With arms wide open ~ (S’rei)

[Rei]

They had been born that morning. Not without much cursing and noise from their mother. Really Erilena couldn’t remember half the things that had left her mouth. At the time she had been in a haze of intense pain and exhaustion. She faintly remembered squeezing the life out of Dmitri’s hand. The greenrider was beyond happy he had made it there, even if he was white as a sheet.

Erilena clearly remembered her first child being born to complete silence however. The intense panic that came with the fact that he wasn’t breathing would probably be forever stamped into her mind. But E’rro had gotten him started quickly enough and the healers had proceeded to console her over and over that her new baby boy would be fine and she needed to concentrate on birthing the next one. The second had been born almost a full hour later screaming like a banshee and by the time everything was said and done Erilena had pretty much passed out. The whole thing had been ridiculously exhausting, not to mention painful and she had never been so tired in her life. The birth had drained just about every last bit of the greenrider’s strength from her. Though when she finally regained most of her consciousness to the sound of fussing babies, and the sight of her husband’s face as he looked at them, most of that tiredness seemed to leave her in a rush. For a little bit anyway. Every minute of anguish had been more then worth the result. Feyrianth was a constant soothing presence in the back of Erilena’s mind. Buoying her, encouraging her. Telling her how great she was doing. How proud she was of her rider. It was like having her own mental birth coach, and the excitement the green felt about the ‘littles’ was extremely uplifting as well.

As Erilena looked down at her babies she couldn’t help but become a bit lost in every little breath they took. Every little movement or noise they made. Their children. A physical manifestation of her and Dmitri’s love for one another in a sense. To Erilena they were beautiful and perfect. It was almost like impression all over again. The girl’s name had been picked long ago. Way back when they still thought they were just having one and convinced themselves that it was going to be a girl. Dileina. (D-leigh-na) She was the smaller of the two, at only four pounds and eight ounces, though she seemed much more active then her sibling currently. Emitre (Em-me-tray) was bigger, he weighed five pounds exactly. He had had a rougher time at his birth though. In fact he hadn’t been breathing nearly at all when he came into the world. Her son had gathered strength with each passing moment however and E’rro had assured them that he would be fine. Not that that stopped Erilena from constantly checking on him. Reassuring herself that he was indeed fine.

She had fed them both about fifteen minutes ago, passing each one on to Dmitri after they were finished. Currently the greenrider was trying not to nod off as she watched her husband hold them. The handler seemed to be exhausted too. In fact he seemed to be nodding off every few moments with the newborns in his arms. Every so often he would jerk a little and mumble something to them. Maybe an apology. It was hard to tell and frankly completely adorable. But Erilena was starting to slip back into exhaustion and after a few moments her head simply slumped from her propped up position against her pillows as sleep claimed her again. Very much against her wishes.

It was only a few minutes after that that Elysia slipped into the weyr with S’rei in tow. She had all but mentally forced Amour to stay home, much to his displeasure. And only because of the fact that she was pretty sure that Dmitri’s near proddy gold would rip the flit apart if he tried to get close to the newborns. The greenrider paused to take in the sight of the passed out Erilena before her dark eyes moved to where Dmitri was seated and nodding off. Moving over to the harper she nervously nudged him, blinking in apprehension at the tiny little things in his arms. Were they supposed to be that weird looking and small? “Hey Dem. Why don’t you hand them off and get some sleep. You look like you’re about to topple over on them. I imagine Erilena might be ticked if you smushed them now. She might eat you.” Her tone was light with just a little teasing thrown in. Though honestly she did feel a little bad for Dmitri. He looked exhausted, and the pale woman in the bed even more so. In fact Elysia had to restrain herself to keep from going over to check that Erilena was still breathing. “You can hand them over to S’rei. Though no promises you’ll get them back this century.”

As she spoke she glanced back at the large man looming behind her. “No. You can’t keep them.” The greenrider said automatically before the bronzer could get a word in edgewise. Though even Elysia had to admit….funny looking or not there was something about them that was intriguing….maybe.

[Requiem]

Grandbabies. S'rei couldn't help himself. He really had been looking forward to the termination of Erilena's pregnancy probably more than a father-in-law should be. Most might even have found it creepy out of context. Truthfully, though...Shoal's death had hit him hard and after he got over it some, the desire to have a child that he chose to have with who he chose to have it with at a time that he chose again...a child that wasn't a mistake of circumstance...had become really strong. Shoal was the only child he'd ever had under such conditions, the only child whose delivery he'd been present for, and his favorite. A guilty secret that might not be so secret, at least to Elysia. And since Elysia would never have kids and he didn't want someone else's? The grandbabies would have to do. And was he ever excited that they'd come into the world healthy and whole with minimal complications.

