Dhryn squinted as he looked at the girl in the clearing. She was mottled green like the forest canopy, and completely hairless aside from a thick tuft of black fur on the top of her head, and her facial features were large and pronounced, almost competing for the gnoll’s attention. A pair of budding tusks sprouted from her strong jaw, a pushed-up porcine snout dominated her round face, and her ears were large and pointed, sticking straight out of the sides of her head. Dhryn inferred from her flat chest and awkward proportions that she was only a child, but the scars and tattoos written across her bare flesh told him the story of a lifetime of brutal experience. She was also very pregnant, her belly far too large for a frame so small. Her belly button stuck out from her midsection like a thumb, and the gnoll could see a metal ring pierced through it, a large, crude ornament that almost challenged him to reach out and grab it. He wondered if she was a vark, a creature from Naya's many tales, a race created by the mingling of demons and wild beasts back in the age when spirits still walked the mortal realm. He had never seen one in person before, and he wondered if maybe that was why Naya warned him not to stray this far into the woods. Eager to make the most of this coincidental meeting, the gnoll continued to watch from the shelter of the underbrush. It looked like the vark girl was dancing, swaying her hips back and forth and then from side to side, with her hands periodically clawing at her buttocks as if she was trying to reach or pull something. Dhryn’s eyes hungrily followed her movements and traced her toned, naked form as it swayed until she suddenly doubled over, bracing her hands against her shins with a wet grunt and giving her hidden audience an unintentionally revealing view. Dhryn could see the vark’s puckered anus straining, and there was definitely something shoved up between her legs, something slightly muddy-looking pushing her folds apart. The gnoll involuntarily licked his chops at the vulgar display as the little vark tried in vain to push out whatever was stuck up there. At first Dhryn thought it was an idol or training tool of sorts, something the vark had to squeeze out to prepare herself for the baby. But the more Dhryn watched, the bigger the object became, until he realized that that was the baby, it just wasn't emerging in the way it was supposed to. Dhryn knew from watching Naya that babies were supposed to be born head- or forelegs-first, but this baby looked like it was sitting down, coming out bottom-first instead! A thousand thoughts went through Dhryn's head. Were mother and baby in trouble? Could he help? Should he help? Did he even know how to help, or would he just make things worse? As the buttocks of the varklet continued to emerge, Dhryn realized that by the time he decided on a course of action, the baby might already be born. He tried to focus and remember Naya's teachings. If he could do what she did and peer behind the veil that separated the living and the unborn, he might be able to gain some insight into what to do next. At first he felt only a haze, punctuated by the vark's strained grunts. He found the noise distracting, and it threatened his calm as his prey drive started to surface. The scavenger in him saw a potential meal – or two – and for a moment he debated simply letting nature take its cruel course and cleaning up the mess the way a gnoll ought to. While Dhryn was battling his inner beast, the laboring vark continued with her own struggle, grunting and bearing down with all her might. She was able to force the baby’s rump out a few more inches before it receded back inside just as quickly. It was hard, gruelling work, but she was as tenacious as they came, and she would fight until exhaustion claimed her. She bent over and tried to pull her own buttocks apart, hoping to grab on to something as the baby continued to slip back and forth inside her straining birth canal. She reached futilely for a head, a hand, a foot, anything at all, but couldn’t grasp anything more than smooth, slippery skin. To Dhryn, it was another invitation, one that took all the gnoll's strength to resist. He could see the baby emerging a little more each time the mother pushed, sliding back and forth with each heavy grunt. It wasn’t long before he could see the infant’s sex, its feminine folds squished together by the pressure of the mother's birth canal and glistening with amniotic fluid. He imagined what it would be like to lick her clean, to dig into her virgin folds and taste her newborn flesh. He swore he caught a hint of pink between the breech varklet's folds as he fantasized, as if she was starting to flush in response to his lurid thoughts. The vark mother-to-be was thankfully too distracted with the contractions warping her belly to notice the onlooker beginning to fondle himself in the undergrowth. In a desperate attempt to hurry things along, the young vark pushed her belly against the ground, hoping that the soil of Mundus itself would aid in the delivery of her gruntling warrior. The pressure hurt