In Which Lonriad Needs His Fill

April 20, 1190

"So... umm..."

Lonriad laughed. Rona--like most normal-ish people--would have known how to ask, but she hadn't felt up to coming to see the baby today. That left Ashe and his undecided mumbling. Good thing that Lonriad had enough children by this point to know what the first thing most people asked was. "He's a boy. His name is Kaydren, but Morgan's taken to calling him Kay and the rest of us have caught on, even though my father keeps shaking his head at the repetition of syllables."

"What repetition?"

"You know. Kay Kemorin."

Ashe's head jerked up, mouth folded in puzzlement. Lonriad hadn't expected that. "Wait, the first syllable in your surname is pronounced 'kay'?"

"You don't know how to pronounce my surname? You're the worst best friend ever!"

"You nobles never say your surnames! I'm used to seeing it in writing."

"You ought to know that words aren't always pronounced as they're spelt. Hell, your own wife's full name starts with a silent 'W'."

"Fine, fine, fair point. But it's going to take me a while to adjust to not thinking 'Keh-mor-in' in my head." Ashe sighed. "Anyway, how's Morgan doing?"

"She's tired, but happy." And no doubt relieved after what had happened to her first baby. That poor little girl. "She was a bit worried about how Viridis would take it, not being used to sharing a mama and all. Luckily, my girls have been keeping her sufficiently distracted."

"And Searle's been... uh, better?"

Ah, God. Searle. That poor, strange kid. "Yes, I think he's realized that there are boundaries--and now that Kay's here, he's at least leaving Morgan alone. He's more fascinated with the baby now, and of course he likes every scrap of attention he can get, like his papa and uncles."

"That's no surprise. You're lucky enough that Sevvie managed to dodge that blood, so don't count on having another son with a sense of restraint."

"Lucky for you, maybe--since he's your future son-in-law and all." He choked back a smirk as Ashe shuddered. "Though hey--if it turns out that Rona's carrying a girl, maybe this one will be too."

"Arydath thinks it's a boy."

"Ah, that's just as well. Lonriad bowed his head to his little son and kissed him on the forehead. "Morgan and I need to get our fill of him before we marry him off anyway."

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