"I'm a married woman, my Featherling. I know that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Salaark tutted while caressing Shargein who emitted an affectionate low growl.
"No, you are not!" Bound by his vow to protect his son, Leegaain heard everything through the Wyrmling's ears and shuddered in fear. "That damn sparrow knows that I'm listening. This is a message for me!"
Leegaain remembered well Salaark telling him that his compliance about the marriage was optional, but this is a story for another day.
"The Blood Desert is too big and our population too small to afford a full-scale colonization." She continued, knowing that wherever he was, Leegaain was in a panic. "I came to conquer Jiera but not all kinds of wars are waged with violence.
"Were I to make threats, I would give these people a common enemy. They would unite against me driven by their pride and ideals. War would make them grow closer to each other and sympathize with the beasts and plant folk they ignored until now.
"This way, instead, I gave these broken people the means to shatter what was left of their roots of their own free will. I gave them a choice, and when presented with alternatives, idiots will only think of themselves.
"Food, clothes, and safety are all things the Jierans needed to justify their betrayal of their saviors. Soon they will realize how petty and ungrateful they are, and it will crush their pride. At that point, I only need to bend and shape what's left of the Jierans to turn them into the tools I need."
***
Mount Sartak, one week later.
Lith had completely recovered for a couple of days already, but the three couples had decided to extend their stay to the Hot Pot for the whole week or until Strider found a lead.
Lith knew that everything had gone back to "normal" one morning when, upon waking up, he saw bird carcasses perched on his windowsill and trees rotting over and over.
The return of Death Vision meant that the effect of Valtak's Immortal Flames was gone and a quick check on his Abomination powers confirmed it. He had informed the rest of the family during breakfast which had made them push to prolong the family trip.
The communication amulet remained silent so Lith agreed.
"Well, what do you think of this family vacation?" Kamila pointed at the kids split between the backs of two Emperor Beasts who ran through the woods while their parents enjoyed the quiet of the lake.
"That it has been as weird for me as for anyone else." Lith pointed at Solus who had conjured hard-light constructs shaped like harnesses for Elysia and Valeron.
The two babies could shapeshift and take flight at will but thanks to the harness, they were like kites that couldn't go far from Solus. She extended and retracted the leash based on where they were going or what they were annoying.
Meeting Wyrmlings was a shocking experience even for wolves and bears. The poor animals plopped on the ground, offering their bellies in submission just for the children to take it as an invitation to play.
"Bad Elysia! That poor doggie is not playing. He's terrified. Can't you hear he's whimpering?" Solus said.
"Ba?" The small Tiamat growled.
"Whimper!" The wolf trembled in fear at her life-sucking claws scratching his fur.
"Yes, bad! Come here."
"Sa." Elysia apologized to the wolf and flew back to Solus.
As for Surin, Raaz and Elina carried the baby girl in a floating stroller. She looked at everything in amazement, crying whenever an insect escaped her grasp, a cute light disappeared, when she was hungry or sick of being outside.
"Come on." Kamila chuckled. "You must admit that weird or not, the kids are adorable and that this was a pleasant experience."
"No doubt." Lith smiled watching Elysia and Valeron sniffing flowers like overgrown bees and climbing trees with their claws. "What's your point?"
"My point is that I wouldn't mind another baby." Kamila stopped to look him in the eyes.
"Wait, What? I mean, I won't turn down sex when you offer it to me…"
"I had no doubt about it." She chuckled.
"But so soon? Are you sure? You have not gotten over the loss of your powers completely and I'm afraid that another pregnancy might make things worse." Lith said.
"Maybe, but it's a risk I'm willing to take." She replied. "Seeing Valeron get along so well with Elysia makes me want to give her a little brother. I want to keep the age gap between them small so that they can grow together and face the same problems at the same time, learning to have each other's back.
