“You shouldn't mourn her, Wren. She only lived to accomplish a goal she had set for herself. Her mate has been gone for a long time and the thought of wanting to join him would have been unbearable, yet she did. Centuries she bore it because she needed to wait for I and my daughter. Her last act was to simply give her ending as much meaning as possible,” Jaden said consolingly.

Wren raised his head to lock eyes with Jaden and said, “Alright...Alright already. It's got me fucked up a bit but what's got me down isn't just seeing the nice lady go boom, okay.”

Jaden reached out to grab Wren's chin before he could look back down at the ground. He brought his face closer to the point that Wren's reflection filled his vision before he said, “Heart-brother open up to me. Share your burdens.”

Wren put a hand on Jaden's shoulder and patted it one solid time before standing up. He looked and felt around for Grimalkin but didn't see him anywhere on the beach. In a rare melancholy, Grimalkin had wandered off with the claim that he wanted to speak to his father about something after Wren had healed their scorched eyes and faces.

“How much do you trust the words of this lady we only knew for moments before she suicide bombed what could have been some of my pop's enemies, enemies I seem to have inherited?” Wren said.

Jaden replied, “In totality. The inner part of myself recognized kindred. There was nothing hid between us. Within her was nothing but love, concern and a sadness so deep, it couldn't be expressed with mere words. She wanted to die but she wanted it to mean something. They used her Wren. They didn't lie but they used her till she was almost used up.

“The Observers made her a deal. They would let her and her husband's children have an artifact that would keep them well and protect them from foreign invaders for a thousand years. During that time, come what may, she had to use her seer gift along with other gifted seers to plot out the course of major events within the scope of her ability. When she saw her mate's death she tried all she could to help stop it but over half of the observers saw that interfering in the event would cause greater problems so they allowed it to happen. All that she endured was to give her children a chance to thrive and when that didn't happen, she held on as she waited for me. She was waiting for me, Wren.

“Much of what she told me, I was oathed to not share. Some of it I don't want to see come to pass but will accept if it does because of what it means for us... If-If I ever have to make the choice between saving your life and Lilly's I will choose her, Wren. That choice is only clear for me because you force it to be...Don't think that it would be as easy for me to make that choice as it once was... And never, never force me to save someone else over you, save her and our children. Anything else would be too cruel. That's one part of me that you will never truly understand.”

Wren mulled that information over before he reached a decision.

“Come with me to my realm then. I have something to show you,” Wren said grimly.

After giving a moment for Jaden to orient himself then pointed to an egg sitting in a gem encrusted platinum and silk nest.

Wren took a deep, ragged breath and said, “This is my son, Jaden. Well, he would be if he wasn't on the verge of dying.”

A look of shock, confusion and a well of other emotions ran across Jaden's face before he said, “How?” There was a touch of heat in his voice that Wren didn't expect.

After giving the breakdown of how such a strange situation came to be, Wren said, “I have a hard decision to make. According to your vouch of Usuway's dependability, to save Little Omelet's life I have to do a pretty drastic thing. You see, I made a huge mistake when I did what I could to insure my child's future wasn't a cannibal mermaid. I cut as much of Ephyra as I thought I safely could out of the equation. The largest part of her I left behind was her spiritual inheritance. I didn't know it was hollow.

“The physical part of my makeup is also partially hollow as it's just a facsimile of other's desires and the Great Pattern doesn't take kindly to existences, other than maelstrom born themselves, that don't have a balance between male/female duality in their creation... You see, he's ready to start growing but his soul is only tenuously connected to his physical body. Both his body and his forming astral shell have a component that's more glamour than real. After consulting my mentor on what exactly this pellet does that Usuway gave me, I now understand a bit of what Usuway's warning on what the ripple caused by saving my Little Omelet meant, I think.

“This is a life that would have been fine if I'd have stopped playing god at making him a boy but I got creative and in my zealousness I wanted him to have the best. I didn't even know what that was but I thought I did. Now he's going to die if I don't fix what I fucked up. That's where Usuway's pellet comes in.

“Once a life has been marked by the 'will' of an ancestor, the pellet can allow that person to empower their 'will' to act as a replacement to one side of the equation entirely. If the life in question is already born then the pellet is placed upon the physical mark of will and acts as a chrysalis for a rebirth. If the life is not born yet then the placer of the mark takes the pellet like a pill and connects with their mark to draw the life inside themselves. To finish this version of the process, the one who carries the life must reenact its creation with another who carries at least part of the other side of the equation, the more the better. At the end, if need be, the chrysalis effect can also serve other purposes. ”

I don't know what Usuway had to do to get her hands on an artifact made from a maelstrom born dud but I bet it wasn't pretty. I'm betting she was going for the first option on its use though.

