Blaidd was confused. Mallinwas giggling on his head as he wandered through the hefty snow. He could hear Fia and Melina bickering over the map while Ranni pestered the exhausted Marika about these new powers. Blaidd just really wanted a nap right now. His ears hung down slightly, and his snout would sometimes exhale a soft whine. After the fourth, Luna clearly caught on.
"I think we should make camp. Blaidd is exhausted, and we've been traveling for twenty hours. We need to take a breath and figure out our way." The knight patted the wolfman's back as she smiled up at her friend. Malli hugged his head.
"Papa seepy, make me seepy..." She let out a pretend yawn for emphasis, which made the beastman chuckle warmly.
...
Malli let out a long and heavy yawn, slumped across Blaidd's neck with her body entirely wrapped around him. He was careful as he ate to not shift too much or else disturb the baby.
Marika smiled gently as she watched the newly bonded father daughter duo. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Malli reminded her a lot of better times for some reason. She turned to focus back on the large spit, turning the reindeer Ranni had sniped down while they had prepared their camp. A few simple tents and stable anchor for their supplies in a nearby tree.
Fia softly nibbled at a bit of the bread they had set out. Warm rolls that had been made by the fire. She smiled warmly as she chewed, enjoying the natural butteriness of the roll. She looked over and observed as Ranni pestered Melina over a few small tricks she had been remastering, fussing over her progress as inadequate when she was making leaps and bounds that most would take years to make.
She sighed happily, resting a cheek against her palm as she watched her candle and new found snowflake talk. Melina had a gentle patience to her face, nodding along and congratulating the otherwise rather self doubting witch over each new spell and trick. She always seemed so self-assured from the times she had heard of the snow witch. Was this the result of mortality, or was she genuinely this good at hiding her anxieties in public?
Luna yawned slowly, drooling a little as she watched the turning roast. She was starving, though the cold had little effect on her. Her armor had been enchanted by Marika, the scarf specifically, so she felt warm and comfortable no matter the storm she stood in. Her fingers lightly traced the gold fabric admiringly, glancing up at her gilded queen as she did.
Marika glanced back, blushing subtly as she raised a brow. Her lips twitched to a little smile. Her knight rose and moved to sit behind her as the knight's hands gently cradled the now visibly grown belly. While the spells in place, based on the grace sites, ensured the baby would never be harmed in battle, Luna was still very nervous to let Marika go back to a frontline fighter. She had rethought this when she watched her lover take a stones word the size of a small building and whip it around like a toy.
"How is he doing?" She whispered gently as she rubbed along the small bump.
"Good. I think I even felt him moving the other night."
"So soon?"
"I know. I'm not even sure how far along I am. Time has felt so..."
"Warped. These lands seem to have some struggle in its chronostability and river ties."
"...?"
The knight chuckled, kissing her muscular bride in the cheek. "Time is funky here."
"Mmm, talking to me as if I was the child now?" She smiled playfully with a soft nudge against Luna's side with her elbow. The knight let out a light wheeze, laughing right after as she nuzzled against her queen's neck.
"Come now, as if anyone could mistake your wise mind for childish. Or your form." The knight teasingly rubbed her hands along Marika's forearms. The queen blushed, growling lightly at her knight.
"Careful. Se need to preserve our energy... for tonight." Pecking her knight's cheek, smiling to her as the steam evaporated from her moonlit eyes. Marika laughed outright, and her knight smiled fully at the sound. "Must you always be so... theatrical?"
"Of course I do." Her knight gave a charming smile, lightly tracing a finger along the gold goddess's chin. "Life would be so much duller if I took it all so... seriously..." She smirked, kissing Marika's now very red nose and stood as she walked to grab the carving tools. "Food looks about ready!"
Marika covered her face as she heard Melina let out an enthusiastic, "Woo!" While Fia and Blaidd laughed. That was so very unfair, and Marika sometimes wondered if she did this purely for the purpose of making her a mess. She was equally perplexed by her own feelings on that possibility.
Melina danced lightly in her seat, smiling happily beside Ranni as Luna began to cut into the meat. She had been dying to dig into this. Blaidd had some wicked spices from the strange cottage lady that had smelled incredible, and now they had whole reindeer meat to have with it. She couldn't help but drool a little as the moonlit knight carved down a fresh piece, handing each out and quickly snatching her plate. Thankfully, Luna found this cute and laughed at her hunger, which Melina was relieved by.
She dug in, instantly adoring the very new flavors. It was spicy, had notes of orange, and peppers and so many new flavors. It instantly made her think of a seaside town, and she wondered if the place this blend came from might just be like that. "Holy cow... this is incredible..."
"It's called a Cajun spice blend. At least, the version I was taught. Comes from a place pretty heavy in seafood culture and makes what you can style cooking."
"Make what you can?"
"Let's just say the kingdom above them was deeply uncaring of its people. Especially those not of a very certain skin tone."
Blaidd snorted between bites. "Sound like a bunch of idiots."
Ranni patted his arm at that. "Good boy, Blaidd."
"What I do??" Instantly alight with a smile.
Luna laughed warmly at their reactions. Fia spoke up next. "So where did you learn this?"
"Oh, that would be my spouse." Marika's brow quirked at that.
"She can cook like this, hm?"
"For some reason, I think it's he now." Marika gave her a startled look for a moment. "Couldn't tell you why. Just a feeling I got about a month or two back while you were resting."
Fia raised a brow. "Husband then? But..."
"I am polyamorous. Like you three."
"Ohhhh." Fia nodded in understanding now. Marika decided that keeping quiet about not knowing Luna was even here part to herself.
Ranni smirked between little bites as she wasn't inclined to devour or inhale her food quite like her companions oft to do. "So you are a rampant flirt?"
Luna blushed madly, rubbing her neck. "No. Yes. Kind of..."
Marika touched her hand, squeezing it gently with a reassuring smile. "It's alright. You just have a big heart, and too honest a mouth." That got Ranni giggling and Melina snickering. Her knight hung her head in a playful display of shame, which got every giggling at that point.
"Papa... seepy time..." Malli mumbled out. Blaidd chuckled as he stood.
"Guess it's time to pack up for us. Night folks. Night sister." He hugged Ranni closely before giving a fistbump to Luna as he walked back yo their tent. He was soon sprawled out with Malli laid across his face like a cat.
Marika took Luna's hand. "We will pack up the food for tonight. Why don't you three go rest?"
Fia, Ranni, and Melina nodded, cleaning up their seats before retiring to their own tent. Soon, Ranni was completely surrounded by the other two women. Unfortunately, it was because Melina was draped back down across her lower half and stomach at a strange angle, while Fia nearly smothered her face with her very close thigh centric cuddling. She wasn't sure, however, if she should complain or nestle deeper.
Marika cleaned and stored the rest of the food alongside her knight. The two worked in general silence as one anothers company had become more than enough. As they finished stringing up the meat, the two turned and bumped into each other lightly.
"Oops." The knight chuckled softly, rubbing her forehead.
"So clumsy." Marika pouted slightly with her hands rested on her hips.
"Always so easy to stir." Luna whispered, gently wrapping an arm around Marika's waist.
The golden queen sighed and grew redder as she laid her arms over the shoulders of her knight. "Such a tease..."
"You love it." She pecked Marika's nose, which quickly made the queen smile.
The two rested in front of their tent, foreheads pressed together for a few moments of peace.