Abalyes Voltaris

The Surprise

A month and a half had passed since Gallaniara and Thalleous did whatever they had gotten up to. I was tending to the fire that was in the middle of our camp at night. I noticed Gallaniara had a worried and upset expression.
"What's up?" I asked her.
"The sky," she mumbled.
"No, be serious, what's wrong?" She hesitated before answering.
"I don't know if I should tell you yet. " I noticed that she was holding her stomach while leaning on her hand.
"You feeling okay?"
"In fact, I am feeling fine. But something's happening that, even with your skills in healing, can't reverse or fix."
"Gallaniara stop being so cryptic. Are you going to tell me or not?"
"I'll wait. Thalleous probably needs to know this as well with how often he comes by here." Why would Thalleous need to know? I thought. I shrugged it off for the moment. I'd wait for Thalleous to arrive.

Thalleous turned up about a week later with some supplies for Gallaniara and I.
"I hope this will help you on your never ending journey," he said, putting the supplies down next to a log. Gallaniara shifted uncomfortably on the log she was sitting on.
"Gallaniara has something to tell us both," I said and looked over at Gallaniara. She slightly frowned and shifted again. She then leaned on her hand with her arm holding her stomach again. Gallaniara hesitated.
"I'm.. I'm pregnant," she whispered. I looked at Thalleous. He had a guilty look on his face.
"Wait, wait, you're not kidding are you?" Gallaniara shook her head. "And Thalleous is the father!?" My voice raised a couple of notches.
"Please stop shouting Abalyes."
"I'm going to take a walk." I got up and walked into the forrest that was around our camp. I was struggling to process this information. I walked over to a small pond and sat down on a rock next to it and started throwing small rocks into the clear water. I watched the surface ripple with each rock. I didn't know who to blame. Thalleous or Gallaniara? Both or neither? I stopped throwing rocks and put my head in my arms. What are we going to do now? I thought. After a while, I heard shouts in the distance.
"Abalyes? Abalyes! Where are you?" Gallaniara shouted into the forrest. I sighed, got up and went over to the sound of her voice.
"I'm here," I said as soon as she could see me. She looked at me with an apologetic expression. I softly smiled at her.
"Thalleous is waiting for us to return, says he's got a very important question to ask us." I followed her back to camp.
"There you two are," he said with a certain relief. He was holding a small bundle of rough, brown blankets. I looked at him curiously.
"What's that meant to be?" I asked.
"I can probably tell you a little bit of information I'm not willing to tell anyone else." He opened the bundle. It was a clanless male Ardoni. "He doesn't have a name yet and he's half Voltaris and half Sendaris. I want you to raise him, if raising him and the one coming isn't too much of a hassle." Gallaniara and I looked at him in complete shock. "Please? I've asked quite a lot of families already and none of them want to take in a clanless child."
"I really wish we could, but even if we didn't have the one coming, we travel too much and raising him is going to be very difficult. I feel horrible turning it down though," she reasoned, looking away from Thalleous.
"I understand." He had clear disappointment in his voice. I felt just as bad as Gallaniara did about this.
"I'm sorry Thalleous."