tremendously, and she screamed in agony as her baby's left leg squirted out with a wet pop. With more of the baby revealed, Dhryn could see that its skin was a vivid green, like fresh grass. he could also see a blue, chunky-looking umbilical cord snaking from the baby's belly up into the birth canal. It seemed healthy enough, the gnoll reasoned, and he finally gave himself permission to meddle. Maybe he could win some favor with the vark and her tribe by assisting, he thought, and he could use it as an excuse to explore the tiny gruntling along the way. He slowly rose from his hiding place, making sure to rustle the bushes to make himself known. The vark turned and shouted at him in her strange language. Dhryn couldn't tell what she was saying – it sounded like squeals and grunts, punctuated by sharp, accented clicks and smacks of the tongue. It definitely sounded like she was barking orders, but she wasn't moving away, and she didn't seem to be gesturing for him to stop his advance. It was as good a start as any, so Dhryn decided to try and communicate the basics. The gnoll put a hand to his chest. "Dhryn," he stated, trying to introduce himself. The vark tried to repeat his name before slapping her own chest and letting out a percussive, two-syllable reply. "Tu-lug?" Dhryn tried to imitate. It could have been 'Chuluk', 'Tuluch', 'Hulugh', or anything in between, but she didn't seem interested in trying to correct him. Instead, she turned her back to him again and bent over, showing off the emerging baby and groping at her own buttocks to show how she couldn't reach. "You want me to . . .tug the baby out?" he asked, pulling his closed fists through the air like he was yanking on a rope. "Tug-tug!" Tulug repeated, mimicking his gesture before turning around, "Tug-tug!" Dhryn assumed she was confirming, but he couldn't help but wonder if she was just repeating the syllable that sounded sort of like her own name. Either way, she was either extremely trusting or extremely desperate for help, and the gnoll was keen to capitalize on the opportunity either way. He quickly closed the distance between them and groped the young vark's muscular backside, his hands sliding around her lower belly and feeling the rough scar tissue. He wondered if any of those scars were surgical in nature, perhaps incurred during a previous delivery. Tulug seemed young enough for this to be her first baby, but Naya had told him stories of certain precocious vark breeding like animals as soon as they could crawl. He tried to imagine Tulug as a toddler with a healer looming over her, brandishing an obsidian shard and digging into her guts to rescue a particularly distressed fetus. Once again, the half-born baby seemed to respond to his particularly vivid thoughts. Dhryn could feel her moving, and stepped back to see her kick out with her one protruding leg, splaying her toes before pulling her limb back upwards into a fetal position. The baby could wait, Dhryn reasoned, it seemed vigorous enough that he could leave it alone for a few moments while he continued to explore Tulug's barely-pubescent body. His rough claws glided across her midsection and palmed one of her immature breasts before he squeezed to see if she was lactating. Tulug squealed and elbowed the handsy gnoll squarely in the ribs to try and shake him off, but the resistance only spurred him on. He clutched at her chest to keep her close and his other hand dove between her legs, his claws briefly rubbing against the slimy baby's back before forcing their way into the already-crowded birth canal. Tulug's response was swift, and Dhryn could feel her body tense up for a moment before she whipped her head back and caught him in the jaw. The gnoll staggered back, surprised at just how much strength the vark child could muster while in labor, but before he could defend himself Tulug turned around and forcefully grabbed Dhryn's sheath in her tiny, hairless hand and threatened to squeeze. "Tug-tug," she repeated, loosening her grip slightly and running her hand along the underside of the gnoll's length in a tugging motion. Dhryn flinched at the sensation, momentarily caught off-guard by how commanding this little tyke was. When she was satisfied that her drafted ‘midwife’ understood the assignment, she shoved him to the ground and turned around to squat, pushing the emerging baby into his face. As if to reinforce the vark’s orders, the breech varklet kicked again against all the sudden movement, her heel connecting with the gnoll's nose with enough force to make his jaws click together. Dhryn winced before his lips curled into a snarl. This baby was taunting him, he was sure of it, and he couldn't resist the temptation any longer. He grabbed onto the baby's protruding thigh with one hand and wrapped the other around her hip, digging his thumb into her tender belly as he pushed his nose into the emerging infant's groin and inhaled luxuriously. He could taste Tulug's musk on his nose, the pungent aroma mingling with blood, amniotic fluid, and a thousand other offerings. It was a small sample of the most succulent feast. He