did not she could arrange the blankets the pups were bundled in into a little mat for them, as she had been doing all along, and slept on the floor herself. Even the floor would be a world of comfort right now. “I'm sure I can figure something out. But yes, I would love some stew. It could even be porridge right now and I'd be happy. I'll make it up to you, work it off, repay you somehow...”
The sight of the room began to register then, as Tala led her over to the nest of pillows and gently eased her down into the pile. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Orin wondered if they were in the room beneath the parapet she had noticed outside. She was in a dreamy state now as she watched the woman turn and retreat from the room. There was a soft patter as she descended the stairs, and then suddenly Orin was alone again. The angel had left, and now the darkness was creeping back.
She drew the bundle to her breast, tightening her hold on the sleeping puppies within the blanket. She clutched them as much for their protection and comfort as for her own. Nothing's there, Orin... Nothing's there... she tried to reassure herself. Yet all of the reassurances in the world could not stave off the fearful cold sweat that began to mat her fur. She breathed deeply, the breaths mutating into a worried pant.
“M-miss...” she tried to call out, to summon the seraph back to her, but her throat was dry and her voice barely cracked in the silence. Tala was only gone seconds when terror began to wrap its cold tendrils around Orin. She shrank away, making herself as small as possible in the nest of pillows, wrapping herself around her daughters.
Now something was coming, Orin surely heard it... up the steps... a dark shadow in the entryway. “Ahh!!” She screamed, but the cry caught in her throat when she realized that it was only Tala, and not some big bad demon man. She heaved a sigh of relief, and tried to compose herself. The puppies in her lap writhed, now having been woken up by their mother's short yelp. “I'm sorry. I'm just a bit jumpy still, that's all... Hope I didn't startle you. Is that the stew?”
Luscious, inviting scents wafted from the bowl Tala held, and Orin graciously accepted the offering. If her pups could have eaten this type of food she surely would have given it to them frst, but they were still relying on Orin's milk to survive. Orin needed to nourish herself first so her body could finally produce the milk her daughters so desperately needed.
“Yes, I would like some water too. I haven't had much milk for my daughters because I am malnourished. This stew will give my body the strength to start feeding them again soon, but I need to get water into them so they stay hydrated. It's been a long time since their last feeding...” Her voice trailed off with a crackle of grief. She was still afraid she would not be able to produce milk for them. She could only hope.
Orin picked up the bowl of stew and greedily downed it. The sooner it was in her body, the sooner she would begin to produce milk for her babies again. Now if only they could hold on until then.
“But wait, don't leave me again! What if you never came back?”
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