Trigger Warning
Chapter 11 is full of domestic abuse like situations. Both physical and mental.
Chapter 7
Mathias was on the one hand relieved that the subject was being changed. While on the other hand feeling trepidation at it being changed to something more urgent. "Umm, okay," he said nervously while fiddling with her feathers, "Lay it on me."
Momentarily distracted, Clara craned her head around to watch his hands. After a moment or two she asked him bemusedly, "Are all mermen this touchy?"
Blushing brightly, Mathias yanked his hands away. "Sorry," he said contritely before answering her question. "I think so. To some extent or other that is."
Seeing his fingers start to nervously trace and drum over his own scales, Clara chuckled and reassured him, "I don't mind, I was just curious." Then, she leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "And if you straighten and smooth my feathers from the base to the tip.Β I'll probably like it."
Giving her a surprisingly shy smile he went back to fiddling with her feathers again, only this time with more purpose. His fingers sunk into the delightfully soft down to find the bases of the silky smooth feathers and glide up to the tips. At first he found it soothing, but soon his anxiety arose once again and he prompted her anxiously, "So?"
Clara shook her head the blissful half smile on her face melting into something a bit grumpier as she muttered, "Oh, right. I can't just enjoy being groomed. I got important shit to talk about." Finally spotting the anxious look on his face she quickly reassured him, "It's nothing bad, it's just important and urgent."
Relaxing a bit Mathias gave her a small encouraging smile and said, "Okay, I'm listening."
"Ah. Right... So, yeah... Anyways!" Clara stumbled along as she tried to figure out how to start. Finally she let out an aggrieved sigh and grumbled, "I don't know how to start. How do you do it?"
"Oh!" Mathias exclaimed and furrowed his brows before saying thoughtfully, "I'd either start with what is most pertinent, or at the beginning."
Clara frowned in concentration and muttered, "Pertinent, pertinent, what does that mean?" Then as Mathias was opening his mouth to explain she plowed on, "Nevermind, not important right now." Chuckling softly, Mathias closed his mouth and waited patiently while she mumbled on, "Beginning, beginning... What is the beginning?... Was it when we fought and fucked? But he already knows about that, he just needs to know why that's important... Maybe that's what pertinent means?"
Once her disjointed mumbling came to an end, Clara brightened up and focused on Mathias' amused yet attentive face. Clearing her throat she told him cheerfully, "Harpies have a hard time conceiving." Mathias quirked an eyebrow at the contrast of her cheerful tone and the serious subject. Clara however happily continued, "The biggest problem is we need to have a hard fight and then fuck, or a sound defeat and then be fucked. But humans are the ones most likely to do such things and they're so weak..." Clara scowled at nothing for a moment before giving the bemused merman a smile and continuing, "And even when we do get a good fight and fuck, it doesn't always happen."
During a lengthy pause where she seemed to be trying to figure out what to say next, Mathias furrowed his brows and asked worriedly, "What would this mean for our offspring?"
Clara worried at her lower lip before admitting softly, "I'm not sure. Harpies always lay eggs. Which means that most of our babies are harpy chicks. Dragon and lizardfolk also lay eggs. Dragon eggs are hard like harpy eggs but they're shaped different. Lizardfolk eggs are shaped like harpy eggs but they're more leather-like. And when we hatch a clutch with either only half our clutch is harpy eggs. But..." she trailed off and eyed him a bit worriedly before hesitantly continuing, "I've never heard of a harpy and merman sharing a clutch. So, I don't know what might happen."
Mathias thoughtfully looked towards his nest as he slowly spoke, "Mermaid eggs are completely round, encased within a very thin membrane, and hatch within three months. Another way of describing them would be, gelatinous, pearlescent spheres."
Clara followed his line of sight with her own, and hmmed softly before she shrugged her wings and remarked, "Unlikely then. But we won't know unless it happens."
Clara stroked his ear to draw his attention back to her. With a bittersweet smile she said to him, "If I'm not back tomorrow, it means I've conceived and will not be moving far from my nest for the next two years."
Feeling a little lost Mathias softly said, "Oh." Before pushing himself to say more, "That's a little longer than mermen are bound to their nesting grounds."
Clara rubbed her cheek on the top of his head and spoke reassuringly, "Someone will be here for you. I'll make sure of it."
Sighing softly he reached up to caress her cheek. "Thank you," he murmured guiltily. Swallowing a lump in his throat he attempted to continue, "It's just... It's just..."
Listening to him stall out Clara gently supplied, "You shouldn't need a strangers help?"
"Yeah," Mathias agreed shakily before he asked, "Why're you helping me?"
"Because I don't like the thought of anyone being abandoned on a nest to starve. Besides, haven't you ever helped a stranger?" Clara asked him curiously.
"Well yeah," he responded brightly before continuing darkly, "But the elders and especially the Pod Leader reprimanded me for how much I helped him."