Naveen

Maleen:

“He’s already coming,” I said. Samuel and a few others. There was enough commotion from the event that it hadn’t gone unnoticed by the camp. Samuel arrived a moment later holding a torch. A few others were behind him. The two wood nymphs were close by but hidden in shadows. Dorian attempted to stand when they arrived, albeit a little dizzy. Rina was still leaning against me tremoring.

“What is going on?” Samuel demanded.

"Your Dhampir attacked Dorian and Rina. The former knocked unconcious, the latter by trying to drink her blood." I leveled my gaze at the man. "You assured me he wouldn't be a problem. That he shouldn't be minded. Yet here we are."

I felt Draven stir beneath me. I wasn't nearly heavy enough that this was bad for him. But I was certainly heavy enough for it to be uncomfortable.

Rina:

I was aware that there was a growing circle of people around us. I shifted then stood up. I didn’t want to appear weak even though I was still quite shaken.

“He has never done such a thing before,” Samuel answered guardedly. “Draven, what is the meaning of this?”

He squirmed under Talon. “Something isn’t right about her,” he hissed, “she has demon blood!”

Talon:

I looked down at Draven, "You'd try drinking demon blood? I can't think of even the most brazen of Vampires who would attempt such a thing." Narrowing my eyes I brought the blade closer, forcing him to lean his neck away lest it slice further into his skin.

"What right do you have in attacking unprovoked two of your allies Draven?" I demanded softly. Knowing about the demon blood was a shock, and I tried to think of a way to explain it. Rina had to be protected.

Rina:

“She’s not normal. She’s not human. She called me.” I stared at him as he hissed this. What he said didn’t make sense to me. Did I have demon blood? Was I not human anymore? Had I been changed by the curse that much? Furthermore, what did that mean for my child if it was true? I was speechless and stone still.

My eyes narrowed. "I have better hearing than anyone here. She was with me all night, and the single moment she wasn't she wasn't far enough away that I couldn't hear her." I raised my eyes up to Samuel. "I'm still waiting for proof that he is as you said, taken care of. How can you prove the safety of those around him?"

Rina:

“Father! She’s-” he started again but Samuel cut him off. “Enough Draven!” He looked Talon in the face. “I’ll banish him. He can never return to this camp again or speak to any of our members. Under penalty of death.”

I looked up to meet Talon’s gaze, but he wasn’t looking at me. I was ready for this to be over with. I was tired, my body exhausted from fear. I wanted nothing more than to be held in Talon’s arms.

I grit my teeth after Samuel's decision before looking down at Draven. I wanted him gone. Dead. IT would be so easy to finish the job right now. But I drew in a deep breath and stood up. Yanking the sword out of the dirt I stepped away.

If I had been myself I would have ended the Dhampir where he stood. But too long had I been Talon. For too long had I been a Lord. Samuel's choice wasn't one I would have agreed with, but it was one I understood. I gazed out into the forest, ignoring the murmurs and steps as the camp returned to normalcy.

Rina:

Samuel took the Dhampir away and the rest of the camp gathered around us dispersed. I went to Talon and pressed my face into his chest while winding my arms around him. A shudder passed through me once I held onto him, thinking about what could have happened if he hadn’t come so quickly.

I wound one arm around Rina, holding her close. When that shudder passed through her I turned my attention down towards her. I lacked a belt or anything to really hold onto my sword but a careful placement against a nearby rack of weapons and I was able to bundle her up in a tight hug. "Come on. Let's get back to the tent." I murmured in her ear. Without waiting for a response or permission I picked her up, carrying her until I could gently lay her down in the tent.

Rina:

I didn’t complain when he picked me up, I just held on tighter. When we got back to the tent I curled up with him, too shaken still to say anything. I could feel the urge to cry bubbling up, but I held it back. I wasn’t one to cry lightly. I had only been so emotional before after I had come back from dying. I was very much alive now.

Looking at her face I could see the raw emotion on her face, more than I usually saw with her. "It's going to be okay Rina." I murmured softly. Shifting down I pressed my lips against hers for a soft kiss, repeating it a couple of times before I drew back to run my hand over her cheek.

"Rina?" I asked softly, "Would you mind going to my people? Soon. I want to make sure you are safe..."

Rina:

I nodded in agreement. If he had wanted to go sooner before this happened, I would have resisted. There was still much to do. But now I was rattled and still scared. If it wasn’t the dhampir trying to attack me it would be something else. I could only go so long without drawing danger. Out here in the open there was more chances for something to go wrong. If it was just my safety, I wouldn’t have been so scared. But this was a matter of our child. I couldn’t risk that.

In the next few days we were busy making arrangements to leave camp and travel to Talon’s home. I worked with Samuel to set plans for the future while we were gone. I told him that Talon and I had to see to some matters with his people and that we would recruit others while we were away. I still didn’t want people to know that I was pregnant. It was a safety precaution.

And we had to make plans to go up the mountain. It would take a couple days of travel to get there. I was apprehensive about this part. On a normal day it was dangerous to travel through the mist. But I was a shining target for monsters. It was a near certainty that our party would be attacked.

