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Navia arrives in Natlan a few days after her friends there are expected to have returned from their island holiday. (She rather regrets that she and her wives were unable to join them, it sounded like it would be fun.)
She notes as she passes Xilonen's workshop that her apprentices appear to have started their days early - she can hear the ring of a hammer on metal and the roar of flames.
The staff of the Speaker's Chamber nod to her as she passes, and at Mavuika and Xilonen's rooms her gentle knock is answered immediately. By Wriothesley. She hadn't thought he had plans to be here today.
"Morning," he says, smiling. "Come in. Mavuika and Xilonen will probably be back pretty soon."
Navia enters.
Serena is on the floor, where Raiden Ei is sitting with her and apparently attempting to follow Serena's explanation of what her toys are doing, which is always a significantly more complex narrative than Navia personally would have expected. Yae Miko is holding Hine. They both seem to be watching this.
"Good morning, all," Navia says. "Are Mavuika and Xilonen asleep?" It would be quite reasonable. As far as Navia is aware Hine still refuses to be at peace unheld and it is disruptive to her parents' sleep.
"No, they're in Xilonen's workshop," Wriothesley answers. "Xilonen is building something new. She took Mavuika to speed up the process."
Navia blinks. "Interesting."
"It's pretty urgent." Wriothesley is as aware as she is that Mavuika and Xilonen prefer to keep Hine near at least one of them at all times. Hine often gets distressed if neither of her parents is in reach.
"For the moment I have enchanted myself to carry Xilonen's scent." Miko doesn't look away from Ei and Serena. "It appears to be helping."
"Did something happen?" Navia asks, taking a seat on the other couch.
"Knowing you," Wriothesley says, "you've probably noticed that Xilonen doesn't show her teeth much."
This is true, Navia thinks. She tends to smile with her lips closed. "I take it there's a reason."
"They're pointy, and I think we're all aware that she's been hurt about the chimera thing." Wriothesley grimaces. Navia empathises - there are people who are beyond the reach of their vengeance, no matter how much they deserve it.
"She's doing much better," Miko says. "And I will allow that even I am sympathetic to her reaction to Hine's manifestation of a new chimera trait today."
Navia can draw connections. "Oh, no."
"Quite," Miko says. "Her first tooth is early and it is very sharp. She drew blood."
Navia winces in profound sympathy. Callas's relatively blunt teeth were a significant influence on the timing of his weaning.
"Mavuika came to our place asking about the bottles we used for Serena," Wriothesley says. "Right now Xilonen's building some kind of pump to facilitate using them."
"Expressing by hand is tedious," Navia says with conviction, because she's done it and it is.
"Xilonen would seem to agree," Miko says.
"She got very intense," Wriothesley says with a hint of amusement. "Nobody's going to argue with her about her little workshop binge."
"As a birth mother myself I could only be her most ardent supporter," Navia says firmly. "Babies have surprising strength when it comes to biting."
"The dog goes after it, but it's all muddy. There's so much mud! Oh, no! Sorry, mek! The dog says sorry about the mud! The scientists are very sorry too. Sorry, mek! They go and go, run run run, and the dog goes woof! Woof! Woof!" Serena says, and looks expectantly at Raiden Ei.
The Electro Archon stares. "What do I do?" she whispers, seeming quite alarmed.
"Tell the dog 'good job'," Wriothesley says confidently.
"Good job, dog," Raiden Ei says uncertainly, and then visibly melts when Serena beams at her.
"It's easier when they're yours," Wriothesley says. "You get a lot more practice."
~
There's a positive side to Hine's two little fangs and Xilonen's immediate refusal to breastfeed any more, Mavuika thinks. Feeding Hine is no longer a task exclusively reserved to Xilonen, and Mavuika loves it. There's something deeply rewarding about holding her daughter close and holding the bottle for her.
It takes Xilonen a few days of frequent redesigns to get the pumping machine to where she's happy with it, and almost as long to come up with a way to keep Hine from shredding the bottle teats. The answer, it turns out, is talk to Granny Ping and use adeptal magic. The chiller box Xilonen made some time ago is helpful for keeping the milk cold between when Xilonen pumps it and Hine drinks it, and Mavuika can warm it back to body temperature for her.
