“You’ll learn something now that you are a parent.” She patted the top of his head and smiled up at him. “You need to remember you took one of his baby girls and got her pregnant, he’s already not to thrilled about that. Even if you are a god just being like that won’t win him over. He’ll pay attention to the treatment of Keira and the children from now on and judge you that way.” Toya offered up another smile. 

She was about to leave when Torn grabbed hold of her. She took a sigh a bit and laughed at him. Toya’s eyes softened a bit. “It’s no problem. My parents died when I was really young so my sisters raised me. I wasn’t quite sure how to be a mother myself since my mother died. You get a hang of it quite easily.” She reached up and pat his head. “You are fine to call me that. I don’t mind and I could always use another kid.” She pulled him into a hug and pat his head once more. 

“You’re alright kid… Take care of my girl and grandkids.” It took her no time at all she slip away and disappear.

Keira smirked from her chair and opened her eyes. “You are something else Torn. Just when I thought you couldn’t surprise me more.” She held the babies close to her and chuckled. “You don’t have to hide being that way from me. I’m suppose to love you for everything you are… even if something you are a little weird.”

Torn gladly returned Toya’s hug, smiling broadly. “I intend to,” he replied to Toya’s warning to take care of Keira and the kids, before watching her disappear back to Revaliir.

Torn turned around and looked at Keira. “You heard all that?” Before she could reply, however, he rolled his eyes with a smile. “What am I saying - of course you did.” He chuckled. “Was it that weird? She is going to be my mother by law in a few weeks,” he said, grinning as he moved closer to Keira, carefully leaning over to give her a kiss. As he broke it, he looked at her for a few seconds before his smile turned back into a smirk.

With a wave of his hand, Keira’s valkyrie retainer, Gyda, was summoned to the balcony. A battlemage-type valkyrie, she wore lighter armour than most of her sisters, and had a laurel-design crown instead of a helmet, making her a lot less intimidating while still being more than formidable enough to protect her mistress. She was also of a gentler temperament than most of her sisters, one of the primary reasons she had been assigned as Keira’s retainer. Torn nodded at the children, and she seemed to understand. Torn walked over to Keira, smiling. “I was thinking,” he said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, “We haven’t really had time for us since the twins were born.” As Gyda gently picked up the kids and whisked away to put them to bed, Torn gently took Keira’s hand, urging her to follow. “With that in mind, I drafted your mother’s help to design a room I think you’ll really like,” he said, and began moving inside.

He led Keira back to their room, which he had decorated with armour stands, a massive map of Revaliir, weapon racks, a trophy shelf, as well as high-end furniture to see to all of his and Keira’s everyday needs. He led Keira in, and closed the door. Up until that point, it would just seem like he brought her to their room, which in all fairness was nothing new. He looked at Keira, smirking. “Watch this,” he said, and pulled down the handle again. This time, there was a brief glow from the frame of the door, and as Torn pushed it open, he revealed not the hallway, but a pond.

It was walled on all sides with steep cliff, creating a ring of colourful foliage, with a hot spring in the middle, fed by a small waterfall. The pond seemed to have naturally occurring stone steps leading into it, and the floor of the pool had what appeared to be naturally occurring tiers as well. Closest to the door, on the right hand side, the two could comfortably sit on a stone slab with water reaching just up to their chests, with another, deeper seat a bit further to the right. The right-hand side of the pond created a sort of crescent shape where it got progressively deeper, while the left-hand side was too deep to stand in, for proper swimming. In the middle of the pond, there was a small rise, creating a round space in which two people could be seated, also sporting the only piece of artifice in the room - a round wooden table, with a board of polished mahogany and a foot of intertwining roots. The seats were underwater, meaning that two people could sit in the middle and enjoy a meal or a drink while relaxing in the hot water. The lack of any tiers of any size a kid could play in made the room’s purpose perfectly clear: This bath was for them, and them alone.

Torn looked at Keira, smiling. “Well, what do you think?” He pulled her close, giving her another kiss. “Will you join me?” He asked her, love and lust dancing around one another in his voice.

