Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
“ C ade. Is there a harvest festival in the village?”
“Hmmm?”
“A harvest festival. You know. A big party.”
“You were here for the equinox, love,” Cade said, staring at Poe, who stood in front of him, hands on his hips.
“I know. That was all very solemn, blah-blah moon, blah-blah goddess. I’m talking bobbing for apples, cake walks, and bouncy castles fall festival.”
Cade blinked, his brain trying to process all those words together and coming up blank. “Um. No?”
“Then we should have one.”
“The village?—”
“No, we should have one. You. Me. Us. Here at our homestead. Invite the village and the Rocky Mountain clutch. Together. Like Thanksgiving. Or Friendsgiving. Or Dragonsgiving! Yes. Dragons can do giving.”
“Poe, have you fallen?”
“No. Why?”
“Because you aren’t making sense.”
“Sure I am.” Poe bounced. “I guess it’s because I’ve been eating. I’m ready to organize shit.”
“If you wish to have a large party, my mate, then we will have one.” It made Cade so happy to see Poe smiling, color in his cheeks.
“Cool. See, this way, we can bring in foods from both places. And it will be neutral ground.”
Cade frowned. “Are they at war? The village and the clutch?”
“No. No, of course not, but even your dad says they don’t get out much. I think they need to come down and meet the other dragons more than they have.” Poe stood, hand on his belly. For a dragon who was not due for a bit, he was already showing well.
“Well, I think that this party is going to be very good.” He would call Tyr and have him come assist with the moving of things because they would need large tables to put the food on and to sit at and eat. “What would you have the children do at this party?”
Poe arched an eyebrow. “Well, what do children here do now at a party? I’m not being facetious. Honestly, what do they do?”
Cadeyrn tilted his head and pondered. “Well, in the summer, there would be swimming, and in the deep winter, there would be playing in the snow. At this time of year, it is…well, we prepare for the snows. We prepare our homes for the coming winter.”
There was, of course, play. He knew he had played constantly as a child, and he saw children running and laughing now. But he wasn’t sure what children would do in their house at a party, so to speak. “Perhaps they could make things.”
Poe nodded, pursing his lips. “Like crafts?”
“Yes, like crafts. They could make things. We could give them yarn and glue and…things.”
Poe pinned him with a stare. “Cade, you’re going to have to try harder. What did you do as a little dragon? What did you think was so much fun?”
Suddenly it came to him, and he grinned. “We played awak.”
“Okay, All right. What’s that?”
“When you’re a child, you play awak on the ground. There’s a round ball with a hook at the top, and you toss it back and forth while running. Just as fast as you can. And the point is to never let the ball hit the ground. When the ball hits the ground, then you are out for the round. Whoever is the last person to have the awak ball earns a point. And you play to five points, ten points. It doesn’t really matter.”
He smiled, thinking it had been too long since he had played. “It’s agreed to before, but then as teenager’s you play awak in the air and on the ground, so that it’s more difficult, and the hook is smaller.”
Cadeyrn warmed to his subject, resting deep into the sofa before the hearth. “And then for adults it is all aerial. The ball is very small because if it hits the ground, you don’t want to hurt anyone. But it is a way to stay warm, as well as to teach flying, sportsmanship, and kindness and…” His cheeks heated. “We play a lot. You can even have team awak ball.”
Poe was beaming at him, so obviously pleased. “All right, well, there you go. I bet that the children from the keep would love to learn this. I mean, the older ones have to at least have heard about it, right? Since they’ve been to school, but some one-on-one practice couldn’t hurt. You know, in that ‘Hey, you wanna come toss the awak ball with me?’ sort of way?”
Cadeyrn chuckled at Poe. He did adore his mate even though he was very odd sometimes. “Tanya would be very good at hardball.”
“I bet she would, as long as she didn’t get frustrated and incinerate the ball.”
Cade snorted. “That would be Arielle.”