After all of that is resolved Xilonen is much happier, which also pleases Mavuika. She finds it easier to work while using the machine than while holding Hine. The time Xilonen spends with Hine she now spends playing with her instead of feeding her, and Mavuika thinks that might be a positive.
Hine is also starting to accept not being held all the time, which is both healthy, Mavuika is sure, and also something that feels a little like a loss anyway. She likes sitting and looking around at things, especially outside, and she, Cusi and Makani seem to like sitting together and staring at each other. Sometimes they make noises.
Three days before Mavuika's birthday they try settling her for the night in the infant bed that's been largely unused in their bedroom for months, and she sleeps.
"I can't believe it," Xilonen whispers.
Mavuika feels very torn. "Maybe I should..." She hesitates.
Xilonen tugs her away from their daughter. "You should let her sleep."
"But -"
"We are three feet away." Xilonen pushes her onto their bed. "I'm going to kiss you while there's no-one else in our home," she adds, and does exactly that.
Mavuika has a definite sense of loss at Hine's first step towards independence, but at the same time... they haven't had this since Xilonen was only a few months pregnant. It got uncomfortable for her to lie on top of Mavuika like this, and Mavuika has really, really missed it.
Xilonen is cupping her cheek tenderly, smiling into their kisses and purring, and Mavuika wonders that she lived without this for years.
~
Xilonen is very pleased at how many people she invited to Mavuika's birthday party were able to show up. She's slightly surprised that includes Arlecchino, but the Harbinger arrived punctually with a gift and, as far as Xilonen can tell, is now talking to Wriothesley about children and/or tea.
Charlotte is wandering around taking pictures, but she has promised Xilonen that they're not for publication - she'll give Xilonen and Mavuika a set of prints and show them to absolutely no-one who isn't present at the party.
Miko said that sounded very thoughtful and she'd love to see the pictures and she was sure Charlotte would keep her word in a sort of terrifying way, so Xilonen isn't that worried.
Dehya did bring her wife, and Xilonen agrees with her that Candace is both great and also terrifying. Xilonen thinks she and Chasca were born to be friends. Xilonen had seating in the hall for the party set up for easy conversational groups. Chasca and Candace settle in the corner talking like old friends, which appears to be causing Ajaw great anguish because he desperately wants to talk to Candace about desert road construction and maintenance but he's wary of Chasca and terrified of Miko, who's sitting quite near them.
Miko arrived at the party and came straight to Xilonen, which no-one is going to think twice about because on the assumption that Mualani and Chasca are family, actually, Miko and Xilonen are somehow best friends. (Xilonen still finds that weird. It's not that Miko isn't great, it's just that Miko's an outlander and Xilonen hasn't even known her since childhood.)
On this occasion, Miko didn't come to Xilonen because she just wanted to connect with her bestie, or even to greet the hostess of this awesome party.
She came straight to Xilonen so she could hug her as an excuse to get close enough to whisper, "Say nothing. It's your fault anyway," because she obviously knew that the instant Xilonen got within a few feet of her she would know that Miko is pregnant.
"Was I this obvious?" Xilonen asked, wondering.
"Likely," Miko sighed. "One's own scent is hard to detect, but you were very obvious."
"Well, congratulations," Xilonen said, and hugged her a little tighter and longer than she would have otherwise. When they drew apart Miko was smiling. "By the way, I'm almost certain Xiangling and Escoffier are going to have a cook-off again and I made sure we had a huge stockpile of tofu so they could compete over frying it."
"What a thoughtful way for you to confine the damage," Miko said. "I shall leave you to your hosting."
Xilonen does have to greet everyone, because that way Mavuika can be talking to people, where talking to people currently means paying very serious attention while Callas shows her every single item from the bag of toys his parents brought to keep him entertained. If Xilonen hadn't already had Mavuika's baby she'd probably be in heat by sundown, it's that precious.
Xilonen is taking a great sense of personal satisfaction in the number of people she could bring here. She remembers Mavuika's birthday that time between when they won the war and when she and Xilonen started dating. There was a huge party at every tribe, and Mavuika went to all of them, making a brief appearance at each before moving on to the next.
