A Nagas tale

First steps to normalcy

Yuri had come by a few weeks after Kogen got back. He told me that he altered the spell for the rift for him to open it without the need for Don. Today was the day he would open the rift Kogen and I stood a distance away from the rift to protect the girls if the spell breaks. I look at my soon-to-be 3-month-old girls as they make raspberries with their mouths. I watched nervously as Yuri opened the rift. I take a step closer wanting to see if it opened up to the anchor he placed in the other world. "The rift is open!" Hector's voice rings out breaking the silence. I gasp in relief as Yuri turns to me giving me a smug grin. "As you can see Audrey, you are not the only one able to do this." He scoffs. I frown "A thank you Audrey for finding this ancient spell would be nice!" I hiss. He chuckles before Alma rushes out of the rift "Audrey!" she cries holding one of the twins. Hector followed after Alma holding their second child. The rest of the snake tribe quickly rushed back into our world. "I am so glad nothing bad happened!" Alma sobs. "It took so long for you to open the rift back up! what happen..." She stops her question when she looks at me. "Audrey! your aura! what happened to it?" she asks. I smile at her nervously. "I have been unable to recover it since the fight," I explain. Her eyes widen in horror "What!? Why!?" she asks. I know what might have caused this problem but it isn't a solid answer yet. "It's a long story," I answer. She nods "You can tell me later! How did the battle turn out!?" she demands. Her eyes scanned the area. The newly electricity-run town gives her some hint of what happened. "Are we stuck in here forever?" she asks. I shake my head "No, the port city and our village took a lot of damage due to the war." Kogen explains. I nod "So we've been using this city to rest and help the wounded recover." I add. Alma looks at me and then at Astrid. "Oh my gosh! is this the little girl that kept you up?" she asks. I giggle at Alma's scattered conversations. I missed listening to her randomly change conversations like some sort of word vomit parkour. She gasped when Kogen showed her Tabitha who was gleefully sucking on her hand. "Oh my gosh! they are so cute!" she squeaked. "Hi there girls! I'm Aunty Alma!" she introduces herself. I couldn't but giggle at how enthusiastic she was about meeting the girls. Sam and Dan came through the rift to give us any reports they had for us before going back home. That night the men decided to throw a little shindig for a job well done. I did not want Kogen to leave us alone worried about how Tabitha would react. "Audrey, I promise it won't take me long to hunt down a good buck." He begs. I feel bad seeing how much he wanted to go out hunting with the others. I look at Tabitha and Astrid who are asleep tuckered out by the excitement earlier. "W...what if Tabitha throws a fit when she finds you are not here?" I ask. He frowns on the cusp of giving up Yuri walks into the library. "I see you bookworms are still stuck in this dusty old place." he chuckles. Kogen turns to him letting out an unstatisfied groan. "What is it, Yuri?" he asks. "Well I come with gifts I thought you would be more happy to see me." he scoffs. "Gifts?" Kogen asks before he seems to remember something. "Is it what you told me about!?" He asks. Yuri nods "Yes, thankfully I was right there were some lingering threads of Audrey's aura clinging to your broken home." He hands Kogen a small bottle on a necklace made of leather. "Broken home?" I feel my heart sink hearing that. Kogen's smile quickly drops "What does Yuri mean by broken?" I ask. Kogen turns to me as Yuri walks past him "Now then let me see the two children that are making Kogen go gray in the hair." he chuckles. I am a little startled by how soft Yuri's eyes get. "My how healthy these girls are." He chuckles. I can hear a hint of sadness in his voice. "Ah, this reminds me of when Sienna was just a chubby baby." he snickers. "Uncle Yuri brought you two a nice gift." He pulls out two little wooden rattles in the shape of a bear and a Naga. "I'm sure you two will enjoy a new way to make noise for your parents." He chuckles. My initial anger faded while I was listening to him talk with the girls. "Now for the more important gift!" he turns to us. "Kogen, if you would please?" He asks. Kogen carefully puts the bottle over my head before lowering it to my chest. I feel a tickle from my aura in the bottle. He tied the necklace so it would not fall off. I lift the little bottle relishing in my lost aura. My body grew warm in recognition of it "Can I ask how you managed to do this?" Kogen asks. Yuri lifts his eyes from the bottle up to him. "When my wife died, I was left alone to look after Sienna," That sentence caught me so off guard. 'His wife died?' I watch him turn to the girls. "Although my wife had a small amount of aura Sienna grew in her belly knowing the aura very well." he explains. "So naturally once she was born she created a big fuss for me when she could not find her mother's aura." he sighs. "I found remnants of her aura around our home in places she spent a lot of time in or around." He explains. "H... how did she die?" I ask. He looks at me "Aura shock during birth." My heart drops hearing that. "Had I known I could have saved her with a simple aura bond and nursed her aura to a decent strength," he frowns. I look at Kogen wondering if he knew this information. "I had no idea you had a wife." Kogen mutters. Yuri chuckles "We never came to any of the ceremonies complacent with our connect and the city's approval." He sighs "Well, I hope this helps you more with the girls." he gives me a soft smile before walking out of the library. I follow him out with my eyes 'All this time I thought he was just some random asshole.' I feel bad for treating him like some commonplace asshole. I turn to the girls seeing the thoughtful gifts he brought them. 'God damn it.' I curse the guilt I felt for how I've treated him until this point. I walk over to the girls and watch them sleep peacefully. "You can go hunting Kogen, take Yuri with you if you can." I wave Kogen off. He smiles "I'll hunt the biggest buck for you." He chuckles before walking away. I giggle at how excited he looks walking out of my sight. I look at the bottle resting against my chest. 'I hope this helps my aura recover.' I turn to the sleeping girls and lie down for a nap.