Ember rushed over and knelt next to Zalia and the exhausted-looking Boreal. Lumin burst into the room through the door she had forgotten to close. Zalia had to quickly hand Ember a mewling pile of fur and catch Lumin before they annoyed Boreal into smacking them again.
“They’re so small!” Aylie exclaimed.
Zalia held firmly without issue onto the wriggling Lumin, her grip like steel. While the bouncy and energetic Lumin was usually a joy to be around, it looked like Zalia really didn’t want them annoying Boreal right now. Ember wasn’t even sure if even Lumin could keep Boreal awake at that moment, however, as the purring feline slowly nodded off.
The new room the Grove had created for them was a cat’s dream. The floor was covered in plush, soft bedding while many thin poles fashioned like tree trunks led up toward the high ceiling. All across the sides of the room and leading up the walls were various paths and bridges, crossing across the room and along the ceiling. All of it, the proper size for a feline of Boreal’s size.
It would be heaven for the new kittens, Boreal’s kittens, to play around in a safe environment
Just to be sure, Ember used Triage, her ability that had evolved from Holistic Diagnosis, on them all.
Triage
Tin - You can tell how severely someone is wounded by touching them
Iron - You’re now able to tell by sight rather than touch and can tell where the wound is located.
Bronze - You can tell exactly what the wound is and what it was caused by. Additionally, you’re able to tell who is in more need of immediate healing.
Silver - Using Triage on a wounded creature stops bleeding and any other damage over time affects temporarily, allowing you to heal them without concern.
Happily, they were all safe and sound, healthy as can be. Most importantly, Boreal was fine as well. The constant stream of healing from Zalia during the process had been a comfort for them all.
She put down the kitten next to the other four and wrapped her arms around Zalia, resting her head on her shoulder, Lumin still struggling under their arms.
“She’s so grown up now.”
Boreal was breathing calmly, her crown still floating ever so slightly above her head. She was huge, reaching up to Ember’s shoulders when she stood. Aylie was six feet tall now so was a bit less dwarfed by the feline than both Zalia and Ember were but compared to the tiny kitten that had stood on Zalia’s shoulders all those years ago, the Boreal before them was massive. Ember still remembered the day Zalia had picked up the icy cold kitten from the mountaintop where her mother had died. Seeing the five kittens, Ember wondered if Boreal had siblings out there somewhere, others that weren’t with them at the time or had already left by the time they had gotten there.
There was a wide variety amongst Boreal’s kittens, ranging from one that looked like a replica of her to one that looked like a replica of the father, with the other three somewhere between. The Ancient of War, the same plains feline that had protected Zalia’s first Grove, was the father. Ember hadn’t seen him on her way in but had no doubt he was prowling about protecting the statehouse at that very moment. She also had no doubt he would come in to see them the second Zalia went back outside. For some reason, he thought one of them had to be out there making sure nothing would attack.
“That was an extremely strange experience,” Zalia murmured.
Ember lifted her head up, looking at Zalia.
“Oh?”
She waited as Zalia sat silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts, her fingers drumming on her leg now that she had one hand free. Ember loved that about Zalia, how she always thought about what she was going to say just a little longer than most people would.
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“Well, I could feel everything through the bond. It was like I was there with her the whole time, sharing the anxiety and excitement, then the pain.”
Ember smiled, resting her head on Zalia’s shoulder again.
“That’s pretty normal dear, though I’m sure you were sharing those emotions on a deeper level than normal because of the bond you have. I was so anxious you had to kick me out, remember? Though, you two have a deeper bond than many ever get and sharing the pain must have been a strange experience, I’m sure.”
Zalia nodded, finally putting Lumin down.
The starlight puppy had not grown even a pinch since they had gotten them. Still small, still Tin rank with an Ascendant affix and still excitable as ever.
Fortunately, once they had gotten over the initial excitement, Lumin was able to calmly greet the new kittens with curiosity rather than explosive energy. Sniffing at the crawling pile of kittens, Lumin got an accidental wack on the nose by the one that was a replica of Boreal.
Laughing at the offended look on Lumin’s face, they all watched as the kittens slowly oriented themselves to their new world. Each of them was already Iron rank as Boreal had been when she was born and Ember wondered what kind of abilities they would have. A mixture of Boreal’s and the Ancient of War’s was her best guess, but how that would show was entirely unknown to her.
Boreal soon woke up under the gentle healing of the Grove and Zalia alike and proceeded to fuss over her kittens, cleaning them and making sure they were all okay. It didn’t matter how many times Zalia and Ember told her they were fine, she had to be sure. None of them expected anything else.
Zalia got up and left so that the Ancient of War could finally come inside. The patter of paws heralded his arrival and he was soon fussing over the kittens and Boreal as well.
Ember watched their happy little family and dragged a complaintive Aylie in for a hug. A few more of her abilities had reached Bronze in the past year yet her progress was slowing down. To advance in rank any further, especially at her young age, would require a lot more dangerous situations than any of them were willing to allow her into. Sure, she could very well handle herself against a lot of enemies now and had shown just that in some of their excursions but she was still too young to be anywhere near anything super dangerous. Eliminating a demon nest under the careful protection and guidance of three Silver rankers was a lot different from going out and doing the same thing alone.
Still, they didn’t want to shelter her too much from what was coming. They all knew that war would come again eventually, whether it was started by Endaria or the Astar or even the demons invading again, it would come. None of them had seen Nateysta, Ro-ak, for the past three years and it might even be him that started the next war. Ember had started to worry about where he had gone but Zalia didn’t seem to be concerned at all.
They had been talking about making a move to the desert Grove for a few months and exploring it together recently. Not only would it be good for Aylie’s continued progression into Bronze rank but it would be exciting for Ember too. Despite having lived in Endaria for a much longer time than Zalia, she hadn’t ever gone that far south. Sure, she had gone through the portal and had a tour of the place from Zalia, but entering the dunes was something else. The only reason she had been considering it was the blessing that Zalia had gotten from Scour that allowed her to find her way in the desert, a guarantee that they wouldn’t get lost.
Ember often found herself worrying about whether they were raising Aylie right or not. While she could be a bit strange at times due to the abilities she had, Aylie was still a respectful and kind person, someone nice to be around the majority of the time. Sure, they had arguments but who didn’t with their fifteen-year-old teenager?
What Ember worried about the most was the way they were almost subconsciously preparing her for the next war. They both thought of it as a when, not if and she wasn’t sure if that was something healthy to do to the girl. If one did come, they would most certainly be in the middle of it. There was no way either she or Zalia wouldn’t fight for the kingdom and that meant Aylie either needed to be ready and powerful, or left behind. Perhaps it was selfish of them both to think that way when they had Aylie to care for but Zalia had been the reason they had won the first invasion and might be the reason they won the next. Not through her personal power but through her ability to bring people together.
On the other hand, it might be selfish of them to not help Aylie become more powerful in preparation for the next war when they knew it was coming. If they could get her to a place where she had the power to guide her own life, wasn’t that better than the alternative?
She hadn’t expected to be so worried about whether she was doing the right thing when she had decided she wanted to be Zalia’s partner and raise Aylie together. Maybe that was just a normal part of parenting though. Zalia and her had spoken about this more than a few times, both of them similarly worried about whether they were doing the right thing but neither of them had ever asked Aylie what she wanted.
Thinking about it, Ember realised more and more that they should do just that. She wasn’t a child anymore and would need to start taking over her own life more and more as she became a young adult. Perhaps now was the time to start giving her these kinds of decisions.