“Oh, so true.” Poe laughed for him. “Okay, so we teach you some of the things we do at parties like this, and you guys teach us some. Fair?”
“More than, my love.” Cade held out his arms, and Poe came to him, snuggling right in. “How are you feeling?”
“So much better now. I was a little lonely. And hungry. But we solved both of those things.”
“I’m so pleased. And I’m proud of you, you know, for coming here and learning so much so quickly. You have embraced your dragon self.”
Poe leaned into him with a sigh. “I was pretty pro dragon anyway, but I want to fit in. It’s not like I could go back if I decided I didn’t like it.”
Cadeyrn’s arms tightened instinctively at the thought of his mate leaving him.
“Shh. It’s an amazing world. There’s so much to learn, and I’m happy, Cade. Know that.” Poe winked at him. “Compared to Brand and some of the other dragons at the keep, I’m not the most scholarly of dragons, but I’ve been around a long time, and I know things. I like to learn things. Harden’s going to teach me more about the horses. And whatever else I don’t know about the animals I don’t even know that I don’t know about.” Poe winked at him.
Cadeyrn nodded, but he didn’t say anything. He and Harden had had a few run-ins, especially when they’d been young dragons together.
It was ridiculous. Courting the same omegas and fights over who got the last piece of cake or who got a smile from the teacher during school.
None of it meant anything.
But still, there was that bit of Cade that was…aggravated at the very idea of Harden.
It was pure silliness.
“You’ve gone all stiff,” Poe said, pulling back to look at him.
“It’s ridiculous, my love.” Cade stroked Poe’s back.
“But tell me anyway.” Poe patted his chest. “You’re my mate. I want to know all the things about you.”
“Harden and I clashed in school. It was very silly, but there is a small part of me that holds a growl against him.”
“But Tyr is your friend, right?”
He nodded, smiling wide. “He is the brother of my heart. He is a good dragon, and a protector of the land.”
“Okay, cool.” Poe patted him again. He had a feeling his mate would just avoid the subject of Harden now. No matter what he did otherwise.
He smiled to himself, because Poe was so very sweet but also so very stubborn. Zeke had explained cowboys to Cade at length around the bonfire one night, and he understood a great deal more about Poe now.
Cowboys were apparently quite independent and usually somewhat isolated.
Though he very much thought Poe was done with being isolated.
“Anyway, I like Tyr very much,” Poe said.
“I’m glad. What did you think of the elders?”
“They’re lovely. The Brenon was so nice to me.”
“I am glad, mate. She is a kind old dragon, for all that she intimidates many.” Cade rubbed Poe’s belly, because that seemed to relax him. He had spoken to the midwife, who agreed that Poe looked farther along than he could possibly be…
So Cade would do all he could to ensure Poe’s comfort.
“So. Party?”
“Yes. We will have a lovely time.” And anyone who made it bad for Poe, he would bite.
The tables groaned with food. One whole table held stuff he could eat, and Poe thought that was pretty amazing.
The kids ran and jumped and squealed, and elders sat and chatted, sipping cider made from a crazy purple pear-like fruit, and talking about the old days.
Some things were universal.
Poe glanced about, seeing if his guests were mingling.
The children were…
But the adults seemed to have drawn a line right through his and Cade’s homestead.
The Rocky Mountain clutch sat on one side, and the village dragons sat on the other.
And that wasn’t what he wanted at all. Poe rubbed his lower back. He wasn’t that big, but he always felt off-balance somehow.
He sighed, going to pick at a pan of fudge.
“What is wrong, mate?” Cade asked.
“Look.” He jerked his chin in both directions. “They’re just not mingling.”
Cade gazed about, and his lips pursed, his jaw going tight. “Stubborn.”
“Worried.”
“Insular.” Cade kissed his nose. “I shall be back.”
“What—Where are you going?” He reached for Cade’s hand and missed.
