Come Please, I'm Callin' [Reserved for: Sam]

[Tiggs]

She recognised the signs. It had been the same with Thalera. She had been antsy for days, pacing more than usual and straining her neck to touch her swollen belly repeatedly. The time was near, but something was bothering her. Was it the fences? The small of the Men? No, it was something deeper than that. She continued to walk around the enclosure, brushing Thalera off whenever he came near to investigate.

Normally she would be finding somewhere secluded to give birth, but she was stuck inside this pen. After a few weeks, she had stopped flinching at every little thing, but she still wasn't entirely comfortable. The Man had been patient with her and though by now Thalera was well socialised, she would only approach the Man when he brought those sweet-smelling grains or fruits and even then it would be a brief touch before she shied away.

At least he would not hurt her, she was sure of that, but she wanted to be away from this place to do this as was natures way. As night fell, she began increasingly restless. The Man had come to check on her many times that day, and she had a feeling he could tell she was waiting for something. He finally left her alone when night had fully fallen. It was deep into the night when labour began. Not too nicely, she had forced Thalera to the far side of the corral and she lay down on the far side.

Contractions came, but she became increasingly uncomfortable. Up until now, she had been as quiet as possible so as not to draw attention but as the labour continued she gave a whinny of unease. She had started to deliver the foal's legs, but she could tell without looking that it was the wrong set. It was a breech birth. Her calls of distress were louder now, as if unconsciously she wanted to wake the Man. She struggled and tried in vain to continue the delivery, but the foal's hips were stuck.

Thalera looked on in horror, unsure of what to do. He too began to make noises, and he was relieved to see movement inside the hut. He wasn't sure why the activity of the men calmed him, but as he was more trusting of his captors, he thought perhaps they could help.

[tingara]

Over and over Sam tossed himself in his makeshift bed. He’d had not a wink of sleep since trying to settle down over four hours ago. The air inside the wooden hut was stifling from the summer heat and thick with apprehension. The mare, whom he’d officially dubbed ‘Gumnut’, had been visibly stressed the past few days. Of course Sam had no idea when her foal was due but it must be soon. He’d seen the same kind of behaviour many times before; he’d even helped out on the births but all those horses had been at least semi-tame.

All through the day Sam had been as restless as Nut and even now he couldn’t help but peek a look at the mare every fifteen minutes or so. Finally the man gave up on sleep and moved himself to the table in the small makeshift kitchen. From there he could see both Nut’s and the colt’s (now dubbed Bill) pale coats shining in the moonlight he could see the mare was visibly restless and had chased poor old Bill to the other side of the pen. Sam lit up the wood stove and waited eagerly for the kettle to boil. What he needed now was a nice strong cup of coffee.

But is seemed the coffee would have to wait. Already Sam could tell there was something wrong with Nut. Even before her cries grew louder the man had pulled on some older clothes and was waking Jason and the new guy. Hearing them groan told him they were awake and without hesitation Sam was outside. The angle of the foal’s hooves and Nut’s struggling told him all he needed to know. The foal was breeched and the hip was stuck.

“Jason, I need you to tie up her legs but do it loosely. The last thing she needs is more stress. New guy, you’re with me,” Sam barked, in the heat of the moment he’d even forgotten the new guy’s name. Without another word he ducked through the fence and slowly approached the mare. “Easy girl, I’m here to help you,” he whispered softly. Slowly he knelt down and risked sliding a hand gently over Nut’s neck.

[Tiggs]

Jason grumbled and got up in a daze, staggering into his clothes and shaking out his boots before slipping into them barefooted. The fact he had been woken up suggested the mare was having trouble and for once he didn't complain as he stumbled out of the hut. By the looks of it, the mare was breeching. he gave Sam a lazy salute. "You gottit, mate." He jogged off to get the ropes while Sam tried to calm the brumby mare.

