Dear Diary,

I keep forgetting that just because Saffron is capable of being impulsive and random doesn't mean that she's always impulsive and random. Honestly, she's kinda scary organized and driven most of the time. Opposites attract, maybe?

Anyhow, woke up on the floor this morning, because Marie came by last night for bath time, and we all wound up nesting on the floor in our pile of blankets. Funny, I know heat rises and all that, but I wind up waking up warmer when we sleep with all but one of the blankets under us with that last one tented over us than I do when we curl up on the bed with most of them over top of us. Maybe it's Marie. She's kinda on the warm side, and most of the time when she's over we nest on the floor.

So as she's made a habit of doing, Isnomi woke us up following the gaps in the sort of spiral we'd curled up in. When we went to sleep, she'd been settled in between Saffron and I, who'd curled around her with our knees and heads more or less touching, and Marie had curled herself around us, with her thighs near our heads, her tail wrapped over me, and her head down by our knees, with one of her hands lying on my thigh. I woke up with my head pillowed on Marie's thigh, and she'd flopped away from our legs, one of her hands tangled up with our intertwined legs, the other flopped out behind her. I'd been lying there with my eyes closed, half asleep, when Saffron gasped. My eyes snapped open, and a quick scan of the area showed why Saffron had lost track of the crotch goblin. She stood almost directly behind Saffron's butt, her back to us, both hands and her face on Marie for support as she toddled her way toward freedom.

I put a single finger across Saffron's lips and in my best Dora the Explorer voice said, "Oh. No. Where is Isnomi?" The tension melted out of Saffron as Isnomi giggled and started scooting sideways as quickly as her chubby little legs would carry her. "Is she leaning on Saffron?"

"No!" said Saffron, managing a passable 'kids show voice' herself, especially considering she'd never seen one. "Where has Isnomi gone? Is she leaning on Tabitha?"

"No!" I replied, desperately trying to keep from laughing as I realized that not only was the little schnookerer using her mouth as a third point of contact to grab onto Marie, but Marie herself had a stupidly large grin on her face despite her eyes being closed. "Where's Isnomi? Is she leaning on Marie?"

Isnomi went into an absolute giggle fit at that question, launching herself at the tangle of legs, landing right on top of Marie's arm as the Maenad's eyes snapped open and she barked out a, "Yes!" in a passable Big Bad Wolf voice, bringing her other arm around like the jaw of a bear trap, her fingers and claws spread out to surround Isnomi like a cage. She lifted the squirming rugrat, her long fingers and claws around her like a five point harness, and dangled the noodge over her mouth, lowering her slowly as she growled, "om, nom, nom, nom, nom!" Isnomi, for her part, squealed with absolute glee as she wriggled around trying in vain to break free. The squealing giggles ranged up into the octaves where she must be stunning bats in a ten mile radius as her chubby little feet got in range of Marie's fangs, whereupon Marie nipped playfully at her ankles while Isnomi grabbed at Marie's ears, straining desperately to get her mouth onto one of them.

The moment Isnomi lost her grip with both hands at once, Marie yoinked her back up to dangle again, repeating her, "om, nom, nom, nom!" as she did. As the dangling crotch goblin squealed with absolutely uninhibited glee, Saffron snuggled in close to me.

Had you told me I would find that heartwarming a month ago, I would likely have deemed you insane, foolish, or both. Loudly.

I know, right?

Loud enough for Marie to hear, Saffron said, "you know, love, I don't think it's really appropriate for you to remain Isnomi's Godmother at this point, what with you being her Mother."

The sappy grin on my face from watching Marie play with Isnomi faded just a little. "I mean, when you put it that way, I guess not."

"You mean you'd rather be her Godmother than her Mother?" My infuriatingly intellectual intimate arched one eyebrow as her panty-annihilation grin slipped onto her lips.

I shook my head just a little, focusing on Isnomi and Marie, since I really didn't think Saffron would go all in on shenanigans with Isnomi wide awake and glancing at us now and then as if to say, 'Mommy, mommy, look at me!' "Nah. I'm still kinda weirded out by being a Mom, but I wouldn't trade it for the world."

A mischievous twinkle entered Saffron's eyes. Well then... "Marie, we would be honored if you would consent to be our daughter's Godmother. Would you?"

Marie froze, going utterly still and silent. Her head twisted around until she faced us, an indecipherable expression locked in place. She stared at us as Isnomi did her dead level best to wriggle free, eventually even getting her mouth on Marie's thumb, her pudgy little fists wrapped around Marie's index finger and pinky, and one foot each on Marie's ring and middle fingers, then kicking with all her might. Marie's fingers didn't budge in the slightest, but our little gremlin didn't give up, even starting to growl with frustration and determination, all while Marie stared at us.

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Marie eventually blinked, her eyes sliding closed, staying that way for a ten count, then sliding open just as slowly. "Godmother?" she asked, followed a few seconds later by, "Me?"

"I don't see another Marie in here we'd be asking," I snarked, only to have Saffron prod me in the ribs.