The man was practically bouncing along behind Elysia. (Practically, because not only was actual bouncing counter to the dignity of his rank and age, but it would result in a nasty headache from clipping his head on the ceiling constantly.) When he came to the door, though, he slipped in a little tentatively, not wanting to catch Erilena at an awkward moment. The poor girl had already had to deal with Elysia's idea of small talk the night before when Dmitri was involved in that Run and she'd gone into labor. Most girls did not care to hear about the sex life of their in-laws. Last thing she needed was him catching her uncovered, too, being holdborn and rather sensitive to such things.

It seemed she was asleep already, though. And unless he was very much mistaken, Dmitri was soon to follow. The poor boy was still rather pale and clearly nodding off, if the rather confused expression that focused on Elysia was any indication. S'rei simply leaned in past her and stole his little granddaughter gently from his son, marveling at how tiny she was. Smaller than the length of his hand. He settled her into the crook of his arm and gestured with his head toward the bed and Erilena.

Dmitri blinked again, looking from one to the other of them, then slowly got up out of the chair and offered Emitre to his father as well. "Just don't break them," he told the pair. If he'd meant to sound firm, though...it came out more sleepy than anything else. The boy half-staggered across the room and crawled into the furs next to his wife, wrapping his arms around the woman's arm after a moment of hesitation. Maybe he thought that holding more of her might break her, too? Amused and not bothering to hide it, S'rei settled into the chair recently vacated by Dmitri and audibly cooed at the two little ones.

Erilena was so much luckier than Aliscia had been. These two looked perfectly healthy apart from their smaller size. They were sleepy too. Must have been fed recently. Emitre was outright asleep and Dileina moving just a little, making little gurgle happy sounds. S'rei smiled up at Elysia, not bothering to conceal how delighted he was. "Is it kidnapping if they're you're grandkids?" he questioned her, only half teasing.

[Rei]

Movement. Elysia almost moved to snatch at S’rei’s hand nervously as he leaned in past her towards Dmitri and the babies. In the next moment she completely aborted the movement though, realizing the action was reactionary and silly. Of course S’rei knew how to handle babies. Much better then Dmitri who had never had any. So why she had moved to almost prevent the bronzer she had no clue. Maybe because they just looked so teeny tiny and utterly fragile? While she was trying to work through that sudden surge of protection, or nerves, or whatever it was her eyes settled back on the harper. He seemed so confused. Utterly lost really. Part of the woman wanted so bad to make some comment but she swallowed it. Solely because the poor guy looked like he really had had a rough night. See she could be nice sometimes.

Elysia blinked up at the two impossibly tall males as Dmitri handed over his second child. As if that wasn’t an odd thought. Dmitri was a father now. It just seemed so weird in a way. Oh the greenrider was well aware of the entire pregnancy and what the end result would be. It was just a bit different when it was looking you right in the face. She did softly snort at the boy's comment though. “Yes Dmitri. I am going to eat them the minute you turn your back.” But he either didn’t hear her or was too tired to care because there was no return comment. Almost idly Elysia watched him crawl into the bed next to Erilena and embrace her arm. A light chuckle of amusement left her throat before another noise drew her attention. It was an odd noise to hear coming from S’rei that was for sure. She was more used to growls and deep rumbles then anything resembling oh a firelizard for instance?

Blinking at her weyrmate Elysia shifted nervously. Oh she was well aware of his building excitement when it had come to these babies, it was obvious at times from the expression that would cross his face when he spoke about it. It was just now that they were here and there were warm fuzzies everywhere the woman felt decidedly lost. Standing there staring wasn’t doing her any favors though. So the greenrider forced herself to approach the chair the bronzer was seated in slowly, as if she was afraid the babies he was holding would break if she just looked at them wrong. Elysia’s head tilted slightly as she watched the little girl in S’rei’s arms move. When the man spoke her head snapped up and she wrinkled her nose at him. “I think it still counts as kidnapping. Besides. How would you feed them? Not like you could nurse them yourself….okay that’s a disturbing image.”

