#jacar

[thepizzalovingturtle]

@son-of-joy Happy birthday.  I'm still drawing Splatoon ocs even after the creators have moved on, but that's okay, because today it gives me the excuse to sketch two Jacars.  

[queandrue]

Interlude, Ea and Emin: Months

AN: Que and I did another fic together! This one is a companion to Interlude, Ea and Talnah: Months . Hope you like it! It took us a while, but it was fun to do! ~Rue

Word Count: 4505

Emin was absolutely ecstatic, giddy even. 

He’d been on the earring nonstop with Jacar and Claire ever since Talnah gave him the okay to break the news. 

Pregnant. 

Through some miracle the Raven Queen had allowed him to take a bit of time off for the occasion—unless an emergency came up. His coworkers even got him some balloons and a terribly cheesy card as congratulations. 

“I’m so happy for you Emin,” Jacar’s voice buzzed through the line, tired and worn from all the performing that he and Ea had been doing. “Tell Talnah I say congrats.”

“You can tell her yourself when you get up here J-Dog,” Emin said, “besides, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you and Claire. Gods when did we all get so busy not looking for our next meal?”

“Too long.” 

I can’t wait to see you— Oh!” Emin interrupted himself, “No telling Ea alright? Tal wants to tell her herself when she gets here.”

“Of course Emin,” Jacar sounded like he didn’t know whether to chuckle or grimace.  “She had to travel back home for… something anyway.”

“Really? What for?”

Emin had heard that Ea had come from somewhere and that was about the only information he’d gotten on the subject. That and a very nasty look from Ea when he asked. He was partially convinced at this point she had come from space. 

“Yeah, she didn’t say what for, but I couldn't tell her if I wanted to.” 

There was a long silence then, and Emin felt a little guilty for bringing it up. He and Talnah both knew that they’d have to cross this bridge eventually—he’d certainly suggested they just never mention it. Like one would from a very conservative grandmother, but Ea was his wife’s sister and he supposed that technically made them inlaws. 

Why couldn’t he have fucking normal inlaws?  

“Just be careful when you break the news to her…”

“Come on Jacar, don’t worry. The worst she could do is kill me.” 

*******

There was a flash of red and Emin’ back hit the mansion wall, bricks digging uncomfortably through his cloak, as a surprisingly strong arm held him in place by the throat. He blinked. Once. Twice. A third time—just for good measure. When his vision cleared, the stunned expression plastered on his face slowly melted into a cocky grin. 

"Well hello to you too Ea."

She just snarled in response, dark lips curling back to reveal impossibly sharp teeth. The horns that curled around her head cast threatening shadows across her face. He’d forgotten just how dangerous Ea could be when she wanted to. 

Emin knew Talnah had been worried about this—watched her pace around the home all day, tail twitching as she practiced what she was going to say to Ea.

All the oddly strained expressions fit so poorly on her face that it would have been cute had it been literally any other situation. Pale fingers fidgeted with her wedding ring, glancing to him for reassurance before repeating the cycle no matter how he consoled her.  

Of course he knew Ea would react terribly; he knew this, he just didn't care. 

She hadn't exactly been fond of him when he started getting cozy with Talnah in the beginning. And while they had gotten a bit closer over the years, all that progress seemed to have evaporated just a few seconds ago. 

He was foolish to believe that it would have changed anything. 

"Ea please…" 

Emin could hear the anxiety in Talnah's voice. The quick glance he caught of her face confirmed it. Robin looked more exasperated than anything. 

He couldn't blame her. 

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you alone with her," Ea's voice was a growl. 

His chest tightened up a bit despite himself. There was nothing to be afraid of; she wouldn’t dare maul him in front of Talnah….probably. 

“Now Ea—”

“Stuff it you cocky piece of shit.” 

The arm against his throat pressed closer.

Honestly, Emin thought this level of anger was a bit of an overkill. He had expected her to slap him, maybe twice— a good punch to the jaw even. Some amount of yelling about his inability to properly support any living creature other than himself (and even that was questionable at times, he’d admit).

But this even caught him a little off guard.

However, that didn't mean he wasn’t going to add fuel to the fire. 

"I guess you shouldn't have been slacking on guard duty three months ago," he sneered, as he gripped her wrist in his and alleviated some of the pressure with little effort. 

He took a little pride in being able to sneak around Ea in the Well House, and he was most certainly going to use that to get a rise out of her. He watched her lips curl back even farther as she actually gnashed her teeth at his neck. 

His smirk only widened, "But hey we got hitched so everything is just peachy now, right?"

Emin was honestly surprised no one really questioned them with how fast they put things together. Then again they had some “divine help,” Talnah's wealthy family— and it was Talnah. If there was one thing he knew about his wife, it was that she was a hopeless romantic and would definitely have wanted to say her vows ASAP regardless of their current situation.

It only made Ea's glare harden, “Does this seem peachy to you?”

Her eyes had actually begun to glow disconcertingly and Emin was fully prepared to have his life source snatched from him at that moment.

But there was one thing standing between Ea and ripping his throat out. 

"Ea please," Talnah's voice was pleading this time as her hand laid on Ea's shoulder, "Why don't you come inside?”

Ea grunted again and made no move to release him.

“I can make you some tea? Maybe some snacks too, you must be hungry."  

"Even if you're not I am." Robin huffed and grabbed Ea by the braids, dragging her across the lawn. "She won't let us touch anything until you come inside, so you can save Emin's murder for another day." 

Ea yanked her hair out of Robins hand and stared hard into her sister’s dark eyes. Talnah placed a small hand on her shoulder and Emin watched as their silent conversation unfolded. It always creeped him out when they did that. 

It was sudden, the shift in Ea’s stance, her shoulders slumped and with one last look thrown Emin's way, she turned and walked towards the mansion. 

