Drae was both proud and humbled that he had earned the privilege of calling her children his children. Though it was an odd concept to think of, he wasn't sure if Angela's older children would accept him as their father figure, especially where there were a couple of them, he was pretty sure were technically older than he was. But if Iva and the younger girls wanted to accept him as their father, nothing would make him prouder. 

"Who has felt your pain, and who it would pain to ever cause you more," Drae replied softly as he ran his fingers through Angela's hair and rubbed his nose lightly to hers. He broke eye contact with Angela when Iva jumped off the bench and came over to bid them good night. Drae got down on her level and kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair. "Good night, Princess. I'll come in and tuck you in shortly," he promised her before she ran off. 

Drae stood back up and slipped his arms back around Angela. 
"Don't worry, Angela. If I do leave, it will be for a simple errand run to Wyllmochvar, or Koshei. You'll always be able to find me," Drae promised her. "It isn't weird. I have half a mind to tether myself to the grounds for the same reason," he told her with a chuckle of his own. He took her hand and lightly pulled her to walk with him deeper into the shrine. 
"And I have been dying for a proper bath…I feel like I should be put into a larder and saved for winter, I'm so salty," he said with a comedic tone to his voice. 

It was so weird looking at the man who had rather not liked children at first, be absolutely in love with her children. He would make a fine father to them and they needed it, well everyone but Nerezza and Lucian, they had their own father here. It lifted her heart and made her feel good and relaxed about the whole situation.

“Those words are like magic to be my love.” She leaned up to him and kissed him after he rubbed his nose against hers. Iva entertained them both for a moment before running off and it made the goddess smile that she knew when to leave the two alone. 

“Okay, can you read me a story before bed?” Iva smiled at him as he ruffled her hair. She ran off as soon as she got her answer.

Slipping her own arms around his neck she gave him a sly smile. “I might have to tie you to me.” She let go of him and took his hand gently. “You do smell like the ocean.” She put a hand up to her nose to tease him. “A little too much for my taste.”

Taking him into her room she led him over to the hot spring falls she had created. “Should I fetch you finest soap? Should I wash your hair? Tonight you are being doted on by your goddess.” She lightly tapped him on the nose. “And getting new clothes.” She chuckled more.

Drae laughed heartily at Angela's remarks about his smell. He knew she was right. He gripped her hand tightly as they walked into her chamber. The hot spring looked incredibly inviting, and he could barely wait to shed his salt crusted clothing and soak away the last few months. 

"If you are offering to dote upon me, my love, I would be a fool to refuse. Bring on the soap and your finest oils and ointments," he chuckled as he dropped his bag beside the bed and shed his coat and scarf. He sat down upon a stool and began to pull off his boots. "And I certainly won't feel bad if you want to burn this outfit," he added with a laugh as he began to undress. 

He couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief as he shed his boots and socks, and undid the laces on his vest before it too was discarded to the floor. His pace was slowed when he went to remove his shirt. He moved as though the act of lifting his left arm up over his head pained him. He winced and hissed audibly before he was able to drop the once fine linen shirt to the floor. New raised and angry looking scars marred his skin, one in the middle of his back, resembling a jagged X shape, and his left side sported a scar that stretched from his hip bone to half-way up his ribs. He exhaled slowly, his right hand coming to rest upon the mark upon his side. 

Angela gave him a sly smile and disappeared for a few moments to get the soap, oils, and ointments. He would probably need them. She grabbed a good salve while she was at it and her eyes drifted over to him as he undressed. “I probably will just wash it like one would normally, burning is simply taking it too far.” She chuckled.

She came back over and ran her hands over his scars. They were all new to her and unlike the last time where she was impressed there was a sad look on her face. Maybe it was because she came close to losing him. “You weren’t kidding when you said you had a bad fight my love.” She took her time to soap him up and kissed his neck before cleaning that as well. “You simply do love the dangerous life style.”

It wasn’t long before she too undressed and pulled up her long curls. Descending into the waters she took the soap and washed the salt out of his hair. Taking a bowl near by she filled it and let the hot water run over his scalp. “You look terrible… I would say tell me the amazing stories but it’s just not the same now. Looking at how close I’ve come to losing you is all too frightening for me.”

