He held Turuk’s crimson gaze for a moment, watching unreadable emotions pass through his gaze. And then a moment later, he felt the back of his neck being grabbed, grunting as he was shoved down into the snow below. Sputtering a mouthful of snow free, he grunted, and lifted his head slightly once more feeling the cut of a blade against his skin.

And yet Turuk still held his gaze, and Aurem returned it. “I healed myself- and the other mage. Soren. I can heal her. And save their lives,” he said hastily, swallowing hard as the spear point stabbed into his neck. He grit his teeth, but held the Undari’s gaze steadily. If he gave in now, he might very well die for being such an idiot. He silently cursed himself, but saw Turuk half turn towards him, fingers curling in the silvery fur of his wolf.

“Why?” The question surprised Aurem, and Turuk grunted, and added. “Why help? Siira killed many Delfin.”

Aurem hesitated, but then stared at the man for a moment. “I’ve killed many Undari,” he said, shrugging a shoulder, wincing as the movement brought on an even sharper pain. He felt the warmth of blood trickling from his neck. It was beginning to get annoying, being held at the spear like this, so many times now. He had a penchant for causing trouble, even back home. But this was a bit excessive, even for himself. He honestly didn’t even have an answer for himself, on why he was doing this. Later, he could construe some story about protecting himself by saving Siira. Siira’s death would crush Turuk, and quite possibly send him straight into Geran’s clutches. But that wasn’t why he was doing this now.

The man’s gaze remained unreadable, and for a second Aurem thought he was going to deny the offer. But he grunted, and said something in Undari. The man pinning him to the ground hesitated, but then obeyed, when Turuk repeated his order in a gruffer tone. Aurem winced, and then cautiously shifted on the snow, lifting a hand to rub at his neck. Turuk stood from Siira’s side, and the wolf gave a faint whimper.

Hurrying, the man stepped over, and then hoisted Aurem to his feet as easily as lifting a sack of feathers. Once on his feet, Aurem grunted lightly, and wiped the blood from his neck. Fingers curled into his arm, hard, and Aurem let out a hiss of pain lifting his gaze to meet Turuk’s once more. There was a warning in his gaze, as if Turuk was trying to tell him he’d better not cause any trouble. Aurem bit back a snarky reply, and simply cast his eyes down, towards Siira.

Walking along with the Undari male, Aurem moved over to Siira’s side, getting a faint growl from the beast as he carefully knelt down at her side. He had seen her react worse to even her own people as they approached. He wasn’t sure how it made him feel- though he was certain it was due to Turuk walking up beside him that she didn’t try and tear his arm off. Even without his magic, Aurem could feel how badly damaged she was. He needed to help her now, before she lost any more blood- or pups.

In an instant, Aurem felt his magic released, and took in a sharp gasp of cold winter air. He shuddered slightly, feeling a warmth spreading through his frame. His senses returned to their usual sensitivity, the crackling of the flames now a roar. He could feel the pulse of Siira’s heart racing under his fingers. Turuk’s own heart thundered, feeling it as the man gripped onto his shoulder.

Aurem closed his eyes for a moment, reigning his magic in. He contained his senses, as he had been taught to do, to a manageable level. It was like waking from a dream. He had grown used to the world in a haze, and knew being silenced once again would be harder than even the first time. But for now, he would savor the use of his magic. “All right, Siira,” he murmured softly, moving his fingers through her silver fur. He had never felt it before, and though it seemed luxurious from afar, touching it was another matter entirely. He had never felt something so soft. The heat radiating from her body put any fur blanket to shame.

Aurem saw the wolf’s eyes roll back towards him, a gleam of wariness in their golden light. Aurem softened, and shifted his fingers over her fur, moving his touch to her stomach. A growl rumbled through the wolf, but Aurem trusted Turuk enough to keep her from tearing him to pieces. As she was now, she hardly resembled the monster who had probably killed hundreds of his own men. And still yet, she didn’t resemble the playful wolf frolicking among the deer. But here he was, about to heal her. He supposed he could just let her die without doing anything. He’d never thought himself a sentimental fool before, but it seemed his own self-assessment would need some adjusting after this. If he survived.

But if he did nothing, she would die. Not only would she die, but her pups would too. No one should be condemned for the sins of their parents. Least of all during war, even if one was a wolf, and not a human. Aurem shoved those thoughts away, and simply closed his eyes to the world around him. And then, he focused on the thread of magic at his fingertips, weaving it through Siira’s body beneath his touch. Her life pulsed beneath his hand, weakly, and he caught four more lives within her. One pulsed weakly, fading in and out, and Aurem pursed his lips, knowing he needed to hurry.

The wolf gave a whimper of pain, and tensed beneath his touch. Aurem felt the grip tighten on his shoulder, but ignored it. “I can’t heal you if you fight me, Siira. Do it for your babes, if not yourself,” he murmured down to her quietly. As if understanding, Siira’s frame relaxed bit by bit, and Aurem let his magic flow through her. He wasn’t sure if the wolf actually knew what he said, or she felt the warmth of the magic and finally gave in. But Aurem supposed it only mattered that he could feel his magic flooding through her.

Her internal organs were bleeding, and it seems she had torn something while giving birth. The blood in the snow was far more than a normal birthing would cause. One of the pups was large- too large to easily fit through the canal, which is what was causing some of the issues. The smallest life, which still flickered, would be the last born. Something tugged at Aurem’s heart, as he saw all of the pups fight, but none harder than the smallest. If nothing else, he wanted Siira to survive, to bring that small will to life.

He continued rubbing fingers over the wolf’s fur, shutting out the murmurs, and angry voices from around him. Vaguely, he heard the sound of an impact, and the pressure at his shoulder released as Turuk yelled something. But then Aurem shut everything out further, and the only sounds that reached him were the pulses under his fingers. He stopped the bleeding first, mending the muscles and organs, even as the birthing tore them again. Siira, to her credit, continued pushing, and Aurem did what he could to numb the pain with his magic. Still, there was some tension as she gave another hard push, the contractions taking away most of her strength. Sighing softly, Aurem shifted his hand closer to her neck, and rubbed lightly. He hummed a song unconsciously- one from the deepest part of his memories. Perhaps his mother had sang it to him at some point, before she’d died.

Siira was going to be a mother, and Aurem called forth what little memories he had of his own. What he did have, though, were warm. He remembered her scent, and sleeping in her arms. She might have been a prostitute, but Aurem remembered her being warm, and kind. With the sort of laugh that lit a room up. He heard Siira whine softly, and then give another push, feeling the first, and large pup pass with that one final movement. “Good, good. The hardest part is done,” he whispered quietly, feeling a burst of joy from Siira.

The emotion caught him off guard, and he took in a sharp breath. He had felt a connection with others before, when using healing magic. But one with this wolf? He shuddered briefly, but didn’t push the connection away. It would help him get her through the process. She was still so weak, and it was possible she didn’t have the strength to continue. Though he had far more than just a trickle of magic, it wasn’t even close to his full power. “I need more,” he murmured quietly, pushing what little strength he could, into the wolf’s body. It left him feeling weaker, and tired, but he knew he couldn’t stop here.

His frame jolted, his concentration breaking for just a moment, as a hand touched his neck. And then the dam loosened on his powers, just a bit more. He sighed softly, feeling Turuk’s presence behind him. He hadn’t realized he’d spoken aloud. But, he wouldn’t complain. At the moment, he could only focus on Siira, and the remaining three pups.