Talnah let out a sigh of relief, gesturing for Robin to go ahead of her, then she turned to Emin. 

“Please try to stay out of trouble with Ea,” she asked softly.

Gods he wished he could promise her he would. 

*******

Emin had decided to go out with Jacar and Claire to do some celebrating and to catch up. He invited Talnah to come with them, but she declined saying she had some paperwork her parents needed her to look over. They were preparing her to take over Moonbright soon.

Whatever soon meant. 

Talnah told them all to have fun and to call her if they needed anything. She also assured Emin that Ea would be keeping her company while she worked, so she wouldn’t get lonely. 

The nice thing about living in a fancy town was the fancy pubs, and that's where having inlaws with money was also helpful. Of course he didn’t use a lot, just enough to have some fun. 

“So, did Ea give you hell or did she let this one slide?” Claire asked, her mug clanging against the counter.

Emin finished off what little was left in his own cup. He felt fantastic. The ale made his insides all warm and fuzzy, plus the added perk of having friends around to keep pouring him more was always a welcomed feeling. 

“Eh, you know how it goes— shetriedtokillme-- the usual,” he shrugged leaning against the counter. “You’re lucky she has a soft spot for you J-Dog. No one’s gonna fuck with you ever again.”  

“Do people usually?” Jacar asked, nearly toppling off the stool-- which he totally didn’t have to climb onto—as he rose to get another round.

“You do have a tendency to make innkeepers irrationally angry with your presence alone,” Emin replied cheekily. 

“I think you’re talking about yourself again.”

Claire chuckled, “When is he ever not?”

“Good point,” Jacar quipped as he passed around the newly full mugs, “but you’re right, I’d be lost without her. Did I tell you about this new piece she’s working on? It’s an epic in song form about all of our adventures but written as a fairytale, I’ve said she should have it published—”

The alcohol was clouding his brain and made it hard to pay attention, so he let his mind wander for a bit as Jacar prattled on.      

He’d never tell her this, but Emin was glad Jacar had Ea. It helped him rest a bit easier at night knowing there was something willing to rip out any number of throats to protect him, and the fact that she always made Jacar a very happy man was a bonus as well. 

They stayed in the pub for a few hours longer. Emin listened as Claire talked about Sembia and Jacar continued to gush about his travels with Ea and their songs. All the while, he thought about how he couldn’t wait for his kid to experience it all. 

They’d go to Jacar’s performances, get to watch as his best friend and Ea danced around on the stage, tiny flames dancing all over them their nimble fingers played fantastical duets. Who would have guessed a lute and a bagpipe could harmonize so well together. 

And then they’d visit Claire in Sembia for snowball fights, complete with forts and special enchantments to keep them warm so the game could last as long as possible. 

His kid was going to have the best life.

They already had the best dad, and then who didn’t want a wide array of questionably related aunts and uncles on the side!

Jacar, Emin, and Claire— all at varying degrees of intoxication—helped each other wander back to the Vellaam estate. Technically his estate now, Emin supposed. 

Well, he wasn’t getting used to that any time soon. 

It seemed that just yesterday he was working as a waiter in big manors like that, trying to scrounge together enough tips to maybe get a room for the night. And now—now he was some noble’s husband. 

Well, not just any noble. 

After saying his ‘good nights' and ‘I love yous,’ Emin slipped into his room.

“Hey Princess! You gotta hear this joke Jacar just told me. It—”

Emin stopped abruptly as Talnah turned to face him. She had tears in her eyes, leaving soft tracks down her cheeks. He made his way over to her and wiped some of them away. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

Talnah’s gaze drifted to the side, “Just something Ea said earlier…” she trailed off, obviously trying to hide her turmoil and failing miserably. “I didn’t think she would be happy for me, but I never expected this …” she said.

Then those big yellow eyes looked up at him like twin harvest moons and he felt a pang deep in his chest.

 “I feel like there’s this rift between us now and I don’t know how to fix it,” she wrung her hands nervously.  “I just wanted us all to be together again, but we’re now it’s like stepping on eggshells any time we talk.”

“Tal, I’m—”he began but stopped when she looked back down at the floor.

“What do I do?” she whispered softly.Emin wrapped his arms around Talnah and held her tightly. She nuzzled into his shoulder and sniffled. 

 “Hey, everything’s gonna be okay.” She grumbled, evidently unconvinced so he continued, “Ea loves you, like really loves you. I mean to the extent that it kinda weirds me out sometimes—” he was cut off by horn gently poking him in the face and the best glare Talnah could manage. 

“Okay, okay, but really, the stuff you went through together? There’s no coming out of that without a serious kind of bond.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” She mumbled into his shirt.

“And our kid is gonna be so kick ass that even Ea won’t be able to deny it,” that earned him a laugh and he smiled at the sound, “It’s all gonna work out, alright?”

Emin pulled away and wiggled his ears, causing the large collection of earrings to jingle like bells on Candles Night. Talnah let out another giggle and finally smiled up at him once again.

 He reached for her necklace, twisting the beads between his fingers, “Just call me the next time you need me, alright Tally?”

If this was the game Ea wanted to play, then he’d give her hell right back.

*******

“You should be keeping a closer eye on your wife,” Ea said, as she passed Emin. 

He stopped and turned to look at her. 

What was she talking about? Was something wrong?

“Is she alright?” Emin crossed the short distance between them and grabbed Ea’s shoulders,“Did something bad happen?”

Anything could happen at any moment. 

It didn’t help that he started noticing little things: fatigue, lack of energy and appetite—all normal, he was assured, but it was hard to see Talnah so drained and pale. 

Ea shook her head and leaned against the wall, “I caught her in the nursery again, casting spells all over the place, moving furniture...” 