"Also, I'm not going to lie, I would love to get my Dragon scales again to share everything with Elysia and Valeron like you do. Think about it. It would strengthen my bond with the children, and with Meln around, it would be a nice insurance.
"We keep the pregnancy under wraps and when he tries to attack me while I'm alone…" She slammed her fist on her open palm. "Guardians smash!"
"Sounds alluring." Lith's eyes narrowed at the idea, knowing that the scenario Kamila had just described was far from hypothetical.
Orpal liked to attack the weak link and before killing Lith, Orpal wanted to make him suffer. Pregnancy would be a source of joy and a contingency plan at the same time.
"Just a few questions." He said. "What if it's another girl?"
"I'd love her as much as I love Elysia." Kamila shrugged. "We would just have to try again."
"Really?"
"Really." She nodded. "I mean, sure my pregnancy with Elysia had a few up and downs but compared to Elina's and Selia's, it was a walk in the park. No morning sickness, no mood swings, no cramps, swellings, or random pains. Gods if they hated me for it."
"They sure did." Lith chuckled.
"Why do you ask? Are you afraid that if we have a baby boy you wouldn't love him just the same?"
"More like, I'm afraid I could love him too much." Lith sighed. "I still bear the scars from Carl's death. I go insane the moment something dangerous approaches Aran and every time I see two brothers, I get flashbacks."
"I know." Kamila threaded her fingers into his. "But you are not that man anymore. You've come to this world as Derek McCoy and pretended to be Lith but now you are Lith Verhen and Derek McCoy is just an echo of the past.
"I don't like Derek but I respect him whereas I love, respect, and trust Lith. I love the man you have become. I believe in him. What about you?"
Lith hesitated, looking her in the eyes to understand how much she believed her own words. He didn't trust himself much, especially after the incident with the blue flames, and found it hard that someone else would.
Yet there she stood, without a single hint of deception, even to herself.
"Do you really trust me that much?" He found himself asking.
"Well, duh!" She snorted. "I married you, gave you a daughter, and just offered to give you a son."
"I'm a married woman, my Featherling. I know that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Salaark tutted while caressing Shargein who emitted an affectionate low growl.
"No, you are not!" Bound by his vow to protect his son, Leegaain heard everything through the Wyrmling's ears and shuddered in fear. "That damn sparrow knows that I'm listening. This is a message for me!"
Leegaain remembered well Salaark telling him that his compliance about the marriage was optional, but this is a story for another day.
"The Blood Desert is too big and our population too small to afford a full-scale colonization." She continued, knowing that wherever he was, Leegaain was in a panic. "I came to conquer Jiera but not all kinds of wars are waged with violence.
"Were I to make threats, I would give these people a common enemy. They would unite against me driven by their pride and ideals. War would make them grow closer to each other and sympathize with the beasts and plant folk they ignored until now.
"This way, instead, I gave these broken people the means to shatter what was left of their roots of their own free will. I gave them a choice, and when presented with alternatives, idiots will only think of themselves.
"Food, clothes, and safety are all things the Jierans needed to justify their betrayal of their saviors. Soon they will realize how petty and ungrateful they are, and it will crush their pride. At that point, I only need to bend and shape what's left of the Jierans to turn them into the tools I need."
***
Mount Sartak, one week later.
Lith had completely recovered for a couple of days already, but the three couples had decided to extend their stay to the Hot Pot for the whole week or until Strider found a lead.
Lith knew that everything had gone back to "normal" one morning when, upon waking up, he saw bird carcasses perched on his windowsill and trees rotting over and over.
The return of Death Vision meant that the effect of Valtak's Immortal Flames was gone and a quick check on his Abomination powers confirmed it. He had informed the rest of the family during breakfast which had made them push to prolong the family trip.
The communication amulet remained silent so Lith agreed.
"Well, what do you think of this family vacation?" Kamila pointed at the kids split between the backs of two Emperor Beasts who ran through the woods while their parents enjoyed the quiet of the lake.
