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“I cannot simply say ‘no’, Casseth,” Lithian interjected, frowning. “They have already tried speaking with the local healers there…no one will see to her, and birthing is risky even under the best circumstances, even with a single infant. Twins are even more dangerous, and hybrids…particularly half khehora…? I…” Lithian withheld a wince, shaking his head. “There is no telling the risk. No telling what those infants will develop or which…method of coming into this world they will resort to on instinct. She will need a healer.”

That said, Lithian moved back, turning to his drawer and withdrawing one more thing before settling it in his small carrying bag of items to bring with him. Medical supplies — herbs, salves, and bottled small potions, along with binding cloth and wipes — took up at least half of the limited space, the rest left for spare clothing, sleeping materials, and food for the trip. Avani, a young orderite woman he and Casseth had met and befriended on their post-ceremonial trip to ‘see the world’, had become heavy with child: pregnant with the twins of her mate, a khehorian, according to the missive they’d received. Despite all efforts to find a nearer source of support, neither had been able to find a healer willing to come within a stone’s throw of their — unconventional — offspring-in-the-coming.

After said attempts failed, they had sent word to Lithian, entreating his aid as a healer to come as an acting midwife for her delivery and see, to the best of his ability, that all went well. Admittedly, Lithian had never attended to part-khehorian children of any stripe — and had not, frankly, even known it was possible to conceive by such means, given the dramatic difference in genetics — but he had delivered two sets of hybrid twins, and regardless of his lack of expertise in their exact situation, he knew his aid would be far better than none.

So, he saw no choice to be made. He had to go.

Casseth disagreed.

Lithian frowned. “I’ve been communicating with her since. And why in any god’s name would it matter whose ‘fault’ anything was? It is no one’s ‘fault’ she chose to bear a child with someone — that’s hardly a mistake or a crime, and even if it was, who do you take me for? Do you think I ask whose fault it was that someone grew ill? Or lost a leg? Or was stabbed? It is not my ‘fault’ anyone needs the aid of a healer, but that does not mean that my aid is any less necessary. You have no idea how much thought on her part or her mate may have gone into having children and I don’t see how you think it’s your place to suggest she should somehow be out a healer because you don’t fully approve.”

Lithian paused, fingers stilling halfway into latching his carry-bag shut.

After several seconds filled only with silence, he dipped his lashes, glancing way.

“The girls need at least one father here, Casseth. I will be fine on my own. I am capable of caring for myself.”

“I know they are four,” Lithian murmured. “And I know your father and Vallarah could care for them in our absence, but I think that is unnecessary risk. As you said, Serenia is not the safest of places, for either of us. But Avani’s home is tucked away, and I will be less conspicuous on my own. If something should happen…either in Serenia, or here on Eowyn — which, I remind you, is also dangerous, and moreso by the day — then one of us should be with the girls, always. They need your protection more than I do. I am well aware that your father and his mate are very capable, but if something happened to them…if the girls were hurt and neither of us were here, would you ever forgive yourself?”

Lithian pulled away from the bed, taking his packed belongings with him and moving to set the arrangement by the door. He folded an arm in after doing so, fingers skimming over his elbow and then up to the shoulder that bore the tattoo honoring his sister’s memory. Frowning, he let his hand fall away and glanced towards their back patio leading out over the ocean.

“I will leave tomorrow morning before the sun rises. I won’t be long, I promise.” His gaze flit over, landing on his mate. “I want you here with them, Casseth…please do this for me. Watch over our daughters and wait for me, this once.”

“Of course I will be careful, Casseth…” Lithian murmured, arms winding around his mate and holding him close to kiss at his temple. “I promise. Nothing will happen. I will be back before you realize I am gone, mm…? Be safe here too, for me…please.”

With his things in order, Lithian departed on the morning, pre-dawn, having already bid his final farewells to both his mate and his young daughters. The trip across the sea was rigorous insofar as it was an endurance test, but not unduly burdensome, and he arrived safely on the opposite shore of Serenia in good time. Avani, her mate, and her family welcomed his coming, and after a number of days ‘lying in wait’ such as the case seemed to be, she eventually gave birth to two, healthy boys with only minimal complication and no permanent detriment to her health. Lithian spent another day in the aftermath, assuring himself of both the infants’ health and safety and that of their mother, before finally making his return trip.