He gave her a confused look and she huffed, clearly annoyed, “Listen I get you’re not a midwife, but pregnant women can’t do that shit.”

Emin glared, “Talnah’s been worn out recently but it’s not like I’m going to lock her in her room or something—” 

“No, you dumbass!” Ea yanked hard on one of his ears and yelled into it, “Strenuous work can hurt the baby!”

He pulled out of her grasp, “What?!” 

“Yeah, so I’d go in there and explain it to her cause she’s too anxious to listen to me or Robin.”

Ea shoved him in the direction of the baby’s room and he relented, turning his head over his shoulder, “How the hell do you know all this?”

“This isn’t my first rodeo, cowboy…” she mumbled and gave one last harsh shove before rushing down the opposite end of the hall. 

“Ea! What does that even mean?!”

She stopped, peaked around the corner of the next hall. He golden eyes glowed eerily in the dim light making her look even fucking creepier. 

“I’ve done this before, how could I be more clear?”

“When??” The elf cocked his head and his brow furrowed in confusion. What the fuck was she talking about? He regretted asking when she pulled her head back behind the wall, “Ea!” 

She peered at him again,“We have ... traditions back where I’m from that could help.” 

“Where are you from again?” He didn’t trust the expression on her face, mischievous and degrading at the same time. 

“None of your business,” she spat, then a grin crossed her face, “Gods I can’t imagine you being a dad.”

There was something about her words that rubbed him the wrong way. His mouth twitched a bit, “What do you mean by that?”

“Do you seriously think you’ve got what it takes? Maybe you should have thought about the implications of your work and general emotional state before getting into this mess.”

“It’s not a mess.”

“Oh really? You don’t know anything about childbirth, I can only assume you know nothing about children, never mind the responsibilities that go into being a noble,” Ea was slowly approaching from the end of the hall, sharp, white teeth bared, “and what happens when those earrings start going off day and night again? Is Talnah going to raise the little shit on her own, ‘cause you were barely here before—”

“I might be new to this but that doesn’t give you the right to—” He advanced on her too, actual rage coursing through him now, but she interrupted, unphased.  

“If anything happens to her it’s your fault Emin, and you know that.”

“Well nothing is gonna happen!” He shouted, toe to toe with her now, “Then we’ll have an awesome kid and you’re just going to have to deal with it! Maybe you’re just jealous Ea! Jealous that we’re happy—that I make her happy!” 

Ea stared up at him, face blank. He opened his mouth again, but a small hand gripped his shoulder.  Emin whipped around, still fueled by the heated conversation only to find a frightened looking maid. behind him.

“Sir, please, lower your voice,” she said softly. “You’re disturbing Lady Vellaam.” 

Ea shook her head and nudged him towards the nursery again before stalking back down the hall. 

Emin couldn’t help but feel guilt start to eat away at his stomach. He nodded towards the maid and started walking away. 

“I’m going to be the best dad,” he whispered to himself before pushing open the door.

*******

To say Emin was pissed would have been an understatement.

To say he was only mildly surprised would not have been. 

Apparently those traditions Ea had spoken of were, for the most part, strange, violent, dangerous, or some combination of the three (although some of the calming tea’s Robin had helped her make were quite effective). 

Honestly, Emin also couldn’t help but feel hurt. Even if Ea wasn’t happy about the kid, he didn’t think she’d put it all on Tal. 

He’d talked to Robin about it. Emin didn’t talk to Robin often, but he figured this could be an opportunity for him to talk to his wife’s other sister.

Especially since she seemed to also be a little miffed about the situation. He didn’t want to drink. All he could do was rub his temples and growl about his frustrations. 

"I mean, it is Ea. She's never exactly been nurturing," Robin shrugged. Even though she was giving reasons in Ea's favor—somewhat—she seemed tired.

"But to go this far?" Emin grumbled, lifting his head from his hands, "Come on Robin, I know she doesn't give a rat's ass about me, but Talnah? It's Talnah's kid too, and she's over the moon! Why can't Ea just let this  be?"

"To be honest, I think she’s reacting as well as anyone could have expected, but I don't disagree with you…" Robin said softly. Her eyes darted towards the floor, "It isn't fair to Talnah, not to mention annoying for everyone else."

Emin nodded and rubbed his eyes. He was just upset and tired and, frankly, done with Ea's shit. His wife had the patience of a saint. He didn't know how Talnah did it without constantly wanting to throw her from the roof. 

“Emin,” Robin snapped her fingers in front of his face.

“Sorry, I was fuming.”

She nodded and leveled him with a look, “She might be going about this the wrong way, but Ea does have a point.”

He gaped at her, “What?”

“Obviously neither you nor Talnah actually thought this through,” Robin tugged at the intricate braids in her hair, “Ea’s right, it was kind of irresponsible and you should make sure you’re actually prepared to give up the life you had before.”  

Emin sighed, “It’s easy to forget, but I’ve been around for longer than you can comprehend.” He stood, leaving Robin on the garden bench and walked back towards the manor, “I know what I’m doing.”

******

He knew it was taking a long time to decide on a name, but when Talnah told him she’d already found one, Emin couldn’t help but be a little hurt. 

Especially after he’d found out who chose it. 

“So you named him.”

Ea seemed a little surprised by the elf’s presence. It was late, and they were probably the only two up right now. Slowly, the tiefling nodded, “Talnah asked me if I knew any names. I just gave her the first one that came to mind… didn’t think she’d actually want to use it.”

“Cascius…” Talnah said it was the name her parents had given their biological son. 

Ea nodded and he stared at her blank expression before speaking again, “What does it mean?”

There was silence for a while. Despite Ea’s cool exterior, Emin could tell she was quickly trying to decide on what to tell him. 

The only question was if he’d get the truth.