Wren's voice got a little shaky as he continued with, “Little Omelet here was made with the input of four people. The one and only female out of that group is dead and I don't even want to contemplate trying to get one of Ephyra's daughters to substitute for so many reasons, even though that would be the most natural solution. Troy would be the logical best choice to-”

Jaden's face screwed up into a snarl.

“Please let me finish before you go ape-shit. I'm not saying you still won't but this is all discussion right now. Little Omelet still has a few days before this all has to be set in stone,” Wren said with a pained face.

With stony disposition, Jaden said, “What discussion is needed? I will take the place of my father. We will explain as best we can to Lilly and it will be done.”

The pained look on Wren's face grew deeper as he said, “Two things, Jaden. Glaucous only carries 10% of the spiritual side. That's 5% of the total. That would already be dicey as hell if he wasn't the type of being that he is and my mentor's thumbs up that he's a viable choice for the same reason... Please, Jaden. we haven't even talked with him yet. There is an order to these things. Who knows what kind of things might be possible after speaking with him... The second part to this is that Troy deserves the right to at least speak his peace. I honestly don't know how he'll react but he needs to know. That's not even on the table for discussion.

“I'm going to fill in Glaucous on the matter just as soon as I use the obelisk to get a message to Troy. We'll meet at Lilly's tree as soon as I either get confirmation Troy's not coming or when he gets here within the next two days.”

Jaden delivered expressionlessly, “I understand. Before you even ask and unintentionally insult me, I'll hold my tongue while Troy has his chance to speak as well... When all is said and the course becomes clear, I will have my say then and none best dare to deny me that.” He turned and faded away, a small amount of each realm bleeding into the other through the turbulence.

Wren looked at the egg with a heavy heart and troubled mind.

When I made the decision to recognize you as mine, never would I have thought the resolve of that decision would be tested so much. Don't worry about it too much though, Little Omelet. This dad of yours may be bad at a lot of things but taking responsibility isn't one of them. Just do me and yourself a favor. Never call me mom. I'd hate to beat you within an inch of your life after going through all this to save it.

After Wren left his realm he sent a message to Troy, politely avoiding engaging meaningfully with the handful of natives and two participants that had already started filtering in from Kajrya.

From: Wren Tidren

To: Troy Rockgarden

Hey, Troy. Hope this message finds you well and... I fucking hate writing letters cause I suck at the bullshit people have to put in them to make it all 'lettery.'

Lemme cut to the chase. Little Omelet's in, not gonna hatch if something isn't done and soon, bad shape. I've got the way to fix that but it's pretty radical and I think you'll want to be a part of the discussion on how 'exactly' the cure's gonna work. If you can't make it it's cool but at least give me a heads up, one way or another, if you can make it in two days. Don't know if it makes a difference but Seaside is about five miles southwest of the safe-zone but there are locals on the path to the beach who can give you safe passage.

P.S. Since this is the only thing in the SYSTEM that costs a single point, I paid for your return message. Staring at an awkward number for ages would drive me bat-shit, unless I was earning awkward numbers... Which I am.

Wren was ready to wait out an hour before moving on to other things but it only took about three minutes to get a response.

From: Troy Rockgarden

To: Wren Tidren

In someone at the moment. They're a little too important to just leave but since you gave me a two day window, I hope you can forgive a three hour delay. I'd be there in one but this is actually mission related man-whoring. See you soon.

P.S. Participants that are involved in an urgent request mission can use the message board function for free... Which I am. <3

Looks like he finally learned a profession... * cough * prostitute * cough * Works pretty well with his class too. Joking aside, if he's found a way to enjoy himself during all this dangerous shit, more power to him.

Wren jumped flying transport and made his way to Seaside. A few minutes and a couple of void jumps later found him waiting in the reception hall, trying pointedly not to look at the metal U bolts in the floor. Wren could tell that his friend could use a little more private time by the unsteadiness in the mental sending but Glaucous insisted that he'd be ready in a moment.

As Glaucous came striding in he cut Wren off with his hand as he said, “No need for explanations. One of the conveniences of having just returned from a visit with my sister-in-law, may she find peace with my brother in the Shadowlands, is that you're always aware of what awaits you next at home... How much time do I have and where are we meeting?”

Wren took a moment to jump to the end of his mental script and said, “If Troy's estimate on arrival is accurate, about five hours for generosity's sake. It'll be at Lilly's tree since I want her to be a part of the conversation and she's not mobile.”