She took the salve and rubbed it on each of his scars. “Just in case," for a moment her voice went low, "Tell me what happened…"

The touch of her hands was a welcome feeling after the long time away from home, though when she grazed the marring on his side he did wince visibly before he moved to sink into the steaming waters of the spring and allowed her to get him all soapy. He moaned softly when she kissed his neck and he shook his head slightly. 
"I liked the glamour of the idea of a dangerous lifestyle," Drae replied. "I'm all set and content to play the badass, but this last one took a lot out of me," he said softly. He looked back at her as she undressed and pulled her hair up off of her shoulders, and he couldn't help but smile at her. He slipped deeper into the spring and tipped his head back so that all of his hair was wet for Angela to use the soap on. 

"Well, for sure they would make a great narrative for any bard, but it is quite a different thing to actually live it," Drae told Angela softly as her fingers massaged the soap through his scalp, and then used a bowl to wash away the suds. He moved to the edge of the spring and rested his arms on the warm stones, exposing his back and side to her. 

He looked at her when she requested the story and he nodded slowly, and relaxed under her hands as she rubbed the salve into his still healing wounds. 

"It was supposed to be a simple jaunt. Wyllmochvar to Abed, not supposed to take more that two weeks. I had the relatively good fortune to fall into business with a crew of Werebears, like me, and a crew of very capable adventurers who were looking to make a bit of gold. Honestly, if I hadn't fallen in with them, either the whole event would not have happened, or I would have died. It is as simple as that. We didn't even make it to Abed before we were set upon by a fleet, A FLEET, of sahaguin pirates. Apparently, our captain knew the whereabouts of an ancient elemental temple that the Pirate captain wanted access to. They destroyed our ship, sent out Captain Simon's crew out in a row boat, and took us with them to go claim an artifact from this ancient temple. Getting there was easily an extra three weeks, and then we were given a three day deadline to get into the temple, find the artifact, and return to the ships. 

Captain Simon got us in as far as he knew the way, but left it to us to figure out what exactly it was that the Pirates wanted, and stayed behind with the long boat. Water weirds, frog men, water spirits… I was nearly drowned by a weird, was grabbed by a roper and dropped fifty feet… you can see its mark on my back. I had the satisfaction of blowing up a frost ogre and his mephits to save Simon's life. A beautiful coordinated attack, only to turn around and have to face off with the royal denizen of the elemental plane of water. Boy, was she a piece of work. Managed to not end up dead by her when my spell fizzled and created a double of me. She rained hell on that, and blasted me sixty feet away… nearly did kill me, broke my ribs and knocked me out cold in water up to your waist… I swear, if it hadn't been for that Bard, Spit, or… Ella, that was her name, I probably would have died then. Of course, we went past our deadline, we had to hold out at the entrance way of the temple as wave upon wave of sahaguin tried to do away with us… I found out the hard way that a long boat does not make a very good shield when you are up against a ballista," he said indicating to the scar on his side.

"It hurt… they managed to drag my unconscious ass to one of the ships, which we managed to take over with some ease… and then once they patched me up enough that I was able to help them blow the rest of the fleet out of the water," Drae explained. "After that, we made our way back here…" he said softly.

“Alas, where would we be if you weren’t adventurous.” Angela was content with bathing him as she soaked in the water herself. “I would know of the stories bards sing. I have two for daughters and many bards come here to sing their songs to me.” She gave him a soft smile. “But to live it is most terrible and I think the more you become family the more they become less fantastic and more so terrifying.” She had been amused with his scars before but not the very thought of him getting another one scared her.


Listening to his story did make her have a reaction. The air grew a bit thick as she angered for a moment or so. As soon as she calmed herself it became light once more and she tried to put her feelings aside for the story. “I am sorry my dear. I just wish that I could have been able to do more for you.” To make it worse she had little power on Parvpora compared to Canelux. She leaned forward and put her chin on her shoulder.



“I must thank your friends as well. I don’t think my heart could have taken losing you if it had gotten back to me.” She said it softly before kissing his neck again. “I am so thankful you made it back if not for myself for Iva. She adores you and I could never bare to watch her lose another parent.”

Drae smiled softly and lifted his hand up and over his shoulder to touch her face lightly. "I am certain that each of them would not mind a kind word from Mother Earth for helping ensure my safe return," he told her softly before he sank deep into the water to rid himself of the suds, then resurfaced again. He pushed his hair out of his face and wiped the water from his eyes before he turned and slipped his arms about Angela's waist.

"One way or another, my Love, I will always return to you," he promised her softly. He leaned in close and rubbed his nose to hers before he leaned in and kissed her lovingly. "No matter what," he said softly as he pulled her tightly against him. She was strong, he could feel that, but she was still incredibly soft and smooth to the touch. And she was warm in his arms, and inviting. 