Offering him a nervous smile, mostly because he looked so damn happy and she didn’t want to ruin it, she hesitantly reached out towards Dileina. The babe took that moment to flail an arm and make a little sound and Elysia snatched her hand back as if burned, eyes wide. “Is she supposed to do that? For that matter are they supposed to look so funny?” Maybe it was a little insensitive but this was the first time the greenrider had been around anything even resembling a newborn. She had seen babies at a distance sure but they were so much bigger then this and not so blotchy looking either. At a loss for what to do with her hands the woman smoothed out her shirt, never mind it wasn’t ruffled in the least.

[Requiem]

He couldn't help it. She reminded him of a pet (perhaps a young canine) that wasn't quite sure of the new additions to the family. S'rei surpressed an amused smile and returned his attention to the infants so as not to scare her off or some such thing. You'd think these two were about to suddenly bare fangs and fly at her like the bats that had attacked S'rei and Sel'n in the cavern from the way she was acting.

"Wetnurses aren't that hard to find among drudges. Or at Blossom if I can't find anyone here," S'rei responded, his smile a touch wicked. Elysia probably would know he was just teasing, but if she happened to be taking him especially serious today or was too distracted by the babies to realize, he did so love to mess with her. "I don't think it would be terribly difficult at all. We could hide them in your closet when we weren't home."

Her jerk back he really couldn't resist laughing at. Really? They weren't going to hurt her. "Come here," he told her, shifting one leg out slightly in a clear offering of his knee for her to sit on. This skittish behavior around the babies was seriously going to undermine his effort to steal them during the daytime after Dmitri and Erilena were so worn out that any sleep at all looked good. (Novelty couldn't beat out exhaustion.)

"Is she supposed to move? Yes, Els. Babies move." He really couldn't help it at all. Elysia was just funny when it came to children, especially these infants. She'd been hovering around Erilena curiously pretty much from the moment the girl began to show. You'd think that Els had gone her entire 31 turns of life without having ever come into contact with an infant at all. Shards, that might even be the truth.

"Don't worry, kitten. They're a little smushed and off color from being born. Give them a few days and they'll look more like you expect them too." He shifted his leg again, nodding to it in silent invitation. "I promise they won't bite you. Not yet, anyway; they don't have the teeth." S'rei wrinkled his nose playfully at his baby-ignorant weyrmate and waited to see if she'd get over her discomfort enough to join him so maybe he could give the sleeping boy to her.

[Rei]

Had most of her attention not been on the two newborns Elysia might have caught the wicked touch to S’rei’s smile and thus not took his first statement so seriously. But as it was she was quite distracted so when he started mentioning something about wetnurses her gaze flew back to him and her eyes widened. She was about to offer some protest about Erilena and Dmitri likely throwing a major fit until he started mentioning things about hiding them in closets. Really? Her dark eyes narrowed a touch on him before Elysia spoke, her tone a touch exasperated. “Very funny S’rei.” If she didn’t know better she’d think the bronzer was trying to give her a panic attack. Really she should know better by now. The man frequently messed with her, every chance he got in fact.

His laugh did nothing more to quell her nervousness and the look Elysia shot her weyrmate was some strange mix of irritation and almost pleading. “What in Faranth’s name is so funny?” The greenrider half hissed at the bronzer trailing off into silence and throwing an almost apologetic look at the baby when Dileina made another soft noise. They screamed when upset right? That’s what everyone had been saying. She didn’t want to make her scream. The shift of S’rei’s leg had her eyes again straying from the infant and to his offered knee. Wrinkling her nose as he called her over Elysia nevertheless moved a bit closer, though she didn’t move to sit just yet. Instead she hovered on that edge of uncertainty, still clearly anxious.

Though that uncertainty, at least, was quickly resolving itself as the bronzer kept speaking. The greenrider shot him another look. “Quit teasing me.” The words were a near growl as they left her throat. Really Elysia didn’t know what was so amusing about the whole thing to him. She wasn’t quite sure how to act yes. But she didn’t think it was that funny. “I’ve never been around a newborn before.” Nor had she wanted to be before now. So how was she supposed to know what they did? “I meant the noise she made not that she moved.” Not that it really mattered now. The babe wasn’t making much noise currently, nor did she seem distressed, so it seemed that that sound had been normal too.

