In Which Sevvie Wants to Be Certain

June 6, 1201

"See, Asalaye?" Adonis cooed as his newborn daughter's fussing ceased. "Uncle Sevvie may not be as handsome as Papa, but he's not that scary."

"Not the worst introduction I could have expected from you, really." Sevvie smiled as he stared into his niece's eyes, already so much like her father's. From the sounds of it, Alina had had such a quick and easy labor that only her mother and sister had been needed to attend to her--a lucky thing, as they wouldn't have had time to send for anyone else. As it figured, Sevvie's father and stepmother had been out visiting when Adonis's steward had arrived with the news, so he'd sent Alina and Viridis off to Cherry and Nythran's place to fetch them while he himself had made for Ravenhold.

In other circumstances, he might have gone for his parents himself and let his sisters see the baby straight away... but, he was only a few months shy of being a father himself. Seeing his niece wouldn't be the worst preparation for that.

Assuming, of course, everything went well. Yvanette's anxiety was such that he hadn't dared expect her to come with him--even though if Arydath had detected anything amiss yet, she surely would have said something.

"Well, when he introduced himself, he said he was 'the pretty one' of her parents," Alina snorted from the bed--not looking half-bad herself for a woman who'd just given birth.

"Yes, but that makes you the clever one--and, between you and me, the sexy one."

"Not feeling too sexy at the moment, so don't push your luck--but, then again, we are Kemorins."

As if Sevvie--never mind the baby--had just disappeared from the room for a couple of seconds, the two exchanged winks. There might have been some truth to the widespread notion that if a Kemorin found a fork in a long desert road with one arrow pointing toward the salvation of an oasis and the other marked for a conveniently-shaped rock, he'd go for the rock.

"Just don't make her any siblings too soon. She deserves to be the spoiled only child for a little while."

"Oh, Sevvie, you know me! She'll be spoiled regardless, even if we have twenty other kids to spoil."

Back on the bed, Alina gagged. "We are not having twenty-one children."

"All right, then: ten children, and eleven dogs."

"Adonis, I'm too tired to barter right now." Alina sighed. "Besides, she'll have a little cousin soon enough anyway."

Sevvie swallowed. He wanted to say he was certain that that would be the case--but, luck had never been much of a friend to Yvanette. "Lord willing."

"Don't worry, bro." Adonis lifted little Asalaye to his shoulder and rubbed her back through her blanket, kissing her tiny cheek before looking back to Sevvie. Adonis's eyes, Asalaye's eyes. Sevvie's eyes too. "Not sure how, but I know everything will be fine--and you know I'm always right."

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