Spring, age 1

Today my mother took me outside. She usually keeps me inside, but today, she took me to the small pier in front of our house. There she stood with me, silently waiting for something. She seems happy.

``Don't worry little Nathan, father is coming to pick us up soon.''

Pick us up? So were going somewhere? Wow, baby's first outing, wonder what took you so long.

So when is Sha-, no father, going to pick us up?

I better get rid of that habit before I start talking. It's gonna be awkward if I don't call them mother and father. They don't call themselves mom and dad, or mommy and daddy, thank god, so I better call them like that.

``See little Nathan, there he is''

So he is. I wonder what drives the boat, it's sailing rather quickly. This is the first time I really thought about the boat, guess it's actually rather sizable, though it's still no where near being a ship. Should be able to carry at least ten people, wonder where he got it.

``Greetings Shale, how are things at the shelter?''

``Hectic, it seems the harvest was bad this year, so there is more people out hunting. Though most are careful, there are still accidents''

``Glad you could come, it is an important day for Caitlyn, and Nathan has not meet his cousin since we brought him here''

I haven't meet who now? I have a cousin?

``I meet Graham on my way here, he told me it was an easy delivery, so you do not have anything to worry about. He also told me it is another girl."

``Oh that is good, she and Elena are going to have such a close relationship. Shall we get going?''

My father reaches out to my mother and help Us aboard. She sits down in the stern next to my farther, and softly leans on him. The boat slowly accelerates forward, and builds up speed.

``... I hope the girls are going to accept Nathan.. Caitlyn still disapproves..'' My mother says.

Well that's.. Damn.. It feels weird that they keep talking about me like I'm not here, but I guess there's not much I can do about it yet.

After sailing past small islands with houses of varying size for fifteen minutes, we pull into a bay near a house somewhat smaller than ours, though it's still quite nice. Ours is build from what seems like white stones, but this is made from wood. It has a large garden, full of fruit trees.

A large man is standing on a pier waiting for us. He's wearing a a tunic, green, and a red hooded robe. He doesn't look like my parents, although he's also not human at all. His skin isn't blue, it's a brownish red, like his robe. As we come closer, I can distinguish more and more of his.. Features..

He has horns. Large crimson horns that curl back across his scalp, with tiny emerald cracks across the length of them. He has hair, but it's short. It's red like his horns, but not the same shade, and I can see seams of green across it, same emerald as the cracks. His skin looks furry, a deep brown with a large white spot in his forehead, covering part of his eyes, and on the upper part of his chest shown through the tunic. He has hooves as well, and his hands seem rough and bony, though they are also incredibly big. Big like the rest of him. I think my farther is a big man, but this guy dwarfs him, he's at least seven feet two inches. His robe has a golden edge and patterns embroidered into it, going from the edges to the inner parts of the robe like roots of a tree.

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As our boat draws closer to the pier, my father stands to face him.

``Greetings Graham''

``Good to see you Shale, glad you could make it. I see you brought the wife and kid.''

``Yes, Jessica and I thought that Nathan should meet his cousin as early as possible. Besides, it has been a while since Jessica saw her sister, and I thought they could use some time.''

``Aye. And good to see you as well Jessica, here let me help you out of the boat''

He says as he pulls me and my mother out of the boat like you would a toddler.

``Thank you for that Graham, how have you been?''

``Can't complain, business is good, and there are more people out hunting so there's fewer beasts about. But enough of the pleasantries, I want you to meet my baby daughter. Here, follow me inside.''

As he guided my parents through the gardens full of flowers and fruit bearing trees, he talked to my parents about how the birth had gone though without any problems, bragged about how my oldest cousin, apparently called Elena, started talking since my parents last visited, how his apple trees have borne larger fruits than last year, and how many orchids he managed to keep alive.

Sitting on the bed is a woman who looks a lot like my mother. She has the same blueish skin, but her hair is different. She doesn't have the same green hair as my mother, but instead hers is a deep sapphire blue, with streaks of emerald shining through. She has the exact same eyes though, so clear that they are practically glowing. And yet despite all they had in common, they are like night and day. It doesn't help that her facial expression visibly shifted when we walked in the door.

``Honey, they're here.''

``Be quiet you big oaf, the baby just fell asleep. Good to see you again Shale.. Jessica..''

``Sister, you can't still be stubborn about this. He's part of the family now, I won't abandon him.''

``.. He's not of our blood. He shouldn't be the one to inherit our family heirlooms.''

``Who is to say he will? Mother and Father are no longer in this world, they cannot decide for us any more. Do not let them dictate your life still sister, I thought you had thrown off their shackles when you married Graham.''

``... That is easy for you to say, you were never forced to follow their wishes.''

``I followed their wishes every day, that is why they let me walk freely. Can we not put this aside for today, I want my son to meet his baby cousin.''

``... I do suppose it is too joyous an occasion to pout, though I cannot make any promises for tomorrow. Come take a look at her, she takes after our family.''

She is as peculiar as the rest of them. Her hair isn't the same blue as her mothers, instead it is a bright sky blue with the same streaks of green as her parents. Her eyes are also a mix between the sky blue and emerald green. That part I had gotten used to, but her skin looks different. It's not the same smooth scaly skin that my parents have, and it isn't the short hair of her father, instead it almost looks human. If it wasn't for the sky blue coloration around her eyes that makes it look like she is wearing way too much bright eye shadow. And that looks exceedingly weird on a newborn.

``Look who I found out back.''

Graham comes through the door with a toddler in his arms, probably my other cousin. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but she looks surreal.

To be honest, that's only because she's being held by a giant.

She actually looks human. She's got short red hair, green eyes, and fair skin that doesn't look like scales unless you take a closer look.

``Do you want to say hi to your aunt and uncle? Elena, do you want to say hi?''

``.. Hi..''

``Aww, she is a cute one.'' My mother comments.

This continued for quite a while before we headed on home. My mother was quite engulfed in how cute all the babies were, as were my giant uncle. My father was silent as usual, and my aunt, though she looked absolutely beaming, didn't smile at me once.

Being the toddler I am, I simply fell asleep on the boat.