Keira chuckled a bit and smiled towards him. “I have wolf’s hearing not a lot escapes me.” She kissed his forehead and chuckled. “No, not that part but I’ve rarely seen you being sappy with anyone not even me.” She kissed him back and tilted her head as the god summoned a Valkyrie. She watched the angel take their twins away and now a moment she almost jumped to take them back but then she remembered that she didn’t need to be overbearing in this place.

The halfling blushed a bit as he pushed the lock of hair behind her ear. She looked behind her at the twins and sighed gently at him laughing. “I suppose it has been too long. I have missed you.” She took his hand and let him lead her to whatever he wanted to show her. She looked unimpressed at first when they entered their room. It was after all just their room from what she could see. 

From the glow she looked amazed as she wandered into the room ahead of him and smiled at him. “You are amazing… I didn’t think you noticed what I liked at all or would think about it to be honest.” She chuckled a bit and was slow to strip her dress off. Her eyes met the hot spring and she turned to him. 

“Let’s take a bath… that seems like a really good idea.” She came over to him and gently undressed him. “You were barely around these past few weeks… It sucked.” She cupped his face and kissed his lips. “Sometimes I think you forget I exist.”

Torn smiled, enjoying the view as Keira undressed. “I do notice, Keira,” he said, not mentioning anything about the other rooms he had made for her just yet. Now that she was here, there was no reason to rush - the kids would be sleeping for some time, and Torn wanted Keira to have a memorable day or two. And so, he let Keira undress him - giving her naked body a number of caresses, returning her kiss, and replying to her statement.

“I’m sorry, Keira,” he said, honestly. “I suppose I’m not very good at sitting still,” he continued, blushing slightly. “But I could never forget you, nor Kite or Tempest.” His excitement to be alone with Keira again was quite visible once they were both naked, and he pulled Keira in closer, stroking her back while giving her a tender hug. “Your lovely skin… your beautiful smile… Your silky hair, your soft breasts, those piercing green eyes of yours…” He gave each part of her body an appropriate gesture of affection as he mentioned them. “The way you make me understand things, those little gestures that make me feel at home… How you see my needs and meet them, every last one - how you make me laugh and smile and cringe and laugh again…” He looked into Keira’s eyes as he listed the reasons he loved her, smiling softly. “Remembering you is why I keep going out. Because unlike before, I’ve got something worth coming back to, now.” He gave Keira a light kiss, before grabbing her hand and leading her to the water.

Torn jumped into the pool’s deep side, surfacing with a gasp. “That is hot,” he said, grinning. “Come on out, babe.” He swam over to the shallow end of the pool, reckoning Keira would prefer to use the pool for relaxation. Which suited Torn just fine, for he yearned to feel Keira’s naked flesh under his hands once more - and he wanted their first time since the birth to be in a relaxed setting.

Staring at him Keira looked ashamed of herself for a moment. Torn had gone out of his way to please her with these things. He gave them a home, a place where he could come back to them more often than before, and more importantly a safe place for their twins. She brought her hand up and pushed his hair lightly with her fingertips. Listening to her words she felt her heart almost jump out of his chest. He was becoming better at telling her how he felt. Normally she could just tell by what he was trying to say, not that he was ever at a loss for words, but this was just different somehow.

She ran her hands down his arms and smiled up at him as his words came to an end. “You make me sound like the most amazing person and yet I cannot see myself like that.” She chuckled and blushed a bit more. “You make me feel desired, beautiful, and wanted. That’s all I could ever ask of you, really.” She kissed him back and took his hand as she got into the hot spring with him. She jumped a bit at the temperature and laughed. “It is a little hot.”

Thinking on some of his words she brought herself back to him coming back. “I am glad that you didn’t leave us. When we found out about the twins you could have just left. You could have just flown the coop and left me but you didn’t. You stayed in Arri with me and stopped going out on adventures, even though I know it must have killed you.” She swam over to him and snuggled up to him.

Before long she pinned her long blonde curls up and smiled once more. “This feels like home. You did a good job Torn and I am so proud of you.” Wrapping her arms around him she kissed him just a tad rougher than before. 