It had been her idea to do that instead of the bonfires setting up outside the Stadium. She'd said that was too much trouble, anyway, but Xilonen thinks maybe if there'd only been one party it would have just felt too lonely for Mavuika to stay at that one place being celebrated by a crowd where everyone would cheer her but nobody would really talk to her.
There wouldn't be a toddler holding up a wooden bee and saying, "Bzzz!" There wouldn't be dozens of people wishing her a happy birthday and bringing her gifts they've actually thought about.
There wouldn't be people who were both relaxed and sober within fifty feet of her.
And of course, she wouldn't be getting misty-eyed about having her daughter with her on her birthday for the first time, and there would have been no-one to drop the baby off with Benny and Mualani after breakfast so they could have a couple of hours to themselves before the party.
Xilonen is pretty sure Mualani assumed she was doing that so they could have sex, but it's not like she was wrong or like Xilonen wouldn't do the same for her and Benny, so.
Around the time everyone has arrived and Xilonen has greeted them is when Wriothesley has to go and take Serena for her nap. Xilonen thinks Arlecchino might be expecting to sit alone in quiet dignity, but that isn't happening - Xilonen takes the seat Wriothesley vacated almost immediately.
"Lady Xilonen," the Harbinger greets her. "Thank you once again for inviting me." Arlecchino smiles, pleasant and remarkably convincing.
"Just Xilonen is fine," Xilonen replies. "And you're very welcome. You don't have a drink. Would you like one?"
"No need, but I do appreciate the offer."
"Totally up to you." Xilonen glances at where Callas is reluctantly accepting being parted from Mavuika and smiles. "Kids are so cute."
Arlecchino follows her gaze and her smile becomes a shade warmer. "That boy does seem to adore her."
"He really does. I can't tell whether it's just one of those things or if it's something to do with the extra blessing she put on him when he was born."
"Extra blessing?" Arlecchino's strange eyes focus on Xilonen.
"He was born in Natlan. Mavuika's his god," Xilonen explains casually. "She blessed him to strengthen his connection to the leylines so he'd be safe to go back to Fontaine."
"Quite the act of generosity," Arlecchino says. Xilonen thought she'd know that.
"He's one of hers. Mavuika takes care of her people." Xilonen sips her Fonta. "You can ask, you know."
Arlecchino smiles faintly. "Why did you invite me to this gathering of friends and family?"
"Technically I didn't say I'd answer." Xilonen twists in her seat to face the Harbinger more. "How well did you know the Captain?"
Arlecchino's expression doesn't change. "Not very."
"He was a hero," Xilonen says simply. "He saved my life at least twice, and he helped save Natlan."
"He sacrificed himself for you, and you think that means the Harbingers might be your friends?" Arlecchino asks, and Xilonen tries not to laugh loudly enough to draw attention.
"One of the Harbingers kidnapped me and my friend as part of some little power play and you have no idea how annoying that has made my life any time I go to Fontaine," she points out. "As a group I wouldn't spit on the Harbingers if they caught fire. You see any of the others with invitations to my wife's birthday party?"
"I don't." Arlecchino leans back in her seat, watching Xilonen thoughtfully.
"So why did I invite you to this gathering of friends and family?"
Arlecchino is silent for a few moments. "How well did you know the Captain?"
"I think the sum total of my conversations with him before his sacrifice was about two sentences of battle strategy." Xilonen wonders how smart she is.
"And after that?
Very, apparently. "A little better." Definitely no need to explain that she's been talking to him and the Lord of the Night Kingdom herself, lately.
"You know the purposes of the Harbingers are not bound to the will of the Tsaritsa," Arlecchino says slowly.
"Yeah, but you're about to guess wrong." Xilonen sips her Fonta again, holds the bubbles on her tongue.
"Are you suggesting you are not attempting to convince me that yours is the side of righteousness?" Arlecchino raises an eyebrow.
"I literally have no idea what the Harbingers are trying to achieve," Xilonen points out. "I have no opinion of what sides we're on or what it means. I don't have any information to form one."
