You're the miracle in me (Nautic/Einata)

[Ember]

Eikask huffed at the sickly sweet scene in front of her. Had Eikane's attention been on her instead of his family she wouldn't have minded so much. But no. Eikane was singing pleasantly and playing a harp and it was directed to Nautic and Einata and not her. The smooth voice and playing combined with the warmth of their home to create an altogether lovely atmosphere if you could ignore the brooding gold. Not that she let herself be easily ignored. She rumbled softly in annoyance though it could have sounded like her adding to the music.

Eikane noticed, of course. When her frustration was about to reach its boiling point the goldhandler faded the harp out though he kept singing for his dancing little girl in her lovely little dress. He put the instrument down and put out a hand and the gold crept closer before flopping against him. Even Eikane couldn't keep that note quite even and he felt Eikask's smugness at that fact. He prodded back at her mind at the same time as he started stroking her large head. It was almost embarassing how easy she was to soothe Eikane reflected as he felt her jealousy settle down a bit.

Eikane shot Nautic an amused glance because he knew what the gold was like and that she was not very fond of the other girl in his life now. The song came to an end then and Eikane's voice faded out the last few lines of the song. Einata stopped her dancing with a breathless laugh and the goldhandler couldn't help but smile in response. "You, my love -" cue another low rumble from the gold plastered to him "- are a lovely dancer. Your old man here just might be jealous, you know?" He told his daughter happily.

Eikane still couldn't quite wrap his head around where he was in life now. When he had gotten to Selenitas Weyr turns ago he hadn't expected to meet and fall for Nautic. Or end up marrying him, for that matter. Einata was not initially wanted either if he was being honest. Boy did he love her now though. Nocturne, too, was supportive in his own unique way. His next thought fairly made Eikask purr because he opened it up to her. Despite how much he loved Nautic and Einata and Nocturne Eikask really was the number one in his world, the only one one hundred percent guaranteed to stick by him through anything. He flashed another bright Nautic at smile. "We should take a trip tomorrow," he suggested.

[Tashe]

Lounging against Nautsk's side with a pillow to cushion his hip, Nautic watched as his daughter twirled and moved her feet to the music. Every time she strayed too close the Wherhandler would pretend to try and catch her, causing the girl to giggle and bounce away. Four turns. It was hard to believe that they had all been together for only four turns. For Nautic it felt as if their large family had been together forever. When Eikane stopped playing the harp he caught his eye returning the glance with a smile. Although he wasn't too keen on Eikask's attitude toward their daughter, the Greenhandler so far didn't see any need to be worried. He trusted both Eikane and Nautsk to help keep the Gold all calm and he knew that Einata had figured out that it was best to keep her distance when the other female was grumpy.

Holding his arms out as Einata flopped down onto his lap at the end of the song, Nautic proceeded to fix one of the ribbons in her hair. Eying Eikask momentarily as he did so. Nautsk on the other hand bent her head around to nuzzle the little girlchild. She agreed, she was a very good dancer indeed. The Green took on a very different stance than her Goldsister and simply adored Einata, she wasn't jealous because she new Nautic loved with all his heart. Nautic rested his chin on Einata's head with a smile. "Oh a trip? That sounds wonderful. Where to?"

--

Giggling, Einata made a little curtsy as the song ended. She loved her Papa's music because it was always so pretty and sometimes she pretended he played only for her. She flopped down onto her Daddy's lap, "Nooo. Jealous of me? Nuhuh. Not when you can play the harp so pretty. I could never play like that." Rubbing Nautsk's eye-ridge as she stuck her head into her lap, the six year old mimicked the little sounds the Green made. At least until her Papa mentioned something about a trip. Now normally, when either of her parents brought up good news, Einata would bounce out from wherever she was and cling to them, but for now she was solidly stuck where she was.

"A trip! Oh papa lets go, huh? I want to go." She wiggled when Nautic rested his chin on her head. " Yeah, where will we go? Can we have a snow day? I want to have a snowball fight!" She had only been to the snow once, but that was when she had been three and she was all grown up now. Although winter wasn't her favorite time of year, she still wanted to experience all the cold weather fun that she could have. "Can we, huh?! Pleaaaaaasseee?"