It was late evening, the sun having already set over the distant horizon and stars only just beginning to peek out amidst the warm sky, when Lithian’s wings brought him in upon the shoreline of his family home. Relief, and anticipation, swelled in him at the sight, and he made no effort to curb the instinct as he swept abruptly low, skimming the ocean surface before driving up into the open sky and letting out an echoing roar to alert any residents therein of his return.

«Casseth…»

A deep, satisfied rumble of a purr vibrated through Lithian at the familiar pulse of his mate’s magic, and the sight of him oncoming: relief, thrill, anticipating, and an overwhelming swell of love as sure as any inbound surf. They met midair, all but colliding, toppling, and splashing into the sea together in their reunion, and Lithian nosed at the scales of Casseth’s throat, pressing and licking in greeting.

«Casseth…I missed you, I missed you…I told you I would be home.»



Tanarah stirred in her sheets.

For weeks, Daddy had been gone, and though he did his best not to show it, she knew Papa had been upset, moreso by the day. They had even argued before Daddy left, which was strange and troublesome. And unusual. But, just the same, she managed to get to sleep each night, worn out by her present father’s attentions and her own daily enthusiasm. Her sleeping, though, had been lighter than usual, and fraught with dreams that made her toss and squirm atop her covers.

When a dragon roared, her eyes opened. For several moments, she lay very, very still. Then, after a half second’s debate, she moved in a rabid shuffle, roll-falling off the bed and dragging her way into a pair of pants before darting to the upper story balcony to peek out. If there was going to be a dragon fight—

But then, what she saw was better, and Tanarah screeched, nearly hopping up onto the railing in her enthusiasm. “Daaaddddddyyyy!”

Lithian smiled, glancing at the words and then chuckling. «I see that. She—» Lithian tensed, giving a warning yip of a roar as Tana went beyond ‘looking as though’ she would hop onto the railing and progressed to actually attempting to climb over near to the corner side of the house. “Tanarah, don’t!” he ordered, wings already beating and magic pushing to help give him an upwards sweep out of the water in order to span the last hundred paces or so to shore.

At the house, Tanarah ignored her father completely, hoisting herself up and scrabbling to straddle the rail before glancing down and studying her options. Surely there was a workable way to do this. Perhaps if she could get down one side to the roof of the lower floor and then…

But, before she could get far, her father was huffing and alighting and changing shape at the last instant in order to wind an arm around her and pull her back to the safety of the balcony deck. “Tana—”

“I missed youuuu,” Tana said, cutting into his sentence before it got anywhere, throwing her arms around his waist and burying her nose against his stomach. “You were gone so long.” Then, a thought occurring to her, her head jerked up, eyes wide with curiosity. “Did you deliver the lizard babies? Were they ugly?”

Lithian scoffed, cheeks warming and posture relaxing in spite of himself as he lifted a hand to pet over her hair. “They are not ‘lizard’ babies, Tanarah…and no, they were not ugly. They were almost as cute as you were when you were born…”

Tanarah’s nose wrinkled up. “Nu-uhhhhh…”

Lithian smiled, crouching and kissing his daughter’s forehead. “Not for a very long time, sweetheart,” he said. “Your papa’s right. I promise. It was hard enough being gone away that long even once, mm? I missed you two so much…I hope you’ve been good for your papa while I’ve been gone?” He tossed a sidelong glance in his mate’s direction with the comment, and scooped Tala up as he did, propping her on a hip and starting inside. With a flick and pluck of his spare hand, he pulled the water from Casseth while he was at it, helping him to dry so that they could head in. “And,” he murmured, “it’s getting late. Surely you two weren’t getting up after bedtime…”

Despite mention of bedtime and rules, however, Lithian found he didn’t have the heart to send either immediately to sleep after not having seen them in so many days. His arrival, too, seemed to have spurned energy in both, at least temporarily, and so instead, a family ‘bedtime story’ was had to help calm the girls down, the four of them spending the following hour or so tucked atop one of the girl’s beds and engaging in story time. After, when both were finally drifting off again, they were tucked in and kissed again goodnight before Lithian slipped off with Casseth for personal time of his own with his much-missed mate.

In the after hours, curled against Casseth in their bed, in their home, on their beach, Lithian felt more content than he had in what felt like months, though it could not have been longer than two weeks. While he did not regret his trip — and would have done it again in a heartbeat if necessary — it was good to be home.