"Then what is your purpose?" Arlecchino narrows her eyes.
"Freminet is a good kid, the best. I like Lynette a lot. Lyney would be great too if he didn't try quite so hard." Xilonen isn't going to lie here. "I don't really know your other kids but I really respect that you've taken care of them. They admire you. It's a start, you know?"
"I don't follow," Arlecchino says, and that makes Xilonen a little sad.
"I invited you to this gathering of friends and family because I'm inviting you to be a friend," Xilonen says. "You don't have to be. It's your choice. And I'm not exactly offering you full trust or anything, but I trust you wouldn't hurt our kids, which is the main thing."
"You seek a path to avoid conflict," Arlecchino tries.
"This is Natlan. Have you met us? We don't really try that hard to avoid conflict. No. I'm suggesting that you could come by for a drink now and then, maybe talk tea with one of the several people I know who are obsessed with it. Maybe arm wrestle guys from the Collective of Plenty or go to dance night at the Children of Echoes. I don't know what you're into."
"You truly don't seem to be afraid of me," Arlecchino says slowly.
"I draw your attention to the presence of the Hydro Dragon, the Heroes of Natlan, and multiple Archons, one of them my wife," Xilonen says. "All of them love me. Why would I be afraid?"
Arlecchino glances around the room. "None of them are closer to you than I am."
"Doesn't make a difference," Xilonen says. "I mean, I'm trying to be friendly here but I'm not going to pretend we're not being watched with loving paranoia."
"You think they could stop me?" Arlecchino asks with a hint of scorn.
"I know they could." Xilonen smiles. "This is Natlan. We're not stupid."
For a poised, still moment she thinks Arlecchino might test it. Not hurt her, but try and take her drink or something.
"Interesting," Arlecchino says instead.
"When the Captain arrived here he and Mavuika fought," Xilonen says. "She kicked his ass and she's stronger now than she was then. Unless you think you're considerably stronger than the First Harbinger, you can safely assume she could kick yours too. You can make her prove it and turn all of Natlan into your enemies, or you can chill and maybe get a drink. The food will be out soon. There's normal food coming, or if you're feeling adventurous you can see what the results of Xiangling and Escoffier having a fried tofu duel is going to be like." She stands. "If you're not in the mood to be chatty the fun part of the party is over there. Venti's going to start talking Benny's dads into telling stories. They have good stories."
Xilonen has to take a break from the party now to go and pump milk, but she's going to grab Miko on her way out of the hall because they need to talk.
Miko watches her set up the pumping machine. "Please tell me that isn't as painful as it looks."
"No, it's fine," Xilonen says. "It doesn't hurt at all." And even if it did it would be better than those needle-sharp little fangs.
"I see." Miko sits on the couch next to her, sideways with her toes tucked under Xilonen's thigh. "Go on, then."
Xilonen can't move too much, which is unfortunate, because she has a Mualani-like urge to be physically demonstrative. "You're pregnant. I'm thrilled for you, I thought it wasn't going to be for ages."
Miko glares at her, but it's the cute version, not the terrifying one. "As I said, I blame you. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to watch my wife with children and not want to have our own?"
"The last few months before I got pregnant I was at risk of going into heat any time I saw Mavuika with a baby, so yes," Xilonen says. "How did it go? Did you use grounding rods?"
"Lightning tends to come from the sky. Tenshukaku already has lightning rods," Miko points out. "In any case, the ancillary effects were minimal. Ei has some experience of participating in rituals, and it was all quite controlled."
Xilonen tilts her head. "Rituals." The book did mention rituals, but...
"Of course. This was divine conception." Miko frowns. "You have done this yourself, you know that."
"I mean, yes, but..." Xilonen isn't sure how to word this. "Did you enjoy it?"
"It was more interesting than most rituals," Miko says. "Again... you did this."
Xilonen gives up on trying to be circumspect. "I got pregnant, sure. I also got spectacularly laid. I did tell you the bed caught fire, didn't I? Did you even have sex?"
"Not at the same time!" Miko looks scandalised. "Have you no respect for tradition at all?"
