The queen and goddess was now up and moving around. It felt like an eternity of sleeping on and off with the baby. Rohan didn’t really cry but he did sing when he wanted something. It was unique in a way and it made Drae and herself smile lots. He was still quite fresh when Angela decided it was time to introduce him to the world. “Dress him up in the best baby silk… I need to go and make sure the room is ready… and I need to send out a messenger.”

Angela left the nursery where the twins were now taking care of Rohan. It was a promise that Drae and her had that they would take care of Rohan as a family and not by clergy. The queen kicked the door open, it was a weird door, it went shockingly no where. The space and time was off as black winds came out and wrapped around her. “Alright, lets get this going.” 

She raised her hands and walked into the bare room. The room began to form. As she walked marble flooring appeared. It was a large ballroom, the walls and balconies up top were draped with lots of moss and trees were planted through out the room. It was huge compared to other rooms. The ceiling was gone but replaced with a clear night sky, stars like crystals, and a rainbow aurora over top as well.

The room wasn’t lit by candles or crystals like she normally loved to use, no the room was lit by massive amounts of fireflies. They were freed and roaming above the floor. It gave the room a golden light that was beautiful. The walls were not just decorated with moss and ivy but flowers never seen before, they were made of crystal and gold. Towards the back of the ballroom, there were pools of water, very shallow, with a walkway through them. A marble crib sat there on a platform with a set of chairs for Drae and herself. The chairs were not as majestic as the crib, they were plain as if the crib was the main center point.

On another platform out in what appeared to be a pond in the room was a bunch of instruments, she waved her hands as they floated up into the air and began to play. “Excellent,” On the other side of the room she sprung forth crystal tables and filled them with the most delicious food that anyone would ever have.

This included very safe fey foods that no one would be able to eat outside of her temple. She finished setting up tables and her heels clicked against the beautiful floors. “Looks good, now onto the messenger.” She crafted the letters, made out of enchanted bark pieces, the letters appeared in a fiery burst.

“Dear recipient,

You are invited to the name day celebration of our son Rohan. Gifts are not needed but the celebration of life just requires you to dance and have fun. This is a social gathering of the highest kind, please dress appropriately. Food and entertainment will be provided.

The Goddess,
Angela”

It was short and too the point as she crafted a fairy dragon of rainbow crystals. It was beautiful and only she could be crafty enough to create such a creature. “You have a list of people in your mind? Good, pass these out.” She gave it a bag of endless invitations. “Give them to everyone.”

She sent him out before changing into a beautiful ballgown. The ballgown was like that of peacock in its colors. Her hair was long and let down as colored gems were put into her curls. She came back for Rohan and smiled towards Drae.

Rohan was dressed in a noble baby sack of silk. He looked utterly comfortable. He made a few fussing noises as his mother picked him up. “You are going to meet a lot of people today my son.” She kissed his forehead. “You are going to have a lot of friends when we are done.”

She moved to the ballroom and sat in the chair with her son. She waited for them to show up now.

Ramla was in the garden, tending to her orchids when something caught her eye. Tucking a dark curl behind her ear she stared up at the night sky, seeing a speck of color that doesn't really belong on side of Koschei Isle. It was pink, and sparkly. Glowing even and getting closer by the minute. "Nihr!" She shouted over her shoulder with garden scissors still in hand. When the man stood beside her she pointed at the pink, growing speck. "What is that?" She asked him. The shadows around them began to react to Nihr, coiling and peeling themselves off their surfaces as they twisted their forms into tendrils. But just as Nihr was about to strike it became apparent what the object was…a Faerie dragon?

"Wait!" She said as she placed a hand on his arm. The faerie fluttered towards them and dropped a piece of thin bark. Nihr caught it and showed it to Ramla. The writing on it was glowing a fiery red and orange. It was an invitation, from who? To what? They didn't know any pregnant women? But when Ramla saw the signature and the name, her face dropped. Holding back a groan when she recognized it….Angela Rose. Last time these women met each other, Ramla made a bet with her and lost. Now forever stuck in babysitting her daughter Holly for as long as she walks on Parvporan soil.