This place was just the type of thing she needed after many restless nights of the twins. Now that she had someone to help her take care of them she could rest longer now. She could feel herself be rejuvenated just by thinking that. Just like their first night Keira and Torn fought for dominance but ultimately with his strength Torn won. She chuckled beneath him and let him have his way with less fight. By the end, she was on his lap playing with his blonde hair. She let it slip through her fingertips repeatedly as she sunk down into the water and snuggled into his chest. This was her favorite place to be for sure.

“So this will be our life from now on? Have you given thought on what kind of God you want to be?”

Torn grinned as he startled to wrestle Keira, just like he had the first night they spent together. This time, however, Keira didn’t have to pull any punches - with his newfound immortality, Torn had become a lot stronger, and so managed to overpower Keira for real this time. Having won the struggle, he claimed her body as a prize. Possibly to Keira’s dismay, he didn’t last long, but as he laid there on top of her - still ‘connected’ - he gave Keira a kiss on the neck. “Sorry, I’ll make a point of doing better next time,” he said, by way of apology. “If it’s any consolation, that felt good,” he added, as a footnote.

When Keira asked if Torn had decided what kind of god he wanted to be, Torn simply smirked. “My sole ambition in life was fame and fortune,” he said, dreamily. “Then I met you,” he added after a while, “And things got a little more complicated…” He lied down on the ground, looking up at the slice of sky that could be seen overhead. “I’ve won the highest glory and fortune I ever could,” he said, sounding a little sad. “And I have a family,” he continued, noticeably more enthusiastic. “I suppose my job will be to fill Revaliir with great tales and heroes,” he finally said, after a few moments. “To find those of great potential and lead them into the limelight, and spur the bards of the land to spread their tales for all to be inspired by,” he continued with a grin. “Heroism and song. I think I shall take the title ‘Prince of Epics’, being betrothed to a princess and all,” he said, leaning over to give Keira a deep kiss. It took quite a few seconds before he broke the kiss, and smirked down at Keira. “And you can be damned sure I’ll treat you like one,” he said, finally.

She didn’t think Torn knew how strong she had been before. This time, despite being unable to fight for the last few months, she gave him everything she had. However, he was stronger now and it showed. She laughed a bit at him and shook her head as he kissed her neck. “I know you will.” She didn’t want to say to him that it was because they hadn’t been able to once she reached a certain point, because she knew that he had most likely gone elsewhere. That was just Torn and for a moment she let out that frown but quickly hid it. As long as he didn’t tell her and she didn’t find out they were fine.

“To be honest, I never knew what you seen in me. You could have anyone you wanted and yet you chose me to be out and about with. Even in Wyllmochvar you followed me around instead of finding someone else.” He did love her even if he didn’t know how to just stay with her and that was fine she realized. Keira gave him a smile and nodded. “That sounds like a wonderful dream Torn.” She kissed him back and blushed a bit more.

“You don’t have to do anything because of me Torn. Nor do you have to treat me any different then you already do.” Maybe she was scared of the change but softly she let out the sigh and snuggled up to him. “You are all I need.” She had put empathize on it. He would know what she meant. “You’ve been wonderful and you think about the twins all the time. That makes you a good father and you’ll only get better as they grow older. That’s all I could ever ask of you… Who knows you could get bored of me with your new found immortality.” She shrugged a bit. There was sadness in her eyes for a moment. “Who knows now.” 

Torn snuggled up to Keira a bit closer, kissing her forehead. He caressed the small of her back, responding to her somber words with a chuckle. “You don’t get it, do you, Keira?” He looked her in the eyes with a smirk. “I didn’t add this room - and a bunch more I think you’ll be excited about - for you.” He spun, playfully, once again coming on top of Keira. “I made them because of you,” he said, his gaze softening.

“What I see in you is beauty. I see a person clever enough to outsmart me several times over, yet understanding enough to let me follow. I see someone whom I can speak of anything with, someone who’d give me a family and be happy about it,” he continued. He looked as though he was about to say something rather lengthy and poetic. “I see someone who can accompany me in danger and be fierce enough to hold her own, or accompany me in darkness and be bright enough to save my day,” he said. “I see someone who can be all the things I can’t, and still keep up with me at my own game. And when I am away… When I close my eyes I see someone waiting for me, to rub the stiffness out of my muscles, tend to my wounds, listen to my tales.” He sat up, smiling. “The Dream Arena and the rest of Musalia, that’s all me. My ego, my wanderlust, my willingness to party. My thirst for glory and fame. But this palace, these Chambers of Mystery, they are you,” he said. “Because that’s what I think of when I think of home. You.”