She shrugged after a moment, “No idea, it’s just a name.”

Liar. 

But then again, Emin had never really been fully honest with Ea either. He wondered idly, who had more to hide.

“Well if you ever find out, let me know.”

 Emin turned his back on her and contemplated the name again. It did roll off the tongue nicely and Talnah seems attached to it. Maybe it was because it was her brother’s old name, or maybe she was just happy Ea had willingly participated in their child’s life in some way. 

Names were powerful. And with the little he knew about Ea, she did seem like the sort to have a knack for naming. 

*******

Ea was muttering something about a goat. 

Strangely enough, that was what stuck with him through all the chaos. 

Gods would she never shut up?

Robin was currently doing her very best to keep him and Ea as far apart as possible, whipping her ankles with thorny brambles anytime she said something instigatory.

He made a mental note to thank her profusely after this was all over. There was little doubt that either he or Ea would start something if they got too close.

He was worried. 

He was stressed. 

He was afraid. 

Completely frozen, all he could do was sit uselessly and hold Talnah’s hand while she shrieked into his ear.

Then, before he knew it, a cleric was placing a small squirming ball in his arms. The ball made tiny grunts and coos and the softest whimpers. 

Everything he did was so... tiny. 

“Mister Vellaam, can you hold him while I check over a few things?”

Emind nodded. It was all he could do as the cleric started their work. 

Big yellow eyes looked up at him. 

“Hey little guy,” he chuckled, finally finding his voice, “Woooooah look at your ears! They’re huge! And you have your Mama’s eyes… Just… I…. Look at you.” 

He was even better than Emin could have ever imagined him being. In all of his years and millenia of being alive, Emin had never felt anything quite like this. 

When the cleric stepped back and wiped their hands, he approached Talnah, placing the infant in her open arms. 

He wondered if Ea was holding her breath too…

“He’s perfect, oh he’s more than perfect,” Talnah sniffled. “Hello my little Cascius, hello.” 

“I guess I should say ‘welcome to being a dad’ Emin,” Robin said punching his shoulder. 

His chest swelled as he leaned closer. He was a dad. He could feel the tears pricking at his own eyes as he reached for Cascius’ tiny hand. Everyone else parading over just seemed to disappear, even Jacar’s voice seemed like a distant sound. As far as he was concerned, it was just the three of them. 

He didn’t notice that Ea had slipped from the room.

*******

The night air seemed sweeter than usual. 

Emin decided it was probably the euphoria running through his veins. He’d been told to leave Talnah alone for a bit by some of the midwives, figuring that both she and Cas were exhausted and needed rest. 

So here he was on the balcony drink in hand and the bottle close by. There wasn’t anything wrong with a little private celebration.

He had just taken another sip when he heard the balcony door open.

“I wondered where you ran off to,” Ea’s gruff voice cut the night air like a knife, “You weren’t with them.”

“You went to check?”

Nothing.

There was something unspoken in the air, it felt dangerous. Emin had been around long enough that he knew it was better not to ask, he did anyway,“Was she still awake? Did she talk to you?”

“Yes…to both.”

“Aaaaaand?”

Silence.

“You’re drunk.”

“Not yet.”

More silence.

Emin took another sip, “But if you want to believe I won’t remember what you say next, be my guest.” 

He couldn’t help but grin as he saw Ea stand next to him and snatch the bottle. He could always get more.

She took a long drink before speaking.

“I can be his aunt, but I won’t be a good one,” she mumbled, and smacked him on the back of the head when she saw his smug smile. 

Emin thought about her words for a moment, he hadn’t really expected anything less of Ea, so he shouldn’t be surprised. 

“Did you see his feet?” he asked.

“Why would I care about his creepy little feet?”

 He shrugged, “Tal said you mentioned something weird about having normal feet. Is it one of your things from home or—”

“Yeah,” Ea responded abruptly, her gaze transfixed on something far beyond anything he could see, “I noticed.” 

Then she went silent again. Emin didn’t push the matter, there was a lot he didn’t understand about Ea or her past. He wondered if he’d said something he shouldn’t have, but continued to sip at his drink. She never said much to him anyway, but when she did it was usually shocking. 

“Do you want to remember us?”

Emin sputtered on his drink, “Excuse me?”

“Do you want to remember us?” Ea’s voice was cool and even, eyes boring into Emin’s soul, “All of us will die before you, so will you want to remember us after we’re all gone, or will choose to forget?.”

Silence prevailed once more. Emin swirled his drink slowly, staring into the liquid as if looking for answers in the cup. 

“Well maybe you,” Emin’s voice came out playful, a smirk gracing his lips, “But all of this? Yeah. I think it’d be worth remembering for the rest of my life. My son, Talnah, Jacar, Claire, Robin,  Phryn and K’Thriss, Sildar, Korv, hell—even you are the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family ever. No one would want to forget how that feels.”

Turning his head, Emin searched Ea’s expression for any little clue to her thoughts. She was steadfastly expressionless, but she couldn’t quite hide the twitch of her lips into a small smile 

Emin grinned back at her and raised his glass.

“To new adventures?”

“Eh, it’s a reason to drink.”

The silence prevailed as they toasted the future and stared up at the night sky. It was soon broken by Robin and Jacar pounding out on the balcony, angrily declaring that he always left the humans out when drinking. 

So the four of them drank, and laughed, and loved, and everything was finally okay.

[divinari]

Really rough doodle sorry for it being messy djdgksognsognfounjs

Tfw a legendary agent gets infected amirite

(After seeing @cuddledot ‘s “inkblot doease” I immediately thought of my old sploon ocs I haven’t touched in montHS SO HEY THATS GOOD I GUESS)

[splatatattat]

@son-of-joy I got bored. :3

[asktheseastars]

2 Chibi commissions for @son-of-joy !

They had asked for older AUs of their character Agent 0, and Agent 2 from their storyverse. I tried something different this time with the shading, as oppose to the usual cel-shading I do for chibis. Fancy, eh?