Glaucous looked confused for a moment before his face cleared to understanding as he said, “Of course you'd want to talk with your bonded, Troy and I first. If I had given it any thought at all I could have deduced that.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Wren's face went bland before he said, “Just so I know we're on the same page. You're aware we're going to be talking about a certain egg issue, right?”

“Of course. The issue only lies in mental and emotional preparations. Your child's concerns are easily addressed by a simple, but hopefully memorable, night of enjoyable recreation,” Glaucous said as a small gleam of anticipation burned past the fog of melancholy.

Most likely logical outcome there G-man but is it possible that your EQ is actually degrading!? Well, I have a small remedy to stem that.

Wren plastered on a smile and said, “Well that's a relief. Your son and I thought you might have a problem with spending an evening transformed into a woman.”

“After all that you ha... What? How would you- how would that even work?” Having readied a reply after hearing the word 'relief', Glaucous started to look constipated as his voice took on a slightly panicked edge.

“Leaving aside other less likely but still possible outcomes, having your agreement taken for granted in the face of conflicting feelings isn't a particularly endearing situation to find yourself in,” Wren said blandly.

“Duly noted,” Glaucous sincerely replied, visibly relieved.

A mental heads up to Jaden left hours to burn. So Wren conjured up a pitcher of amaretto sours and worked a little friendship magic on Glaucous' grief without actually getting him to say much of anything on the issue at all. Sometimes talking about problems just made you focus on them harder and this felt like one of those times. That it helped Wren push off thinking about his own for a little while, was pure coincidental/on purpose.

***

“So much for magical baby eggs given by mermaid princesses,” Troy said bitterly.

After Wren had went to pick up Troy within one of the secret passageways, he didn't waste time on pleasantries and launched directly into Little Omelet's woes. Troy took the revelation like a brick to the face which surprised Wren a little. He didn't expect that Troy cared as much as he seemed to.

Guess once you get used to the idea that you'll be a father one day and have a sexual disposition that won't likely result in naturally occurring miracles of life, having that opportunity at genetic legacy suddenly thrown into the air would be jarring to say the least.

As Wren let Troy soak up the trauma of the situation and mentally adjust, he gave his slightly estranged friend a once-over. Troy's new found liberation suited him. Troy felt stronger and carried himself more confidently. A few lines of fading scars, visible here and there, spoke of a vastly different daily lifestyle than the one Wren had been trying to provide for himself. Losing some of the boyish petulance for the harder lines of maturity, he even managed to get better looking, much to Wren's irrational annoyance. All of the positive changes in Troy pointed Wren to one uncomfortable conclusion, however. Being his bonded had held Troy back.

A little subdued by his sudden insight, Wren said, “Putting the current issue aside for a moment, I'm glad to see you're finding yourself. It hurt losing you but a little time and distance have let me see that you did the right thing, for both of us.”

Troy gave Wren the ghost of an arrogant smirk, “Don't have to be missing out on anything. If you want a round, just say the word-” The current situation intruding on his banter, he coughed and continued. “Not the best time for that kind of thing is it? Seriously though, its not like I cut ties with you. I still- You need me, I'm there for you.”

Switching to spectral transport, the two closed in on Seaside as Wren filled him in on the the things he missed in the last near month.

Troy's face switched through a range of expressions as he listened before saying. “So you turned out the only straight guy in our group after his wifey turned into a tree... Yeah, yeah. It's not your fault... You went beast mode and got some shit done then beat yourself up over it and bogged yourself down in city building wastes of time again. To finish it off, you got mind-fucked by a suicidal doomsdayer that lead to this.”

Wren's face screwed up as he said, “Your interpretation leaves a lot to be desired but it sounds like you have the gist.”

Troy mulled it over for a moment then said, “Yes, I'm down with being the baby daddy again, if only to stop Glaucous from ruining you for the rest of us. No, I won't throw a fit if I'm not the final choice, even though I'd... It's alright, really... This might be a strange thing to say but if I were you and had the ability to choose, I think I'd find a way to make Grimalkin the other one. Don't know how you'd do it but in my mind, from a pure emotional standpoint, having a munchkin to dote on would probably chill him down. He'd be crazy devoted and your kid would never have to feel like the side boy.

“I mean, sure Jaden's probably going to be an awesome dad and all but he's already got three on the way with his main squeeze. Lilly wouldn't mean to treat your boy different but thousands of tiny things over the years would make a huge difference in how Tater Tot sees things with his hypothetical siblings... Slow down before we get there and let me work this out... It feels important.

