Magic swirls in the air of the cottage, glowing rivers of etheric power flowing into the half-elf as he does his best to save the child in his arms. If Adder could open his eyes, he would no doubt be in awe of the brilliant light shining from his lover, the tattooed snake on his skin shimmering and twisting with power. Even with his eyes shut though, the gorgon feels the awesome force of his partner. He hugs Eben and the child tight to his body, unable to do anything to truly assist.
A bright explosion of magic suddenly bursts outward, causing all the room's occupants to fall backward with the force of it. Even Eben and Adder are thrown roughly to the floor. But all of that is nothing to him as he hears the beautiful sound of a shrill, trilling, cry from the harpy.
Tears track down the gorgon's pale cheeks as he sits up. "You did it, Eben, you did it!"
The half-elf pants, laying flat on the floor with the infant. "I'm keeping it alive still. It's weak..."
"Gods above..." Edmund exclaims.
"Congrats on your baby girl," Basil whispers, dragging the human with him out of the room as he absconds with haste.
Adder can only sob, lifting Eben up by the shoulders and hugging the child between their chests. He chuckles, hand caressing the gorgon's face.
"Open your eyes, Adder. It's safe now."
Hesitantly, Adder peers down. The child is securely held in Eben's arms, rosy cheeks aglow with magic.
"She's perfect," Adder blubbers.
Eben brushes a hand over her head, through the fine collection of auburn hair there. "Her eyes are closed..."
Adder smiles. "It's okay, that's normal. She'll open them when she's ready."
The half-elf smiles, standing up. "Can we take her home now?"
"Not yet. We need to bathe her first."
"Okay. I need to keep infusing her with magic, you get the bath ready."
Adder nods, immediately heaving the cauldron over to the hearth. The room soon becomes misty and warm as the water reaches temperature. The gorgon dips his hand in to ensure the water is acceptable before setting it in front of Eben. The half-elf removes the swaddle and gently lowers the little one into the warm water. It seems that she enjoys the sensation, as she immediately goes quiet.
Adder watches intently as the gunk from the egg is washed off. His eyes tear up more as he studies her; her head and torso are humanoid, but where there would be chubby arms and legs are two fluffy wings covered in downy white feathers and two digitigrade legs ending with bird-like feet.
He traces a small wing with a clawed finger delicately. When it reaches the first bend, he finds a small, avian, three-fingered hand there. Immediately it latches on, holding tight.
She's perfect, like a petite little doll.
"Do you remember me, little bird? Do you know my voice?"
The baby immediately trills in response, the unearthly quality of the sound ringing around the room.
"It sure sounds like she knows you. I guess you were right about her being able to hear in there."
Adder smiles, feeling love swell within him. "I promise to protect you, my little fledgling..."
"We can't just call her little bird and fledgling. She needs a name, Adder."
"What do you want to call her?"
"You did all the hard work. I'm fine with whatever you want."
The gorgon glances down at the little wings, thinking. "How about Merlyn?"
Eben gently lifts the baby out of the bath water, swaddling her clumsily after drying her. "Merlyn it is. Hello, Merlyn."
The baby gurgles, smiling at the sound of Eben's voice. Adder laughs as the half-elf balks, ears twitching as a flush rises to his face.
"I thought newborns didn't smile?"
"I guess she likes you..."
A sudden knock at the door breaks the peace. It's Helia—the elder peeks her head in cautiously. "Adder, Eben, can I come in?"
"Go ahead, but be quiet..." says Adder.
Helia nods, gasping quietly as she sees the child. "Oh, Adder, she's beautiful. How is she? I heard you had some problems?"
"Her name is Merlyn, she hatched prematurely. The felid helped us."
"Basil is my best healer, I'm glad he was able to do something good for you after his idiotic stunt with that hunter. Are you still using magic?"
Eben nods. "I can feel her will to live, but her body—it needs a little help. Nothing is malformed as far as I can tell, but she seems to struggle to breathe independently..."
"Often, early babies need magical assistance. Keep her warm and fed, and soon she'll be right as rain."
Adder interrupts, jittery. "Helia, I want to take her home. As grateful as I am to Adler's family, I don't feel safe here."
"I've already arranged you an escort; Daisy and Fern are outside waiting for you."
Adder sighs with relief. "Thank you."
The three monsters immediately prepare to disembark. They bundle Merlyn up in a knit blanket, generously provided by Jacqueline, and load up into the carriage. Daisy is hooked up to the front, panting in her wolf form with Fern atop her back. Once everyone is ready, the werewolf starts forward, slowly pulling the little family through the chilly cobblestone streets.
Adder notices immediately the villagers are watching the cart. His nerves are much more docile now, but anxiety still bubbles in him. Are they judging him? Remembering his vicious past?
Suddenly a voice calls out from the street; "Adder!"
The gorgon whips his head around—a portly woman is trotting up to the cart. He smells something sweet on her. It must be the beekeeper's wife.
"Adder, congratulations!" She crows with a grin, walking beside them. She holds something up to the gorgon; he takes a large honey cake wrapped in paper from her hands.
Her boldness seems infectious. Although most still stare, untrusting, other villagers approach the cart, some bearing kind words and others bearing gifts. A butcher offers a slab of salted pork, a hunter offers a soft rabbit pelt, and even a little boy runs up to the cart to hand the gorgon a satchel of hand-sewn baby clothes.