She looked at him with big eyes. An oompf left her lips as he got back on top of her. She looked up at him from the water and gave a smile. By the end of his words she was nearly in tears, happy tears, and she was clinging to him as they sat back up. “You know your mouth… gets you in a lot of trouble a lot of the time.” She put her forehead against him and she was struggling for the right words.

“But sometimes you say the best things that I need to hear.” She rubbed his face softly before her fingers took a stroll down his neck and shoulders. “I know I’m not that best at being sure of myself a lot of the time and that it shows when I doubt you sometimes but I really don’t mean it.” She kissed his forehead and smiled. “You are a good man Torn… Even if I don’t say it a lot of the time know that is what I think.”

Seeing a tiny bit into Torn’s head scared her a bit but she chuckled a bit as she curled up into him once more. “Never change Torn. Never let anything bad shape you differently,” she knew possibly she would regret her next words but she felt better about everything, “I think you are perfect as is. Even if you weren’t a god I would still do all those things for you. Though I don’t know how much I have to tend to your wounds now that you are immortal. I think it might be the other way around now.” She teased him lightly.

“In a few years… we’ll be bandaging our children up when they get overly adventurous and hurt themselves.” She chuckled thinking about it. “Chasing them when they don’t want to listen. Teaching them limitations,” she said it sort of sternly when she stared up at him. She knew full well that Torn had difficulty at some points with it. “And when I want to give up and cry because they are terrible and won’t listen to me because they are stubborn… at least I know you’ll have my back. Right?” She chuckled a bit more and kissed him. 

“I’m so proud of you…”

Torn smiled, and kept smiling, as Keira told him how she thought he was perfect, and how they’d be chasing their kids around, doing their best not to let them injure themselves, in a few years. Torn sat up, and pulled Keira up with him. “Aye, that’s all well and true,” he said, giving Keira a kiss before standing up properly. “But I’ll only have your back if I think you’re right,” he said, teasingly. “Or at least more so than the kids. And when I’m not sure.” He thought for a moment. “The latter implicates I’ll agree with you a lot, doesn’t it,” he said, laughing. “Come on. I want to show you the rest of the palace.” He looked at their clothes. “You can leave those. Noone but angels around, anyway,” he said with a smirk, implying he’d like to indoctrinate the angels on the meaninglessness of traditional decency sooner rather than later.

Leading Keira through the corridors, prompting a few toga-clad muses and armoured valkyries to turn their heads as Torn and Keira passed, Torn finally led Keira to the map room. It was enormous, a cavernous round room whose walls were laden with books and scrolls - maps, organized by the coordinates of their center, as well as several workstations, a rather sizeable globe, chests full of all the equipment one could possibly need for cartography, and a main table as large as life, with a queer pattern worked into it. Above the table were floating lanterns, as well as a harness attached to the ceiling, so one could work on large maps from above without treading on whatever one was painting the map onto. Torn went over to the table, looked at Keira, and smiled. He pulled a lever on the side of the table, and the true nature of the queer pattern on the table revealed itself - it was a topographical map of Arri, and as the terrain rose from the wood, the table changed colour, the painted map of Arri appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Torn turned to keira with a grin.

“From here, you’ll be able to pursue your craft to your heart’s content,” he said, gesturing wildly at the room’s features. “Maps, tools, parchment, ink, pens, navigation equipment and measuring devices… Anything you could possibly want is here,” he explained. “The table in the middle is for larger projects, or for when you want a proper view of your homeland,” he said, gesturing at the large table. “The shelves are filled with maps, organized by coordinates, for reference and such,” he said. All in all, it looked like Torn had managed to fill a room with everything Keira could need for mapmaking - another display that he actually paid attention to what Keira was doing. “What’s more, the door is soundproof, so you can work in complete privacy,” he said, putting his hand on the small of Keira’s back and pulling her closer. “Indeed, you could do anything in here in total privacy,” he said, with a sly smirk.