A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 40: Sleeping

Caleldir sat up. He started to shift a blanket over his groin, before realizing how silly that was. Instead, he simply sat cross legged and crossed his arms in front of himself. The drow shifted to similarly sitting positions when Caleldir sat up. The younger drow sat slightly apart from the two of them, while Ashyr seemed perfectly content to continue mostly sharing the same space with Caleldir. Her hand continued its idle exploration across his back. In a quick, matter-of-fact tone, he explained the situation to Althaia, and the drow remained silent. While he did touch on the ambiguity of who the father was, he did not feel the need to explain the reason for that ambiguity.

Althaia still seemed to guess at it, though. "Oh! You poor dear..." she said in a motherly tone. Gliding over to the pregnant drow, she tenderly put her hand on Selene's stomach.

Selene went rigid. Her hands rose, palms outward in a disapproving motion. She wasn't sure why announcing her pregnancy was a call for the nymph to put her hands on her stomach as if she could feel a baby that hadn't even gone through its first trimester. Well, actually, the nymph might possess nature magic which Selene imagined might be able to feel the life inside her. But she could have at least asked. Selene did not try to push her away, but that disapproving look did not quite vanish from her features.

"So... you are wondering who the father is." She mused. "Perhaps I could help with that. I learned some new things while I was in the celestial realms." She smiled softly. "Many new things. I can ask my divine patron to tell me who the father is, should you want me to. Of course, if you would rather not know, I understand."

The pregnant drow's eyes widened. "I -ah. You can?" That meant no potential emotional distress in the middle of impossibly dangerous laboratories. It meant that she didn't have to wait and wonder.

At the same time, Caleldir nearly jumped off of the bed, fully dressed before he hit the floor. "What? You journeyed through the celestial realms? You can use divination magic now? What?"

"If you can, I would like to know." Selene told Althaia softly after Caleldir was done with his outburst. The younger drow didn't give a damn about all the rest of the apparently startling news, not when information so dear to her personally was potentially available.

In the meantime, Ashyr jerked herself away from Caleldir to prevent herself from getting run over by the suddenly animated half-nymph. She looked amused by his reaction. She was also a little more curious about the change in Althaia, though a great deal of her mind was focused on the same thing Selene was.

"I cannot promise anything for certain." Althaia said gently, returning her hand to Selene's stomach. "That is the issue with divine requests: they are merely requests. But I will give it a try." She closed her eyes and began muttering, before snapping them open, completely white and pupil-less, increasing her murmurs to a chant in Celestial. Caleldir, who spoke a bit of Celestial, understood her to be petitioning Aelsuna to tell her of Selene's unborn child.

After a few minutes of this, Althaia stepped away from Selene, letting her hand fall to the ground. As her eyes shown unrelieved a brilliant heavenly blue she spoke in a divinely commanding voice that was not her own.

A man by the gods more than a thousand years cursed,

With the dark woman by her kinsmen broken,

Though the nymphen child was conceived coerced,

Her powers are those of her grandfather awoken.

The light dimmed from Althaia's eyes, and the nymph swayed in position. "Oh my head." She rubbed her skull. "That is not easy."

Caleldir looked stunned. So. He was the father. The father of a little girl. In a move similar to Selene's he put his hand to his head. He should probably be happy, for Selene's sake, but at the moment he was just confused. He looked towards Selene, trying to gauge her reaction.

Selene blinked at Althaia, then looked down at her stomach. Both of her hands went to caress her stomach. She looked more dumbfounded than anything. Her. Althaia said her. Selene was going to have a little girl. That alone was cause for joy. She did not have to give birth to a Duskhaven male. Selene didn't realize until then how much of a relief that was. Then, the reality struck that she, right that instant, was carrying a child sired by something other than drow. It was a thing to be scorned in her society. If not scorned, then seen as an outright abomination. If their endeavors were successful, no one had to know that this child was not full drow. But Selene would know. That child's presence, however, was a defiance of what happened to her after being captured. The Duskhaven males had failed. She managed to be pregnant with a child whose sire she'd chosen to have sex with. A petty distinction, but it was worth something.