Only the commissioner may repost, edit, and use.

[sylverkitsune]

one huge blooper reel

Lee Squidly: you want Marie to read to squishies..?

Callie: I love you, Marie. You're gonna do great! Don't say cunt in front of the babus. bye~!

Marie: you want me to watch my mouth and read to squishies?

Jacar: eh what can happen?

Callie: (from off screen) Hey, Jacar! you want a hot dog?

Jacar: (as he walks off) is that a euphemism?

Marie: I dont know about this...

Lee: no time for doubt, you're up!

Marie: (walks onto the stage) hey everyone! Im here to read a special story to you... (grabs the book) and it looks like i'll be reading "Da-" aaaaaaaah! Fuck no!

(the crowd gasps as Jacar belts out laughing)

Marie: no fucking way! not even in skit form motherfuckers, NEXT!

[queandrue]

How Hard Can One Baby Be?

A/N: I can’t be stopped and need distractions from the stress of finals week XD Enjoy more DnD babes~ ~Rue

Word Count: 4438

“I usually put him down for a nap around two. He has this little stuffed griffon Mama and Papa gave him that he loves to curl up next to. Sometimes he simply won’t go to sleep without it. I left some bottles for him, sometimes he gets finicky, but you just have to be patient and- This isn’t too much for you is it?”

Sildar glanced up at Talnah. Her hands were fidgeting with her blue robe, the same robe they had all gotten her for Candlesnight. It seemed like so long ago now, and Talnah seemed different in a way.

Perhaps it was just a side effect of having her first child.

“Dear friend, you have no need to worry,” he assured placing a hand on her shoulder. Talnah stopped her fidgeting and looked up at Sildar. He saw doubt and fear flash through her eyes. Perhaps she was having second thoughts. He couldn’t let that happen. After all, new mothers needed a break eventually, and it was clear that having a fussy baby was taking its toll on the tiefling. “He’s one baby and there are six of us. I think we can handle him. You need to go out and relax. You’ve earned it. After these next two days, you’ll have us babysitting all the time, and maybe I’ll even get to introduce him to Mathilda.”

Talnah’s shoulders slumped a bit and her tail fell to the floor. Sildar could see the bags that had started to form under her eyes. It had been quite a while since he’d seen the tiefling this worn. “What if he starts to miss me?” she asked, “I don’t think I’ve ever left him for this long before… I don’t know Sildar, maybe I’m making a mistake. Maybe Cascius is still too little yet.”  As if on cue, tiny noises started up from the bassinet in the room. Talnah smiled at Sildar before motioning him to follow her. She pulled aside the deep blue curtains to reveal her squirming child and a stuffed griffon with button eyes. Sildar thought it was odd how little the young child looked like a tiefling. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the tail and Talnah’s unmistakable eyes, he would have sworn the child didn’t possess an ounce of infernal blood at all. But, perhaps that would change once his horns grew in…. If he grew horns.

“Good morning my Starshine,” Talnah cooed, plucking Cascius from his bed. The child squirmed a bit before he found a comfortable spot to cling onto Talnah. “Can you say hello to Uncle Sildar?” she asked softly.

Sildar reached out to put a hand atop Cascius’ head. Gods that hair was so soft and curly, “You’re going to have a fun time taming this when he gets older.” He couldn’t help but smile when he heard the giggles escape from Talnah’s mouth.

“Well, thankfully I don’t have to worry about that for quite some-”

“Come on Tal! Hurry up! Just give Cascius to Sildar!”

Robin’s voice came through the second story window clear as day. Just like that worry replaced Talnah’s smile once more.

“I can walk you to the door so you can hold him for a little while longer,” Sildar offered. He couldn’t help but wonder what she must be feeling. She hadn’t ever spent that much time away from Cascius, but they all seemed to agree that it was time for her to have a break, at least for tonight.

As they walked down the staircase Talnah peppered the baby in kisses. Would she be able to stay away for a night? Would Ea and Robin be able to keep her away for a night?

“You promise, you’ll have Jacar get a hold of me if anything goes wrong?” she asked, “It really won’t be any bother… I’ll probably call tonight just so I can say goodnight to him.” Talnah seemed like she wanted to say more until Ea put a hand on her shoulder.

Talnah had waited almost three months until she said anything about the pregnancy and she had waited just a little longer to tell Ea. Sildar didn’t blame her. Despite the other tiefling being another close friend, there had been no telling on how she’d react. Even now, she didn’t exactly seem to hold a fondness for the child.

Ea squeezed Talnah’s shoulder lightly, “Give him to Sildar Talnah. He’ll be safe.” Sildar watched as Talnah’s eyes flickered from Ea to Cascius, to himself. Would she change her mind at the last minute? Cascius was her baby, her first baby, and he knew that Talnah could be quite stubborn at times when she did or didn’t want to do something.

After what seemed like an eternity, Talnah relented. She placed one last kiss on her child’s head before handing him over. “Please take good care of him… I would very much like to come home to my baby.”

Sildar nodded as he took Cascius from Talnah’s arms. It felt a bit more awkward than he had imagined. Talnah made holding the child seem so easy, but he felt clumsy and a bit unsure. “Don’t worry Tal. You go and have fun. Have a night to yourself, dance, drink, have a night of uninterrupted sleep. Let us worry about little Cascius. You take care of yourself. After all, we’ve survived worse than him. How bad can one baby be?”

********

This was how bad one baby could be….

