Partner

Yes.

I've wondered for a good long while the outcome of this. I know the before, but perhaps like Mik will be in the next post, I can't make up my mind as to which I'd prefer.

Sidhe can have children up to two months early with no ill effects. Meaning, a child could be born two months early and be fully formed, if it occurs naturally. To bring on labour through any means is dangerous for mother and child, as it likely is for humans, but also more often than not results in the death of the child, no matter the medical staff available.

Which delights some.

Which gives me about a month before Jay's time line comes up and ... we all find out what his big fuss is about.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




They had decided that there was nothing more that could be done. That Essuan would do as Essuan did and no one would really be able to stop the Sidhe from doing as she pleased. They all decided that healers were not pacifists amongst Sidhe and that it would be best to stay on her good side.

As if that were a revelation. Mik and Paw returned to the apartment, Paw in a bit of a mood and Mik exhausted. Lillow and Taln came in behind them. Taln was in much the mood as Paw, given that the young man had received a lecture about controlling his Sidhe. To which the other higher partners had snarled back that the object of the program was not to control a Sidhe.

“How long until Essuan gives birth?” Mik asked Paw.

Paw looked worried for a moment, then responded, “no-know. Essuan supposed to have few weeks left.”

“Supposed to?” Mik asked Paw.

“Going to bed,” Taln responded, “have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Night,” Mik, Paw and Lillow all said as one.

Lillow drifted into the kitchen. Mik and Paw curled up on the couch, in each others’ arms. Paw read out loud from the Blood Bible and Mik learned a bit about Illuva, while he felt like he learned nothing at all. Or Illuva wasn’t meant to be understood.

“What she the goddess of?” Mik asked.

“Order,” Paw murmured, “or something like that. De is god of chaos and she is the opposite of De, though some have suggested that Illuva is more chaotic than her mate is, that only a woman could be truly chaotic. De, on the other hand, is said to be the opposite of chaotic.”

“Paw. I’m asking you what they are, now what others believe.”

“Sometimes it is important to know how others see an object, before one can figure out what one thinks on the matter.”

“What do you think about Illuva and De?” Mik asked Paw, caressing the Sidhe’s jaw line.

Paw smiled just slightly, “Illuva is goddess of Sidhe. De protects us because he is mated to Illuva, or so he says. But I suspect he protects us for more than that reason, for more than the fact that his mate and his grandmother have both been protectors of the Sidhe. I think he envies us.”

“Envies you?”

“Yes. People are confined by rules and regulations and rights and beliefs. Sidhe are not confined by such. We can couple with who we please, we can be who we want, we can go wherever we want.”

“But De is chaotic, so he does as he pleases.”

“But by being mated to Illuva, De is completely confined by rules. Bedding Illuva is not like bedding a Sidhe, or a people. It is not like coupling with a god or a spirit. There are strict rules and regulations and such and…” Paw made a hand motion, “Sometimes I pity Illuva.”

“Why?”

“According to myth, she’s only gone to bed with De once,” Paw murmured, “to not know the constant pleasure of a man?”

As Paw spoke, he drew Mik’s head upward, leaned closer to the man.

“Most people on the world don’t know the constant pleasure of a man, doesn’t know the real touch of a man,” Mik murmured into Paw’s lips.

Paw’s eyes were on Mik’s lips as he spoke, “mortals are not gods. Going eternity without,” fingers grazing over Mik’s jaw, “to not be able to kiss your mate and know his taste is his taste. How cold her nights must be.”

Their lips met. Their eyes closed. The fingers that had grazed Mik’s jaw hovered there, not quite touching him. Mik’s hands slid up Paw’s chest and clasped the Sidhe’s shoulders lightly. It was innocent.

“Lehahhha,” Lillow flew through the living room, screeching as she rushed up the stairs.

Paw broke off the kiss and glanced up the steps before frowning at Mik as if wondering what they had been doing. Mik was the one who cocked his head to the side and registered what Lillow had said.

“Baby,” Mik said, startled, leaping over the back of the couch and moving to the stairwell to look upward, “whose baby?”

“Essuan!” Lillow thumped down the stairs, grasping several stems in one hand, “flower isn’t dried yet, she needs it dried before baby is born. So she can take it when baby is born. People can dry things, yes? Mik dry it.”

“Mari will find the flower and stick it in a dehydrator for us, but if the baby is born in the next hour, that’s not exactly going to help,” Mik said to Lillow, “where’s the flower?”

“On Essuan’s kitchen table. We’re heading there. Now.”

“Wass all the-” Taln’s head poked out the bedroom door, hair mussed up from his few hours of sleep.

“Baby!” Lillow rushed out of the apartment.

Mik turned to Paw. The Sidhe was still sitting on the couch, staring at nothing in particular. The man moved to Paw’s side.

“Hey, Paw, come on now,” Mik murmured, “Essuan’s giving birth.”

“Miiiiik…” Paw’s voice squeaked out, “lehahhha not mean baby.”

“So. What’s it matter?” Mik gave Paw’s arm a bit of a tug, “come on, it’s time, no matter what it is, she’s giving birth.”

“Yes. But. But,” Paw panted out, “Mik…”

“What? What is it then?”

“Leha mean baby. Lehahhhha mean babies,” Paw squeaked, “Essuan having more than one.”

“And what does that mean to us?”

“Nothing,” Souse snarled, striding into the living room, “what the hells are you two still doing here, Paw, get up. It is time to attend the birthing. Let’s go.”

“But-” Paw’s hand worked round and round, “is said… if two…”

If two… Mik’s mind did a stumble, but he thought he got the idea. If there were two, it was entirely possible that the Sidhe, like Mik’s mother’s village, separated the twins to raise them. It was a tradition that many places had.

Souse grabbed Paw by the scruff of the neck, “how often two live? Not often, move ass. Essuan asking for you.”



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