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La'ria looked into her mother's brown eyes. The fierceness, and the bloodlust that filled them a lifetime ago had long since left them. They had been filled since then with a stream of memories and love, filled with beautiful sights and sounds. The memory of Shadowheart's smile, Astarion's laugh, Gale's lectures, Wyll's bravery, Lae'zel looked into her daughter's small eyes, longing to teach her of the souls who helped give her own life meaning.
Lae'zel thought of Minthara, and her cold, but caring gaze, of Jaheira, and her life of experience and the advice she gave. She thought of Minsc and Halsin, and their big hearts to match their stature, she thought of Karlach... the tears flow as La'ria reaches her small hand up to her mother's face, rubbing a tiny hand against her wet cheeks. "I'll teach you about all of them little moon, and of your mother... I'll teach you all about them." She sees Arilda in her mind, the anxious smile and her tousled hair, and all the nights they spent together. "I love you La'ria."
A loud belch interrupts the tender moment, as a familiar blue skinned gith walks out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Lae'zy, did you eat all the dumplings?" Arilda asked, her body thin, and weak, but she was rapidly working at putting all that weight back on, snack, by snack. "Can I hold La'ria Lae'zy, I wanna play with her again!" Lae'zel scoffs and smiles at her wife. "Fine, but not too rough, you seem to see her more as a playmate, than the bright young scholar she will one day become."
"Pffft." Arilda exclaims, plopping herself on the sofa. "I know what babies like, La'ria, this is for you." Arilda stretches out her hand, a collection of noodles in her pale blue palm. The child's eyes go wide, staring at the floppy collection of string, it was glorious.
"I.. tsk'va.. there's two of you." Lae'zel watches in horror as the child slurps the noodles down, she smiles with her few sharp teeth. A knock comes at the door, Arilda groaned, "You get it Lae'zy, I'm still recovering from my near death experience." Lae'zel scoffs, "Chk, you fell asleep! there was no near death experience, the baby came out and you dozed off!"
Lae'zel opened the door, and standing there was Gale and Charyl Dekarios, a small pale baby was being held by the slender half drow woman. Her large red eyes full of a genuine happiness that the gith had rarely seen in the actress. "Gale! Charry!" Arilda exclaims, carrying La'ria over to greet them.
The two infants stared at each other. as if they were some foreign creature. "Liza, meet La'ria!" Charyl said, looking paler and thinner than normal, in her usual spider silk dress. "Her name is Elizabet, but Tara took to calling her Liza and it stuck." Gale chuckles, but his eyes betray his mirth, as he takes Liza from Charyl's shaking arms.
"May we come in, I wanted to..talk with you Arilda." The couple comes in the house, sitting the two infants in the floor together, as they examine each other's strange features, La'ria grabbing a lock of Liza's grey and brown curly hair.
Lae'zel and Charyl sit with the infants, as Gale recounts his story to Arilda, it seems that even with his magic, and the success of Arilda's pregnancy, Charyl was on borrowed time.
Lae'zel and Arilda curled up in bed later that night, their faces pressed against each others. "My moon, what would I be without you?" Arilda chuckled, booping Lae'zel's nose. "You'd still be a grump I'm sure!" The two women kiss, grateful for their daughter, grateful for their time together. Gale kisses Charyl goodnight in his own bed, her hands cold and weak. The two gith are grateful for all they have, because as Gale wakes up screaming, they realize how quickly it is taken away.
