It had been seven years now since Guereda had grown so lonely and desperate that they had gone down to the blackmarket one late October to buy a soulstone. It had been risky, and of course illegal, but Reda had not been able to help themselves--they'd always had a hole in their heart that only love and family could fill, and now they had a family. They had a beautiful daughter, Evelyn, who was happy and cheerful and helpful and so kind. Reda was proud of their daughter. They couldn't ask for a better one.The oven hummed in the kitchen, where it was warming up in preparation for cookies. Evey stood on a stool, a look of intense concentration on her face as she mixed flour and sugar together. A bowl of melted butter and egg sat nearby, a large wooden spoon sticking out of it. The radio, tuned to a station playing Winter Solstice music, was dusted with flour, but still gamely playing on. Evey sang along with the music, her tail flicking back and forth to the beat. She tilted the bowl, pouring the sugar and flour mixture into the batter and mixing it into dough. She looked so serious, and yet, so joyful. Reda smiled and picked up the camera. "Evey, say cheese!" they said.
Evey turned towards them. "Cheese!" The camera clicked and she giggled, then turned back to her dough. "The cookies will be finished in a few minutes, Da. Then we'll have ten minutes before we have to take the cookies out of the oven."
Reda nodded. "Don't burn yourself on them," they murmured.
Evey rolled her eye. "Of course not, Da. I haven't burned myself on the oven in, like, a million years." She snorted and turned back to her baking as her parent leaned back in their chair. Yes, it had been a long time. Being a parent was...scary, and yet it was satisfying, too. Reda enjoyed it. Evey was growing up so fast, now, and already talking about moving into the dorms next school year. Reda wasn't ready for that. No, they weren't. They wanted Evey to be here, where they could reach out and hug her, and give her kisses, and take a thousand more photographs and make a thousand more cookies together...
Reda set the camera down and took a deep breath. "Evey...how would you like to have a sibling?"
Evey paused in her stirring and turned to look at Reda. "Huh?"
The end of Reda's tail flicked. "I was thinking...about imbuing another stone. But I won't do it if you don't want another sibling. It has to be our choice--together. As a family."
Evey seemed to think about this for a long time, the cookie dough temporarily abandoned. Reda watched her face for her reply. Finally, the little Demoness nodded. "Yeah. I'd like a little sibling."
"It would be a lot of responsibility," her parent warned her. "Having a little sibling means you have to show them things, and you have to be patient with them. You have to teach them, and you have to share with them. Share your toys, share your pets--" Here, Reda gestured to the Jackalopes sniffing at Evey's ankles-- "And you'll have to share me, Evey."
Evey smiled. "I know. I know people with siblings. It's a big responsibility, I know, but I can take care of it." She looked back at the cookie dough. "How long does it take to get a little sibling?"
"It takes about half an hour to get to the stone clinic," Reda said. "Then a couple of hours in line, then I imbue the stone, then it's a couple months." Reda's hands were trembling. Another child...another child...their family would grow...their heart was thudding in their chest.
Evey didn't seem nearly so excited. She was measuring out chocolate chips into a cup. "So after the cookies are done, basically."
