Little Bundle of Love

[Darastrix]

"I don't believe so," Alice said from the doorway. "He didn't act upset. I'll go get him" She'd noticed his wings droop a bit as well, but that didn't mean anything by itself. For all she knew, he was just relieved that Nalani was all right.


Master waved a hand dismissively. "And a winged Wind, and a Soahcian Etafian priestess, and her lover is a winged Wind-Ice bard. I have my own source that kept me in the know even if no one else did."


Alice returned then and nodded to Ryder. "You can come see her," she told him.

[Devon]

Ryder nodded to Master, deciding to pay the man no more heed for now. "Excuse me," he said simply as he walked past Master and Alice to go and see Nalani. Going to the side of her bed, found a chair and took a seat. "How are you feeling?"

[Kender Bard]

"Need you ask?" Nalani replied wryly but offered Ryder a small smile as well. "Tired above all. Somewhat relieved too. It's over now; soon there'll be two new, happy parents and I can try to get my life back in order."

[Devon]

"I'm glad this is done, Mina and Nathan seem like they'll be great parents for the child," Ryder replied. "Remember the trip we talked about taking? After Mina and Nathan come, I think we should go to Mentis and you can rest there."

[Kender Bard]

"I'm not going anywhere quite yet," Nalani protested. The idea of going anywhere outside the room was one she balked at. She knew he didn't mean right that instance, but she was too tired to think that far in advance. "And I'll need to speak with Zira and see if that will be okay. I've already taken considerable time off so far. Oh! Did you speak with Mina and Nathan?"

[Devon]

"Well they aren't Minds so they can't respond back to me, but I did send them a message that you were giving birth," Ryder told her. "Maybe I should have offered to pick them up, or bring the child to them, it would save some travel time for them."

[Kender Bard]

Nalani gave a small smile at that. "I don't think the baby is up to travel anymore than I am right now," she stated simply. "But if you think you can take them, then it'd be very sweet of you if you did go and get them. I know you wouldn't be able to bring them both here today - too taxing I'm sure. But I'm fine, the baby is fine, and I think I'd really like to sleep soon. There's not much more here to see, I guess."

[Devon]

Ryder leaned forward and gave Nalani a small kiss. Scooting back he stood up and touched his Mind sign. "all right then, I'll see you tomorrow along with the new parents. Sleep well Nalani," Ryder said as he teleported off to the temple they had first met Mina and Nathan in.

The next day Ryder returned outside of Nalani's room with Mina and Nathan beside him. Pointing to the door, he smiled and told them, "Nalani and your son are in there."

[Kender Bard]

"Thank you, Ryder," Mina replied and stepped into the room after a knock and a welcome inside.

Nalani was propped up in bed, reading. She'd recently fed the baby, who was making idle noises in his bassinet. Glancing up, she smiled. "Oh! You returned sooner than I expected. Hello, and welcome. He's right over there."

"You look very well," Mina remarked to Nalani before going over to the basket. Her smile grew wider; the baby looked quite adorable. She picked him up gently and it was plain on her face that she was already in love with her new son.

[Darastrix]

Nathan echoed Mina's thanks to Ryder and slipped in behind his lover to peer over her shoulder at the baby. Forces, he was tiny. Nathan remembered holding one of the temple orphans when they'd last visited Anarlina, but it hadn't been a newborn.

[Kender Bard]

"He's beautiful," Mina murmured, stroking the baby's cheek with her fingertip, laughing as the infant tried to suck on it.

"What are you going to call him?" Nalani asked curiously.

Mina looked thoughtfully at the boy for a long while, thinking of some of the names she had batted around with Nathan. "What do you think of Astrophel, dear?" she asked.

[Darastrix]

"I was going to suggest it myself," Nathan replied softly as he reached to gently stroke his fingers over their son's fine hair.

[Kender Bard]

Nalani nodded; it was a very nice name, she thought. "He's very lucky to have you both."

"I would say the other way around is just as true," Mina remarked. She was flush with excitement, already thinking of all the fun things she had to look forward to. "Oh, Nathan, let's go see Zack and show him our son!"

[Darastrix]

Nathan chuckled softly. "Unless I miss my guess, he'll be as delighted as he would be if it were his own. Oh." He paused, a thought occurring to him. "We'll need to impose on Ryder again. We are in Widor right now, aren't we?" This was directed at Nalani.

[Kender Bard]

Nalani nodded. "We're not far from the capitol but if Ryder is willing, he can probably manage to make the jump to the capitol."

Mina went to the doorway and glanced at Ryder, smiling a bit sheepishly. "Um, may we ask another favor of you? We'd like to go to the capitol if possible."