“Glaucous doesn't have a good track record with kids and even if you put that aside, the relationship stress of Jaden having to deal with his 'other mate' having a rug rat with his father wouldn't be a small thing. To guys like Jaden, that kind of drama isn't something he can just learn to live with. It would mess up the kind of connection Glaucous wants with Jaden too, even though he isn't aware of that yet. He doesn't seem much aware of anyone else's emotional needs outside of his own. The only thing that redeems Big Blue's perpetual 'youngest child syndrome' is that he knows it and is receptive to learning how to change that.”

Wren interjected with the quick story on how Glaucous lost his blue and solving the generational curse.

Troy shook his head a little in amazement on the surreal situation before plodding on with, “Then comes me. It hurts a little to admit but if all this past few months has taught me anything, it's how to be painfully honest with myself. I'm in love with the idea of being a father but until I'm ready to do it on my own terms I'd make a shit dad. As messed up as it is, I'd probably have started to hate you a little if you'd kept me in the dark or cut me out of this but now that I'm here I can only see the truth of it.”

A little banter between the two and Wren's words of understanding cleared the awkward air of that admission out of the way as Troy inched into the last part of Troy's ability fueled diatribe while they floated a half mile from Seaside.

Troy said, “That brings me back to Grimalkin. Jaden could deal because Little Gray is 'yours' the way Lilly is 'his'... You'd never get me to say that to her face though. I like where my balls are positioned on my body... Having a life tied to his like that would anchor his own. In the event that something really should happen to you, a child of his own would keep him from going off the deep end.”

Wren, who had been chewing on the track of thought Troy was laying down, took the pause in conversation to say, “That's all well and good. I'm even seeing things your way on this but how the hell could I even do that?”

Troy looked at Wren, a bit at a loss himself, before he looked mind blown for a few seconds and then said, “I have a way but you'd have to get Glaucous to agree. Essentially we'd call on our true names to give the rights of our parentage over to Grimalkin. If we're lucky we might even be able to find a cursed artifact of Ephyra's somewhere and I could use her true name to command the essence within to serve the purpose of signing over her rights as well.”

Wren looked at Troy in disbelief and said, “How did you get her true name? More importantly, that sounds wonky as fuck. No offense but how sure are you it wouldn't just screw everything up.

Troy puffed up in mock pompousness as he said, “I think you forget what I am. You know, the one who guides all the lost little lambs. Seriously though, which sounds better, choosing one of two possible parts or having someone stand in for all three others?”

Wren said, “Damn if it doesn't sound like some awesome snake oil. I'll back you on it but if something goes wrong because of this I'm going to have lots of fucked up anger aimed at you I'll have to deal with.”

***

As Troy walked into the reception room, a slightly reluctant Wren in tow, the discussion between Jaden and Glaucous was becoming heated. Grimalkin scurried over to Wren looking incongruously happy considering the amount of tension the father and son were throwing around. Wren thought it might come to blows before Troy clapped loudly to get their attention, completely unfazed by two sets of glowers directed at him.

Troy said, “We should move this party to Lilly. Jaden, I think you know how'd she feel about getting left out like this. Besides, on the way here, Wren and I have come up with a solution that won't make everyone happy but it will definitely not be intolerable to anyone, which is as good as a complicated situation like this is likely to get.”

Troy's declaration had Jaden paused in mid snarl as Glaucous' eyebrows climbed his head.

As Jaden started sending everyone realm-side, Grimalkin said, “I don't know what's going on with this egg fathering business, Birdy, but I have something to share with you after this meeting is done.”

When Jaden moved to the them, Wren held up a finger to say to Grimalkin, “If there's something you need to tell me, I can wait for that, Little Gray. Gawd knows I could probably use a little bit of whatever happy news you have to help me get through this meeting. No offense meant, Jaden.”

“None taken, heart-brother. This is not an easily solved conundrum,” Jaden offered, holding back his irritation out of respect.

Grimalkin squirmed under their gazes as he said, “It will take time to share properly and I'd like to wait. I-if that's alright.”

Wren gave Grimalkin an indulgent smile before nodding at him and then Jaden before the three appeared in the grove. Troy, who was leagues above anyone else here at public speaking, took the initiative under the guise of confirming that he understood the whole story. After giving the general summary of his understanding he didn't even pause before launching into the explanation of his epiphany.

Wren's focus was on Grimalkin. His lover had been missing during all this time and he hadn't had a chance to explain anything that was going on. He watched as the smile completely slipped off of Grimalkin's face during Troy's recap then return just a notch shy of it's original brilliance by the end of Troy's offered solution.