Ramla slowly turned around to tend to her orchids again, trying to ignore Nihr's taunting. 
"Wait…Is this who I think it is?"
"I have no idea who you're talking about…"
"No no no, it's her."
"No it's not."
"Yes, it is."
"Don't say it!"

She could feel Nihr slithering over to her, wrapping his tendrils around her. His chin resting on her shoulder, his hands gently taking the scissors out of her hands. "It's mom…" He jeered in a quiet voice before the wind was knocked out of his lungs as she slammed him across the garden, leaving a trench behind where he landed. Slowly turning around to watch her work as her half transformed body returned to normal. "Now look what you made me do! I ruined the garden….Again!" 



She shook her head lightly, her foot tapping impatiently while she waited for Nihr. Every single time it was the same story; he'd complain about her taking too long to get ready but when she was ready there was always one more thing that he had to do before they could actually go. For their outfits for the ball they choose a red and black theme. Ramla in this case wore a black and red saree that she bought during a trip in Abed.

Finally ready they stepped through the portal and arrived in Angela's temple. After showing the invitation card to one of her clergy they were led into the ballroom. And what a ballroom it was! Even beings of darkness could appreciate the beauty of it. It certainly fitted the divine family. The room was already filled with family members and invitees. Ramla had to slow down Nihr cause he was too excited to see the deity, eager to poke the two women with a stick…

They made their way across the walkway to the platform where the parents waited. Out of respect Ramla curtsy before Angela, even Nihr gave her a small bow before he started to embarrass her…. Ramla couldn't help but close her eyes briefly before addressing Angela. "Congratulations, Angela. I hope all went well?" She said with a sincere smile as she hugged the woman then turning her attention to the infant after Nihr was done asking Drae to 'make it do something'… Ramla smiled softly at the bundle of joy, gently caressing his cheek.  "He looks a lot like his father." She chuckled.

Nihr wasn't much of a gardener. He was more of the 'destroying' type than the 'creating' type. So he sat in a wicker chair in the garden, just reading a book he had recently purchased down in Kurayo. It was a romance novel about a poor squire and a princess.

The book was on sale….

He shook his head as his face just wrinkled more and more in confusion. "Why chase after a princess? Those spoiled brats are almost always virgins. They're never satisfied with anything. Just go to a tavern." He said to himself, just staring at nothing, "With plump, experienced wenches. A quick squeeze that's easy to please." He said in a low voice with a smug look on his face. Maybe he should visit that vampire lounge? Now he was just muttering to himself as he continued to read. "Little biters…

hehe

…Or them wolf girls." He looked up and dropped the book again. "They know how to appreciate a bone…" He chuckled, looking around him before his laughter died down again and he sighed. "Best joke of the week and no one around to hear it."

He looked up when Ramla called his name. Frowning he closed his book and got up, making his way towards her as he followed her gaze. Indeed…What is this pink thing? "Well, let's not take any chances." His amethyst eyes began to glow as he summoned his powers to manipulate the shadows spread about the garden, rising them up to form several tendrils to try and snatch the pink blot.

But Ramla stopped him just as he was about to strike. When the enchanted bark fell Nihr quickly caught it. Flipping it a couple of times, an invitation card?! What a nice surprise he thought. "I wonder who it's from?" He said to her as he restored the shadows, his eyes no longer glowing. He briefly glanced over at Ramla and noticed the glum look on her face. The mood swing can't be because of the child, she's over her barren self as far as he knew. That name though…

"Wait…" He said with a smile as he looked back and forth between the card and her. "Is this who i think it is?" The pair argued over it but in the end Nihr felt ecstatic over the fact that he'll get the meet the woman that gets Ramla's panties all in a wad! Creeping behind her, letting his tendrils manifest from his body as he gently wrapped them around her body, caressing her soothingly. With a smirk he lowered his head to her ear and whispered, "It's mom~…" He didn't got the chance to laugh cause she flung him across the garden, like she usually does when he pisses her off once too often. He didn't mind, in his twisted mind anger made her all the more beautiful.

"It's mom! Hah!" He shouted while laughing as he picked himself up. "We're going! Pack your bags!" With that he turned on heel and went inside to pick an outfit. He was not going to miss this. Wait…a gift! They need to bring a gift, can't come empty-handed. "I'll be right back!" he yelled from the house as he portal-ed out to the city to buy a toy.