Sildar swore the words “How bad can one baby be?” would be written on his tombstone. Sure, the first few minutes after Talnah’s departure, everything had seemed alright, but that was only the calm before the storm. It was after the first hour had passed that things started to become bad. It started out as whimpering. Only whimpering. Sildar was positive he could handle just whimpering. Then the whimpers burst into full-blown cries. Slowly, the others entered the room, all crowding around the crying child.

“Did you check his diaper?” Claire asked.

“Twice. There’s nothing. I tried his griffon and even giving him his bottle. Nothing!” Sildar handed the child off to Phryn before flipping through Talnah’s notes for what felt like the millionth time. Had she said something that he’d forgotten to write down? He couldn’t call Talnah. He had assured her that they’d have the situation completely under control. Calling her now would only make her stress. There had to be something they could do. Anything!

Korv bumbled towards Phryn with a wide grin on his face, “Babies like funny faces right? Baby can’t laugh and cry at the same time.” He leaned in close to Cascius’ face and opened his maw, “Hello small Cassy!” For a moment, the crying stopped. The group all let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they had quiet….

Then the crying started again, only this time it seemed ten times louder than it was before. Korv stumbled back in shock, right into Claire. He looked at her the same way a kicked puppy would. He didn’t quite understand what had gone wrong. “Nice attempt big guy, but uh….  Small babies aren’t usually super fond of sharp teeth,” she explained. The half-orc patted Korv’s shoulder in an attempt to show some form of comfort.

“Is it just me? Or does the crying seem louder than before?” Phryn asked, doing what she could to save her ears.

K’Thriss stepped passed his sister and towards Sildar, “Thaumaturgy. Real great in little tieflings. Especially when they can’t control it. Which means, you should call Talnah before it gets any worse.”

Sildar’s eyes widened. What was K’Thriss saying? Did he even know what he was saying? Sildar squared his shoulders and met the drow’s eyes. “We can’t. This is supposed to be her time to relax and keep her mind off the baby. We can handle it.”

“Oh really? Well, that seems like a wonderful idea considering how well you’re handling it right now,” K’Thriss spat, causing Sildar to jump back in mild offence but he couldn’t think of any way to refute what the drow had said. “Look, maybe Talnah forgot something. Just call her and ask her how to turn her kid off.”

As painful as the situation was, Sildar wasn't about to worry Talnah. He had told her he could handle this, that they could handle this. Even if K’Thriss was right, he wasn’t about to admit it. “If you don’t want to deal with it, then fine. You can go off and lock yourself alone with your paints and canvases.”

“Believe me Hallwinter, I’d be more than happy to be with myself and my paintings, but it’s hard for anyone to focus on anything when that kid is summoning everything that is unholy,” K’Thriss hissed. It didn’t seem that K’Thriss would back down anytime soon, and Sildar didn’t plan on backing down either. But he knew he had to come up with something. There was only so much crying one man could take.

Then it clicked.

"K'Thriss, how much paint do you have?"

*******

A laughing baby was so much better than a crying baby. There wasn’t much to do to come to that conclusion. Sildar watched as the young Vellaam happily splattered his painted hands over a canvas. Claire sat close by, guiding Cascius back to the canvas whenever he started to drift towards the floor.

“See K’Thriss? Talnah doesn’t need to worry herself. We just need to be a little more… inventive,” Sildar said, all too smugly, looking towards the drow. K’Thriss, on the other hand, didn’t look happy at all with the situation. His eyes narrowed a bit at the human and his lips pursed.

“You owe me Hallwinter,” he huffed, “He’s mixing my paints. Those weren’t cheap.”

Sildar waved him off and continued to smile at the drow, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you go on with ruined paints. On the bright side, he’s not ‘summoning everything that is unholy’ anymore. That is how you worded it, right?”  He had to stop himself from laughing when K’Thriss’ face contorted before a frustrated sigh left his lips. Sildar moved closure and bumped his shoulder, “Maybe this means you may have a mini underling on your hands…. And I will get you more paint… And a canvas.”

Sildar wasn’t sure, but he swore he saw the tiniest of smiles on the drow’s face out of the corner of his eye. If it had been there it quickly disappeared. “Do you plan on explaining to Talnah why Cascius is blue? Because as far as I know, neither she nor his father was, and neither of them are chameleons.”

“Of course not! There is this thing called baths. We’ll just wash him off and let Talnah see what he worked on when she comes home.”

“Easier said than done Hallwinter,” K’Thriss chuckled. Sildar rolled his eyes. It was only a bath. Magic or not, a bath couldn’t be that hard.

Or so he thought.

********

Jacar was plucking his lute when he felt his earring warm up. The tune was old and familiar. It brought about happy memories and held an air of sadness… Claire sat in the corner of the room, listening to him pluck out the old tune. At first, Jacar didn’t register the warming of his ear until he played a few minutes of the song. Slowly his hand reached up to touch his ear.

“Hello?”

“Oh Jacar!” Talnah’s voice rung out clear as day, “How is everything going? Is Cascius being a little angel for you all?” Jacar could only imagine how much Talnah had been thinking about Cascius. Had Robin and Ea even been able to keep her mind off the baby?

Jacar figured he could leave out the part about Cascius crying for most of the day… “He’s fine Talnah, he’s as good as a baby can be. I’m surprised you were able to keep yourself from calling this long, it’s almost sunset. How are you?”

“I’m doing alright. I just-”

“Talnah!”

Ea’s voice was recognizable in the background as well as pounding on what he could only assume was a door.

“Talnah give me back my earring! Cas is fine! You can see him tomorrow! Now give me back my earring!”

“Yeah Tal, it’s girl’s night! You’re supposed to be having fun!” Robin’s voice wasn’t nearly as loud as Ea’s and seemed to be more of a mediator in this situation.