There was a pin drop silence for three breaths as each judged the other's reactions before Jaden broke the silence by asserting that if such a thing were possible then he'd be the better choice since he actually had Glaucous' blood within him which in turn prompted Glaucous to point out that he was already one third of the arrangement which still made him the best candidate. As logic driven father and emotional son began another round of fruitless argument even tree Lilly began shaking her leafy head furiously to be 'heard.'

What a fucking shit show. It's mortifying enough as it is. Why is everyone determined to make this into yet another situation I'll have regrets over before it's done. I'm so sorry, Little Omelet. If I wasn't so trigger happy to juice you up your life wouldn't have to be tied to all this... Please don't let this become something truly ugly.

Radiating misery, Wren prepared to break up the meeting so he could try to think up the best way to approach the problem and give everyone a chance to cool back down when Grimalkin let out a scream of such furious rage that even tree Lilly stopped shaking her head to figure out what was going on. Everyone looked at the normally quite and introverted Grimalkin in shock as he took out a horrendous looking device and tossed it out on the ground between everyone.

“If all of you are so determined to claim this privilege for yourselves then this is my gambit. In a moment of sadness and guilt I sought out my father for this devise. He helped me to see past the sadness and guilt but once the thought had been planted it took root and grew into a decision. I may not have any need to feel responsible for taking a woman's life from Wren's but I was willing to give him a child, not out of guilt but out of my love. This devise makes that possible.

“It is a cursed item that forces a man into a woman's form, though she must then spend her time confined to light activity until it is removed. The needles that span the length of the tail are inserted into the spine which causes a partial loss of fine motor skills as a side-affect. All here are gifted so it need not feed on your own life to sustain itself. I was willing to wear it for the time to get with child and deliver it when and if Wren was willing. If any of you are so much more deserving than me to bear this honor then there it is. It seems you only need wear it for a day to do the same as I was willing to bear for the nine months it would normally require. Take and don it then I will relinquish my claim!”

So this is what Usuway meant. With a subtle hint she even made it possible for both lives to be born but knew I would not have the stomach to be selfish or daring enough to claim the chance. It sure does ease the negative ripples from this event, though. That is a scary ability she had. Don't know about this Shadowland business but whatever is waiting for her on the other side, I hope she gets the happiness I wholeheartedly believe she deserves.

Jaden excused himself from the unfolding event by saying that his instinct didn't require him to protect Wren from having a child with a woman and Glaucous offered that since this had become a question of honor he'd be willing but did not want to steal someone's joy when he'd originally only wanted to show his gratitude.

Glaucous offered sincerely but obviously relieved to avoid the sting of questioned honor at the cost of his manhood, “I have no desire to steal your joy Greycat. I only insisted to give what I thought best. Perhaps I was overzealous. Honor would now see me stand by my words, however. I will not fight over such a thing but if Wren were to choose me I would be willing. A-am I right in assuming that you will choose Greycat, brother Wren?”

It didn't take a bond to see what Troy would have chosen if he was in Wren's shoes and Wren even had to admit there was a small part of himself that wanted to choose Glaucous for all the wrong reasons. If he didn't think that it would hurt Grimalkin badly he might have but he was determined to relish a little EQ lesson opportunity. He was only disappointed that he couldn't get Jaden in on it since the savvy guy had made himself scarce at the very moment his father started speaking.

After a little subtle body language and silent entreaty for Grimalkin to play along Wren said, “ I'd be a fool to pass up an opportunity to have a land god as the mother of my child. Wouldn't you agree, Little Gray?”

Grimalkin frowned for a moment before he caught on and said, “I believe that to be true, Birdy.” Grimalkin turned deadly serious as he added, “I can always hold on to the device to give you another child later.”

He's even pushing the idea strongly at me that after having a couple of seconds to absorb the idea, he'd even approve without being hurt by it. As much as this is all tempting how could I subject my Little Gray to nine months of torture just to give me a child, though. No, I accept the path that Usuway laid out for me this time. Who knows what kinds of complications I'd bring to myself if I didn't.

“Is your offer truly sincere?” Wren asked Glaucous.

With nauseous surprise and the courage of a stalwart man facing a firing squad, Glaucous replied, “It is.”

“Then it's a shame I'm a fool but your steadfastness in the face of my need is a heady reward, Glaucous. I won't forget it,” Wren said smiling, as he let Glaucous off the hook.

As Troy looked on the scene with a bit of disappointment, a nearly tearfully grateful Glaucous said, “I'd never thought I'd see the day that I'd gladly use my true name where a days effort would suffice. My grandfather was right when he told me there was not enough time in all of existence to run out of new things to experience.”