milliways_bar | (no subject)

He's not the only one with that particular balance that's threatened to be tipped. Mia and Cepheus are also up when frankly, they'd rather not be.

A little someone is keeping her up with some aches, pains, nausea, the whole pregnancy checklist. And Cepheus is wired up in preparation for Christmas, so he's glad to keep her company.

Mother and son were reading to try to take their minds off of what's keeping them awake when Enzo emerges.

"Enzo, is that you?" Mia asks, not entirely sure but still fairly confident.

Well, he does still have his uniform on, even if it's less perfectly form-fitting now. And those are definitely his eyes.

"Hey, Mia. Hi, Cepheus. Yeah, it's me." There's a bit of a tired grunt in his voice.

"You look a little rough. You need some healing herb tea?"

Whether he agrees or not, she's getting some for herself and will probably have enough to share. And probably some warm milk for Cepheus.

"Story?" Cepheus adds, holding up a book.

"Couldn't hurt, I guess. Thanks."

He looks curiously at Cepheus. "Me?"

She nods as she waves a waitrat over to place the order.

"Yah," Cepheus confirms. "Is Nana."

"We're reading stories from the Heresy War," Mia explains. "My mother and stepfather were key figures in it."

"Cool. He wants me to read it to him?"

"He might just want you to listen. I had been doing the reading. But if you want to read it, you're welcome to."

Mia carefully moves herself and Cepheus, all the easier to reach the order when it comes. She moves enough into view that Enzo can likely see that she's showing. She's not very far along but it's pretty clear that she's not fat but pregnant.

"We were starting from near the beginning. When Dyne was on his quest to become a Dragonmaster and had arrived in Meribia. There he went to the tavern and encountered the feared pirate Mel."

"Pirates, sweet. Up to you if... heyyyyy. Is that another bump?"

Mia laughs lightly.

"Yes. And all the aches and pains that come with it. I like being pregnant but it's not always fun, especially when my body keeps me up at night."

"Baby," Cepheus informs, pointing to Mia's belly.

"He's starting to take to the idea of being a big brother. Who knows how long it'll last, though. I'm only about three months in, so he's got time to change his mind, unfortunately."

"Well, I couldn't tell you about the 'big' part, but it's good to be a brother. Most of the time. Worth the rest of it, anyway."

"See?" she tells Cepheus. "It's good to be a brother. You'll see when your little brother or sister is here."

"Yah," he agrees, still looking at the book.

"Draco and I were both only childs in our families, so this will be a new experience for everyone."

"Well, I'm happy to offer input if you need it. Okay, let's see this book."

"Thank you," she says. Then, to Cepheus, "Let's show Enzo our book, okay?"

"'kay," he says, offering it to Enzo.

On one page is text in fairly large letters, clearly meant for younger readers. On the other is an illustration of a man and a beastman facing off in a street. The man is holding a sword while the beastman has an ax in each hand. The words describe how Dyne and Mel fought upon meeting and kept their personal battle going for a week straight. This is particularly impressive on Dyne's part considering the usual mismatch between human and beastman. By the end of it, they were so worn out they had to end the fight on a draw and finished as friends.