It had been a busy day at the shop, and Raile had already suggested to Leilah and Kalina to go on ahead to bed without him. The weeks after the invasion from the Void had left Revaliir in a state of recovery, and as such it seemed like even the smaller shops were flooded with people for supplies. As he sat in the dimly lit office in the back of the store, he started on the next pile of coin to count and sort. So far he had made enough silver to pay for the store for the next two months, which left him with a surprising surplus to do with whatever he wanted. Several ideas had crossed his mind, but ultimately, he decided on another expedition out for more contracts.

Each coin dropped with small ‘klink’ sound as he counted, whispering each number under his breath. There was a thud behind him as one of the many new items he had acquired fell to the side, and he dropped the pile of coins he was counting, shocked. His memory flashed to the Jasumin Lake, to almost dying. It had been pure luck that the ensuing flood had rescued him. But it had shaken him.

“Damnit.” He sighed, separating out the pile again to recount. These flashes back to the Lake had been happening almost randomly since the attack. He had never been one for fear. At least not the kind that would stop him from taking a leap of faith. However, this was something different. He had truly believed he was going to die, and leave Kalina and Leilah without him. And now that Leilah had declared her pregnancy, a new problem was arising.

They’re going to outlive me. And I’ll have to leave this all to them. He frowned. These string of thoughts were making things difficult to concentrate.

I should just give up for the night. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath to try and clear his senses. When he opened his eyes, he saw an odd thing. A small, red string tied to his heart figner. Lady Angela? While he had met the Goddess once, and ever so briefly, he knew of the ways to travel to her realm. It was not a secret that Leilah nor Kalina really ever hid from him, but he had always assumed it would be…different.

He stood up, walking to the door of his office. When he opened the door, though, instead of his shop, there was a shimmering beach waiting for him on the other side. Without a real thought, he stepped into the realm of Elysia.

The air was much different from Jayou, and immediately Raile could feel the atmosphere was something special. The rainbow beach shimmered as he continued walking and taking in the sights.

But…now what? What do I even say? He wondered of Leilah and Kalina had put her up to this, or if this was all his own doing. “Still…even though I’m here, I don’t know why.”

Leilah came down with a shawl around her shoulders. Her seafoam eyes looked at her love and she held a soft smile. “You should come to bed soon… You’ll go gray if you keep worrying this much.” She came over to him and kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be upstairs.” There was a genuine love for Raile that Leilah had and her sister Kalina also loved him but it wasn’t the same. Both sisters were content with the man they shared but it was Leilah who was giving him a child and Kalina had no interest in starting a family. Something about how was she gonna blacksmith while pregnant? It made Leilah chuckle.

So the sisters left him downstairs to think and think he did until he was being pulled. He found himself on the beach of Elysia. It was a marvel to all who stepped foot into her realm. “There is always a reason for people to wind up here Raile… Troubled minds often speak loudest even if the owner doesn’t know it.”

The goddess was in her night robe as she walked down the beach towards him. Her red hair was braided and she stopped just short of three feet from him as she looked towards the beach. “Leilah’s pregnancy took everyone by storm I take it? Are you happy about it?” Angela wasn’t ashamed that her daughters chose to share this man matter of fact she understood that some people could and did just that.

He fit Kalina’s lifestyle and Leilah fit the other half. It made sense to her at least. “Talk to me, Raile… what is on your mind that could have brought you here?”

Having appeared in Lady Angela’s domain so suddenly, and the sudden questioning had Raile in a bit of a haze as his mind tried to process the series of events that had lead him to this moment. She was speaking so casually to him, as if this were just a normal day in a Goddess’ realm. And, perhaps to her, it was. But to take time out of her duties to speak to him felt a bit…overwhelming to say the least.

Still, when her question was asked, Raile immediately knew the answer. It wasn’t that he had been totally avoiding it, but a deep part of him didn’t want to say it out loud.

“I am…ecstatic,” Raile said with a half smile. “Though I don’t entirely know if I'm ready to be a father. It’s not something that had ever crossed my mind until Leilah broke the news. But…I am decidedly happy.” He paused. “But I’m scared. Compared to many of the races, I’m comparidly…fragile.” He took a breath, finally letting the thoughts flow. “My life is but a blink in a Rosenite’s eyes. Will Leilah and Kalina even remember me? Will the world remember me?” He thought for a moment. “The child…I want to see them grow. And yet…in this invasion from the Void, I almost died. I’m already halfway through my life as it is…”

“I guess,” he said finally. “I guess I’m scared of time.”