Having someone who was not Simone in the resonance was….odd. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but it wasn’t comfortable either. The thoughts, feelings, hopes, and aspirations of Dala flooded the resonance at once, and Lewis recoiled a bit, wincing. This was…normal. Yes. Normal. He eased back into the center of it all, and sighed.

Of course you two would be like this… His calm, dead emotion spread through the resonance like a giant wet blanket, dampening everything. While not wholly unpleasant, the sensation was definitely intense. It was almost as if he were ‘muting’ everything around him.

When the noise stops, something is wrong, Lewis said, in response to Dala mentioning their panic when separated. It’s hard to explain otherwise. You get used to it. The comfort…the ebb and flow of it all. The give and the take… Speaking of give and take, there was something that Lewis felt from Dala…but now was not the time to explore feelings and hidden thoughts.

Besides…Lewis had more than enough with Simone. Dala could keep her private thoughts.

“Well? What next?” Lewis asked aloud. His real voice was so different from his resonance voice. It was as if the spoken words held a heavier weight than those in the mental world. “Are we going to just sit here all day?”

“We’re working on it,” Xeik replied hastily. “This isn’t exactly something we can rush…”

Everyone in the resonance felt Lewis’ eyeroll.

It’s fine. We understand. You haven’t dealt with this as long as we have. When it goes silent there’s something wrong. She repeated what Lewis said. Her words were so much warmer than her real voice.

Simone reached over and lightly tapped Lewis’s hand as he eye-rolled. There was laughter in the resonance. I think that eye roll was deeper than the Nylea.

Angela was bringing over a few potions. She mixed a concoction and split it up into two different cups. “We’ll use this as the transfer method. Dala, drink this first.” She handed the first goblet to Dala. She felt something leaving her as the liquid ran down through her. She was quick to lose a shade of color to her skin but Angela’s mixture began to stabilize her instantly.

“What did that do to her?” Simone had felt it in the resonance.

“It’s a transfer of life energy. I stabilized her with mana. She can also pull from you too temporarily if she has to.” Angela was strict as she sat Simone up and let her drink from the second goblet. Warmth filled the resonance from Simone’s end.

Angela’s eyes flickered to the candles around the room as they exploded into a blue flame. “This is a good sign. Breathe Simone.”

Simone sucked in air as she felt the fiery warmth of the new life force enter her. Her abdomen burned causing discomfort for everyone in the resonance. Simone buckled in the bed and Angela held her down so she couldn’t struggle and hurt herself.

“I said to breathe Simone!” Angela said with much more force as Simone finally did as she said. The pain subsided. “There.”

I feel so warm…

“Simone’s normal mana deficiency should be held off by the life energy she will have during the pregnancy. Meanwhile Dala, you’ll have to be careful. Come see Xeik often so we can monitor you until this life energy can be given back.” Angela took another potion and handed it to Dala. “This will end the resonance between the three of you.”

Angela grabbed a chair and pulled it over by Lewis. “Now, Lewis. You have a month to get Simone pregnant. You do know how to get her pregnant right?”

Dala chuckled out loud despite herself at Lewis' eye-roll and Simone's words. She took the first goblet from Angela and drank whatever Angela allowed her to drink. The liquid ran through her and she felt like something was leaving her and a chill ran through her body. Her skin grew a little pale and she was suddenly glad she had chosen to lay down. Dala was quick to make herself think about historical uses of power and other stuff she had researched in the past and knew by heart. She couldn't allow herself to think of anything else.

However, when Simone felt the fiery warmth and the discomfort in her abdomen, it overcame her thoughts. The discomfort and pain were all that she could feel as if it was her own thoughts. Dala carefully breathed in and out when Angela instructed Simone too, slightly confused by the resonance. The pain left and Dala could feel her own thoughts again. The warmth was overwhelming but the feeling sparked joy in her heart as Simone began to feel it.

Finally Simone, er you, I mean you both can have this.

She didn't want to make Lewis feel excluded from the gift, since it was there for him too. Dala focused and listened as Angela instructed her to come and see Xeix so they could monitor her until the life energy could be given back. The young woman took the potion and drank it, feeling her mind break off from the resonance and separate. The tattoo was gone completely and her mind was no longer filled with the thoughts of others.

"Hey Xeix, do you know where an empty bed is so I can take a nap?" She asked, "I'm alright! Just a little drained."

Dala would congratulate Simone later when her head felt less dizzy. It was mild dizziness, but she still felt a little chilled and wanted a nap. Pushing herself to her feet, she gave Simone and Lewis a small smile. Their happiness was perfect. She followed Xeix out to wherever the bed was and let him do whatever checkups or anything else he needed to do. She felt too drained to really say no. Once she found the bed, she flopped on it and went right to sleep.

Xeik's role in the whole process was executed flawlessly. Despite his reservations and objections to the whole plan, he knew that letting that get in the way of the transfer was not an option. When it ended, Dala drank the potion that snapped her link to the Terrowin resonance, and at once he could see the life energies of Dala separate.

"Here," the healer said as he carefully helped the girl up. He did a quick check of her, and everything seemed mostly okay. "Rest would do you well. And a hot meal. I'll have one delivered…and some tea."

The Divine Mender led Dala to her own private room, and helped her into bed, doing another quick check of her life force. "You did well, Dala…" There was a slight pause. "Simone will be very happy."


—

Lewis watched as the two exited the room, and when Angela stated he only had a month to get Simone pregnant, he rolled his eyes again. "Please. As if that's even remotely up for debate."

It was evident that Simone's excitement was affecting his judgement and his tone. "If you would like to move, Lady Angela, I can go ahead and get started on the table over here…" The snark was practically dripping from his voice. Simone was definitely ready to go.

Simone was all starry-eyed watched Lewis once the question had left Angela’s mouth. The want and the desire she had for Lewis normally was amplified by their new task. Their dream of wanting children of their own was finally happening and they weren’t letting anything get in their way. Including but not limited to the pesky Goddess of Love asking snarky questions.

“Oh, fine. I just get to brag that my grandchildren were procreated on my table! Fantastic!” Angela threw of her hands but did a shooing motion at them to do as they pleased.

Who knew how long they were in that room before Heaven opened up. Raile was in his office discussing with Xeik and Rhenakos what would happen once Simone was pregnant. She would be missing the duration of her pregnancy and that meant that… Well, Osiria would have to cover for Simone.

“So they are finally getting their chance? Good for them… Wonder if they would let me watch?” Rhenakos joked.

“I think Lewis would stab you after all the trouble today,” Xeik flagged him down.

The door got slammed open and Lewis was looking at all three of them with a deadpan stare. Simone was thrown over his shoulder and he had bags at his side. “We’re going on a fucking vacation. Watch the kids. We’ll be back in a week.” Picking up the bags Lewis turned around and walked away. Simone was waving at them as the portal opened to god knows where.

“…Did he just?” Raile had large eyes.

“And you all say he doesn’t have a sense of humor,” Xeik chuckled. “Rock, paper, scissors on who has to watch the twins until they get back.”

“Fuck that shit,” Rhenakos threw up his hands. Ultimately, Rhenakos ended up losing.