Talon:

While she prepared her end of things for our trip, I made plans of my own.  I sent a runner along to pass the message for Calan to prepare his end of the circle, and for a group of warriors to see us up the mountain.  I only gave them the warning that this would be a difficult trip and to be prepared.

I also took the time to speak to my warriors who would remain here, asking them to elect a leader and a sub leader.  I approved of their choices and explained to them all about the trip back as well as the need for them to remain and do what they could to help out.

With everything mostly worked out on my end I packed up our things as best I could and spent my spare time with Rina and Maleen until it was time to go.

Rina:

Maleen wanted to come with us to the bas of the mountain, but I insisted we said our goodbyes at the camp. It was safer for her that way. Before we left she did preform several rituals to protect us from harm. She didn’t think it would be enough to override my curse, but it might be enough to neutralize it for a short period of time.

When we said goodbye she hugged us both several times with tears in her eyes. I couldn’t deny I was sad to be parted from her again. My life was better when she was around.

Talon:

After a tearful goodbye Maleen stepped back and activated her half of the magic portal. In the span of a breath we were through and it closed up behind us.

"Welcome back Rina." Calan's soft voice drifted up from the floor as he picked himself up from a kneeling position and dusted off his hands. Across his skin, runes danced and flashed, sinking and rising without any pattern. Rolling down his sleeves the marks were hidden from view before I went over and embraced him. "I hope my Lord hasn't given you too much trouble." A smile played about his lips as I snorted and stepped back.

"I've been on my best behavior. I always am."

Rina:

"I don't know about always," I said, flashing a smile to Talon then smiling warmly at Calan. I held onto Talon's arm and looked around. I was a bit nervous to be among his people. I had been here before, but it was with a group of people, I wasn't the center of attention. Now they had reason to pay attention to me and watch me.

Smiling down at Rina I set my hand atop hers on my arm giving them a gentle squeeze. Looking towards Calan I could see for a moment his raised eyebrow. "How are the people Calan?"

"Good. News travels fast, but people are curious about Rina. Speaking of which, we've prepared things for her arrival."

Nodding I looked at Rina again. I could picture a few things she'd not have fun with, but this was something that would just have to happen. "Are you hungry?" I asked her softly.

Rina:

“A bit hungry,” I said. The nausea had passed some weeks ago but for a moment my stomach turned at the thought of eating with the rest of the elves. I was brave when faced with monsters, but people and social politeness were a different matter. There was a reason I had always gone of on individual missions.

I wanted to do things the right way. I wanted Talon’s people to like me, or at least tolerate me. I was prepared to do what they wanted me to do, because I didn’t know how to do it on my own. Children and childbearing was not included in the education my father had given me. I had no experience. I didn’t even have experience being around mothers.

I nodded. “Calan think we could get a light meal? In my garden.” There were things Rina and I needed to talk about. And it would go better I knew if we were alone. With Calan nodding and heading off I lead the way towards my rooms. I paused only long enough to leave my armor and weapons behind before I lead the way to a small wooden table and chairs.

Looking off towards the other end of the garden I smiled faintly. “The last time we were here I was rather drunk...and yet I remember an amazing night.”

Rina:

I was grateful not to be plunged into the deep end and to just be alone with Talon. My shoulders relaxed some as he lead me away. I chuckled softly at his words as I looked around the garden. “I wasn’t exactly sober either. Though afterwards I told myself that I had been more drunk than I was. But I rather enjoyed myself all the same.” I smirked.

"I'm sure it was a rather...enlightening moment for us both. And pleasing in so many different ways." I winked at her then settled across from her. I took several moments to admire her face, tracing the lines and features.

The desire to kiss her filled me but I let it pass for now. There would be time for that certainly, but things had to happen first. "I should explain some things to you. Things about my culture, my people, and why we do some of what we do."

Rina:

I reached to hold his hand over the table and nodded. If there had been more time these past few days I would have asked, then. I knew very little about the customs of his people other than what he had told me in the past and what had directly related to him. I didn’t exactly know what I would be required to do.

There was so much to tell her, so many questions I could imagine she'd ask. But I had to start somewhere. Long ago I'd explained to her that children were rare for us. That the birth of a child was cause for a celebration. As such we'd created a custom around raising children as a community. The parents were involved as much of a degree as they wanted but many faucets of a child's life was given over to caretakers and nannies.

I talked about where she might have to stay, about attendants, about rules, freedoms, places to explore. Even when we had gotten our meal I talked through out. Trying to answer questions as she had them while also continuing on with bits of everything. It would be impossible to teach her everything and explain it all in one day, but I tried my best.

Rina:

I tried to let him talk and not ask too many until he paused. The biggest surprise in what he told me was that is was it was customary for pregnant women to have their own quarters, separate from their mates. I wasn’t looking forward to spending nights without him. We hadn’t even had to do that within the human camp for months. But I had promised to agree with their customs. I got a little quiet after he said that, focusing on my meal.