**************

Nihr was wearing a Kurayo styled suit, red shirt with a black vest over it and black matching pants. His snow white hair pulled back in a pony tail with a small metal band to tie it. Coming out of the house he waved the toy at Ramla. Without stopping he opened the portal that would lead to Angela's realm, remembering the tales that Holly once told them about the Sundering Gardens.

Nihr was ooing and aaaing over the temple and the ballroom. So this is the home of a god? Not bad he nodded to himself, but needs more black if it were up to him. Nothing will beat home… he was eager to meet the goddess, just to get a chance to tease Ramla again. So after he bowed before the queen he introduced himself before Ramla got the chance to. "Pleased to meet you, Mom. Nihr-Th'tep-Ar is the name or Count Solomon Blaque of Koschei Isle. Which ever is fine." he blurted out before taking out the stuffed dog toy and handing it to Drae. "So where is it?…Ah!" He said before spotting the child and leaned in to observe it…

How boring….? He began to frown with the baby didn't do much other than just being bundled up. he gently picked Rohan up, remembering how fragile mini-humans are. Holding the child up for a while, awkwardly so in silence. Waiting for something to happen. Then he looked at Drae, "Does it do anything?" In his opinion if it was weak then it should be dead…But he also understood that it wasn't up to him to decide that so he handed the child back. Turning around he headed straight for the snacks. He grew a fondness for human food. although it didn't sustain him or Ramla one bit, it was still tasty.

The predator in him quickly spotted a pretty lady, probably related to Angela and approached her with the most charming smile he can muster. "Hi there."

When he had found out that Angela had intended to throw a ball to celebrate Rohan's birth, Adraejen had found himself wondering if his love had lost her mind. She had just finished carrying their son and had barely rested a couple of days to recover and now she wanted to invite complete and total strangers to come and oogle their newborn son? The warlock felt this freshly honed 'daddy senses' go off the walls. Now, he knew that real life wasn't a fairy tale, but WAAAAAAAAY too many stories began with the birth celebration of royal children and ended with the party being ruined by a curse being placed on the child. Way too many for his comfort anyhow. He of course, reminded himself that their son was in possibly one of the safest places to be, in the Temple of Earth, and his Mother could find any being living as long as they touched the soil in some way. It reassured the half-elf quite a bit, though he still thought the party was a bit too soon. 

He didn't argue with Angela, as he knew there would be little to no point. He figured that she had probably done this sort of thing with all of her more recent children, and it had probably become some sort of tradition. Frankly, he would have rather they just made it a small friend and family affair, but Angela was a goddess. Somehow, Drae figured it was probably expected for her to throw this kind of party. 

Stuffing his social anxieties, Drae made himself presentable, trimming his ever growing raven hair (it was becoming an almost weekly thing now) and made sure that his facial hair was cleanly shaved away. He found a matching coat and vest in the peacock hues that Angela would be wearing laid out for him on their bed after he was done grooming and dressed quickly before he slicked his hair back and tied it so it was up partially and out of his eyes. He surveyed himself in the mirror and decided he did look rather dashing before he went on to the ballroom that Angela had created. 

"I still think this is a bad idea," he voiced with a half laugh as he joined Angela as the guests began to arrive. Soon there was merriment all around them as guests came and offered their congratulations and looked upon their young son. 

Among the guests, as they came to greet them, Drae recognized the young woman they had met briefly in Abed during the Festival of Colors, the strange eldritch woman who traveled with Holly, Aisling and Ash. The warlock did not know her companion, but they came bearing a gift for Rohan, though it had not been required. Drae watched as the pale blond man looked over Rohan expectantly, and even ventured to pick up the infant. The warlock's hand clenched briefly, in concern, before a slightly sarcastic look came over his face as Nihr asked if the baby did anything. 

"Well, HE likes to fly around the room when he thinks no one is looking," he said, trying to keep a straight face, though his tone was heavily laced with sarcasm. His point seemed to be taken when Rohan was handed back to Drae, along with the plush dog that they had brought for the baby. 

