Cia follows his example.

Ilska looks around them, and stays awake, not quite ready to trust this just yet.

A couple of days later, while Anders and Cia are sleeping, Ilska slips away, intent on getting water for them.

Suddenly a woman starts screaming. “No, no, it wasn’t supposed to happen now!” She sounds devastated, and terrified. 

Her husband tries to soothe her. “Darling, it’s all right, isallright, just breathe.” He calls out to the hold around them. “Is anyone a healer?!”

Anders had been awake from the first scream. He scrambles across the hold towards the woman. “Cia! I’ll need help!” 

He gets to the couple. “I’m a healer. Lie back,” he instructs the woman.

Cia glances around, briefly, wildly for Ilska, but is already scrambling after Anders. "What do you need?"

"My pack. There's brown vial and a green one. I need both."

To the woman: "What's your name?"
"Lirene," she sobs.
"Okay, Lirene, it's going to be fine. I need you to prop your knees up. I have to take a look at how close your baby is."

The woman does so, and her husband stands between her and the rest of the hold. "Privacy, please!" He calls. A few passengers grab blankets, and erect a screen around the woman. 

Anders takes a look, and then looks back to the woman. "I need you to stay calm and breathe. The baby's coming, and you're going to need to push soon."

Cia immediately scrambles to find them, and returns quickly with both.

"Cia, gently give her the green vial. That's elfroot, to help with the pain."

Cia nods and slides around so ey can cradle the woman's head and shoulders in eir lap, gently helping her drink the vial in question.

The woman drinks slowly inbetween sobs, looking up at Cia gratefully as she does.

With her distracted, Anders sends a pulse of healing magic through her. The baby is healthy, and in a good position to be born. Anders prods carefully, but can't find anything needing to be healed. That's a very good sign.

He looks up, making sure Cia caught the quick bits of magic.

Ey gives him a slight nod.

"All right, Lirene, are you ready? Baby's coming soon. How's your pain? Are you comfortable?"

A couple of hours go by before Anders senses the beginning. "All right. They're coming, Lirene. I'm going to need you to push. Cia? Brown vial. Embrium, for stamina."

Cia nods, and helps Lirene drink.

(They're probably distracted, but there's a faint sound, in Ilska's familiar voice, of distress at not being able to find them.)

Anders is fully distracted, lost in his work, unable to hear Ilska. This is where he thrives, helping people. 

It's time. "Lirene, I need you to push. Hard as you can." He places a gentle hand on her ankle, ready to heal any pain.

Lirene grits her teeth, and pushes, a small scream coming through her teeth. "Good! Good, keep going," Anders encourages, keeping one hand healing her, the other on her stomach, checking the baby.

Cia is unusually distracted, normally so attuned to eir sister's wellbeing, right now, every sense ey has is focused on Lirene and Anders.

Lirene's voice is strangled as she pushes again. Anders can't sense anything out of place, so he sends Cia back for another elfroot draught. "Keep pushing, Lirene, they're on the way."

And off ey goes. Ey spots Ilska, and flags her down, explaining what's going on while finding the other elfroot vial. When ey returns, eir sister is a silent shadow, carrying a waterskin.

"Ilska! Perfect timing. Take a rag, wet it, then lay it over Lirene's forehead. It'll keep her cool."

"Lirene, have the potion then keep going. We want to get the little one out."

Ilska nods, and obeys. (Again, in a way that suggests she's far too used to obeying orders.)

Cia resituates emself, and once again helps Lirene drink the potion. "You're nearly there," ey soothes.

"Yes, you are," Anders agrees with his apprentice. "Your baby is going to be healthy and strong, I can feel it."

Lirene sobs. "You promise?"
"Absolutely," Anders swears, and sends another healing pulse through her to ensure just that. "Come on now, keep trying. Let's get the little one out into the world."

Lirene pushes, but after the potion, it doesn't seem to be as hard. Sweat beads along her forehead, and she leans into Cia's touch.

Cia does eir best to provide comfort, hums the songs Ilska would always hum for em.