pushed his muzzle further into the breech baby's groin, his tongue exploring her inner thighs and lapping against her slick labia. The flavor was fresh and sharp, and only seemed to intensify the deeper the gnoll dug, especially when his teeth and tongue brushed against the baby's tiny, hooded clitoris. He felt the baby’s little muscles tense contract as it tried to kick again, but the gnoll’s claws held fast to the baby’s thigh. He wasn't sure whether the infant was trying to escape his grip or buck into him for more, but the struggle added fuel to what was quickly becoming a raging fire. The gnoll couldn't enjoy the taste for too long before Tulug tried to move again. She looked behind her and didn't feel the baby coming out any further, so she leaned forward in hopes that her 'assistant' would keep his grip as she tried to pull away. She did feel the baby's other leg unfold and slip out before she stumbled forward, but the gnoll couldn’t keep his grip baby's gooey, hairless skin. Dhryn took a moment to lick his hands clean, not wanting to waste a drop of fluid. The baby was almost half-out now, its lower body dangling between Tulug's legs along with a loop of rubbery umbilical cord. The baby kicked again at the removal of the gnoll's tongue, drawing both legs up to its chest and kicking straight out, flexing its toes. Dhryn could clearly see the baby's genitals wet and swollen from his attention, and it looked like the rest of the baby was somehow paler in comparison. He followed Tulug with his nose as she rose unsteadily to her feet and then grabbed her from behind, more aggressively than before. His claws pushed into her belly to try and force the baby down and out, while his turgid shaft rubbed between her buttocks and up her lower back. The baby dangled helplessly as her mother squirmed and writhed, the soles of her feet starting to lose their color as her umbilical cord contracted in the cool forest air. Desperate to keep her helper on-task, Tulug leaned on the gnoll behind her and sank into a deep squat, bouncing up and down lightly. Dhryn follower her lead, moving his hands to cup her rump and spread he thighs as she lowered herself down to push. The contractions radiating out from her tailbone were so severe they felt like they were going to rip her in half, but the baby didn’t seem to be emerging any further. Dhryn could feel it too, though he couldn’t say how. He could only describe it as a sort of stagnation bleeding over from across the veil, as if the spirits were somehow losing their grip on the mortal realm Keen to maintain the spirits’ interest, he slid both his hands down Tulug’s rear and grabbed the baby by the waist, pulling and wrenching her back and forth to try and free her by force. Tulug screamed, leaning on a nearby tree to keep from falling over entirely as her legs started to wobble. Within a few moments the baby was out to her chest, and Dhryn could finally see the source of the problem. The baby’s arms were both extended up behind her head, making her impossible to deliver fully. The gnoll immediately reached up and hooked his claws around the baby’s shoulder, almost tearing Tulug’s birth canal as he fished out one sloppy arm, then twisted the baby roughly to retrieve the other one. After Dhryn yanked the baby’s arms out from behind its head, Dhryn could see both mother and baby starting to tire. The little mother-to-be wasn’t matching his playful roughness as he continued to grab and grope, and he could the emerging varklet’s skin starting to darken in hue from bright green to a pale turquoise as exhaustion and hypoxia set in. Instead of kicking and bucking when he grabbed its slimy legs, the limbs just hung limply. Again, the adolescent scavenger was torn. The nurtured part of him saw the umbilical cord pinched behind the baby’s skull and knew it had to be born now before its spirit left its tiny body. But the wild side of him saw prey that was weakening, and his base instincts begged him to finish the job. Trying to push his more feral nature aside, Dhryn continued to pull on the baby’s ankles, while Tulug, seemingly understanding what he was trying to do, wrapped her arms around thee tree to anchor herself and presented her hindquarters. But no matter what the gnoll tried, he couldn’t get a grip. The baby was just too slippery, its huge head too firmly wedged inside its mother’s birth canal. He was running out of patience and both vark were running out of time. With no options left, Dhryn allowed his feral side to take over. He wasn’t sure if either of the girls were going to live, but he knew that both their fates were sealed unless he took drastic action. Dhryn grunted as he lifted his leg and planted his foot against the back of Tulug’s head, pinning her against the tree. She squealed in protest but the gnoll barely heard her – after all, the predator cared not for the cries of the prey. He pried Tulug’s buttocks apart with both hands and leaned down to hungrily grab the varklet’s ankle in his teeth. His jaws sank into her tender, newborn flesh, and Dhryn could taste the intoxicating cocktail of blood and