Not Alone

Chapter 20: Doing Cartwheels to Annoy Mom

Thankfully, I am not yet at the waddling stage of pregnancy. Unfortunately, I am at the stage where the little curtain climbers are just starting to move around, which is... An odd sensation. Oddness made worse by the fact that when one of the little snots moves, another one will move in the opposite direction or just won't move at all. Decidedly not my favorite way of finding out there is more than one swimming around in there.

Unplugging the clay stopped, a small stream of water flows out of a hollow reed and into a stone basin. Asper's quiet laugh echoes through the room as I cut the tail off of what is soon to be breakfast, the blood flowing down the basin and through a small hole in the bottom, connected to hollow reeds strung together leading outside the wall.

I glance back at my boys lounging around various places in the cave. Asper basking next to the fire, reclining back on his own coils. He is still drowsy from his hibernation, but surprisingly the cave is warm enough that he has been able to wake up every now and then. Silan is leaning against the fur-covered wall, watching amusedly as Dias gestures wildly as he flexes his bullshittery skills in storytelling.

He's been better. There are still moments where he goes quiet. Sad. But our conversation helped, unloaded the choking sense of loss and fear that's been haunting him. A burden shared is much easier to carry, and as I watch Silan shake his head amusedly as Dias entertains them, I am so, so glad he allowed me to help.

The corners of my mouth quirk into a smile as I glance back, briefly setting down the fish in my hands as I call "Don't believe a word outta his mouth! He once tried to convince me that the sky was actually every shade but blue"

Dias shifts on his seat to point a finger at me "And I'm right too! The only color not absorbed by the sky is blue," He continues with a smug grin. "if the sky doesn't absorb blue, that means it cannot actually be blue. Blue just bounces away! So that's the color we see instead!"

I turn around fully, leaning back against the basin as I cross my arms "I just know that that's wrong somehow. Somewhere deep down my instincts are telling me that you're wrong, and I wish I could use Google to prove it"

Asper looks between us, confusion narrowing his silver eyebrows as Silan just sighs and rubs a hand down his face, trying to hide the twitching corner of his mouth.

Dias wiggles his brows at me, green eyes alight with mischief "Speaking of things I'm absolutely right about, have I told you lately that you look fantastic? Pregnancy? Never looked better on anyone. Wearing it like a goddess"

Snorting amusedly, I turn back to cleaning the fish "Considering you were just speaking horrid lies, I'm not sure if I should believe you or not"

I hear a scoff behind me "If I had known earlier how fantabulous pregnancy looked on you earlier... Listen, the lord gave me many things, one of them being a massive di-" The newly separated fish tail whizzes past his head, briefly interrupting him as he ducks "It's half the reason you liked me so much at first! Anyways, I'm just saying that if god didn't want me to bend you over every available surface, he should have made you with some sort of flaw and me less kinky"

I sigh and put the stopper back in the reed, cutting off the water flow. Turning around, I flick my dripping hands in Dias' direction, spraying him with droplets of water.

Asper and Silan share a brief, commiserating glance as Dias yelps at the cold water.

What a dork. It's a good thing I love him.

The quiet smirk drops off my face as a strange sensation ripples through my stomach. I wince as I feel an odd press against my ribs.

Silan pushes off the wall, quickly walking over to my side as he is the first to notice. His large presence hovers at my right, his hands hanging in the air around me, as if unsure where to touch. Dias is quick to stand as well, his voice serious as his eyes dart across my figure "You alright?"