But Althaia's words had somehow made this whole situation painfully real. Selene hadn't realized it, but until that moment she hadn't fully grasped what was happening to her. A multitude of conflicting emotions roiled across Selene's face. The pregnant drow's eyes grew misty, though she did not know if it was from sadness, anger, happiness, confusion, or relief. She curled in on herself and buried her face in her knees. Flowing robes that covered every inch of her skin beyond her face appeared on her body to further close herself off the the world.

Ashyr bit down on her lip hard. She shared a good deal of confusion that Caleldir and Selene seemed to be displaying. She also had the privilege of having her own thoughts and feelings about her mate impregnating her best friend, girlfriend, and cousin who did not want to be pregnant. To make things all the more confusing, neither seemed to know how to take the news. She wanted to comfort both at once. Selene was being more dramatic, but Selene was a dramatic person when it came to hardships and emotion. Ashyr had seen Caleldir downplay terrible things that happened to him, but it didn't necessarily mean he was okay. Her eyes shifted from one to the other, then back again. In the end, she only managed to sit there and look torn.

When Selene coated herself in those flowing robes, Caleldir decided that his mixed feelings about fatherhood were unimportant. No, the important thing was that the mother of his child was happy. What an odd thought that was. The mother of his child. Selene. If she had known that raping him would impregnate her with a half-breed, would she have done it? Probably not, but if she had known that that half-breed would be girl, and would throw the Duskhaven men's revenge into disarray, she might have.

On the other hand, maybe being a father would be good. He had hoped against hope that if it was his child, it would be a boy, but a little girl would be nice as well. And Aelsuna had said, through Althaia, that that girl would inherit her grandfather's abilities. That had to mean... his daughter would be a paragon. Their daughter would be a paragon.

And so, Caleldir decided that he was happy about events. In fact, he was glad that Selene had forced him into sex so long ago, glad that he would be a father. Sliding up to Selene, he put one arm around her. "I was a disappointment to my father." He said seriously. "Have you heard of individuals called Paragons? Exemplary people who are perfect specimens of their race, better at everything than everyone else? Well, the children of Titans are supposed to be paragon elves. I was not. But, a goddess has just confirmed, our daughter will be. Do not think of her as a half-breed, nor me as a surface elf. I am an elf primordial, and our daughter will be a dark elf perfected, with all the beauty of a nymph in her dark features. That does not sound so bad, does it?"

The pregnant drow actually leaned in toward Caledlir's embrace. She was sorely tempted to crawl entirely into his lap, but decided that such an action would be undignified. Selene wasn't quite that desperate for someone to hold her. She knew the comforting words he told her were true even before he said them, but they were nonetheless good to hear. "No. It doesn't sound that bad." She agreed weakly.

Ashyr came up on the other side of Selene to pull her younger cousin into her arms and halfway into her lap without disturbing Caleldir's grip on her. She didn't seem to care or even notice that she was the only naked person in the room. "If you don't want to raise her, I'll be happy to claim her as my own." Ashyr offered softly. She knew all too well the stigma against non-drow sires. She also didn't give a damn about all of it. Ashyr was Matron; she would make new rules and set new standards.

"Thank you dearest. I... I think I'll be happy to have her for myself. I'll need your help, of course." Selene responded. Her robes melted down to her normal attire as she felt herself become calmer and come to terms with what was happening.

"Of course." Ashyr responded with a warm smile. Who else was there to help her, when the rest of their family were dead or irredeemable traitors? Her eyes glanced up at Caleldir to gauge his reaction to all this. He was being serious, and saying that he was a disappointment to his father. She imagined, with the values of the flip-flopped surface world, the situation could be very similar to a mother being disappointed by a daughter. Was it a bad sign that Caleldir mentioned this, or a good one?

"You know, I was thinking about having another before... all this." Selene confessed. "I didn't want it to happen this way." She shrugged weakly. "But it did. And I think I'll be okay with it after all this extra danger has passed."