Marching, Cade moved over to the village side and grabbed his parents up from their bench. Politely. He took them to Zeke, who had been the most friendly with the village, for all that people seemed to think he kept to himself.
Then he moved to take Beau and Seth to go sit where his parents had sat.
Poe’s eyes stung a little. His mate was amazing. So sweet, doing this for him. Before Cade was done, each little grouping of dragons held a few of the Rocky Mountain clutch, and Cade was going from table to table, reigniting conversation when it flagged.
That had to be torture for his quiet, solitary love. But Cade did it. For him.
He sniffled, and glanced at Cosmo when he sidled up. “Cade seems…determined.”
“He is. He’s the best mate ever.”
Cosmo looked at his mate, Hawk, who was a great big dragon as old as the Brenon, maybe, and who was playing with the little ones, roaring and chasing them about, arms over his head. “We’ll call it even.”
Poe chuckled. “Okay. we can do that.”
“Sometimes it takes a nudge, Poe.”
“I know, and I meant to do it, but all I seem to be able to do is eat and cry.”
Cosmo frowned at him, head tilting. “Still? I mean, not the eating, but the crying?”
He sniffled. “Still.”
Cosmo stood. “Is there a midwife we can speak to?”
There was a silence, then a flutter of discussion.
It was the Brenon who clomped over to stand in front of him. And Abe from the Rocky Mountain clutch.
Abe bowed to the Brenon. “Lady.”
She pursed her lips, then grinned at Abe. “Well?”
He cleared his throat. “What’s going on, Poe?”
Poe gaped, so Cosmo spoke up. “He can’t stop crying. He’s pretty big—especially since he’s not on the six-month baby plan.”
“Hmm. That suggests a serious influx of hormones…”
“Six-month plan?” Galial peered into Poe’s eyes. “What does that mean?”
“In the human world, dragon gestation seems to have accelerated. It lasts from solstice to solstice or from equinox to equinox. So six moon cycles.” Abe had his medical face on.
“Goodness. That’s…fast.” She frowned at Poe. “Have you felt the baby move yet?”
“No. Is that bad?”
“Only if you have an accelerated pregnancy,” Abe said.
“Oh.” Poe blinked some more. “I mean, I’m here now…”
“Yes, so one assumes you will go longer, as is the way here, yes, erm…” Abe looked at the Brenon.
“Galial.”
“Mistress Galial. Are you a midwife?”
“Yes. And you?”
“I—I am.” Abe beamed at her. “I am, and I think Poe needs to be examined.”
“Not now, y’all! It’s a party!”
“Well, still…”
He’d gotten to know Abe well enough to know he wasn’t going to just let it go.
“You can poke and prod me tomorrow. I’ll come up.”
“I’ll accompany you,” Galial said. “I would like to see your compound.”
“We would love that. I have so many questions, and information to share as well.” Abe beamed at her, and Galial reached out, patting Abe’s arm.
“Absolutely. We are neighbors.”
Poe could feel the air around him relax, Galial’s approval opening so many doors in a rush.
Abe took Galial’s hand and put it in the crook of his arm, escorting her to the dessert table.
Cade sidled up to him. “Are you well?”
“I’m fine. Everything just got out of control, you know?”
“I do.” Cade pressed his hand with long, callused fingers. “I love you.”
Poe beamed at Cade, loving those words every time. “I love you too.”
“Your party is going well, you know.”
“Yes. Thank you. You fixed it.” He lifted his face for a kiss.
I will always work for your happiness, mate. Always.
You amaze me.
Cade took the kiss, or rather gave it, and he bucked up to finish his party. There was, apparently, going to be a game of that ball Cade had told him about.
Tyr came over, giving him a smile. “It’s a good party, excellent job.”
“Thank you. I wanted to share something from the other world. Just a celebration of all of us coming together, hmm?” And he hoped they could do it every autumn.
“I’d like you to have this.” Tyr handed him a stone, which began to glow as it landed in his hand. “I will be as your brother. I will protect your family.”
