Eldora was so happy about their little family. Without the spirits causing interfere this was the first time she was perfectly happy and at peace. She wasn’t yelling at things that seemingly weren’t there and she wasn’t losing her mind even though she was in the Cradle of all places.

Their little one was kicking up a storm and while it made her happy every once in a while the child gave her a kick that was way to hard for a normal child. It spoke to her about the magic already deeply rooted in their child. Their little girl was going to be so strong. There was childlike joy in both of their eyes as they felt her moving. They were so in love with her.

Her blue eyes were calm as they snapped to the doorway. She could see Dante and Lotus there and the threatening voice that Steele had told her enough about the situation. Soon though Dante was looming over by her and he was poking her lightly where the baby was moving. “Steele, Stupid is touching me.” Eldora blinked and grabbed a pillow by her and repeatedly hit Dante with it. “The baby might catch it.”

After a moment or two Lotus came in and wrapped herself around Dante kissing his cheek. “Don’t torment her too much. That is one ravenous father wolf laying on that bed. He could rip you to bits and that would make me sad.”

Eldora tilted her head at her sister and threw the pillow at her that time. “We’re due in maybe four months or more. We don’t have a name for her yet.” After a few moments, she rolled a bit and sat on the edge. She held her baby belly and smiled up at them. “If you ask, you can feel her. She moves a lot now. Angela says she is the strongest baby she has ever felt outside of the conclave children.”

Dante frowned at her very words, “But you already had Stupid touching you, he’s lying right there beside you.” He pointed over to Steele, in which his brother growled, baring his fangs that were exposing. The younger man brought up his arm in defense against the munchkin’s assault with the pillow repeatedly. Fortunately his dark angel came to his rescue and Steele rolled his eyes. “Get loverboy out of here, Lotus.” He started to calm down as Eldora took the matter into her own hands. At least her sister was correct in not wanting to provoke the wolf; he might have not killed his own blood, but he would certainly inflict as much of pain as possible if he had to.

He looked down to the soon to be mother and smiled. “It won’t be too much longer now. We are still discussing names, we want it to be perfect for her.” Steele carefully assisted Eldora as she moved over and looked to his brother with narrow eyes, likely hinting at if he tried anything funny, he would bite his hand off. Dante, shrugged it off and went to feel her belly so more, but then waved it off. “On second thought, you go ahead Darling. Might as well feel your niece, no?” He already had felt some movement and for a moment he was unsure as to why he felt different. There was a little life form inside her and it was…pleasant to say the least. Steele held onto Eldora’s back as he moved up to sit up beside her.

“She’ll be strong definitely. I can hear her heartbeat strong within you.” The blood that coursed through her was likely the reason, though he pondered what she would be like when she was introduced to this world. Would she keep her demonic and wolven traits he would have gifted her? Or would she be more so like her mother? He often wondered about that these days and a part of him wished for the latter. Though he would love her regardless of how she turned out.  

Lotus watched as Dante reared back from Eldora. It might not have looked like he did but she could tell more so than anyone else in this room. “Alright Dear. If that is what you want.” The half-succubus came over and put her hands on Eldora’s belly. She felt the baby move and she was filled with a warmth she hadn’t known in a long time.

Eldora was glowing with pride as they spoke about their little girl. “We want the perfect name,” she repeated as she snuggled into Steele. They were struggling but only because both of them were bad at naming.

Taking her time Lotus moved her hand up and twirled one of Eldora’s curls around her finger. “Why not name her after our late niece.” Eldora tilted her head and Lotus knew that Eldora hadn’t the slightest clue. “Before our siblings were damned, Idoya had found out she was three months pregnant with a baby girl.” Lotus gave a sad smile. “She named her Estelle. Estelle means star and Idoya was sure that Estella was going to be her guiding light to happiness. So… why not Estelle?”

Eldora was really quiet for a moment as she looked over to her lover for a long time. “I like Estelle… Do you like Estelle? I think it is a good reasoning for her.” She had been a guiding light for both of them. It had changed them so much since they found out about her. Eldora took Steele’s hands and pressed them onto her belly once more.

“She’s so wonderful,” Lotus smiled at them both. “She’s brought you both happiness that I’ve never seen in Eldora before and I'm sure the same is for you too Steele.” When it came to being serious, Lotus was a true wordsmith. “It’s why I thought Estelle was a good name when I saw the way you two looked at her. I’m sure Dante thinks so too.” Lotus elbowed her lover softly.

The Avatar of Chaos and Lies watched with teasing eyes as Lotus went over and felt her sister's stomach. As soon as she reacted to the baby's moving, he saw that she too had felt something like he had. It had been enough to get him to stop poking fun at Eldora literally. At least for the time being.  Steele, fortunately, was still fair game. "Yes, it must be perfect; after all, your little girl will likely be a munchkin with a bad attitude" Oh he was sure that she would have those qualities of both Eldora and Steele respectively. For some reason Steele looked as though he was getting mad at him and he pondered why. 

