The Battle of Draconi Forest

[MadEmperor]

"I've already tarried long enough. I really do have to be headed home now. But I wish you well." Ko shot her a look that said "it is what it is" and went back to packing.

Kah gave him a respectful nod. "Well, thanks again for pulling our assess out of the fire."

"I was just doing my job. I neither expect nor need thanks." Ko smirked faintly. "But it is a nice thing to hear."

"I'd say that I hope to meet again, but I'd much prefer that you are never in such need that you are in need of a Shadow Ranger." His expression grew grim. "More still, that none of you find yourself on the other end of what we do."

[DragonSong]

"Well, not that I expect you'll need it, but if you ever find yourself seeking safe harbor in the Kilanthros, find the Longfang Pack. Tell them you're a friend of River and Kahroan," the wolf shifted told him with a grateful smile.

"And let's say I owe you a favor, on the record," Hanako added with a slightly more playful grin and a nod in his direction. "Safe journey, mate."

[MadEmperor]

"I'll be sure to remember that." The Ranger shot them a casual salute before teleporting onto his wolf spirit. "Let's go, Kiba." The wolf immediately bound off to the west.

"Okay, now that he's gone... what? since when are vigilante assassins cute?" Thrax said in wonderment.

[DragonSong]

River gave a brief, startled staccato chuckle, nodding agreement. Hanako mock pouted at the bard and teased, "What, you don't think we're cute? Mercenaries aren't all that different from vigilante assassins."

River rolled her eyes. "I can only really speak for myself, but I don't think any of us are that well-trained."

[MadEmperor]

"I'm sure not," Kah chuckled.

"Me neither." Thrax admitted casually, turning to Hana and using the conversation as an excuse to look her up and down. "What about you? Not holding out on us, are you?"

"Shameless," Kah muttered quietly to River, smirking.

[DragonSong]

River gave another theatric roll of her eyes as she nodded in agreement. "Tell me we've never been that bad," she muttered to her mate with a smirk.

"Me? Holding out?" Hanako pressed a hand to her chest in faux affront. "Why, I would never. I am nothing if not an open book."

From behind Thrax, the illusory double she had abruptly summoned added brightly, "Or two!" before the Hanako he had been speaking with faded from view and solidified in the illusion's place.

[MadEmperor]

"Whaa?" Thrax whirled around with a grin. "Did you just teleport?! Dude!"

Kahroan chuckled. "I swear, he's like a big kid. A really big kid. Of course, I hope ours isn't quite so noisy." When his brain caught up to his mouth, his eyes went wide and he stammered, "N--not th--that that is happening any time soon!"

[DragonSong]

Hanako giggled and replied, "Not exactly." Clearly pleased with Thrax's interest, she began explaining excitedly how she used multiple illusions and classic misdirection tactics to make it seem like she teleported--as far as she knew older specimens of her kind could actually travel short distances by magic alone, but it would be a while before her own power allowed that...

River was chuckling at the two of them when Kahroan seemed to slip--or, not slip, exactly, but...something. Her laughter choked off and she whipped her head around to stare up at him, mouth slightly open but no sound coming out.

Finally, she managed a shaky, "R-right. Not...soon. Right. Ahem."

Oh dear. Aside from her family's teasing--and her own confessions about Thorn--they hadn't really talked about this! Should they?

[MadEmperor]

They probably should be talking about it! It was obviously on his mind on some level. And it was better to discuss it before fate or simple biology decided it for them.

Kahroan rubbed the back of his neck, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "S--sorry. I guess the pack's ceaseless hinting has lodged itself in my brain."

Meanwhile, Thrax absorbed Hana's every word with enthusiastic interest. He then began animatedly explaining how his own magic worked. While he had some meager talent of his own, his curious axe was the real star of the show. He hadn't had a chance to learn all of its secrets, but knew enough to keep himself alive in the majority human world.

[DragonSong]

"No, don't apologize," River murmured quickly. "We should--I mean, at some point it would makes sense to...talk about..."

Hana's eyes were sparkling, and she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! I bet, if I tweaked it a bit, I could call my foxfire and you could use Stormsong to supercharge it--"

Whatever River had been trying to say was brought to a screeching halt as she called, "No! No, you are not doing that particular experiment in the highly flamable woods, thank you very much!"