"I want to hold you tonight…I want to hold you in my arms and pretend for a time that time will not pass for us…" he said softly. "I have several months I need to make up to you," he told her. "After I fulfill my promises to Iva…may I make you mine again?"

Angela gave him a smile and kissed him softly. “I am sure.” But she wanted him to be with her more so than any bard. She got close to him and snuggled to him. “You better even if you had to be carried back. I would heal you as long as I could have you again.” She talked to him just as soft.

The woman nodded to her lover and chuckled. “I would love that.” She leaned in once more and kissed his lips. “You may always make me yours.” She put her forehead to his and sighed softly. “But only after you read to devil child because she would never let us forget you didn’t come to read to her. She laughed and wrapped herself around him now.

“After your bath go read to Iva and I’ll watch. It will comfort her. Tuck her and Winston into bed.” She kissed his forehead now. “Then we can focus on ourselves for a little while longer.”

"I will not be forgetting to read to the little Imp. I've got to make sure to keep my tea party count down to one hundred at most," Drae chuckled. "And getting it down to that from five-hundred-fifty tea parties was a challenge. I am only glad that she liked the music box," Drae said with a slight laugh. He sighed as Angela kissed his head, promising that they would be together after his obligations to Iva. 

"I can hardly wait," he smiled before he did his best to lift her up and spin around with her in the water. It didn't go over well, and ended with them both splashing down into the spring. Drae surfaced and pulled Angela up with him, laughing heartily. 

"I'm sorry, Love. That didn't go as well as I had planned," he laughed as he pushed a sopping strand of her long red hair from her eyes, and then wiped the water from his own face. It was clear her healing had already done some good; he no longer felt the pain and stiffness in his left side and back. He felt far more rejuvenated than he had anticipated, and he knew it had to be because of her powers. 

He leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers. "I love you, Angela," he told her. He took her hand and pulled her towards the edge of the spring and stepped from the water. He grabbed her robe and held it up so that she might don it on before he grabbed his own and draped it about his shoulders. 

"I best go take care of Iva before she starts getting any funny ideas," he said as he tied his robe closed and quickly toweled off his hair so that he was not dripping water down the hallways. Once his hair was no longer dripping, he brushed it back out of his face and hung the towel up to dry before offering his hand to Angela so she could join him to go see Iva. 

A few minutes later, Drae was knocking on Iva's door. He pushed it open, and smiled at the little girl.
"Are you ready for me, Little Princess?" he asked her. "What story have you chosen for me to read tonight?"

“Gods know she will hold a powerful grudge against you if you forget.” Angela laughed with him. “Imagine if she hadn’t liked it? Or if she hadn’t figured out it made noise.” The two of them laughed together and she gave him a smile.

When he spun her around and they slipped into the water she took a moment to look mortal for a change. The goddess was quick to slash around until he pulled her up and she laughed. “It’s alright I’ll just make sure I get you to pay me back for that.” She smiled at him as he pressed his forehead to hers. “And I love you, Adraejen.” She didn’t get many chances to say his full name but maybe she would now.

“Aye,” she shooed him out of the water and laughed as she got out and had help getting into her robe. She dried her hair the best she could before putting it up. She took his arm and walked down the halls with him until they reached Iva’s room.

Bounding to her door Iva smiled. “You don’t smell like the ocean anymore.” She hugged him and pulled him into her room. “I want to hear a story you have instead!” She pulled him over to her bed and jumped up onto the tall four poster bed. It was much bigger than she needed but just right for a little princess. Toys were littered across the room and like all mothers Angela came in and picked some of them up. She straightened the room until Iva gave her a look like she was moving her friends out of place.

“Force of habit.” She brought Winston over and Iva quickly latched onto him as Angela pushed the girl’s wild curls back and kissed her forehead. Pulling back the blankets the mother got her daughter all snuggled into bed. The girl was staring up at Drae almost impatiently. Angela laughed and nudged the man to hurry with story. The girl looked like she was half way passed out as it was.

“Mommy, Winston needs to be tucked in and kissed too.”

“Of course, all bears need to be hugged and kissed before bed.” She kissed her daughter on the tip of her nose before doing the very same to Winston. Iva snuggled into the big bear and smiled with sleep heavy now in her eyes. “Okay, you get your story then right to bed.” Iva nodded and yawned towards Drae.