slime as the fluids filled his maw. He paused only a moment to savor the sensation before he ripped the varklet from its mother in a surge of bestial ferocity. Tulug let out a long, exhausted grunt as she collapsed onto her side at the foot of the tree. She rolled over onto her side just in time to see Dhryn with her baby dangling upside-down from his maw before he shook it vigorously and dropped it face-down onto the forest floor. Both gnoll and vark stared at the motionless newborn between them, its long, flaccid umbilical cord trailing up between Tulug’s legs. The gruntling’s skin was pale greyish-green, and her head was massive and spherical, covered in dark, matted hair that was just long enough to curl. Dhryn ran his hand along the back of her scalp, feeling the bones of her skull and noting a slight deformation from her sudden and violent exit from the womb. Dhryn kept his hand on the newborn’s head, waiting for her to move or make a sound. Tulug seemed to be holding her breath in sympathy, and for a few agonizing moments, there was only silence. There had to be a way to bring her back, Dhryn thought, some way to coerce or convince the spirit back into its proper body. But even if there was, Tulug didn’t seem interested. As she let out her held breath in a huff of acceptance and the placenta oozed out from between her legs, she slowly wobbled to her feet and turned to leave. “Wait,” Dhryn commanded. He knew she couldn’t understand, but he hoped his sharp tone would hold her attention. He nudged the lifeless newborn onto its back, watching one arm flop over its chest before sliding off to the ground. He had a hunch. Twice now, he could have sworn the baby – or her spirit – reacted to his most depraved thoughts and actions. Maybe he could use that to draw the spirit’s attention again. He stared at the infant, fantasizing about what he might do if Tulug wasn’t there watching. He loomed over her tiny body and pictured himself violating her with tooth and claw, using her pristine, innocent flesh to satisfy every hunger imaginable. As he hoped, the baby reacted just as Dhryn leaned down to make good on his word, her body twitching as she drew in a sharp agonal gasp. That was the sign the gnoll was looking for, and he quickly scooped her up to his chest and pushed his muzzle against her face to suck the fluids from her mouth and nose. Her tiny body seized as she drew in another gasp, this time making a small squeak as the air painfully entered her lungs. Tulug watched, enraptured as her daughter was seemingly brought back from the dead in the gnoll’s arms. Even with the newborn showing signs of life, Dhryn continued sucking and then puffing into the newborns face, licking her sloppy lips and pushing his tongue into her mouth, both to clear out the fluids and to hold up his end of the depraved bargain he made with whatever spirit decided to answer. His tongue rubbed against her gums, feeling the hard nubs of tiny tusks on either side of her mouth. In mere moments, the newborn’s color had returned to a rich, mossy green, and her lusty cry echoed off the trees. Dhryn held her out to Tulug, beaming with bride, but the vark held up a hand and pushed the infant back before kneeling down opposite the gnoll. “Tug-Tug,” Tulug motioned, jerking her hand back and forth. “Yes,” Dhryn answered, mimicking the gesture as he put down the baby between them, “I tugged the baby out.” Tulug reached over her baby and pushed her hand against Dhryn’s member. He was still hard as stone from the erotic delivery and he could feel his ears flush in embarrassment, but as he felt the vark’s grip sliding up and down his shaft, he quickly realized she wasn’t about to chastise him. “Tug-tug,” she repeated as Dhryn closed his eyes and let her do the work of finishing him off. It didn’t take much at all, especially not when he opened his eyes to see the vark newborn stretching and spreading her chubby legs. It was almost as if she was welcoming the gnoll’s seed! Unable to hold back any longer, Dhryn came with a feral snarl. The first rope pasted the varklet’s face, splattering her round, porcine nose and dribbling over her lips. The rest dribbled over her naked body until finally the gnoll’s tip came to rest between her legs, a strand of silvery, viscous fluid briefly connecting the two before Tulug picked up her new daughter, not bothering to clean her off. She seemed to have regained most of her strength, which matched Naya’s tales of the varks’ resilience and vitality as a people. With their business apparently concluded, Tulug turned again to leave, her baby nestled in her arms and burbling contently. Dhryn was still a little stunned – Why did Tulug do what she did? Why was she out her alone in the first place? Did she use him for some sort of vark ritual? Did he really commune with the spirit of an unborn child? All these questions pointed him to Naya, he realized – he needed to go back to her and tell her what he saw, what he felt. Whatever punishment she would dole out for travelling to far into the forest would be worth it for the chance to have that same experience again!