Kessa went wild-eyed at the sight of the Man coming. Her legs gave a thrash as if she was thinking about trying to stand to get away. She had never been so vulnerable with the Man here, and she was about ready to try running. Then he was oppressively close and she couldn't move. He came closer, and she forced her mind to those memories of him bringing her treats. He was gentle. He wouldn't hurt her. If she could just keep her mind on that,s he could forget she was laying down and stuck half-way into labour.

She could sense other Men around, but her Man petted and stroked her neck. She uttered a forlorn nicker, and allowed Him to stay. The stationary Man who was out of her field of vision was tolerated, but her legs began to work as the third Man returned with ropes. She didn't like ropes, and the sight of them spooked her.

Jason hung back, hanging the ropes out of view while he tied quick slipknots in the ends. "Sorry, girly. Gotta do it. Can't help ya without 'em." Feeling very much the bad guy, he stepped in and caught the first foreleg, tethering the other end of the rope to the fence but giving her a good few feet of slack so she could move the leg and was not constrained absolutely. He repeated the same for the other foreleg, and carefully roped her hind legs. The ends of these ropes he kept in his hands (on which he had put his rawhide roping gloves) so he could directly control the slack she had while delivering the foal. He tried his best not to spook her, but she was breathing heavily now.

Jason gestured at Dave. "All yours, Doc." He glanced to Sam, glad to see the mare -- while quite obviously in distress -- reacted positively to his presence. Out of respect, he kept his distance to the mare, concentrating on her hindquarters while the vet came in closer to check on the birth's progress.

[tingara]

Unexpectedly Gumnut only flinched slightly at Sam’s touch. All the time he’d spent with her and Bill was having an effect after all. Though with Bill it had been more noticeable earlier on. Quickly the colt had adapted to having humans around which was definitely a good sign. A thought surfaced in Sam’s mind that he probably should have moved the colt into a different pen but it was too late now. Underneath him he felt the mare’s breathing quicker and her coat grow damp with sweat.

Though it seemed cruel, Jason was right; the ropes were there to help. It was important that Nut wasn’t able to get up in the middle of everything or do the doc, the foal or herself serious harm. Sam willed her to understand that, all he could do to convey the message was stroke her neck softly and whisper reassuringly to her. “Jason, could you get uhhh... some dry towels for Doc,” he called urgently at the stockman. As Doc worked, the man threw a glance his way every now and then but kept most of his attention on Nut.

“Easy, easy. We’re gonna get this thing out of you soon,” he whispered softly.

[Tiggs]

Jason gave a nod, tethered the rear legs and scurried off the the hut. He returned shortly with the straggly old towels and handed them to the vet. Kessa was becoming increasingly agitated, and as the vet approached her rear end, she kicked out. Ropes caught her before impact and she struggled some more. Only the Man at her head kept her from trying to stand, and she tried her hardest to deter the other Man from touching her or her unborn child.

It seemed though her efforts were wasted, and she felt a tug on the foal. It was coming! Forgetting the man for the moment, she settled briefly while she concentrated on delivering the rest of the foal in some vain hope that they could get away from the unknown Man. Finally the foal was out, coming much easier after that unexplained tug. After a little rest, Men forgotten, she tried getting to her feet.

Jason had already started to untie the ropes as soon as the foal was out, and so the mare got to her feet without interruption. Dave had already ensured the foal was breathing, but Jason warned him off as the mare was adamant to get up. Getting the ropes off her legs required a bit more skill, but he managed it without spooking the mare too much. He watched as she leaned down to snuffle at the foal which was impossibly pale in the meagre predawn light. The mare stamped a hoof, her ears pinned at the vet. Her warning given, she tended to the foal.

Kessa licked at the foal's face, and was relieved at a splutter of breath Enthused, she cleaned th rest of the foal while it took its first breaths. Two of the Men were not welcome near her, but she tolerated her favourite Man. His presence had been oddly calming, and he could at least share the corral with her even if she kept him at a fair distance.