"My mother made them for you," the boy chirps, "she told me to thank you, you saved her life when she was a girl."
Adder gapes, in complete shock. Eben had tried to tell him things had improved in Nadre tor, but the monster had always dismissed it as wishful thinking. Now here he was, being showered with gifts even after everything...
He tears up, waving goodbye to the villagers as they finally enter the forest.
Eben leans against his lover, smiling. "You are so soft."
"I thought they all hated me..."
"There's always going to be people who hate us, Adder. But you saved this village—only the ignorant would deny that was an act of a great man."
"It wasn't me who saved us, Eben."
"Yes it was. I was only able to overpower Sheppard because of you."
"Yes but you were the one—
"It was both of you!" Fern interrupts with a laugh, "so stop hiding away in that cave and come visit us more often. We miss you—the cowards will get over a gorgon in town. It's not as if you're the only one with monstrous features." As if to punctuate her thought, Fern grin, fangs sharp.
Adder turns towards the town gate wistfully. Was it possible? Helia's warning echoes sourly in his mind; Monsters like that will never be accepted fully.
"I'll think about it," he lies.
"We should at least visit for Koranalia. I'd enjoy spending the holiday with Adler's family. Last time was, erm, tainted by Sheppard," says Eben.
"It's a long way until spring. Winter's in the wings now," Fern sighs.
The thought of winter twists the gorgon's insides with unease. As soon as snow blankets the ground, Eben will be left alone with the child as Adder enters brumation...will they be alright without him? Will Eben resent Adder for leaving him with such a huge responsibility?
The gorgon peeks at Merlyn, attempting to ignore the frightening thoughts. She's been quiet, which makes Adder even more nervous. Suddenly, she twitches a little, button nose scrunching before sneezing loudly. Eben quickly uses his thumb to clear her nose, tightening the blanket more securely around her.
Adder studies the interaction closely. He fears he'll find some trace of exhaustion or anger in Eben's face, but the former bandit looks anything but. His eyes are bright, staring down at the little child in his arms adoringly. The sight is endearing beyond measure—so rarely does Eben let his guard down like this.
The half-elf's attitude remains just as jovial as they finally reach their home. He collapses at the table with a sigh, hugging Merlyn as he watches Fern and Daisy unload their gifts.
"Adder, can we stay awhile? Or will that be too stressful?" Daisy asks.
"You can stay. Now that she's hatched It's much easier to control my emotions."
"Aw, I'm gonna miss broody you. It was cute to see you growl at everything that came too close to your precious egg, from Helia to jackalopes," Eben laughs.
"Can we cook you something? You deserve a break." Says Fern.
"We would greatly appreciate that, thank you," says Adder.
"You have the ingredients for squash soup, how does that sound?"
"Sounds great, thank you Fern."
The vampire smiles, getting to work on dicing and roasting the squash. Daisy, on the other hand, decides to snatch an apple off the table, sitting beside the half-elf. The werewolf grins, blond tail wagging excitedly.
"I gotta say, I'm really glad you didn't let me eat that egg."
Adder growls, thumping his tail on the floor. "We don't talk about that."
"C'mon, you're not still mad are you? You know you were thinking of it too!"
"No, I wasn't!"
"I thought about it," Eben smirks.
"Eben, not in front of Merlyn!" Adder gasps.
The half-elf laughs. "Relax, Adder. Nobody is going to eat your fledgling. In fact, I think we should celebrate her hatching."
"Yes! Awooo! Let's have some cider to celebrate the new monster," Daisy cheers.
"Fine, alright," says Adder
Immediately Daisy goes to the kitchen, retrieving a jug of cider and some cups, as well as a plate of cheese, dried meat, and bread. She sets them on the table, portioning out a serving for Eben first, then Adder.
Eben takes a bite of the meat, attempting to try and take a swig of cider with the same hand. Unfortunately, he loses his grip, causing a bit of the meat to fall onto the swaddle. To Adder's horror, Merlyn immediately struggles free of her blanket and grabs the food, gnawing on it.
"Eben, she's going to choke!"
Not at all alarmed, the half-elf plucks the food from her mouth. He holds it up to examine the small bite mark. Merlyn coos happily, still chewing.
"Does she have teeth?!" Daisy exclaims, grinning.
Poking at her lip, the half-elf reveals two rows of tiny, sharp, pearly white fangs.
"I guess we were worried about finding a milk replacement for nothing. This doesn't look like a bite meant for latching."
Adder smiles, listening to Merlyn chirp and trill, begging for more food. "I guess harpies are like gorgons then. They're able to eat solid food as infants and develop independence much faster than humans."
"So she'll grow up quicker?" Fern asks, ladling the soup into bowls.
"It's possible. With gorgons, at least, we mature out of the infancy phase quickly. The rest is more or less like human development."
Merlyn interrupts Adder's informative lesson, making a gurgling trill as Eben takes a bite of his soup. The half-elf laughs at the sound, turning to Adder.
"Adder, can you hold her? I think she's hungry."
Adder nods, excited at the prospect of feeding his little fledgling. He takes the infant into his arms with the utmost care, gently supporting her head with the palm of his hand. It's incredibly nerve wracking—she's incredibly small, so much so that just his hand is almost half her length.
Still, she's warm in his arms, filled with life and magic. He thanks Giakora for this blessing, feeling the Goddess' influence as his heart swells with love for the little harpy.