When he found out they were going to have a little girl soon, Cyril couldn't sleep. Even the easy to doze off half-fey found it hard to close his eyes when thoughts were racing in his head. He and Sapphire had gotten married, and had been living with her mother in Arri. The room they shared had the Eternity Rose he had braved the scorching sands of the Harena for in order to propose, and it was proudly displayed where they could see it every morning. It was a few months after the special day to remember, and Sapphire was having cravings for certain foods. It was then that her latest one was a rare type of fruit which came from Parvpora, and could be found in the forests around Jasumin Lake. Without delay, he went to ask his mother and Sapphire's if they could take a trip to the lake. While there wasn't any doubt that Lady Angela would say yes, his mother always erred on the side of caution. The thought of her pregnant daughter-in-law leaving the safe confines of the Rose Courts sent Shiloh into overdrive, and she sat them down before drilling into them various safety protocols when traveling in the wilderness.

"Now remember to stay away from the cities and stay within sight of the lake. Cities are where thieves and robbers are, and outskirts have bandits. When you're in the wild, you don't need to guess if a bear is trying to eat you. And if it does, then if you fight back it's considered justified self-defense–" Soon Lady Angela was dragging his mother away by the leg, while she still continued telling them how to intimidate a wild animal into leaving. "REMEMBER TO USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM!" She shouted before she disappeared from their sight.

Since they had permission, Belen opened a portal for them to go through so Sapphire didn't have to walk too much. "We'll be back before tonight!" The silver-haired boy said, waving to his twin before the portal closed. Jasumin was one of his favorite places. When the gazebo was empty, you could stash your things there, then lay on your back and watch the clouds go by. It was a good place for an afternoon nap because it was always Venti–not too hot and not too cold. Lys always fussed over him when he did though, telling him to wear a hat or he'd catch a cold. Stretching his arms out, Cyril looked at the golden fields and trees around the lake with a big smile. "The weather's good today! When you're big enough, you can come with Papa and Mama to see the lily pads too, Neomi." He said, lowering himself to talk to the baby. 

There was a lot of excitement buzzing around the Rose household. Babies were very much welcomed in Sularia and celebrated. Her mother was particularly excited. Shiloh and Angela had gone out of their way to decorate for their wedding and it had been a fantasy. So, when Angela discovered that Sapphire was pregnant there was much joy and also panic on Shiloh’s end. Immediately the protective goddess began to set up security measures to ensure her first grandchild would be protected and Angela didn’t bother to stop her.

The idea originally had been that they could go to the Iria market and get the fruit she wanted but ever since they found out: Shiloh had strictly been against the ideas of her being in other cities. It was fine to Sapphire because she considered Shiloh’s maternal instincts and her paranoia as a good thing. All Shiloh wanted to do was protect her and Cyril’s daughter whom they had named Neomi.

Now, Sapphire loved her mother in law and was very patient so she dealt with Shiloh with grace. Sapphire let Shiloh have the run of things if only to soothe he, that and she was so timid she wouldn’t know how to say no even if it bothered her. If it made Shiloh happy then it wasn’t a problem at all. Angela knew that Shiloh was good-hearted and that’s why Angela let her have her moment. When Angela thought Shiloh did enough the goddess grabbed her best friend and dragged her away by force. “Come on, we have work to do Grandma.” There was a smirk as Angela waved the children off.

Sapphire took a deep sigh of relief and looked up at Cyril, “Let’s have a good trip!” Getting up off the chair was still easy for her but it was easy to tell she was pregnant now even in the loose dress she had. She had precious cargo and knew that Cyril was either too excited and/or worried about everything. Sapphire wrapped her shawl around herself knowing that the Venti air was just a bit chilly for her.

Once through the portal, Sapphire took a big breath of air before smirking down at Cyril who was talking to Neomi. “She kicked back at her. She really does love your voice, Cyril. She must know who you are already.” Sapphire gently took his hands and placed them to her belly with a smile. “Feel her doing acrobatics? I think you excited her… but she keeps kicking me in my bladder…” The smile disappeared for a moment before she let out a laugh.

“A walk is good for us! She’s never experienced Venti before and all she knows is the desert air. This will be good for all of us!” Taking her husband’s hand she led the walk looking around and wondering just what the day would bring them.

It was a beautiful day out in Jasmuin lake, it was a little chilly, but the sky was clear and blue, birds were chirping, the water was beautiful and crystal clear.  Among the scenery, there was a large boulder, a bit bigger in size than a human, just sitting there near the path.

Huh?  One, two, no– three people, one of them is familiar.  I recognize one of them.  Hmmm . . . time to play a game perhaps.

The boulder was a dark grey color, igneous appearing in nature.  It was out of place in this forest.  But maybe they wouldn't notice it was there, or take mind to it.

They were just about to take notice after this though . . .

"Hey.  Hey!  Hey you!  Both of you!  The girl and guy!"  A gravely voice spoke to them, clearly coming from the rock, but the rock had no face, or opening to speak with.

"Come here!  Wanna here a joke?"  This was gonna be good.  "Did you hear the one about the geologist?  He took his wife for granite so she left him!  Hah!  I got another one!  Okay, okay, what did the boy volcano say to the girl volcano?  I lava you!"  The rock shook with laughter, as if it was alive.  "Oh!  How about this one: what happens when someone throws a rock at you?  You hit ROCKS' BOTTOM!  Oh!  What do you do with a dead geologist?  You barium!  Wanna hear the one about the mountain?  Eh, you won't get over it!"  The boulder continued to shake and rattle as the voice coming from it laughed.  He wondered how they'd react to a joke telling rock.

Cyril was doing his very best to find the fruit Sapphire wanted. With the single-minded determination the boy was famous for, he was searching high and low for any sign of what his wife was craving. This meant that naturally, Cyril overlooked the conspicuous boulder which didn't fit in with the rest of the landscape. Out of thin air, there was a voice calling to them. The silver haired boy looked around, confused. He didn't see anyone. Was it somebody very small? "I think somebody is trying to talk to us?" He looked at Sapphire with a puzzled face. Following the safety procedures his mother had drilled into him, he motioned for her to stay behind him as he went towards where the voice came from. Finally he was at the source, and the half-fey's eyes widened in wonder at this magical rock that was also sentient. 

Leaning close to it, he gently poked the talking boulder. "Are you a forest spirit?" He asked, clearly excited. "I've never met an earth-attuned forest spirit before! At least not one that looked like a rock!" As a folklorist he immediately assumed magical creatures were  the cause of any sort of mysterious phenomena. Learning about them was his favorite pastime, along with watching Sapphire work on her studies. This particular being didn't seem to have any bad intentions, so he waved for Sapphire to come over since it was safe. This was the first time he had encountered something like this in Jasumin. When they went back home, he would tell his older brother all about this.