August 27, 1201
Whatever half-hearted platitudes Sevvie uttered, Yvanette's ears fell deaf. The only sounds she knew were the echoes in her head. Her frantic scratching against the floor as she fought to change back in time. Her son's desperate first breaths as she freed him from the surrounding membrane. Her own tears as they hit the floor, when she turned back and he did not.Her baby. In the first second of his life, she had failed him. She'd failed him the moment he'd been conceived. Why hadn't she gone to Aerina Frey for herbs when she'd had the chance? It would have been a mercy.
"They should be back soon."Yvanette choked. Did it even matter when they returned? If nothing could be done...
No. She wanted her baby--but more than that, she wanted to think, to hope, that there was the slightest chance of him being all right. As long as they were gone, she had that.
If they returned, and her baby--
"Yvanette?"
Her father's voice. Did she dare--?
"Yvanette, it's all right. He's fine. He's back to normal."
Her father was not a liar, but she had to look to believe it.
Her boy was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen."He... he's all right." More than all right. "He's amazing..."
"He looks like you when you were a baby, actually." Her father handed him off to her and stepped back. Had she dared dream of this since she'd first begun to suspect his existence? Her healthy, human son in her arms? "Darker hair, though. And Lonriad said he couldn't be certain, but he thinks those must be Asalaye's grandmother's eyes, based on something her father said once."Who cared whose eyes they were? So long as they were living eyes.
"All he said was turquoise blue, Ashe; no need to sound so cryptic about it."
Her father-in-law. And...
...her baby?"Wait, why do you have...?"
"Yvanette!"
"Sevvie?" Surely she was hallucinating anyway. Her son still clutched tightly, she spun back to the sight of her husband.
And an even more baffling companion than her baby's kitten form.
What did Deian do?NEXT CHAPTER:
5 comments:
Inconsistent weather is bad for my brain. :(
So I've been away again, and just want to say that every now and again I have been reading Naroni, not often enough though. I have a new job and I'm starting a course next year, so things have been very hectic for me. I hope everything is good with you Van. :)
Naww poor Yvanette! This is heaps to take in at once, I'm excited to where this leads...
Congratulations on the new job and the course! Sure, life can get hectic... but at least it's been the good sort of hectic, for the most part, it sounds like?
Yvanette and Baby Lonriad get to take a break from the spotlight for a while now, but there will be a post soon that should provide some information as to what's going on here.
It is so good to see Yvanette's relief! Baby Lonriad all safe in his human form, presumably as long as the kitten is safe in his. What a lovely chapter.
Thanks! And yep--Baby Lonriad is safe. And hopefully Yvanette will have more cause than that to relax in the near future.
Post a Comment