Chapter 33- Parley
The forest seemed so quiet after the continuous communal hubbub of Earth Mother's Den. It was soothing, but also very unsettling as well. I enjoyed listening to the various sounds of the forest. The wind in the trees. The buzzing of various insecta-alfari. The far-off songs of aves-alfari. If there were any other animals lurking in the shadows of the boughs of the trees, then they were silent and unmoving so that I didn't see them, hear them, or smell them.
Leaving behind Gaia's Lake and Jordmodirbaer, Earthmother's Den, we traveled northeast back around the range of mountains that would lead first to Shahad's old hive, then to the wolf dens before turning south and returning to the Golden Tear. From there we would continue south towards Tunglljosbaer, Moonlight Burrow. The distance wasn't far as the avian fly. However, our party had grown considerably and now we also had infants. All of it made me nervous. I kept looking around, listening and sniffing the air for ambushes or followers.
Coella, as a point of pride, continued to scout ahead even though her armaments were severely diminished. Her spear and swords were shattered in the conflict with the army of the undead, and all that was left to her now were two sinuously curved long knives. Still, she had her speed, and truly, that was of more value to me than her martial skills, good as they were.
After Coella came Tampa and Orsa, then Bartlett and Maha, then Hlina and Glenna quietly conversing with each other, Usagi and Tsukino quietly followed Glenna wherever she led, and Huxian walked hand in hand with me. Bringing up the rear was Shahad, watching out for followers and covering over our back trail.
Up ahead Tampa walked with a long staff while Orsa left her hands free to use her strange chi-based earth magic. Additionally, they both carried two infants in slings draped over their shoulders while Hlina and Glenna each carried one infant on their backs leaving Huxian free to recuperate.
Aside from their small charges, Hlina wore only a small loincloth while her weapon was a longbow given to her by Chief Fyrsil. Interestingly, she proved to be quite adept at shooting the weapon. Glenna still wore her invisible cloak over her 'Habits of the Moonlit Battlemaiden'. Also, Glenna still possessed all of her enchanted rings, her 'Bracers of Shielding' on her primary arms and her 'Bracers of Giant Strength' on her secondary arms. In her secondary hands, she wielded her sword 'Moonfire' and her maul 'Seline's Justice'. That left her primary hands to tend to the babies and swap them out between herself, Hlina, and Orsa so that they might suckle on her enormously milk-engorged breasts as soon as they cried. She even wrapped a second sling around her chest so that she could nurse two at once.
Orsa, Tampa, Coella, Shahad, and Hlina were all very considerate, giving Huxian some time with me. Huxian was not abashed in taking them up on their generosity. As we walked she snuggled in close so that her broad hip pressed against mine while her breasts were squished against my shoulder and arm.
"Husband," Huxian whispered tentatively as if trying the word out for the very first time, and indeed she was, she usually called me her mate. However, Glenna had taken all of the women aside and explained that I was their husband, "Have you noticed that our children are different from normal vulpes-alfari?"
"They are?" I replied, also in a whisper.
"Yes," Huxian said as she nodded, "They are more alfari. All foxes are born with fur. Most animalae-alfari are."
"Coella isn't," I pointed out, "She has no fur on her body. Only her arms, legs, tail, and ears."
"Rabbits and hares excluded," Huxian amended, "And, a few other species. They are very often born with minimal fur."
"Is there a problem with our children not having fur?" I asked.
Huxian nodded, "There is. An animalae-alfari being born hairless is not common. However, every animalae-alfari species can have occasional anomalies. These anomalies are seen as birth defects among animal society as a whole, and the children born with these birth defects are kept from breeding."
"Have there ever been children born that look more animal than alfari," I asked?
"Yes," Huxian answered as a chill ran down her spine, "They are branded monsters or abominations, and are killed soon after birth. In both cases, the parents of such anomalies are watched to see if they have any more anomalous births. If they do, then they are sterilized."
"So, you're worried for our children?" I asked.
Huxian nodded.
"The customs will change," I promised as I squeezed her hand in reassurance, "Our children are not like the anomalies. They are from the union of an alfar and a vulpes-alfari. This changes matters."
"Yes," Huxian agreed, "It makes it even more dangerous for all of us."
"True," I admitted and fell quiet as I thought over the problem. Huxian wasn't the only one that had expressed concern over the fact that I was able to breed with animalae-alfari.
Distracted as I was by my thoughts, I didn't register that the Forest had fallen completely still. Not until a small tungl-fa'rhyn flew down out of a nearby tree and alighted on my shoulder while a second fa'rhyn flittered about in front of Glenna.
"Everyone stop!" Glenna hissed loud enough to be heard but not so loud as to be heard very far away.
Huxian gasped when she saw the little fa'rhyn on my shoulder.
"A fa'rhyn!" Huxian whispered.
"A tungl fa'rhyn," Glenna corrected as she and Hlina turned back to Huxian and me, "Moon spirits!"
"There's a difference?" Huxian asked.
"There is," Glenna replied.
The two diminutive heterocera-alfari stood no taller than two inches tall. They both had bright rusty-orange wings with a bit of red on the forewings and large black dots on the hindwings. The one now resting on Glenna's shoulder was male while the one resting on my shoulder was female. Both of their bodies were the same rusty orange as their wings. However, where the male's body seemed to be covered in a soft fur that covered his insect abdomen, the female's body was completely smooth except for her insect abdomen.