"You're companion is a charmer, Ramla," he said as he took the woman's hand and kissed the back of it. "I do trust you are doing well," he said pleasantly. 

Dalanesca found herself standing before her bureau, completely at a loss.  She had received an invitation to a gathering from one of her fellow Triune goddesses, Angela, and it was a gathering that she most certainly could not miss.  Angela had given birth to her newest child, a boy by the name of Rohan - and the goddess had previously requested that Dalanesca take on the role of godmother of the child.   Dalanesca had, of course, been more than happy to accept Angela’s offer, which also involved Marth becoming the child’s godfather.  Unfortunately, Marth was otherwise busy at the moment with a few major events that were happening at the Blinded Scales, and Dalanesca knew that he needed to stay and attend to such situations.  She also knew that Angela would be disappointed in Marth’s absence but would understand nevertheless - the pair would would not make a habit of making themselves sparse around the Sundering Gardens, specifically given Dalanesca’s new status as Triune.

The goddess frowned as she stared at the contents of her bureau.  Nearly all of her clothing was more tactical than formal.  With a sigh, she pushed a few things to the side and decided on something.  The garment she pulled out was a full length gown of white velvet, with black lace trimmings and black corsetting.  A large hood fell to the back, an accessory that she favored in most of her garments.  She decided that this would do, and pulled it out, taking the next few minutes to slip into it.  She tied her hair back in an intricate braid, pulled the hood up, and set off to Angela’s realm.

When she appeared in Angela’s realm, she was not far from where Angela sat with Rohan, and a smile crossed her face immediately.  It seemed that the goddess was busy with other visitors, and Dalanesca managed to hang back a bit, waiting for her opportunity to speak with her friend, as well as meet her godson for the first time.  As soon as it seemed that the Goddess was free, Dalanesca swept over to her and Drae, the smile unable to fade from her lips.

“There he is,” she said softly, incapable of removing her stare from Rohan.  She had never been a huge fan of infants, but perhaps it was her connection to Angela that gave her such a warm feeling towards this little one.  With an asking glance to Drae, she reached out to take the baby, eventually cradling him closely to her.  “Sweet, sweet, little Rohan,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.  She realized as she held Rohan that it was not only her connection to Angela that put her at peace with the babe, but also the stability of her relationship with Marth.  She could actually see herself raising a family with her companion - her soon to be husband.

She finally tore her eyes away from Rohan and looked to Angela.  “He’s absolutely beautiful, Angela,” she said, the truth shining in her eyes.  “How are you feeling?” she asked, and reluctantly handed the child back to one of its parents.

Ramla was met with a smile. “We were practically begging him to get out. He was stubborn though.” The goddess chuckled softly as green eyes went to her babe. Nihr was an interesting one but in her realm Rohan was safe. “Yes! I was ecstatic to see how much he looks like Drae. The dark hair looks wonderful on him.”

Angela bowed her head to Nihr and laughed at his mannerisms. He was certainly interesting. “Nihr lives up to what Holly has told me. You’ll have to forgive me for not keeping in touch. We are very busy around the temple this time of the year.” She gave Nihr a smile as he prodded the baby to do something. “He sings if he isn’t fussing. It’s rather wonderful.”

Rohan fussed gently at Dalanesca but he wasn’t completely upset with her as he calmed down and opened his big green and red eyes at him. “Thank you, I think we did a wonderful job.” Angela chuckled a bit and shook her head. “If you would have asked me right after I birthed him, I would have said tired, keep Iva out, and Voice have mercy on me. Rohan wasn’t too pleased with being kicked out of the womb.” 

–

Iva got ready as she put on one of the best dresses she had. It was gold and looked much like something the fey of Feeorin would weave together. Her red curls were pulled back into an updo that one of the clergy members had done. Winston even looked his best with a gold ribbon around his neck. Today visitors would be coming to see her new baby brother and she would be there to monitor and protect!

She kicked her slippers off, silk and fine, but she didn’t want them as she picked up Winston and ran out of her room. “HOLD EVERYTHING!” Iva burst into the ballroom as her voice boomed. “SINGLE FILE LINE! NO SMELLING. NO EATING. NO LICKING THE BABY.” Iva dragged her giant teddy bear over as her eyes went from Nihr to Ramla… and finally to Dalanesca. “AUNTIE DAL!”

