Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Elves of All Kinds (1x1)

Raeliel smiled softly at his happiness, but there seemed to be something troubling her. Luckily, the nursemaid took care of breaking the news. "We're going to be staying with Raeliel and the baby for a few days. The baby almost didn't make it. Came out not breathing." Raeliel's eyes were locked on her child, watching every movement of the little baby's body as she breathed. "We're going to take shifts during the night to make sure she doesn't stop breathing." the nursemaid continued.
"Isn't she beautiful, Saelhil?" Raeliel said quietly, interrupting anything else the woman might say. She wanted to just enjoy her baby right now, not think about how the baby might die.

Of course, Saelhil was worried about his child, and he nodded slightly to the nurse, just glad the baby was alive. When Raeliel spoke, he smiled affectionately, sitting on the edge of the bed next to his wife. "She's perfect, Raeliel," he said softly. He tucked some of Raeliel's hair behind her ear, then looked down at their child, now paying extra attention to the child's breathing. The crying made him exceedingly proud; their baby could breathe, and cry. She was alive, and that was all that mattered.

Raeliel looked exhausted, and she had very good reason to be so. She was leaning back against the pillows, resting even though she was upright. "Can...can you get Valenthion? I need to rest, soon...but I want him to meet...his sister before then." She still didn't take her eyes off her baby. The little child whined and wailed, but the nursemaids were glad about it because it would help the baby to breathe better if she cried more like that.

"Yes, of course." Saelhil kissed her cheek, touched his daughter's head, then dashed off.

He returned just a few minutes later with Valenthion in tow. The young boy seemed cautious when he heard the crying of the child once he entered the room. "Mom...?" he asked hesitantly. It smelled strange in the room, like perspiration and blood; at least, it smelled like this due to his enhanced senses. Saelhil led Valenthion to the bed, letting the boy go to Raeliel's side. Valenthion's eyes were on the source of the sobbing, curious and a bit frightened. He had never been so close to a newborn...

Raeliel smiled and gently took his hand. "I'm right here, Valenthion. Meet your new baby sister." She gently moved his hand to touch the tiny baby's arm. "That's her arm. Isn't she so small?" She smiled, then looked at Saelhil. "We still need to name her."

(Scooting to bed, I will post response tomorrow!)

{Night!}

Valenthion bit his lip, gently grazing his fingers over the baby's soft skin. After a moment he gripped her arm, and blinked. "...she's...squishy," he decided was the best adjective to describe her at the moment.

Saelhil laughed softly at his son, and gently ruffled his hair. "Mm, I suppose that's one way to describe your sister." At Raeliel's comment, he nodded a bit. "Did you decide on anything?" They had spoken about a few names, but never decided definitely on anything. He of course vouched for Belanna, which had been his mother's name, but he was perfectly fine with anything Raeliel chose. Any name would suit the little baby perfectly.

Raeliel giggled softly. "Yes, she is." She considered the option, thinking about names for a few moments. "I think," she said carefully, stroking the crying baby's cheek, "Belanna is perfect. Belle, for short." He called her Rae sometimes and she called him Sael, so their little baby had to have an option for a shortened section too. With a name like 'belanna', belle was perfect! "What do you both think?"

Saelhil smiled a bit and nuzzled her temple. "That sounds perfect." He looked down at his daughter. "Our little Belle..."

Valenthion quietly released Belle's arm, then crawled onto the bed to sit next to Raeliel. "Belanna's nice," he said softly, honestly not caring what they called her. He leaned against his mother quietly.

Saelhil sat on the edge of the bed. "Now then... Do you want to rest now, Raeliel?" he asked, gently kissing her cheek. "I'll take care of Belle while you sleep."

Raeliel smiled. "Wonderful." She leaned slightly against Valenthion, her eyes closing. "..mmhmm." She was exhausted. She reluctantly handed the tiny baby over and moved a bit to lay down. Every movement hurt. She put her hand in Valenthion's and sighed, letting herself fall asleep, surrounded by her family. Her wonderful family.

Saelhil took Belle carefully, and smiled, watching his wife and son. Valenthion snuggled up to Raeliel, laying beside her and closing his eyes, happily going to sleep with his mother. Saelhil took his daughter and sat in a nearby chair, holding her gently against his chest, just gazing down at her quietly.

Raeliel slept for a couple hours, but then Belle woke from the nap she'd been taking and started crying. Raeliel groaned slightly. The baby was probably hungry. "I'm up, I'm up..." She sat up carefully and yawned, petting Valenthion's head. "Okay, the boys get to leave the room." She held out her arms for the baby, dismissing Valenthion and Saelhil. "You'll both be able to spend more time with Belle later, okay?"

Valenthion didn't want to move, but once Saelhil handed Raeliel the baby, he lifted Valenthion off the bed and set him on his feet. "Alright, alright... Come on, Valen. Let your mom have some alone time with Belle." He smiled gently at the boy and took the sleepy Valenthion's hand, leading him out, allowing Raeliel some privacy.

Raeliel took care of the baby, then let them come back in. The child was sleeping again now, and she was looking quite peaceful. Raeliel slept again later, and mostly just rested throughout the day. During the night, the baby was up a lot crying and Raeliel had to go take care of her. She also stopped breathing a couple times during the night, but Raeliel was trying to keep that a secret from Saelhil. She wanted to talk to him about it and be able to actually discuss it instead of just telling him and having him freak out.

Indeed, Saelhil was clueless about Belle's trouble during the night. Whenever he would try to get up to take care of her, Raeliel would insist that she had it under control, and he would be urged to stay in bed, so he did. He didn't think anything of it, just that Raeliel was attached to their daughter.

Raeliel was up early in the morning, exhausted. She was up with the baby. She rocked the little child back and forth, somehow managing to stay awake. She finally sat down, her head bobbing a little from sleepiness. She took in a deep breath and let it out, looked down at her baby, and smiled. "You're trouble...but you're worth it."

When Saelhil awoke, he found his wife was awake with the baby. He crawled out of bed and walked over to her, hugging her from behind. "How long have you been awake?" he asked softly, kissing her cheek. "I could have gotten up."

Raeliel glanced up. "Oh...hey." She yawned a bit and shook her head a little. "A lot of it is she's hungry. You can't help with that." She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, then opened them to look down at the tiny, day-old baby in her arms. "She's so small."

Saelhil nuzzled her, then straightened himself. "Mm. She's so lovely..." He came around to kneel in front of Raeliel, stroking Belle's head. He smiled up at his wife affectionately, then turned his attention to his daughter.

Raeliel smiled softly, then gave a little yawn. "Could you get me some breakfast, love?" She sighed a little and closed her eyes. She was very tired. The baby just slept away, stirring only a little when Saelhil pet her head.