Forgive me, love, but if she's to stand in our stead, she needs to know. Before I could respond, she said, "Yes. Marie, Champion of Dionysus, Maid and Guardian of Phileo City's Heroes, Beloved Concubine of Saffron Aetos, High Priestess above all others of Mimic, Beloved Concubine of Tabitha Diaz, Champion and High Priestess of Loki, Mimic Reborn into this world, would you be our daughter Isnomi's Godmother, to raise and protect as your own should we predecease you?"

I froze, willing my Blend to convince the world outside our room that there was nothing to see here, please move along, disperse and be on your way, nothing to see here at all. Nope. Nada. Nil. Just four completely boring people doing boring people boring things. Move along now.

For her part, Marie hadn't moved since she'd asked her question. For a long, endless moment, the only noise or motion came from Isnomi, still trying to break free from her dangling imprisonment. Dissonance overcame me as every danger alarm I had went off at once, while at the same time some greater part of me I hadn't even known was tensed relaxed completely. Isnomi reared her head back and shook it back and forth, looking like nothing so much as a kitten about to attack a ball of string, before glomping her jaws down on Marie's thumb and gnawing it while growling.

What with the lights out, watching all of this in wireframe, I didn't see it on her face, but I watched as a trickle, then a stream of tears dripped from Marie's chin, right about the same time as the vibrations of her purring reached me through the floor. Her voice almost unintelligible, she growled out, "Yes." Then she proceeded to wriggle and skootch herself between Saffron and I, until she lay between us with Isnomi still caged in her upraised claw, shaking her head back and forth, her chubby little jaws gumming Marie's thumb for all she was worth.

We wound up missing breakfast. Hell, we almost wound up late for class. Totally worth it. Best of all, when we had ourselves ready to leave the room after spending a few hours just lying there vibing and letting the rugrat use us like her very own jungle gym, Marie picked Isnomi up and, after cuddling her while rubbing the side of her chin against the top of Isnomi's head, she gingerly set Isnomi on her cart, looked at us, and asked, "Yes?"

Too cute. Saffron and I couldn't resist, we both glomped Marie, and I said, "Absolutely, Marie. You're her Godmother, after all," while Saffron just nodded her agreement. Marie strutted off with Isnomi perched on her cart, squealing with glee as she rolled away on a new adventure. As they turned the corner, Saffron snuggled under my arm, pulling me into a hug. As I more or less carried her down the hallway dangling from my side, she thought, a Boon, my Lover, my Wife, my Goddess?

Anything I can give is yours for the asking. Anything I can't I'll fake until I can get it for you. Look at me, being all suave and shit. Loki must be rubbing off on me.

Should anyone threaten our child again, please don't kill them until I've seen how many tiny pieces I can carve from them before you do?

I shrugged. Might need to get help holding them still, but you got it, Kitten.

Her gaze shot up to meet mine at that last, and she found her footing to walk beside me, tucked under my arm, as she said, "I'm not sure if I like that or not."

"Oh?"

She nodded, her face betraying not a whit of humor. "I'll let you know when I figure it out."

World Cultures was a little meh. Venice, with a side of Byblos. Pretty much 'make as much money as you can dominating trade in your region, hiring mercenary Heroes and Soldiers because your own suck, until everybody forgets that your Soldiers and Heroes suck, because nobody can outbid you'. Phileo City's spin on that amounted to spending the money on the Academy instead of mercenaries. On the one hand, something seemed a little off about that, but on the other, Tabitha Likey Three All-You-Can-Eat Meals A Day.

When we finally made it back to our room, we found Grandma and a Jon look-alike waiting beside a pile of bundles that half filled the hallway for a good six feet on either side of our door. "What the hell is all this?"

Saffron tried to hold her laughter in, but it leaked out around her words as she said, "birth control."

Before we got everything even halfway moved into the room, Marie arrived to help out while Grandma took Isnomi down to the laundry room, pulled a chair out into the hall, and sat there watching the four of us finish unpacking a stupidly large number of white, gray, and black blankets, mattresses, pillows, and soft, almost silky red ropes. Jon made off with the packing materials while Saffron, Marie, and I turned the room into a floofy grayscale playground, with cushy red ropes securing anything that needed holding in place. Marie collected Isnomi from Grandma, snuggling her close as the rugrat nommed on her ear and squeaked when Marie nuzzled her toes. With an almost forlorn look, she handed Isnomi to me and said, "Work."

"You know you're welcome to come back when you're done, or if you just want to hide with us and take a break, right?"

She did the weirdest little head toss and shrug, but grumbled out a, "yes," before trundling off with her cart. Right before she rounded the corner out of sight, she lay one hand where Isnomi'd been riding earlier.

I never really thought I'd enjoy the whole domestic tranquility side of married life, but here I am, getting all gooey over watching an upright tiger pet her utility cart.

Of course, after changing, feeding, and putting Isnomi to sleep in her cradle, which now had an absolute mountain of pillows surrounding it, Saffron reminded me of the other benefits of married life.

She'd made her decision. It turns out she really likes her new nickname.