Caleldir held Selene close and tenderly, although he draped his arm around Ashyr too once the other drow (first time ever that Ashyr was the 'other' drow, but now, in a very real way, Selene had a much greater claim on him than her cousin did, a situation that Caleldir was not quite sure how to react to, seeing as he still preferred the less drow-ish drow). "We can raise her as a trio." Caleldir said. "If you will allow me to assist, of course."

Selene scoffed at him, but there was now the ghost of a smile on her features. Not that Caleldir would be able to see, as her face was lowered and partially pressed into him. "You get to help whether you like it or not. We have to have a male around to do the dirty work, and my relatives recently disqualified themselves."

A quick laugh came from the older drow. Ashyr knew her cousin to be mostly serious, but there was a hint of a joke in there.

Caleldir could not help but give a laugh at Selene's words. "Oh? I suppose that I will have to abide by tradition then." It was funny how the Underdark and the overworld has such opposite customs when it came to children. Caleldir did not mind, though, as long as he was not expected to nurse the child, he could do the rest. Granted, with the way his life went, said child would likely spend much of her infancy on his back while they traveled the world. But with a few warding spells to keep her safe, that should not be a problem. He continued in the sardonic voice of one who knew he was engaging in the blackest of black humor. "Your relatives have shown themselves to be rather incapable of looking after girls, I must admit."

Selene frowned hard. That angry facade melted into a crooked grin. She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You tread on dangerous ground, boy." She warned before chuckling darkly. Apparently she decided to be amused by his words. She could have also went through a painful flashback: thus the warning.

Caleldir winced a little when Selene first looked angry, hoping that he had not crossed some line or another, but relaxed when she grinned. "I am always on dangerous ground around you, my irresistible ravisher. It is rather ironic that you always seem to get the better of me, despite my being a thousand year old ghost king by night, or some such."

Selene scoffed at Caleldir. "I don't think I much want to contend with 'ghost king' you. He's not quite as appealing." (And she was fucking terrified of him.) "But you are right. I am dangerous." Or she liked to think she was. Recently she didn't feel it. She swore to herself then that she would do better. If her child was to be a paragon, then Selene would need to step up her game to hope to keep up with her.

Althaia looked towards the trio on the bed with obvious envy. When had those three gotten so close? She cursed herself inwardly for how wild she had gotten during their trip through Clachleom. If she had decided to bond with her party instead of seducing every woman, and occasionally their husbands, who caught her eye (it had been disappointingly easy, actually, she liked a challenge, which apparently no one but the immune Caleldir could give her) she might have had such a close relationship. Maybe even she would be pregnant too. But no, she was forever the outsider, the too-pretty nymph only barely tolerated by the loving trio she had imposed upon. "I see I am not needed." She said sadly. "I will leave you to your family bonding." Looking rather depressed, her eyes a dull black, she glided out of the room.

The smile died on Ashyr's lips. She caught a glimpse of black in the nymph's eyes and her all-around depressed spirits. The older drow didn't exactly feel sorry for her personally, but she did recognize that a major asset to their party would not function as well if she felt like an outsider. So, as much as Ashyr would have loved to stay there and just hug Caleldir and Selene, she pulled away from the both of them, gave them each a quick kiss on the forehead, and went after Althaia.

"Wait a minute, nymph." Ashyr called after her softly as she jogged out of the room.

The nymph stopped and turned around. "You called after me?" She said softly. "There is no need. I have been pretty terrible to you three, and even Selene's bluntness did not show me the true error of my ways." She sighed like the wind in the trees. "What I would like to say is that I am sorry for my behavior in Clachleom, and to a certain extent, before that." It was at times like this that the nymph looked the youngest, perhaps even younger than Caleldir.

Ashyr blinked at Althaia's words. It hadn't even occurred to her to feel insulted by Althaia's running about in the more populated lands. Ashyr might have done something similar if she didn't have what she considered a wealth of sexual partners already. An incredulous grin spread across her face. "Althaia. You don't have to apologize for that. I think that you forget we are drow. Wild sexual exploits are kind of our thing - uh, well, maybe not so much as your people... What I'm trying to say is that we didn't mind that. You always came back in the morning and never truly left us." Ashyr took the nymph's hand in hers. She suspected Althaia would appreciate the physical contact.

