Acrasia

Family.

             The past couple months have flown by. After leaving Ezekiel's home, we came back to mine with the agreement we would visit him weekly. I wasn't sure he was going to miss most, Seraphine or Axar. Or even me. He has gotten noticeably closer to me the past few weeks, even coming to visit us instead and helping with the nursery. Often he would mess with Axar and swat a nail straight through the wall with his hand.

           Seraphine continues struggling to adjust to her limitations.  She often becomes aggressive after being denied the ability to mop for the third time in a day or being told not to raise the furniture up to check beneath it. She has removed every speck of dirt or lint that could have existed here. She's also removed half the food, constantly starving and never quite full enough. Her stomach has doubled now and she's quite uncomfortable.

Several times we have taken her into the city to feed from excess energy sources, and she has either became tired from walking or forced to leave because she was unable to control herself and tried for blood. In her right mindset she would never want to cause harm, so I stopped her just to preserve her clear conscience.

When it comes to her babies though, she powers through. Tolerating the discomfort and occasional contraction to buy for them or play with Axar. Or nest. Ezekiel and I joke that she is like an animal, hoarding blankets and food and obsessing over her little den. That being addressed, the theme of the nursery is the forest.  My favorite childhood memories were of running through trees and tall grass, pretending to hunt Narius, who was grown by time I came along. I would scary the trees and leap down onto him. Since I do not require sleep, I hand painted the murals on each wall. Every tree or blade of grass, every hill or cloud, every animal. The plush carpet is a marble of earth tones to mimic dirt and grass.

In her little nook by the window, Sera sleeps. The sunlight from the window shines down on her resting form in her little nest of blankets and pillows. I have stalked her all morning, noticing the changes from last night. She's moving much, much slower. Her stomach has seemed to drop. She wouldn't let me fool around with her this morning, claiming that her hips were killing her and her breasts were too sore to be touched. I even notice that the child is much less active today.

I rinse my brushes out and I slide over tp her, where I can lay beside her. In the peace and quiet, I can hear Axar eating his breakfast seconds downstairs. I even hear Seraphine's breathing start to pick up as she wiggles to get comfortable. A low groan escapes her lips and she double up. Contractions? My breath hitches. Immediately I check her stomach and sides to feel how tight they are, and they release for a moment before starting back up.

"Do you need to go to bed?" She nods at me and tries to stand, but she can't fully straighten due to contracting up into her lower back.

I would pack her, but Ezekiel has lectured me to keep her moving during early stages of labor if I can. And I'm certain this is the real deal. This feels different than those false labors we have had this month. I wrap one of her arms around me and walk by her side, clutching her for support so she cannot fall. I lead her to the stairs.

"Can we go outside?" She hums in response. Axar comes out of the kitchen in time to see us beside the door.

"Where are you guys going?"

"Outside to walk. Would you like to join us?" He scans over Seraphine and quickly has an understanding. 

"Of course! Are you okay mama?" He comes to her other side.

"I-I'm good." She tries to smile.

Outside we walk her in laps, both guarding her in case she needs support. The summer sun shines down on us as we make our rounds. It gets harder, and harder for Seraphine to make the laps. Her body is tight and drawn with the force of her contractions and her water breaks.