[Salamander]

With the knowledge that Vespa undoubtedly carried her offspring, Crim was becoming increasingly more concerned and protective. She hovered over him constantly, and often had to remind herself to give him space if he needed it. As the weeks went on, it killed her to see him in such pain. She did everything she could to make him comfortable, but there was only so much she could do while stuck in a cave. She was tremendously grateful when the symptoms gradually began to weaken. The stress of caring for him had heightened her insomnia somewhat, but that wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. At night she often found herself sitting awake for hours, simply watching him sleep. Last night had been no exception, and she was exhausted. Still, she knew that Vespa had it much worse, so for him she would gladly grin and bear it.

“Not feeling well?” Crim asked softly, and knelt beside him. She gently touched his forehead under his mask, checking for a fever. Of course, she knew the nausea stemmed from the pregnancy, but that didn’t stop her from worrying.
“Here, you’re probably dehydrated.” She said, placing a cup of water near him as she prepared a warm compress. Getting clean drinking water was a bit of a challenge, having that the snow outside was mixed with ash. But upon further exploration into the deeper parts of their cave, she’d found a frozen spring that wasn’t too contaminated. There were plenty of wild mushrooms as well, if you knew were to look, but she still wished she could provide better.