Her hair is blown aside by the wind to reveal her face. She has brown fur with small white dots on them. Her eyes are also brown. And they are full of fear. She is very afraid. She is not running for the pleasure of it. She is running because she has to. And she is also running out of time.
The most notable feature about her is the large udder attached to her lower abdomen. It is an indication that she is very pregnant. The mammary gland of the Warrogs is usually small in size when they are not pregnant. It is empty when not needed but becomes full when the female is pregnant.
This arrangement allows females to not be impeded when they are not pregnant. Their fighting strength is not hindered by the extra weight. But it is not so for Cuthalin.
Cuthalin is currently heavy-laden. She is full of children and her stomach has bulged to show how far along she is. As if that isn't enough, her udder is also full and it is attached to her already bloated stomach.
It is obvious that a pregnant Warrog should not be running. It is not safe at all. But she is running. She is running quite fast despite the load that she has been burdened with. She needs that speed right now or the ones chasing her will catch up to her. While it is undeniable that she can be faster, this is the best that she can do.
Cuthalin ran as fast as she could. She ran both for her life and that of her unborn children. She didn't let the cold deter her or let the unstable ground stop her. She didn't let the bleeding injury on her back stop her. It is painful to run but she ran tirelessly with the strength that only a mother can possess and trailed blood as she passed. This world is cruel. It doesn't care for anyone or their circumstances.
The world is not fair and it doesn't care about what someone deserves. A pregnant mother shouldn't be running for her life alone under the dim light of the blood sun in a thin forest filled with fir trees and on a ground that is heavily laden with snow. Even if she was, she shouldn't be escaping alone. A Warrog without a pack to run with is one that will soon meet with death.
But that is the situation for Cuthalin. She has to escape to where she doesn't even know, to survive. Unfortunately, she lacks the strength. They will catch up to her soon. She can hear the faint sound of howls behind her. Her pursuers are gaining on her. They are not burdened by her special situation. And they are in a pack.
As if all their advantages are not enough, the blood she is leaking will lead them straight to her. They don't need their sensitive nose to track her. Their acute eyes are enough to keep her within their sights. So she can run. But she can not hide from them. If not for the sudden inexplicable strength that she began to gain when she got pregnant, then she wouldn't have made it this far.
She was running when she saw her salvation. It was a dark spot almost indiscernible in the dim lighting. But she saw it very clearly. It is a hole in the ground. It is a tunnel that leads to the Underdark.
She dashed towards the hole as fast as her hooven feet could carry her. She reached the hole quickly and hurriedly went in. She didn't think twice about her decision to enter despite being warned all her life about the dangers of the Underdark.
The entrance to the tunnel was at the foot of a hill nearby and continues downward. So the tunnel is slopey. She managed not to skip and fall. Her hooven foot helped her to keep her balance but it is her skills as a warrior that helped her to navigate the rocky uneven floor of the tunnel.
The tunnel entrance led to a series of other tunnels heading in different directions. She doesn't know which direction to take so she just took whichever one is easiest to navigate. She runs and runs until she can't run anymore. It is not because she is tired down to her bones. It is because she has run into a dead end. She can't run forward anymore.
She tried to turn when suddenly a pain ran through her body. It shocked her more than anything else. It left her rooted where she was standing. The pain came from her abdomen. So she exclaimed, "My babies."
She hurriedly felt her body for anywhere that it might hurt. It is as if her babies heard her cry. Her water broke and the muscles of her abdomen contracted again. The contraction brought with it a pain that she couldn't deny this time around.
"Arghhhhhh." She screamed as a cry of pain tore unbidden out of her mouth.
Her babies are coming. It is not good news at all. She isn't ready and the conditions are not safe. Her environment isn't even clean. She is in a dark cold tunnel running for her life. This is not the condition that she wants to give birth. But her babies don't know that. They are coming now no matter what.
She is already late into her pregnancy and the vigorous exercise that she just engaged in finally kickstarted the birthing process. The contractions increased in strength and intensity. This is not false labor. Her kids will come now whether she likes it or not.
She rested on the wall while cradling her bulging stomach. Then she sat on the ground slowly despite the stinging pain of the wound on her back. The sharp surface of the rocky wall scraped against the cut on her back and sent spikes of pain through her.
It is something that will cause her to jump in pain at any other time. But her attention is somewhere else right now. There is a source of greater pain in her body.
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