"Sorry Eldora, my brother is better at killing people with names versus making up one himself. Lacks the imagination and creativity that I have." Dante smiled devilishly as he paced about. Humming a sweet tone among himself, he found himself ceasing when his lover was explaining a solution to their little problem. Thinking about it, his eyes rolled about in thought as he paced back. Estelle sounded like a good name for a daughter and from the look on everyone else, it seemed like they were agreeing with it. His brother perked up when Eldora seemed to like it and nodded and found his hands placed onto her belly again to feel their daughter.

Dante moved back over to the group and rubbed his chin. "That's a great name for her, Lotus. Perhaps it will make her more sweeter than crabby like her wolven daddy." More teasing of course but he didn't mean anything by it. In his own way, he was a bit…excited to see her when the time finally came. He was unsure why he was giddy about it though it was also the first time he was excited about seeing a female without there being any sort of sexual desire either. It was…odd. His eyes rolled as Lotus elbowed him and he shrugged at her. "Yes, I must say that these lovebirds were enigmas before they met. They are still weird, but at least they are happy now too." 

Eldora tilted her head lightly and looked up at Dante. “Temper runs on both sides of the family even more so from his sin. It doesn’t concern me very much we’ve watched Colden’s temper simmer down so perhaps the little one will be alright after all.” She gave Steele a reassuring smile. “I think Steele is overly worried about it but he will see that all things will work out.” Eldora moved her hands to her belly and felt their daughter kicking about. It made her very happy.

The oracle was about to offer a rebuttal to Dante’s words but her sister had other plans as she laid down the creativity that Dante so enjoyed. It had been thoughtful and good. The name had resonated within all four of them for a time before they had all nodded. It was a good name. Estelle was a good name. Eldora’s tiny fingers wrapped around Steele’s as they felt her once more and the oracle was overjoyed. Their baby finally had a name, a good name.

Lotus chuckled at her lover and patted his shoulder. “You should give Steele some credit. His temper has been very good lately from the sounds of things.” There was a smirk on her face as she slinked around her lover and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her chest was to his back as she peeked around at her sister. It had been an utterly wonderful but odd sensation that much was for sure. “That’s right… one big happy family.” Lotus offered him a smile as she looked back at Eldora and Steele who were enjoying themselves more.

“She is so active… and strong,” Eldora cooed towards Steele. “We’re very lucky to have Estelle. I can’t wait to meet her.”

For a moment Lotus was silent but finally, she chimed in. “I don’t think any of us can Eldora. She’s won pretty much everyone here… so tell her to hurry up and get here already. You know some of us are very impatient.” There was a laugh from Eldora who nodded.

“I’ll make sure to tell her that or have Steele do it. She is very comforted by his voice I think.”

Steele was a bit over zealous about guarding Eldora and their unborn child, but it was more so the wolf in him that wanted to protect them. Dante, on the other hand, seemed entertained by the situation even more. “Please, comparing Colden’s temper to Steele’s is like comparing a little gust to a typhoon. The boy was just throwing a temper tantrum because he was envious. It’s in wolfman’s nature to be in a bad mood.” The other male looked at him with disdain but held his anger. It wasn’t a good thing to expose Eldora to right now plus his father was likely watching through his brother’s eyes. Damn lucky bastard.

He thought about the name Estelle and saw that Eldora seemed smitten by her sister’s idea. While he didn’t really care for Dante’s approval, it seemed like the name really did suit his daughter. He could feel the girl within her and he was excited to see the day she would be born. “Funny, Dante. One day, when you least inspect it, I’ll be sure that you are comfortable in your grave while I bury you alive.” His tone was very controlled as he watched him with dark eyes. Fortunately Eldora comforted him and his temper mellowed down.

Dante shrugged it off and let the two have their little fun. Steele caressed her belly and sat beside her. “Lotus is right. I can’t wait to see her when the times come. Hopefully she comes out more like you than me, to be honest. Impatience does run in the family- at least for most of us.” Dante might have been an exception, barely anyway but he could admit that he wasn’t as good at waiting and surely everyone knew that about Colden as well.

“I can do that.” He leaned into her belly and spoke softly. “Estelle…its…your father… when you come out, I can promise you that you will be loved by everyone that comes across your path and that I won’t let anything happen to you…”

Eldora blushed a bit more than usual with Steele but she chuckled. “It’s funny I was hoping Estelle was more like you.” Their love made Lotus slightly jealous if anything she wanted to have this with Dante. Her fingers curled around his for just a moment before watching as Steele talked to their niece.

He was right… She would be loved by everyone.