"That it has been as weird for me as for anyone else." Lith pointed at Solus who had conjured hard-light constructs shaped like harnesses for Elysia and Valeron.
The two babies could shapeshift and take flight at will but thanks to the harness, they were like kites that couldn't go far from Solus. She extended and retracted the leash based on where they were going or what they were annoying.
Meeting Wyrmlings was a shocking experience even for wolves and bears. The poor animals plopped on the ground, offering their bellies in submission just for the children to take it as an invitation to play.
"Bad Elysia! That poor doggie is not playing. He's terrified. Can't you hear he's whimpering?" Solus said.
"Ba?" The small Tiamat growled.
"Whimper!" The wolf trembled in fear at her life-sucking claws scratching his fur.
"Yes, bad! Come here."
"Sa." Elysia apologized to the wolf and flew back to Solus.
As for Surin, Raaz and Elina carried the baby girl in a floating stroller. She looked at everything in amazement, crying whenever an insect escaped her grasp, a cute light disappeared, when she was hungry or sick of being outside.
"Come on." Kamila chuckled. "You must admit that weird or not, the kids are adorable and that this was a pleasant experience."
"No doubt." Lith smiled watching Elysia and Valeron sniffing flowers like overgrown bees and climbing trees with their claws. "What's your point?"
"My point is that I wouldn't mind another baby." Kamila stopped to look him in the eyes.
"Wait, What? I mean, I won't turn down sex when you offer it to me…"
"I had no doubt about it." She chuckled.
"But so soon? Are you sure? You have not gotten over the loss of your powers completely and I'm afraid that another pregnancy might make things worse." Lith said.
"Maybe, but it's a risk I'm willing to take." She replied. "Seeing Valeron get along so well with Elysia makes me want to give her a little brother. I want to keep the age gap between them small so that they can grow together and face the same problems at the same time, learning to have each other's back.
"Also, I'm not going to lie, I would love to get my Dragon scales again to share everything with Elysia and Valeron like you do. Think about it. It would strengthen my bond with the children, and with Meln around, it would be a nice insurance.
"We keep the pregnancy under wraps and when he tries to attack me while I'm alone…" She slammed her fist on her open palm. "Guardians smash!"
"Sounds alluring." Lith's eyes narrowed at the idea, knowing that the scenario Kamila had just described was far from hypothetical.
Orpal liked to attack the weak link and before killing Lith, Orpal wanted to make him suffer. Pregnancy would be a source of joy and a contingency plan at the same time.
"Just a few questions." He said. "What if it's another girl?"
"I'd love her as much as I love Elysia." Kamila shrugged. "We would just have to try again."
"Really?"
"Really." She nodded. "I mean, sure my pregnancy with Elysia had a few up and downs but compared to Elina's and Selia's, it was a walk in the park. No morning sickness, no mood swings, no cramps, swellings, or random pains. Gods if they hated me for it."
"They sure did." Lith chuckled.
"Why do you ask? Are you afraid that if we have a baby boy you wouldn't love him just the same?"
"More like, I'm afraid I could love him too much." Lith sighed. "I still bear the scars from Carl's death. I go insane the moment something dangerous approaches Aran and every time I see two brothers, I get flashbacks."
"I know." Kamila threaded her fingers into his. "But you are not that man anymore. You've come to this world as Derek McCoy and pretended to be Lith but now you are Lith Verhen and Derek McCoy is just an echo of the past.
"I don't like Derek but I respect him whereas I love, respect, and trust Lith. I love the man you have become. I believe in him. What about you?"
Lith hesitated, looking her in the eyes to understand how much she believed her own words. He didn't trust himself much, especially after the incident with the blue flames, and found it hard that someone else would.
Yet there she stood, without a single hint of deception, even to herself.
"Do you really trust me that much?" He found himself asking.
"Well, duh!" She snorted. "I married you, gave you a daughter, and just offered to give you a son."
