Through death comes life, and through life, death.
It was a saying of old that depicted life in the midst of war.
Many believed that human nature, when it is surrounded by death, discovers the need for life, the desire to cling to another breath, to another beating of the heart.
Their own or others.
Be it by saving themselves or by saving others from danger.
Be it by sacrificing themselves for a greater good, or by bringing a life into this world.
Some called it greed to bring life into this harsh world.
Others call it our purpose in life as animals.
An instinct to pass down life that will continue for far longer than one's own lifespan, to create something more than their own choices.
And some are in the middle of both, unsure whether to do it or not, uncertain whether they wish for it or not.
However, one thing is for certain among all three groups of people.
That no matter what, whether they choose to bring life into this world or not, the only thing that remains when our eyes close for the last time is life.
Life will go on.
Be it a wolf cub alone in the wilderness crying for its mother, a husband and wife looking at their children playing in the grass, a bird soaring through the sky for the first time, or a life that has not yet come to be.
A thought that brings comfort, a promise yet to be delivered, a life yet to be formed.
A promise of a life that brought Miyanna to her knees as she puked alone on the snow, outside the burrow, with tears in her eyes.
It was the fourth day in the Moose Path, the taiga Garden.
And she was crying tears of joy, and laughing with all her heart despite all that she puked.
Sometimes, when one prays for things, and those things happen, it's inevitable to see it as anything else than divine intervention.
For her, for Miyanna, for this beautiful bronze-eyed woman who, in the span of a few mere weeks, had her life changed from a miserable attempt at survival, picking poisonous mushrooms in the forest of her former enemy, to meet Blanc, Celine, and the rest, and all that followed shortly after.
When one puts all these things on a piece of paper and stares at them, at all the chains of events that painted her face with tears, one can only see it as the Vita smiling upon her.
"Thank you, Vita…" she whispered, between sobs and laughter.
None of the others were near enough to hear or see her like this, as she excused herself to use the toilet when the morning sickness overtook her.
"I am with child, Mother… me, haha, me! Look at me, Mother! I am with child, I will never be abandoned. I will be a mother, haha, a mo- *Blergh*" she whispered, then spoke, before yelling, looking at the sky towards the place in the sky her mother's star occupied, before she had to puke again.
And her morning sickness kept her in place, poorly clothed, for another five minutes.
The cold did not matter to her, and neither did the sickness.
She was just happy, and that was enough for her not to mind the cold or the sickness that was slowly making her dizzy.
But she got up before someone came for her, worried that something might have happened.
She also did not plan on weakening her body too much, especially now, after learning that she too was pregnant.
So she picked some snow from the ground and used it to wash away the tears from her face and the puke from her lips, before heading back into the burrow.
"All well, my love?" Blanc asked as she entered the large room that was used by the short-faced bear, now their campsite.
"Yes, my stomach just acted wrong," Miyanna lied, as she wanted to discuss this discovery with Celine first before telling Blanc anything.
"I see," said Blanc, looking at her red face, but not wanting to push the issue further if she decided not to tell him anything, "Well, either way, breakfast is soon to be ready, start to get dressed, and I will call you all when it's time to eat."
Miyanna took a step towards him, wanting to kiss him out of gratitude, but she stopped suddenly, remembering the taste of puke that was still attached to her breath, so she turned towards their tent and started heading towards it as she spoke, "Thanks, hubby."
"Celine," Miyanna muttered as she entered the tent.
"What is it?" asked Celine, turning towards her and seeing her red face. "Did something happen? You appear as if you have been crying."
Miyanna approached Celine's side, whispering, "Promise me you won't tell Blanc a single word."
"Don't tell me…" Celine's eyes widened, guessing what was wrong from Miyanna's words and the puke on her breath.
"Mhm," Miyanna nodded, fresh tears in her eyes, and grinning as if she were a child, "I went outside, and… and, I don't know, I, uh, I began puking for minutes. I think it really happened."
"Are you certain it wasn't the food that did not agree with your stomach?" Celine asked, wanting to make sure and not give Miyanna false hopes.
"It couldn't have been the fruits," Miyanna pointed out, "How could fruits make me sick?
Celine got lost in thought for a moment, but soon hugged Miyanna tightly, "I am beyond happy for you, sister."
"Thanks," Miyanna grinned, "Should I tell Blanc now, or later tonight?"
"Don't," Celine replied the next moment, "Not yet."
"What? Why?" Miyanna asked, brought back to reality by the confusion caused by Celine's words.
"You two haven't tried for a child for too long, yet it could have happened even before trying properly," Celine began, "If Blanc were to hear about this now, he would surely be happy, don't believe otherwise, Miyanna, but I fear he might stress about it, and in a panic deciding to leave the Gardens quickly. Let's start planning things slowly for the moment you tell him, so that he will not decide to just run off to my father's Domain."
"You think he would do that?" Miyanna wondered, turning to look at the tent's opening.
"Without a doubt," Celine nodded, "But we all need to get stronger before we get there, and for that, we need to remain in the Gardens for as long as possible. Which means…"
"Which means I need to be patient before telling him, not only for our sakes, but his as well, right?" Miyanna tried guessing what Celine wanted to say.
"Exactly," Celine smiled, "Not only for Blanc to not stress about it, but for ourselves as well. We need to get our bodies as strong as possible until the pregnancies advance too much, in order to reduce the risks of us losing our lives during childbirth."
It was a good plan for Miyanna.
Though she could barely wait to tell Blanc, she understood why Celine said what she said.
Children were born daily, but if you were not a Noble Blood or did not have enough money for proper care, childbirth was a coin flip most of the time.
It was a truth that half the women who ever lived were now resting in the ground because of childbirth or complications during or after a pregnancy.
"How long do you think I should wait?" Miyanna asked, looking at her sister.
"As long as you have the patience to, Miyanna," Celine said, a sad smile on her face as she felt guilty of requesting this silence from her right at the peak of her happiness, after receiving from the Vita precisely what she wanted, "I know how happy you must feel, and how ready you are to just scream and go tell Blanc that he is to be a father, and I am sorry I ask this of you."
"Celine," Miyanna said, grabbing Celine's hand gently, "I'm not mad or sad at your words. Yeah, I mean, I would have loved to tell him right now," Miyanna giggled, "But what you said makes sense as well. I can't tell you how much I can remain silent, but I promise you I will try for as long as possible, and hopefully he doesn't find out first."
"He is not one to look too deep into what we choose not to show," Celine replied, "As long as you don't start puking in front of him, it should be fine."
Miyanna laughed at Celine's words, "Yeah, that would be bad."
Celine sighed, still feeling guilty, "I am sorry once more, sister."
"It's fine," Miyanna replied, a warm smile on her face as she went and kissed Celine's cheek, "Be happy with this much, my breath stinks of puke."
"Of all the things we share, and you are worried about kissing me," Celine sighed sarcastically, "Kiss me properly, damn it."
"I need to get dressed," Miyanna giggled, heading towards her bag. "Breakfast is almost ready."
"You win this time," replied Celine, moving towards her own, once she remembered she too lacked proper clothing for the day ahead of them, "But you won't escape me tonight."
As they laughed, they began dressing before Blanc came to call them for breakfast, which they joined with smiles on their lips.
For another day of hunting with their new, growing family, inside the Silver Gardens.