Meeting Abigail

Poppy and Oribella spoke while they picked the raw cotton clean of twigs. Oribella wanted a woolen Tunic. Or maybe a dress like the cotton one Starlight had gifted her? She couldn't try spinning the wool before washing it, the oils in the wool helped to prevent the the animal's fur from matting, it would prove pointless. Spinning yarn that wouldn't pull apart was achieved, in a sense, by intentionally matting the fibers. In the meantime Oribella explained to Poppy the tools she would need.

She quickly decided that she wasn't ready to start weaving. Oribella was a custom order Seamstresses on earth. Most clients were rich folks getting one of a kind suits and dresses. She could stitch together any garment but she'd never weaved her own fabric! It was all the more reason she wanted to visit Ram Village. The cotton of her dress wasn't at a particulatlrly high thread count, but it was tightly woven. Oribella hoped that she'd find a full Loom and a master artisan to teach her the craft of weaving.

Oribella couldn't yet weave on a loom but she could certainly knit and crochet! Making yarn and knitting a dress would be just as good as a woven one. As Oribella picked the cotton she thought about how she could knit a tube dress fairly fast. After the yarn is spun the knitting would take two days? Three at most! She may even have time to knit a blanket for River's baby if she was fast enough. River seemed like she was ready to burst any second these days!

"Poppy, would you be able to craft some tools for me?"

"Absolutely!" Poppy hadn't had a chance to impress Oribella yet! When he brought more complex meals Oribella was thankfull and greatly enjoyed them, but she wasn't impressed by it.

Poppy continued, "stone or Wood? Maybe tools carved from bone? Any material I can make it!"

"The material matters less than the shape." Oribella grabed a light piece of animal skin and a wooden chopstick from breakfast to draw out connected knitting needles, standard needles, and a crochet hook. Using some preserved berries as a substitute for ink. 'I need to find good berries for ink and dye come spring' Oribella thought.

She stopped for a while and rummaged in her memories trying to find the image of what a drop spindle looked like. She remembered that there needed to be a bit of a weight to the spindle, a long stick to wrap the spun yarn around, and somewhere for the yarn to hook while drop spinning each length. If only Oribella had paper and pencil to sketch out all her ideas until something looked right!

Thankfully there would have plenty of time to ponder the drop spindle's shape. River's spouse Quinten had come to call!

"Excuse me."

"Yes?" Poppy and Oribella asked in unison.

Quinten spoke from the hallway through their tapestry door, "River has sent me to fetch you two. She gave birth last night! She wants you to meet the baby, Rossi!"

"Oh my! Absolutely!" Oribella couldn't hold in her excitement, "we'll be right over!" Oribella always loved children so the chance to see a new born was so thrilling to her!

Oribella loved it all. The new baby smell. Their ugly-cute squished up faces after birth. Even the weird little grunts that newborns made before they could start cooing. Oribella adored it all.

Poppy was thrilled at seeing Oribella's excitement over his sister's child. He hoped to see her just as excited someday when finding out she's with child. But for Oribella to find out she's pregnant first they would have too...

To calm down Poppy forced his attention twords the fact that Bailey was now his rival. On the off chance that he were to complete Oribella's tasks he would have to share Oribella with BAILEY? Of all the males in Bear Kingdom, why did Bailey have to fall for Oribella so quickly? Poppy needed to be sure he cherish the time as Oribella's only male.

The three quickly departed and made their way from Bear Castle, proper, to River's house just inside the Castle's fence.

Oribella chimed "We're here River!" before she stepped in first. She had leaned in the bathhouse that females can freely vist other females. Males however would need special permission from another in the household to enter, and that permission was rarely given so the females' escorts would usually stay outside. The only males alowd to visit females without being given very specific permission were doctors!

As soon as Oribella stepped inside she saw a Pinkish-Brown little baby nursing on River's chest. Oribella was so overjoyed she began to tear up.

Oribella quietly screamed "she's so cute!!! Ooooh! Her little tiny bitty hands! And LOOK at that full head of hair!!!"

River was happy to receive such a response from Oribella! Other females of the Kingdom were happy for her, sure. But they were quite envious that River would now have a sharp increase in her status since this was her second female cub.

"I've named her Abigail." River spoke

Oribella was now fully crying, joyful tears. "little baby Abigail!" Happily blabbering over this little new born.

Poppy had been permitted entrance by Both Quinten and Raymond, two of River's spouses. The Third, Finley, was making a rich fatty sew for River to help her milk production.

Poppy, seeing his female so happy it brought tears to her eyes made him conflicted. She had a giant smile on her face but the tears rolling down her cheeks made him wish to comfort her.

River patted Oribella on the head and chuckled "I suppose you like children?" Oribella sniffed and nodded, a big smile still resting on her face.

River lifted Oribella's chin to meet her gaze. Being the child of the Bear King River really did hold the aura of a princess. Kind, and Compassionate. "You're going to be an amazing mother someday!"

River's compliment was honest. River hoped Oribella would have lots of children for her own to play with.

Oribella mustered a weak "thank you," as she ran her right hand down her left arm. In her upper arm she could feel her birth control rod still laid embedded. 'Damn it,' Oribella thought. 'I finally find a man who loves me and wants to have children with me but there's no OBGYNs to remove the implant!'

The implant was only put in about a year ago. It would still be 5 years before it's effectiveness decreased. Even then Oribella wasn't sure what lingering effects it may have on her health if it stayed implanted past that point. And if she were to get pregnant in those 5 years she feared she would miscarry or have a stillbirth! Oribella knew she ought to find a doctor and ask them remove it before she really tried to have children with Poppy.

"I want to find a really good doctor," Oribella spoke, "before I have my first pregnancy." Upon saying this Oribella turned twords Poppy, and Poppy had only been looking at Oribella the entire time.

They didn't know when but they knew they'd be parents to the same children someday.

Abigail released from River's chest and stretched her arms and legs about.

"Oh are you done, Abigail?" River picked Abigail up and swiftly but gently handed her over to Oribella. "Do you want to see Oribella now?" Not giving Oribella a chance to refuse, River plopped her baby in her sister-in-law's arms.

Oribella was smitten with any baby she held and kept singing Abigail's praises. River took a chance to dig into the thick stew Finley had made for her, now that her hands were free.

Poppy saw how happy Oribella was around the female baby and could only hope he could father one for her.

River eventually finished her bowl, and leaned twords Oribella "you know," her tone was hushed and serious, "I shouldn't be telling you this... but birthing female babies is much much harder than male ones. The doctors asked me to keep it secret as to not discourage other females... But I wish I had been given a warning!"

'Is it that... not common knowledge?' Oribella thought. She spoke the less condescending question "I thought all childbirth was painful?"

River leaned back "yes, but too many females would simply drink abortion tea to avoid the MORE painful birth, even though the birthrate for female cubs seems to be on the decline. So Doctors try to keep it more hush-hush."

Oribella didn't care about the reason the women of this world may have an abortion. She actually thought it quite wonderful a lady could do such a thing and not be greatly ridiculed!

Oribella simply looked at Abigail and said, "any pain would be worth it if my future child is HALF as cute as Abigail here!"

Poppy's heart swelled. He loved Oribella so much! He knew to become father of her children would be the best day of his life.

The family and their house guests all coddled over baby Abigail for hours until both she and her mother finally fell asleep.