He watched the stone, fascinated. “Thank you, Tyr. I—that means a lot to me.”
Tyr nodded, smiling at him. “I have lost my family to time and travel. Cadeyrn has been my brother for years. Now you are as well.”
He grabbed Tyr and hugged him tight. “I’ll be happy to be your brother, Tyr.”
Tyr patted his back. “Well. I will let you get back to being a host, but I wanted to give you that.”
“I’ll treasure it.”
Tyr walked away, and he glanced at Cade. “What is it? The stone.”
“It’s a kalan. It’s a promise between dragons. We offer them?—”
Seth gasped. “You have singing stones! Oh, how beautiful!”
Cade chuckled and nodded. “We offer them as a token of…connection. Lovers, friends, family—they glow with pure energy. There is a drop of Tyr’s magic in that stone.”
Oh, what a glorious gift. “You have to show me how to create one for Tanya.”
“I will,” Cade said. “Or perhaps Seth can, hmm?”
“After we make sure everything’s good with the baby. I don’t want to risk an ounce of your magick before that.” Seth smiled at him, blinking as a tiny, bright green dragon flew over.
“Leaga. Pleased.” She bowed so deep toward Seth, her chin almost touching the floor. “Are you going to play awak? Because if you aren’t, we can go sing for stones. We have a club.”
“I am hopeless at ball games,” Seth said. “I would be delighted to join you, Lottie.” Seth winked at Poe, then headed off with the sweet green girl.
“That was cool, right?” he asked Cade.
“That was amazing.” Cade’s gaze followed a group of dragons who were heading out to a clearing.
“You should go.”
“What?” Cade blinked at him.
“You should go play. I’ll watch and learn.”
“I will teach you to play when you are not with child, but now you should be careful. Things can get rambunctious.”
Poe laughed, the sound filling the air. “Dragons get rambunctious? I don’t believe a word of it.”
“Indeed.” His oh-so-serious mate smiled at him. “Dragons have been known to get rambunctious. I’m going to go fly.”
Cade stepped away, and suddenly his mate was a dragon, lifting up into the air with a happy roar.
Dragons joined at him like a rainbow in the sky, like a mad flurry of giant butterflies, and from below, the village was chanting out, “Awak, awak, awak, awak.”
“Hey, can I go? I know how to play.” Ari’s question had Brand’s eyes going wide.
Dev was shaking his head. “No way. Look at how big they are. Isn’t there a Junior League or something?”
“You used to do this sort of thing all the time. You were a snowboarder; you told me.”
“I told you that I hurt myself snowboarding. And I was older than you. I was a grown-up.”
Poe had seen that stubborn glare before. “When did you start snowboarding?”
“I wasn’t a giant dragon, and I wasn’t getting balls hurled at me. This is like winged dodgeball. Besides, Justin was the pro snowboarder.”
Arielle began to spark, so Poe stepped in. “Guys, I talked to Cade about this. There’s a group of teenagers playing because they’re, you know, not quite as in control of their flight situation. Surely Arielle can go play with them.”
Arielle glanced at him, smoke pouring from her nose.
“Yeah. Yeah, okay. You can go play with the teenagers. I feel more comfortable with that, and I appreciate it, honey, that you’d be willing to do that for me.”
“I don’t like it, but I’ll do it. Thanks, Dad.”
Devon put his hand on his head and shook it. “Teenagers.”
He got a round of acquiescence from a number of parents, and then someone asked him, “What is this snowboarding?”
“It’s like skiing. I don’t suppose you all do skiing?” There were nods and shaken heads. “But it’s like skiing, just with one big ski. You do tricks, you can go fast, it’s just fun.” Dev smiled. “I mean, okay it’s not flying, but it’s fun.”
It was starting to happen.
He rubbed his belly, nibbled on another piece of fudge. It was really starting to happen. Wow.