Well… It seemed that there would only be one way to cure Ea’s rage. Letting out a sigh, Jacar decided to start what would undoubtedly be a long conversation with Talnah in an attempt to make her give Ea the earring back. The minstrel had just opened his mouth when-

“Where the fuck is the baby?”

The words were loud and panicked and Jacar felt his face go white.

“What was that ?” Talnah asked. Jacar could hear the rising panic in her voice. He had to think of something.  Something. Anything. Don’t panic Jacar. Don’t-

“We’re making fudge with the baby!” Jacar didn’t need to look at Claire to see how she felt about his response, the audible smack to her face was telling enough.

“Oh… Well… Make sure he doesn’t get too close to the stove. And keep him away from the knives! They’re both rather dangerous and-”

“Yup. All good Tal. You enjoy your night. Goodnight! Give the earring back to Ea. We’ve got everything under control!” Jacar swore he’d never hung up faster in all his life. Hopefully, Ea and Robin could still keep Talnah away…. And hopefully his voice didn’t betray his panic.

“Nice going Jacar,” Claire sighed, “Now we’re going to have to find a baby and make fudge.”

********

Sildar paced back and forth. Both he and Korv were soaked to the bone and he had no idea where Cascius had gone. Sure he’d heard that magic could be unpredictable in babies, but he certainly didn’t expect Talnah’s baby to go missing in the middle of a bath!

“He can’t be that far,” Phryn offered, “I mean, he’s still young, his magic isn’t that strong yet. He has to be in the house somewhere.” She had a point, but even then Sildar was still nervous. What if Cascius was on the roof? Or what if he fell down the stairs? There were so many things that could go wrong and each new scenario caused Sildar’s panic to rise.

K’Thriss stepped in front of Sildar and forced him to meet his gaze. “Now will you call Talnah and ask her for help? She’s been dealing with this kid since day one. She knows how to handle him better than any of us. If you don’t want this to end in disaster-”

“Stop,” Sildar snapped, “Just stop. No, we are not calling her. If we do she’ll never let anyone else handle him again and that’s not good for her. She needs this and we don’t need her thrown into a panic. Plus Jacar already told her that we’re making fudge. So how bad will that look on us that we not only lost the baby but also lied to her face.” Sildar wasn’t backing down on this. He was a member of the Griffon Calvary dammit! He dealt with worse in the past, he handles griffons almost daily. He should be able to take care of a baby! “We need to find him and find him fast. It’s getting dark already. If we split up we can find him faster." With every word, Sildar felt his heart sink a little lower. He had promised Talnah that he could care for her child. What if he had been wrong?

********

Sildar sat with his head in his hands. So far they’d hadn’t had any luck. Where had he gone?

“Don’t worry Sildar, I’m sure he’s all right. We would have heard something right?” Phryn asked. She had always had a comforting air about her, but even then Sildar still felt that sick feeling deep within the pit of his stomach.

He didn’t even look up at Phryn, he couldn’t bring himself to meet anyone’s gaze at this point. How could he? “I promised Talnah we could look after him,” he said softly, “What type of cavalryman am I if I can’t look after a child?” Talnah trusted him with the thing she valued most and he had let her down. You couldn’t replace a child.

Phryn shook her head, “Don’t think like that. We will find him. He isn’t half-way across the world he’s-” As her words trailed off Sildar thought that she was finally starting to come to the same conclusion he had. He thought that maybe she’d accepted that the worst had happened.  He opened his mouth to say something, but Phryn quickly shushed him. His face contorted in confusion for a moment, then he heard it. The small noises were almost inaudible. Sildar swore he had never run faster in all of his life. He ran all the way stopping only to make sure he was still running towards the noise.  It led him to a small room with washing equipment and an upturned basket. Breath held, he walked closer to the basket and grabbed it’s sides. Underneath a freshly dried pile washed laundry was the young tiefling holding a stuffed griffon close.

Cascius looked up towards Sildar with wide, wet eyes. It looked like he was about to start crying and Sildar had never been happier to see the face of a sad child. “Oh where have you been little Cas? Have you been here the whole time?” he could help the laughter pouring out of his mouth. He hadn’t lost his friend’s child. Cascius was safe if not a little hungry, “Oh just look at you, you wonderful little terror! Where did you get your toy from?”

Phryn entered into the room not too long after. She smiled from Sildar to Cascius before noticing the toy. “Now how did he get that?” she asked, drawing Sildar’s attention towards her, “I noticed it was a little dirty, so I decided to wash it off. A clean and happy toy for a clean and happy baby.” How ironic it was that such a kind intention had lead to such terror. Sildar turned back towards Cascius. Those big eyes reminded him so much of the child’s mother, they were so easy to read and ready to take in so much.

The next whimper that left Cascius drew him back to the present. “Perhaps it’s time to feed him and put him to bed yeah?”

********

Surprisingly, feeding Cascius had been the easiest task. Once they got him to put the toy down, he latched onto the bottle without fuss. In the meantime, Korv and the other got to work on the fudge that Jacar had used as a cover-up. The only one keeping Sildar company was K’Thriss.

“He’s not that bad when he’s not screaming,” K’Thriss said quietly, “I guess you could call him kind of cute.”

Sildar nodded in absent-minded agreement.  He turned to look at K’Thriss, “I guess he is, isn’t he? He must be like this for Talnah most of the time if she never wants to leave him alone.”

“Either that or it’s just because he’s hers.”

“Could be, but I suppose none of us were really any better at this age.”

Cascius pushed the bottle away the best he could with his tiny hands. He looked up at Sildar before a tiny hand reached up to tug at one of his braids. “Maybe you should get your hair cut before that kid gets a few months older,” K’Thriss suggested, “You know, before he gets bigger and it really starts to hurt.”