"Getting pregnant by having sex is pretty traditional, Miko."
"Well, I -" Miko shakes her head. "I have no idea how to combine sex with an act of -" She stops.
Xilonen grins. "You should finish that sentence. I'm pretty sure I've got an answer for every possible ending."
Miko looks away, a smile tugging at her lips. "An act of devotion?"
"I have questions about how you usually approach your sex life if that's not actually standard."
"An act of worship?"
"We've talked about that before, although in this context it might be Ei who'd be on her knees."
"Submission to the divine?"
"I know what you publish. Wasn't there some kind of isekai with crazy power dynamics?"
"You read that?" Miko looks back, raising her eyebrows.
"No. I had my sex life compared to it against my will." Xilonen intends to remain stubborn about not reading light novels even if she ever has time. "Heat instincts are the worst."
"How unfortunate." Miko looks thoughtful. "Really? On her knees?"
"I think we were floating, technically, but there was a broad equivalence." Xilonen remembers that heat surprisingly clearly and with great fondness.
"Interesting." Miko is, very faintly, blushing. "I suppose we are not as... adventurous as you."
"I'm not making fun of you," Xilonen says firmly, because that's important to be clear about. "The only thing that matters is that you're both enjoying yourselves." Miko and Ei have spent centuries trapped in a kind of stasis. Any kind of change must be terrifying. "You know it's kind of incredible that you've managed to get here at all, right?"
"I sometimes think so." Miko smiles. "And I have been enjoying it very much."
"That's what counts. I mean... look at it this way. Of you, me, and our wives, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who really had a lot of experience before getting together with the one I'm sticking with, and all that means is that I'm the only one who's had a lot of bad sex." Xilonen is aware that Mavuika is of the firm opinion that it's never been bad between them, even when Xilonen was recovering from getting hurt and in a terrible mood and kind of aiming for that.
"I can't imagine," Miko says.
"Exactly my point." Xilonen doesn't tend to dwell on it. So far the pre-Mavuika life consequences she's actually encountered are still limited to one weird stalker she'd never actually even spoken to. "The good thing is you already knew I don't adhere to proper rituals and somehow you love me anyway."
Miko narrows her eyes. "Somehow?"
Xilonen groans. "Seriously? That wasn't even - fine. You already knew I don't adhere to proper rituals and because I'm so great you love me anyway."
"Better," Miko says. "You are on a self-deprecation restriction until Mavuika, Mualani, Chasca and I are agreed upon your release. No exceptions."
"Am I allowed to say I hate all of you?"
"You adore me," Miko says, accurately. "Don't be silly."
~
It was inevitable that Hine would get hungry at the party. Mavuika brought bottles in a bucket of ice for her. Another of the advantages of this new system is that Xilonen can, just barely, get ahead of Hine's appetite.
Mavuika's talking to Neuvillette when Hine starts indicating that she's hungry. He watches as she takes out the bottle and concentrates for a moment, a gentle flame swirling around the glass until the milk is body temperature.
"I see warming your daughter's milk is a much less complex process for you than we found it," he says with notable envy.
"I'm good at heat," Mavuika acknowledges, offering Hine the bottle.
The party is going well, she thinks, and she can see Xilonen has returned with Miko. Her path was definitely bringing her towards Mavuika, but she's paused to watch where some of their guests are showing off. Mavuika's been enjoying it too.
They've cleared a space at one end of the hall. People were throwing things for Kinich to grapple out of the air. Four people sat on a bench and Iansan lifted it up. Dehya was doing sword tricks when Xilonen arrived, and now Citlali has just put up a wall of glittering ice shield so that Clorinde can take the stage. Ororon is casting something too, dark smoke wrapping around the gun, probably for the noise.
Mavuika watches Xilonen watch as Clorinde takes out some bullets and tosses them up. They glitter in the air as she catches them with her gun. Mualani is throwing some other things in the general direction of the shield - puffed grainfruit kernels, Mavuika is pretty sure - and Clorinde shoots every single one of them out of the air. Ororon's muffling means the sound is soft enough that Hine doesn't even stir.
