Cha'rai's labour was easier than Cadeyrn could have hoped for. The hardest part was making sure the tiny wings didn't get a greenstick fracture as they babies exited the birth canal. One by one, they came out, a boy, a girl, a boy. Moiril stood ready to lend her magic to Cadeyrn but there was no need. "The Skyfolk seem to be well suited to having children," Cadeyrn observed.
Bha'mak was beside himself with joy. Cha'rai was doing well, the three babies were strong and healthy and he was a father. The older Skyfolk children had gathered around so when Bha'mak reported the news there was cheering. A few of them flew off to tell those waiting the good news. Moiril couldn't get over that part. When they arrived and were greeted at sea by flying Skyfolk, she had bawled like a baby. Thugard and Cadeyrn were confused. When Moiril explained how she felt. "I am one of the cursed Brakkathein B’Ark, the People that Enslaved. That I had actually helped bring this day of freedom to pass, means that my shame and guilt is lessened."
They finished bathing the newborns and once Cadeyrn reassured himself that mom and babies were all doing well, he suggested to Moiril they go for a walk and see the village that the Sessailaine had build for the Skyfolk. It was difficult for them to go very far without being stopped and asked about the newborns but eventually the questions lessened as the news spread on its own. By the time they arrived at the practice field, where Aeronwyn had cast the magic that restored the Skyfolk, there were only a few others around.
The noticed a number of the younger children weren't flying yet. Afi, the older Sessailaine that was their weapons instructor, was working with a few of the younger ones with small practice swords. When he saw Cadeyrn and Moiril arrive at the field, he waved them over to watch.
"We heard that all was well with Cha'rai?" he asked. Cadeyrn nodded his confirmation.
"Tell me, Afi, do these not fly?" Moiril asked, waving her hand towards the children.
"Not yet. The wings grow as they grow but a young Skyfolk can't support themselves in the air until they are older. That is not a bad thing or these ones would be exploring where it may not be safe and getting into all sorts of trouble," Afi leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "They do anyway!"
One of the older of the children nearby yelled, "I heard that!" Afi laughed.
"Their hearing, like their eyesight, is well advanced beyond a human's," he explained. "They have many strengths we do not."
"So how were my people able to enslave them in the first place?" Moiril asked.
"Good question. I suspect it is because they also have a few weaknesses we do not. They are not as physically strong as an adult human can be. They must sleep sometime and they cannot sleep when flying...one of them tried and crashed. She ended with a broken wing but it is healing normally." Afi explained.
"I could look at it." Cadeyrn offered. Afi shook his head, no.
"She is a good lesson for all of them that they too have limits. It is an important lesson to learn," Afi smiled as he spoke, "and it is one we all must learn if we are to grow up."
Afi looked at Moiril. "He is here, you know. Did you want to see him?"
"My father? I don't think so. I am done with him." Moiril knew who Afi was referring to.
"He has helped some. I won't let him have a weapon and I teach the martial skills anyway. I have had Sor-Arhan teaching history. It is useful for the children to see their former enemy's perspective on the past. He has also been helping the teams that explore the island's interior. We are mapping it so we can determine the best places for farms and future growth. In that regard, he is quite skilled." Afi said.
"Is it enough?" Moiril asked.
"It is. He is a beaten man. His pride had been destroyed, his life lost. Perhaps it is best you do not see him. I believe that he is no more than a mere shadow of the man you knew." Afi looked at the children and called out to a couple who were playing instead of practicing. They grinned at him but returned to the sword dance routine he had them working with.
"Thank you Afi. As far as I am concerned, my father is dead. Aeronwyn is my mother in the craft and my family is the Sessailaine. I am content." Moiril said. Afi nodded.
Cadeyrn and Moiril headed back to the docks where the Nereus was waiting. "I want stay for about a week, just to insure nothing crops us with the triplets. After that, we should return."
Moiril looked thoughtfully at her mate. "Cadeyrn, I haven't asked you. Do you regret waiting to have our own family? Did you want children now?"
Cadeyrn stopped. Turning to Moiril he held her face gently in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. "I want you. All my life, when I dreamed of what my future might hold, I never dreamed it could hold you. Perhaps I am being selfish but I am not ready to share you, even with our own flesh and blood children. If you wanted them now, I would say yes because I would deny you nothing. Otherwise, Moiril, you are my life, my love. My need is for you."
Moiril, tears welling up in her eyes, kissed Cadeyrn softly at first then passionately. "And I you, my love. I am glad," she said. "For I don't want to share you with anyone yet either."
"Besides," she said teasingly, "when I wake up in the middle of the night it isn't feeding I am longing for..."
Cadeyrn blushed. Taking her hand, they continued towards their berth on board the Nereus but perhaps a little faster than they had been before.