Sildar shook his head and started raising Cascius closer to his face in an attempt to get him to let go. “Nah, he’ll be fine. Babies like to grab onto fingers and ha-”

Sildar didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Cascius rammed his head into Sildar’s. It didn’t hurt as much as it startled him. He quickly pulled Cascius back and stared at him as the infant started laughing. K’Thriss joined in, snickering quietly from his spot on the dining table, “Count yourself lucky he doesn’t have horns. The babies are like goats. There were enough of them in Shadowfell to figure that out.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Sildar murmured, placing Cascius’ bottle down, “You ever been hit by one.”

“Nah, never been fond of babies,” he shrugged, “Too much work, too much crying.”

“But of course Uncle K’Thriss loves his little nephew right?” Sildar teased, slowly holding Cascius out towards the drow. Just then Phryn poked her head out of the kitchen, “K’Thriss, would you mind adding a bit of artistic flair to the fudge?”

K’Thriss pushed himself off the table and started walking away from Cascius and Sildar and towards the kitchen. Just before he passed the kitchen door he paused and turned to face the human. “Maybe,” he said. Then he was gone.

********

While a happy baby was much better than a crying baby, it would have nice if Cascius had been happy to go to sleep. Each of the six aunts and uncles decided to take shifts, throughout the night until he fell asleep. After his disappearing stunt in the bath earlier, no one wanted to take a chance with him having another spurt of untamed, unpredictable magic escape him. There had been a few instances of crying and small magic spurts throughout the night. Each of the members had gone at least two shifts staying up with the child and Sildar had been the last one to go on shift in the child’s room. When he woke up, fear shot through him once more.

Cascius was gone.

He shot up expecting the worst. He had fallen asleep during one of Cascius’ spurts and he had gone missing again! Talnah would be home any minute! They didn’t have time! The man continued to panic until the music reached his ears. The tune led him out of the nursery and into Jacar’s room. The minstrel sat on the floor slowly plucking away at his lute.

Talnah had come home about an hour ago, excited and relieved to see Cascius again. Once the song reached her ears. The tune was familiar. It was too familiar, but she didn’t mind. It reminded her of happy times, but also made her heartache. She followed the song to where Jacar had a sleeping Cascius in his lap. Talnah took a seat next to him on the floor and listened.

“I know someone else who loved... loves this song,” he said softly after a long moment but continuing to pluck at his instrument, “You know… I think it’s interesting that he seems to like it too.”

“Yes. It is funny isn’t it?” she replied in the same hushed tone.

Throughout the song, the two continued to speak in hushed whispers that none of the onlookers dared interrupt. Each one had their own opinions of the song. Sildar noticed Ea staring at the ground resolutely, her face flipping between rage and a mask of calm. He didn’t really want to ask why he was sure he knew anyways.

“I don’t know if it’s the song or if he just wore himself out, but he’s fast asleep now,” Jacar said softly. Talnah’s eyes had started to water. He wasn’t sure if she even noticed, but it probably brought back similar feelings for her that they did for him.

Those feelings weren’t always easy to deal with even if some of the memories were pleasant.

Talnah quickly wiped her eyes, and blinked to try to get rid of any tears clinging to her lashes. “I’d like to believe it’s the song Jacar,” she said softly, “I really would.” She slowly ran her fingers through Cascius’ curly blonde hair. He squirmed a bit, but he didn’t wake.

Slowly each of the onlookers left the room, allowing the song to finish in silence.

********

“I really appreciate what all of you were doing for me Sildar,” Talnah smiled. She poured two cups of tea and moved one closer to Sildar. Cascius squirmed and squealed in Talnah’s arms. She wasn’t going to be drinking the cup she poured in a while. Her horns were decorated and dressed rather nicely in elaborate silks. It looked like she had just gotten out of a meeting.

“I’d do it again too Talnah. You know you’re a good friend,” he said, “Do you want me to hold him so you can drink?”

“No thank you Sildar.”

He watched as the child reached for the gems dripping from her horns. Talnah reached for the tiny griffon in an attempt to get his focus on something more baby friendly. He squealed even louder as the stuffed toy came closer to his face. “You know you’re allowed to spend time with him outside of babysitting, right Uncle Jacar? You all are. I don’t call you all his aunt and uncles for nothing,” Talnah said, “Actually, I think I’ve changed my mind about you holding him.” With that, she stood up and walked closer to Sildar, handing him the baby.

Cascius looked up at Sildar and smiled. When brought up closer to his face, Cascius bumped his head with Sildar’s and laughed.

“Aww. That means he likes you Uncle Sildar,” Talnah giggled, “But when his horns start growing in, you’re going to want to wear your helmet more often. I used to do that to my Papa all the time and gave him the worst of headaches.”

Sildar looked up from the child to Talnah, his face dropping a bit. “Tal, you know I’m not the best babysitter, none of us really are.”

Talnah nodded and sat down on the arm of the chair, “I know Sildar…. But you’re also family to me. No family is perfect either, yet to me all of you are so wonderful.” She then went back to the other side of the table to sip at her tea. “I want Cascius to have experiences that I never had, and growing up with all of you will give him that. You’re exactly what he needs. You’re perfectly imperfect Sildar, and he needs you. He needs all of you.”

Sildar looked back down at Cascius and those big eyes. They were large enough to take on the world… He just needed guidance. After what seemed like an eternity, Sildar finally looked back up at Talnah.

“Alright Lady Vellaam, you have me at your service.”

[thepizzalovingturtle]

I missed posting this on @son-of-joy ‘s birthday, which I am majorly disappointed in.  I’ve drawn Jacar before, but I was at a loss at what I should draw him like.  

I accidentally made him like Toon Link, resulting in the bonus pic on the bottom.  I also just came up with a random, “QUIRKY” saying for splash text because I don’t know.   

Hapster existing period, Joy.