[Ember]

Eikane, ever fond of hearing praise for his playing, smiled for multiple reasons at Einata's praise. And, hey, was that perhaps some interest in Harpering there? "I could always teach you to play," he commented with a playful wink. "You would amaze the Harper Hall with all the things you can do if you want to, then." He may or may not have been subtly cultivating her interest in Harper-related stuff though he certainly wouldn't be disappointed if she chose not to go that route. Harper Hall wasn't the absolute best place for a girl and he was loathe to see her go off for an apprenticeship anyway. So yeah, no pressure on her for whatever she wanted to do.

The enthusiastic response to the idea of a trip made Eikane happy, despite the slight pall Eikask's grumpiness at not being asked first incurred. But...snow, hmm? Bitra would probably be cold enough for that but...it was no place for a child to be brought. "Benden or Fort, then? They might have snow at this time of the turn." Personally speaking, Eikane was prtial to Fort Hold. He had never actually been to Benden but he had lived at Fort for his Harper training. He knew the layout well enough he thought to show them some secret and fun places in the otherwise cold Hold.

"Other than playing in the snow is there anything you wish to do?" He directed that question at both Einata and Nautic. Self-sacrifice came with being a parent - a good parent, anyway - but that didn't mean he and Nautic couldn't still do other things that they wanted. He briefly considered inviting Dmitri and his family along but it would probably get too hectic if so many went on a day trip - or night trip, in their case - to the other continent.

[Tashe]

"Maybe, Papa." Einata tapped the heels of her feet on the floor bashfully. "But I don't think I'd be that good." She never thought she could surpass her Papa or even Uncle Demi, they were both really good, probably the best ever. She squeaked slightly Tizzy streaked by followed closely by Vain. Quickly she whipped her hand out and caught the younger Blue, pulling him onto her lap while keeping his claws away from her hands. "Vain, no. Leave him alone." She ignored the Blue's complaints as she petted him, eventually calming him down enough so that he simply huffed and flopped across her lap. Her Daddy had told her at first, Vain hadn't liked her, but he loved her now. It was funny to think that the Blue liked her but didn't very much like her Papa.

Looking up from her lap, Einata smiled. "Fort! 'Rissa and Zemmy are there. We could say hi and stuff." She wiggled her toes thoughtfully. What else did she want to do? Well she had a billion ideas, but not all of them could be done in one day. "Caaan wee... goo... to the market? Its cold though, will there still be a market?" Tilting her head, Einata waved the edge of the ribbon she had in her pocket at Vain, letting him play with it to keep him distracted.

---

As Einata caught Vain, Nautic caught Tizzy, lifting him up so he could hide in the collar of his shirt. He was glad that the other Blue liked their daughter now, it had been hectic trying to prevent accidents when she first joined their life. "I agree, Fort sounds like a good bet if we want to see snow." Nautsk rumbled slightly. She herself wasn't terribly fond of the frozen water but she always went with. The Green was definitely a warm weather Wher. Twisting his joining ring around with his thumb and pinkie, Nautic thought for a moment. The market sounded fun. He always enjoyed walking through the shops and stalls trying to find unique little things to buy, plus haggling was always a fun way to spend time. But was there anything else?

"Hmm. What about the hot springs? There are some in the North by Inverness since we'll be in the North anyway. We could request rooms at the Weyr if we want to stay the night?" He stopped fiddling with his ring. "Or what about going to Southern Boll? I know your sisters want to see Einata again, it has been a while. That could be nice too. And its a shorter jump between from Fort to Southern Boll." He knew Einata didn't like Betweening all that much, but she put up with it because it meant she got to go places quickly.

[Ember]

Too cute for words. Really. Eikane internally laughed at himself for being so enamoured with his daughter's mannerisms. She was still a bit young for a Harper apprenticeship anyway so he didn't try to encourage it any further that day. Instead he watched the two blue firelizards as they were caught by Einata and Nautic. Although Vain had learned to like Einata well enough - though never himself, which he supposed was okay in the end, he was long since used to the odd small scratches and 'accidents' - Eikane was always watchful of the blue in case he changed his mind and decided she was in need of attacking. It seemed he was fine for the moment.

