Star Beings

A CHILD (well... actually two)

    I rush up the stairs, a futile attempt to run away from my problems. Monster. That's what I am, isn't it? I'm a giant raven with long sharp talons, a pointed beak, and strange eyes. I round the corner and nearly slam into someone. "Sorry..." I mumble. "DJ?" My breath hitches in my chest.
What is Ethan doing here?
And how shitty is my luck that I ran into him here?
I look up, unsure. Theo and Tunia are sitting on his shoulders peering down at me. "I uh..." "Are you ok, kiddo?" "I need a second, dad." I say, brushing past him without thinking. I gotta get away from people. "Did she just call me dad?"

I stop around the third floor, pausing in front of a door. I hear beeping from inside. Isn't this around where I saw Elian? I reach for the door handle, testing to see if it's locked. The door swings open. "I shouldn't be doin this..." I mutter, stepping inside. I open up a bedroom door. Elian lies flat on his back, asleep, on the bed. I stumble over to his side, as if in a trance.
It's odd. We all looked at this man... this traumatized, foul mouthed, fiercely loyal, bastard of a man... and decided that he was gonna be our father figure.
We just went; "ah yes, dad."
Even though he could be our older brother.
I mean... he's only 15 years older than me.
My mind swirls thinking about the woman he mentioned. Adira. Why did that name feel so familiar? I can swear I've heard it before.
Like a whispered secret.
Or a code...
I take one last look at Elian before exiting the room, a sudden determination to figure out where I've heard Adira's name before. "I think I saw a sign for a record room on the first floor..." I mumble, rushing back down multiple flights of stairs.
I almost slam into Natalie and Lane when I reach the ground floor. "DJ what the f-" "I gotta find the record room. There's something I need to look at." Natalie raises an eyebrow. "And what might that be?" "Anaideia's mother, Adira. I know I've heard that name before but I don't know where. Now can y'all help me?" Lane and Nat nod.
"The records room is in the basement, across from the main room that we're using as a stable. Here." Natalie swings open a door, revealing rows of boxes, bookshelves, and filing cabinets. "I thought this was a small room?!" I yelp in surprise. "We've done some renovating. Now come on... this may take awhile..."

It has indeed taken a while. It's been two weeks. And we've just gotten through the first section of mission logs. At first we thought it was alphabetically arranged, but they're ordered by date. And to think we haven't even started on documented rebels...
Elian still hasn't woken up. We're all starting to worry more as time goes on. The fear that he won't is slowly becoming more obvious. But Hera yells at anyone who voices that fear. Meanwhile, we're also worrying about Hera because she's due soon. And from the looks of it, there's not gonna be just one kid.
"DJ!" "What?" I yell to Lane in the kitchen. "Do you want anything before I come in there?" "No!" Lane walks back into our room, tea in hand. She plops down on the bed next to me, her hand slipping into mine. She mumbles something about being tired and then buries herself in my chest. I sigh, equally exhausted from today.
We were down in the basement from nine AM until the sun went down. So many files, and so little answers. I wonder if maybe Elian...
I groan in frustration, resting my chin on Lane's head. Of course the man has to still be in a coma. I hear a loud knocking come from our door. "Sweetheart?" "Mm?" "Answer the damn door." I chuckle and sit up, heading for the entrance to our apartment. I open the door to a panicked looking Mateo. "Oh hey dude. What's-" "Hera's...."
He doesn't need to finish his sentence.
I'm already yelling for Lane.

We rush into Hera and Elian's apartment, nearly slamming into Nat as we're doing so. "Isn't it a little early?" I ask. "Yeah. It is." There's a strange tone to her voice. One that's almost grim, and definitely worried. "We have medics helping her. The only thing we can do...." "Is wait." Lane sighs. I glance around the room.
Hade, Gabriel, and Maxine are crowded onto a sofa, talking quietly. Axl is fast asleep in an armchair. His skin is cracking slightly. And his hair.. "Hey Nat, Axl is starting to look a tad like hades." "Huh?" "Not you Hade." I hear a sloshing noise as a ball of water floats out of the kitchen, and hovers over Axl. Hade's eyes widen. "Wait Nat no-" It drops onto his head. Axl snaps awake, coughing, sputtering, and... smoking?
Oh fuck.
"NATALIE YOU DUMBASS!!!" Hade yells. Axl looks up at her with wide, confused, and slightly angry eyes. "Axl I didn't know-" I blast Axl with air, drying him quickly. He has blisters tracing the areas where fissures usually open. Axl stands, smoke still curling off of him. "I don't know what I did to piss you off, but I'm sorry." There's venom dripping off his words. "Come get me when the babies are here." He growls, storming out. "Nat, you're a pretty damn smart person. So how the hell could you forget water and fire don't mix?!" Hade shouts. "I'VE SEEN HIM DRINK WATER!!! I DIDN'T THINK IT HAD AN AFFECT ON HIM!!!!" Natalie yells back.
I feel the temperature rise and then fall like a stone in water. Hade has heat radiating off them, but Natalie is ice cold.
"IT DOES WHEN HE HAS A FUCKING LAVA VEIN EXPOSED!!!" I slowly back away, trying to get as far away before Hade lights like a candle or Natalie freezes the entire room. "HE LOOKS HUMAN, OK?! I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO GET BURNED!!!" "HE'S HALF FIRE ELEMENTAL!!! I ASSURE YOU HE'D BE FINE." Gabriel jumps to his feet, getting between the two. "Will both of you calm down? Natalie was trying to help and fucked up in the process. Hade, I understand you're upset but you need to calm down." He says sternly. Hade huffs and sits back down. Natalie sits down in an armchair. The room temperature returns to normal.
Thank god.
A loud scream echoes through the apartment. All heads turn towards the room (I assume) Hera is in.
The kids are on the way.