She ran over and wanted to scale the woman but decided against it. “He smells funny don’t he?” She held the rather large teddy bear to her as she stared up to the new Triune Goddess. “He makes funny faces when he poops.”

“You did that too Iva.”

“That’s gross mama don’t go telling everyone that. That’s embarrassing.” Iva’s words left her mother laughing as She got on her tippy toes to look at Rohan. “I heard people saying he’s so cute they could eat him. Auntie Dal don’t let them eat the baby!”

Believe it or not but this was an improvement for Nihr. Ramla remembered the first time he met a baby, it was like trying to keep a starving dog from the Christmas Ham. ~ It's like a crunchy marshmallow ~ he would say. 

Chuckling when Angela spoke of the labor. A healthy child then, she thought to herself. She turned to Drae then, smiling when he kissed her hand. Nodding slowly as her smiled turned more forced, "Nihr is a…acquired taste. I doubt Revaliir will ever get used to him." She looked back to Angela, shaking her head and waving her hand at the comment about not staying in touch. "It's quite alright, Holly kept us company every now and then. And we've been quite busy ourselves actually. We're finally completely settled in Koschei Isle. A mansion at the edge of the forest, very serene."

Ramla shook her head when Nihr lost interest in the child and made a bee-line for the hors d'oeuvres while harassing any female in the room. She turned her attention back to the little (not so little) divine family, gently stroking the child's hair.  She didn't look back when she heard a yelp and some disgruntled voices behind her. "I better get back to Nihr, excuse me." She had just about turned to join Nihr when Iva blocked her way and started to take over the platform with Winston. Ramla chuckled and patted the girl on the head before giving Dalanesca a nod in greeting. Giving the deities some privacy.

Nihr waved his hand at the girl to leave, looking displeased about his luck tonight. When Ramla approached him he gently looped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him to speak in her ear in a low voice. "Did you tell everyone here about me? Like bad things or something?" Ramla frowned and pondered, she said plenty of things about him to a lot of people. But with her goldfish brain, who knows? "I only babysat one of her children, not her entire clutch. Must've been Holly then."

Nihr listened and nodded slowly, relaxing a bit. "Hence the looks of disgust and pity I'm getting….Singing babe though? That's weird, right?" he wondered while Ramla chuckled, "Meh, the Greeks had a daughter that was born from sea foam…She's a deity, anything is possible. But in general, yes, it's odd." She said as she picked up a snack from Nihr's recently claimed plate and munched on it. 

"Sounds like you have been gotten set up quite nicely, though admittedly, I would not call Koschei serene," Drae chuckled. "But if it suits your fancy, I am glad that you have gotten settled," Drae smiled. "We are happy you could come," he added. He watched as Ramla rubbed Rohan's head, and blatantly ignored the fact that Nihr had clearly upset one of the female guests. Drae looked over Ramla's shoulder with a raised eyebrow and chuckled. "You are probably right. The world might not ever be ready for him," he said softly. "Good luck, Ramla."

Drae watched as Ramla scurried off to run interference on Nihr and smiled brightly when Dalanesca approached. He bowed respectfully to the Triune godess as she came and greeted them. "So glad you could make it, Dalanesca. I have to say, you look ravishing tonight," he said laying on the charm a bit, and happily passed Rohan to his godmother. He fussed slightly, but nothing to cause any alarm. If anything he was getting a bit annoyed with being passed around from person to person, but he calmed down quickly enough, and even smiled up at his godmother, like he knew that she would always be there to look after him, and he looked up at her with his big eyes. He took the infant back as Dalanesca and Angela continued to speak, when the room all but froze when Iva swept in, shouting her demands, with Winston in tow as he ever was. 

He had a hard time keeping from laughing as Iva demanded that no one lick or eat Rohan. 

"Iva, no one is really going to eat him," he chuckled. "It's a figure of speech. It just means that he is cute," he reassured her. "I can guarantee that people probably said the same thing about you," he said. "I see you decided to let the clergy dress you. You look lovely, little Imp!"