Fort! Eikane was positively beaming on the inside that they had both chosen to go there. The market, though...The goldhandler thought a bit. It probably was a bit too cold for the market. Nautic thankfully gave a suggestion that killed several avians with one stone, metaphorically speaking. Eikane was undeniably a family man even if he didn't visit his family at Southern Boll that much. "Fort is definitely on, then. Einata, how do you feel about Southern Boll? I think the market at Fort would not be up right right now but Boll is warm enough for it still. You would get to see your aunties then, too."

They could easily request a place to stay from one of his sisters. Staying with his parents was rarely the best idea because while they were more than willing to house him his aunt and uncle were always breathing down his neck then. His sisters' husbands were usually okay with it, if only because they had all picked wives who were a little overbearing. It was far easier to keep them happy if they were giving in to his sisters' demands. Even Eikane tended to go along with their wishes when he visited them.

[Tashe]

"Hmm..." She put a finger to the side of her cheek. "Okay!" Putting Vain on the floor before jumping up, Einata carefully circled to her Papa's side that did not contain a large Gold Wher. Putting her hands lightly on his shoulder she bounced slightly. "If we go see them I can bring them their drawings!" A few weeks ago the little brown head had gone on a coloring spree and had almost literally colored pictures for just about everyone she knew. "And I can play with my cousins and run around and... and stuff!" Widening her eyes, Einata played with one of the ribbons in her hair. "I've been good right?" She paused. "Can we get little blueberry muffins at the market if they have them? Huuuh? Can we pleaaaase?" When it came down to sweets, Einata wasn't very much a fan, but Blueberry muffins were a sort of savory sweetness. They were currently her most favorite treat, especially if they tasted extra vanilla-y. "Or almondy scones? Like the ones this big," She measured with her hands, "That have that sugary stuff on it?"

Maybe if she was extra good the rest of today and all of tomorrow, her Daddy and Papa would let her have hot cider with two cinnamon sticks in it. Einata sighed a little as she thought of playing in the snow and then drinking cider, that would be soooo nice! Maybe they could even make snowmen... but then they'd need to bring carrots and stuff. She'd remember to remind them tomorrow to bring everything, Mr. Frosty would need his hat, yessir!

----

He let Eikane decide whether or not they would get what their daughter was asking for, because Nautic was always much to willing to spoil her with everything. The Greenhandler knew that self control was really important but sometimes he just simply had none. Which is why Einata had more clothes than he did, and his wardrobe was not easily matched. On the plus side, whenever he randomly spent marks, it was almost always out of his own pay. He didn't think it fair to spend any of Eikane's unless they both agreed to pool their marks or whatever. It also meant he had significantly less money saved up than his partner. But it didn't bother him, he didn't need much in the way of anything else. He could make good, filling meals for cheap and he never needed any expensive grooming things. He had all the music he needed via Eikane and they had already furnished their new home...

"So I think Southern Boll is a go then?" Picking himself up from the floor he patted Nautsk, tried not to step on Vain or dislodge Tizzy, and crossed over to their writing desk. He poured himself a glass of water and leaned against the wood with a smile.

[Ember]

Eikane lifted one hand to put it to his lips and kiss his fingers. He then proceeded to press his fingers to her nose and make an exaggerated "muah!" for her benefit. "I'm sure my sisters will be thrilled to see your wonderful pictures. And...here they go. His daughter was playing with her ribbons. The man patiently waited to hear what she wanted, a little knowing smirk on his face. Oh, muffins was it? The man glanced at his partner and noted that the decision was being left to him. Eikane mused that Einata probably wouldn't like her Papa so much as a teen as he was definitely the stricter of the two.

At that moment, though, he didn't see the harm in letting Einata have some of the mini muffins. Not that he wouldn't tease her a little bit first. "You haaaave been good. But good enough for blueberry muffins?" Eikane asked the air, looking like he was having intense internal battles over the issue. "Oh, alright. We can get you some blueberry muffins. No scones, though." They were extra terrible in his opinion...not to mention the fact that he liked the blueberry muffins too. Hmm, maybe while they were at Fort they would get a glimpse of the Gather preparations though it might still be too early to see much.