"We're not angry with you, we're just... dealing with some stuff. As you may realize. And anyway, it takes us a long time to warm up to someone. I traveled with Caleldir constantly for almost a month before I even had a proper conversation with him." And that conversation had been pretty awkward.

Althaia did appreciate the contact. She grasped Ashyr's hand rather tightly in way far more emotional than sexual. "As paradoxical as it may seem." She said. "The presence of my sisters actually helped restrain me quite a lot. Seeing how they thought of nothing but sex made me desperate not to be like them. But when I left, I went wild, not having any bad examples to compare myself to. So I am mostly angry at myself for becoming the wild, flighty sort that I so despised. But thank you for your kind words. I will be patient, then, and not try to rush things. Just do not be afraid to tell me when I am being annoying." She smiled, letting Ashyr's hand go. "But I really will leave you three to your family problems. As of right now, you do not need me there gawking. I will just go and see if that annoying snake fellow and the sexy human are still following us."

"If they are, I would be interested to find out how they kept up with us while we were riding that huge spider war machine." Ashyr responded with a laugh. "That last leg of our journey was supposed to take, like, five days. Oh, and if you do find them, tell them to stop skulking about. If they had just asked, we might have considered letting them come with us. We're a surprisingly accepting group, considering." More accurately, Ashyr was uncharacteristically accepting for a drow. Selene might have seemed like a strong and domineering personality, but it was Ashyr who always got what she wanted.

"Well, this town is not unknown." Althaia mused. "They could have very easily decided to come straight here rather than tracking you at all. If so, they could be here by now, since you lost five days with the dryad. And I will let them know, although I think that snake just likes being sneaky for sneakiness sake's." With that, the nymph began to take her leave.

Ashyr watched as the nymph walked away from her, but not before Althaia gave her a quick look and a wink. Ashyr blinked down at herself. Right. She was still naked. Ashyr laughed at herself before letting her armor pop back onto her body. Althaia giggled, and was gone.

--

With both other women gone, Selene then felt free to secure herself tighter in Caleldir's embrace. She didn't so much crawl into his lap as she turned and straddled him. There was a gleam of confidence and defiance in her eyes, though emotional exhaustion still prevailed. "Looks like I took so much more from you than your virginity." She told him in a near taunting voice. The thought made her feel somehow powerful, a necessary-to-Selene emotion that she had been sorely lacking recently.

Caleldir dropped his hands so that they were on Selene's hips. Her confident declaration made him snort a bit, although her familiar taunting attitude did cause him to begin to return to arousal. "I suppose that you did." He said seriously. "I would never have guessed that you would take my celibacy and make me a father all in the space of a few eventful minutes." He gave her a searching look. Selene's moods frequently put him on his guard, never quite sure how to respond. Shrugging, he decided to do what felt natural. He put his hand to her cheek. "I never could resist you, after all."

The younger drow's face went from amused to arrogantly confident. She chose to tolerate the hand that he put on her cheek. It felt good to be touched affectionately in her emotionally raw state. Since Ashyr was trying to reign in Althaia and could not be there, well, Selene supposed that Caleldir was acceptable. "Of course you can't." Selene responded. It was obvious to her that she was irresistible, but she still very clearly enjoyed hearing it.

Withdrawing his hand, Caleldir leaned back. "So... should we raid a storehouse? Prepare for our journey tomorrow? Nothing gets rid of stress quite like loot and magic, after all."

"We can go loot a storehouse..." She bit her lip as different ideas passed through her head. Mostly, they consisted of showing Caleldir just how much power she could exert over him. Selene decided against it. Perhaps there would be time later. Her thighs gripped his sides in a brief but tight squeeze before she dismounted him entirely and let herself lie back onto the bed. "We just need to wait for Althaia and Ashyr to finish... whatever it is they're doing."

Caleldir slid off the bed. A small part of him was disappointed that she did not go with her first urge to 'exert her power', but then again, they did have things to do. "Well then, let us be off. Something tells me those two are done. Probably the sight of Althaia gliding away outside. Let us go find Ashyr."