[MadEmperor]

Thrax had started to grin just before River put her foot down. Deflated, he sighed dramatically. "Fiiine. We'll be good. If we must."

Kahroan laughed. "These two. I swear... Surprisingly good parenting practice, though."

[DragonSong]

River chuckled, nodding her agreement.

They had apparently underestimated Hanako's hearing. Her ears flickered toward them and she suddenly spun, clapping her hands together.

"Oooohhh oh oh oh, I knew it! I didn't wanna say anything but I knew it!"

She suddenly darted forward to grab River's hands, bouncing excitedly on her heels. "Officially congratulations! I knew I smelled something on you!"

"Wait, no, I'm not—" River started to correct her, laughing, then suddenly drew herself up short. She smelled something? But...okay, it was easier for someone to smell a change in hormones that wasn't in their own body, but surely she would have noticed...something...

She started counting backward, frantically doing math. When had she last bled? Four, five, six...

Oh dear.

All the color drained from her face, and Hanako looked between her and Kah, puzzled. "Ahhhh...I'm sorry. Was it supposed to be a secret?"

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan felt his blood run colder as he watched the realization creep over his mate's features. Excitement warred with dread as he processed what was being revealed, and a nervous smile crossed his lips. Was he really going to be a father?

He gave her a questioning look. "Is she...? Are you...? Am I...?"

"Looks to me like it was a secret... to them!" Thrax laughed with a grin.

[DragonSong]

"I—" River swallowed. "I don't..."

She looked at her mate with wide eyes. "I'm not...sure. I..."

Hanako winced. "Oops," she muttered, stepping back. Looking around to the bard, she said quickly, "Why don't we, ahhhhhh, break camp? Come on!"

She grabbed Thrax by the arm and hauled him away from the dragon and the wolf shifter, attempting to give them some semblance of privacy.

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan cupped her cheek in one hand, stroking her with his thumb. His smile was bright, determined to face whatever may come. "Hey... whether you are or not, I'm not going anywhere. You know that, right?"

[DragonSong]

River found that her breathing was becoming a little jagged, eyes wide and approaching frantic as she met Kahroan's. She forced herself to nod, leaning heavily into his hand on her cheek with a quiet sound that was embarrassingly close to a whimper.

"I can—I can see a healer on our way to Zantaric," she said a little numbly, still not fully processing. Her hands had come to rest on her mate's waist without her noticing, automatically seeking comfort and stability. "Just to...be sure..."

[MadEmperor]

He put his brow against hers, happy to be a source of comfort. "Just breath. We can get through this. It's going to be okay."


They had taken to the air as soon as Kah had space to take off. They made a stop in Ketra to sell their non-magical, common loot and resupply for the trip to Zantaric. It was also a good time to conduct any personal business they might have, such as River's visit to a healer or Thrax hunting down Zeldrinn's next of kin.

Kahroan waited in the front room of the healer's shop, nervously studying the various apothecary goods for sale. True Mandrake? That was rare and interesting—not that he wanted to hear it scream. And what did eye of newt actually do?

[DragonSong]

Hana had walked the pair to the door, then said she was going to find Thrax and help him with finding Zeldrinn's family.

River was in the back room of the healer's shop for a while—long enough that she was half convinced Kahroan would be asleep by the time she was finally allowed back out.

The healer they'd found—a brisk person in their mid-twenties—emerged first and immediately began sorting through some bottles behind their counter.

"Congratulations, Papa," they told Kahroan casually by way of confirming the results.

River made her way back out to the front of the shop a bit more slowly, looking a tiny bit dazed.

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan's expression as he stared at her couldn't decide between shock and joy. He was going to be a father. This was going to change everything.

"I... I'm going to be a dad..." he muttered blankly. A grin creeped over his face, and he rushed over to lift her off her feet, laughing joyously. "I'm going to be a dad!"

[DragonSong]

River made a breathless sound that was caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob as he swept her up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.

"You are," she whispered, clinging to him.

The healer let them have a moment, then cleared their throat pointedly. "You're still only a few weeks along," they told River as they seemed to finish their bustling behind the counter. "And to be honest, I don't know too much about shifter pregnancies. Particularly hybrids. You'll probably want to speak with a specialist as you enter your second trimester. But for now, a dose of this should help when the morning sickness starts."