–

The wait was long but soon it was their time to show the world Estelle. It had been long and hard as the hours pushed into days. Eldora’s labor had gone on for what seemed like forever but Angela had been asked to keep it as natural as possible as long as Eldora’s life had not been at stake. So the goddess kept her promise and kept a close monitor on both mother and child.

As soon as Estelle was ready to make her appearance in the world Angela was there to catch her and bathe her. A child with a head full of dark locks and a set of lungs of her that could make any dragon terrified. Angela passed out off to her daughter who had been helping with the birth. Once that was done the goddess set to healing Eldora and Belle bathed the child and wrapped her in the blanket.

“Steele?” the blonde woman came over to him and offered the tiny screaming bundle up to him. “You can hold her now. She will need a lot of body heat so skin to skin is what we recommend for her. You’ll have to tend to her while we get Eldora back to fit shape… Congratulations on your daughter.”

The wait felt like it too forever and when the time arrived for the birth to occur, Steele was left waiting in a separate room, pacing about the floor enough that he was sure that he would have made grooves into it. He hadn’t thought that her labor would have lasted as long and fortunately Dante was nowhere to be seen. Else he would have made the situation even worse and his brother would had killed him. Angela tended to her, that brought some comfort in him but he wanted it all to be done with now. Sounds of agony and pain were soon replaced with that of crying, one that he hadn’t heard before yet he knew who it belonged to.

Steele stopped in his tracks and waited. His mouth was slightly open as he pictured what she looked like. But when a woman, one of the ones that was assisting Angela came over with a bundle in her arms, he knew from the scent that it was his daughter. “…Yes?”, he answered while his eyes never left the what was in her arms.

Hands slowly rose out in front of him as he took her into and brought her closer. Estelle looked adorable, even more so than what he thought she would. “…Thank you. How’s Eldora faring? It’s been a long time since I saw her…”

In Steele’s arms, Estelle began to quiet down. Belle looked back at the room for a moment and gave a smile. “Should be any moment now and you can find out yourself. She is in good hands. She just had a bit of a rough delivery. First, the baby didn’t want to come and then the baby decided to be in her back… So it was painful for her but if anyone is a fighter it’s Eldora.”

After a few moments, Angela opened the door and was seen wiping her hands off in a tower. “You can come back in now… and Steele you can bring the baby in and see Eldora. She is fine just tired from all the excitement of the past three days. She has a bit more energy left to meet Estelle before she sleeps.”

It looked like from the magic of the citadel that the bed was already fresh. Eldora was sitting up if only thanks to the pile of pillows behind her. From the sound of her breathing she was gently asleep but as he would get close she woke up, exhaustion was in her eyes as she looked over at him with a smile. “Is she beautiful Steele?” It was weakened words but Angela gave them both as smile as she moved over to prepare the salves that they would need for the coming days. “I didn’t get a chance to see her yet…”

“For good reason. You are tired Eldora. You can see her but then you need to rest so you can wake up and feed her when she needs it. Doctor’s orders. You wouldn’t be this tired if you had let me help push this forward… So lots of pain soothing is in your future now.” Angela gently scolded. “Be together… I would get her bassinet and bring it in here… I imagine Xunatar will be here soon to meet his grandchild.” After a moment more she sighed. “You did a good job… both of you. I don’t see the floor out there melted away from all the pacing and Eldora did a beautiful job bringing that baby into the world. Both of you did well.”

“I’d imagine that isn’t too uncommon?” Steele supposed that Estelle, like many babies, didn’t wish to leave a place of safety such as Eldora’s womb and brought into a place of uncertainty. At least it was the only thing he could think of at the time while he held the quieting babe. She looked a lot like her mother, as he had hoped prior. Still, it only served as a reminder to him of what she had underwent and wanted to make sure that she was okay.

The woman that had assisted Angela reassured him and then the goddess herself had came to invite him to see Eldora. Slowly he made his approach, wanting to be careful and not startle his daughter as he came into the room. It looked like she was sleeping and when she stirred because of him, Steele felt a little guilty over depriving her of the rest she deserved. “She is. Just about the most beautiful thing I have ever seen”, he nodded as he leaned closer to her and gave her a view of Estelle. “She’s right, you are too tired right now to hold her, but at least the worst is over now.” Steele felt something pricking his mind and then he heard his father’s voice. “He says that he will see her, not right now but in the coming days. Right now the baby would likely be overwhelmed with seeing too many people at once and it's our time to bond with her.” Likely he figured that the god had seen her already since its was his realm and was taking this time to celebrate with a glass of wine or something. Steele was hardly shocked by the actions but right now his focus was going to where it belonged- Eldora and Estelle.

“I think she deserves far more credit than me”he spoke as he shifted the baby’s weight onto one arm while he went to stroke the top of her mother's head gently. “It will be alright. I’m just glad the two of you made it through.” He looked over to Angela, “And thank you for your help. Not sure if we would have made it through this without you.”