It's quite impressive. Mavuika is impressed. That's fine. Less pleasing is that Xilonen is clearly impressed, and Mavuika sees her lean over to Navia and she's pretty sure she just read that's really hot on her lips. Navia's smirk suggests she's right.
Mavuika has no concerns about Xilonen's fidelity now that she has actually promised it. It would not only be inappropriate to be jealous, it's unnecessary.
"Where would I get a gun like Clorinde's?" she asks Neuvillette.
"They are somewhat restricted items under Fontainian law," he replies. "I can arrange for you to receive one, but I would request you not carry it in Fontaine without first obtaining the proper permits."
"I won't," she assures him. She's just going to learn to do trick shots, because it seems like it would be an interesting challenge that would be good dexterity training.
Xilonen has resumed her path towards Mavuika, and she's looking at her with a light in her eyes that Mavuika likes and thinks is still just for her, no matter how much Xilonen liked Clorinde's performance.
Neuvillette is watching the party tricks corner. Wriothesley has just stepped up. Mavuika is going to guess that Furina is watching Serena alongside Callas.
Xilonen kisses Mavuika's cheek. "We need to talk about the Collective of Plenty," she says in a low voice. "Or talk to Acatl or Iansan. I'm wondering if Mizuki is right that some of those mushrooms they eat might not actually be safe."
"Why's that?" Mavuika adjusts the bottle she's holding for Hine. Their daughter is getting sleepy, but Mavuika is very sure she hasn't had as much milk as she wants.
"You remember there was that woman who wanted to name the festival for our anniversary something about me being your virgin bride?" Xilonen looks sardonic.
Neuvillette glances away from watching Wriothesley fold paper delicately. "That seems inappropriate," he says.
"In several ways, yeah," Xilonen says. "I don't know if it's the same lady or what, but there's apparently a belief coming out of somewhere around the mountain that Hine was a baby born of a virgin, presumably me, and I think they really need to work on sex education over there."
Mavuika closes her eyes, just for a moment. "Theoretically," she says slowly, "I think it could be done."
"Sure, but we didn't do it," Xilonen says. "And I really don't want that idea to spread far enough that anyone could think either of us is endorsing it. Firstly because look at you. I might have a Geo Vision but I'm not made of stone. Secondly because excuse them but have they looked at me? Have they seen me play? I am undeniably hot and how dare they suggest you have been resisting this temptation for literal years." She smirks.
"Impossible," Mavuika says, because they're at a party and she's holding a baby and she can't prove Xilonen's point any other way right now.
"And thirdly," Xilonen continues, "I really don't want to deal with that getting around and someone coming forward to claim that back in the day so did I."
Neuvillette raises an eyebrow. "Is slander not a crime in Natlan?"
"Technically it's kinda true," Xilonen says with a shrug. "I've heard a rumour there's a woman in the... Scions, maybe? who's mad because - not the point. Without wanting to make Neuvillette uncomfortable, divine conception or not Hine was not born of a virgin and by the time she's old enough to understand these words I want people not to be talking about the sex life of her parents."
"That seems like a reasonable desire," Neuvillette says.
"We'll talk to Acatl," Mavuika assures her wife.
Across the room, Wriothesley tosses a paper bird into the air. It glides a short distance and then breaks apart into a cascade of butterflies.
"That's cool," Xilonen says, glancing over. "Did you see Clorinde's thing, though?"
"I did," Mavuika says, trying to sound totally positive about it.
Neuvillette smiles faintly. "Despite all my centuries as Iudex, expanding my circles of acquaintance as I have done of late has done much to broaden my understanding of human nature," he says. "I wonder. What would be your 'party trick', Mavuika, were you not occupied with your daughter?"
Mavuika sits Hine up to burp her. "What would yours be?" she asks, instead of answering.
"I see your point," he replies, and smiles. "For such as we there is very little we can do to impress our friends that would not be perceived as simply showing off in a way that is unfair to those with only human capacity."
"Exactly," Mavuika says.
"She holds most of Natlan's records, anyway," Xilonen says, and kisses Mavuika's hair. "The point is to impress people and she already did."
Mavuika smiles. She tries.