Chapter Text
The Nexus, sometime in the future.
“Am I supposed to be scared?” asked Aella.
“No,” Lexi said from the other side of the room.
“Yes,” said Thaia, holding their youngest daughter behind her, thereby placing her own body between Aella and the terrible beast in the middle of the living room because she loved her daughter and there were only four other people on the list of people she’d do this for and three of them were Aella’s older sisters and one was Aella’s mother, but with her whole ‘telling their daughter she shouldn’t be scared of the terrifying creature’ thing, Lexi might not be on that list for much longer.
“Thaia, it’s harmless,” said Lexi.
“Nothing harmless has that many legs.”
“I think its face is cute,” said Aella.
“That’s because you’re five and don’t know any better,” said Thaia. “I don’t care what anyone says, miniature pallads are not cute and absolutely no one should be riding them, especially a five-year-old. Now, cover your eyes because—”
“Don’t you dare hurt Snow!” Anahera shouted as she ran from the hallway and slid to a stop next to Lexi.
“I’m sorry, but it has to—” Thaia stopped and looked in disbelief at Anahera. “Did you name this thing?”
“He’s my pet. He lives here, too. So you can’t hurt him.”
“What?” Thaia’s question emerged as little more than a whisper.
Anahera crossed her arms and lifted her chin in challenge. “I adopted him, so he’s part of the family now.”
Thaia looked between the pallad, Anahera, and Lexi until she settled on Lexi. “Not one,” Thaia said slowly, “not a single one of the countless parenting books you had me read had a chapter on arachnophobia and what to do when your daughter decides an arachnid twice the size of a toddler needs to share your home.”
Minutes Earlier...