Eikane watched Nautic get up and move to the writing desk - maybe to give his sisters early heads up? - before answering, "Seems like it. Which means we all need to get to bed extra early so that we can wake up sooner. I don't think my sister will appreciate a night visit very much," he commented, standing with one final pat to Eikask's grumbling head. The man scooped Einata up with a twirl. "Come on then, lovely. I'll tuck you in and sing you good night," Eikane offered to take away the sting of sending his family to bed unnaturally early for wherhandlers.

[Tashe]

Sitting down at the desk he pulled out a sheet of parchment, some ink and a quill, all the while putting his glass to the side. Quickly and as elegantly as he could manage Nautic wrote a letter to Eikane's eldest sister and her husband. He knew she'd pass it around to the other sisters in the morning or, if they were still up, pretty soon after the letter arrived. Signing the bottom with both of their names (and Einata's) Nautic gently blew on it to help dry the ink. Getting up as their daughter started complaining, the Greenhandler trotted over to give her a kiss on the forehead. "No squawking little bird, you'll want all your strength to throw snowballs at Papa." He grinned and trotted back to the desk so he could fold and seal the letter.

Heating the wax (which was a light blue color), Nautic poured a dab of it on the back of the folds before pressing the seal in it. He'd found the seal on a market trip and had thought it cute. It was simply three little stars in a slightly bent line, so that the middle star was slightly above the other two. The stars in the seal were indented so that when pressed into the wax would make the stars pop out. "Tizzy, I've got a delivery for you." Pulling the Blue out of his collar and setting him down on the table, he shared where to go and who to give it to. Out of all his small pets on a daily basis, Tizzy was by far the brightest and often did little jumps like this. "Kraay! Siss fien!" The skinny Blue grabbed the letter in his mouth, leaped off the table and into the Between.

When that was all done with, he joined the duo in Einata's room for the song.

---

Einata made her biggest, most saddest doe eyes at Eikane when he was trying to decide. But when he said yes to the muffins she squeaked happily and hugged him around the neck. "Yay muffins!" Letting go so he could get up, she hardly had time to complain on the ground before she was swept up, giggling. "But I'm not sleeeeepy! I don't waaant to go to bed yeeet." Einata wiggled as her daddy gave her a kiss on the head but gave a sigh. "Fiiiine. But I'm still not sleepy." She let herself be carried away, picking at her Papa's shirt collar boredly.

[Ember]

Eikane was all ready to cajole Einata into going to bed but Nautic thankfully swooped in to rescue him. He had never quite gotten the hang of convincing Einata to do what she didn't want to. He could stop her from doing things he didn't want her to do, but yeah...that was like taking the water away from a runner and not trying to drag the runner to water. "I'm wounded! To think my darling little girl would be convinced by throwing cold, wet snowballs at me! Woe!" Eikane expounded loudly despite it being bed time.

The goldhandler moved toward Einata's bedroom - something of a frightful place. While it was clean due to Eikane's nitpicky nature the two fathers had agreed to make the design up to Einata. Suffice it to say that it wasn't to Eikane's tastes. He stepped into the twilight zone with only the barest minimum of winces and bent to place Einata on her bed...only to drop her from a very small height with a laugh. "I got you, didn't I?" He asked laughingly. He noticed Nautic in his periphery and added, "Alright then my little brightwing, time to hush hush." His words served not only to cue Einata to lie down so he could tuck the blankets around her but also to hint at the lullaby.

When Einata was settled and he had pulled the blanket snugly up to her chin and playfully tucked it in so she resembled a cocoon he kissed her forehead. "Hush little baby, don't say a word," he started singing, lowly and sweetly, "Papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird." He continued the song, glancing occasionally at Nautic with a smile in his eyes and playing at the corner's of his mouth. "If that runner and cart fall down, you'll still be the prettiest girl in town. Good night Einata," he ended softly.