Dark eyes moved back to the tiny twins in S’rei’s arms regarding them quietly for a moment. “Who said I was worried? Though that does make sense. Suppose the whole birth thing isn’t really easy on either party.” Indeed Erilena looked completely drained and being smushed and off color didn’t seem like it would be so pleasant either. Not that the twins seemed anything but content right now really. As the bronzer gestured to his leg again Elysia’s attention focused back on him and his words. “Well I would hope that they didn’t have teeth. I would imagine that would be uncomfortable for Erilena.” The woman barely resisted poking or snapping at S’rei’s nose when he wrinkled it at her. Cheeky bastard. It seemed that the exchange had soothed her anxiety though. Enough that she could take the seat he offered anyway.

Perching on his knee Elysia glanced again at the babies before looking up at S’rei. “So I take it they meet your approval?” There was a desire to touch them yes, but something held her back. It seemed silly to be afraid of something so tiny. But just maybe she was afraid of ruining it somehow. Doing something wrong. Yes for now maybe she’d just sit here and watch the bronzer hold them. It was honestly kind of cute and funny at the same time. They were so very tiny and he was so big. An amused smile on her lips the greenrider commented with a chuckle. “You know at first I wondered….but the title really does fit you. Grandpa.”

[Requiem]

S'rei was actually good for once, and simply gave her that blatantly amused smile complete with the obviously laughing eyes rather than actually voicing any of the thoughts going through his head. She probably wouldn't care to hear how cute he found her actions. (Or any of the myriad of smartass rejoinders that seemed to simply spring up every time Elysia made a comment without thinking it through. But then, S'rei went throughout the day speaking very little of what he actually thought, so it wasn't at all difficult to hold his tongue. Even if he tended to give it a good deal more free reign around Els than most other people.)

"No, childbirth isn't easy," he managed to say without any of the laughter creeping into his words or tone. (Too late on the facial expression. Much too late.) "But your tone and your question said you were worried. I don't need you to tell me you're worried to know you're worried, or at least puzzled," he concluded cheerfully. And if that grin was just a little cheeky, it was too subtle for a body to be sure of.

Meet his approval? He shifted the weight on his foot to make his knee a more stable perch for his weyrmate, even as he blinked at the odd wording. Were the babies supposed to meet his approval? "They have all their toes and fingers?" Well now it seemed that she was finding something amusing about him with his grandchildren. That was just fine, since he'd been getting so much amusement out of her. What's fair is fair he supposed.

He gave her a clearly questioning look, not sure where that comment had come from. Grandpa suited him, huh? "Well, I am one, now," he stated, fishing for her meaning in all of this. Forty-two was a reasonable age to have grandchildren. He was older than some, actually. Grandfathers that was. "Or was that supposed to be a shot at my age?" It didn't really matter. Wasn't like he was going to throw a hissy or get offended. Would be nice to know where she was going with that though.

Now that he had the Elysia right where he wanted her, though, he set about initiating Operation Baby Transfer, slipping an Emitre into her arms (since he was asleep and not likely to startle her like Dileina had) and adjusting how she held him until S'rei was satisfied. He had every intention of letting the babies win Elysia over so that she could be his partner in crime in stealing them from the kids. A more manipulative man might have also been looking to give her a reason to want a child of her own, but S'rei knew better. He wanted his grandkids around regularly, though, and Els would be helping him in that before long.

Or such was the plan.

[Rei]

Really she wasn’t too thrilled with the expression on his face. It was only too clear that S’rei was finding this whole venture far too amusing. What was so funny about her being nervous around babies? They were fragile, funny looking, and certainly made some funny noises. Plus to be honest Elysia had rarely heard anything good about them. Kept their parents up, screamed for no reason, and the creche was a place she had always avoided like a plague. Those women had to be frankly insane to take care of that many children no matter the age. Dark eyes fixed on S’rei in warning the greenrider lifting her chin slightly in slight defiance of his amusement. Really she should remember to laugh at him next time something made him anxious. Though really what did make the bronzer anxious? Not much that she could remember. He’d been upset yes. But anxious? Not really. He was too confident to be anxious. Bah.

Her eyes flicked to Erilena briefly as S’rei spoke and her gaze softened just a tiny bit. “Indeed.” She half muttered. The woman looked positively breakable almost. Thus Elysia decided she would wait awhile before bringing up any questions about the birth for the younger woman. It had been a bit of almost an obsession for Elysia for a good awhile, Erilena’s pregnancy. The entire thing. The way Dmitri acted towards his wife, how Erilena felt during the stages, the way she talked about her babies before they were even born. It was so wildly different from what she had imagined. But then Elysia herself had been born solely so her mother could have a shield from her father. There was certainly probably no true love in her conception. Nothing but twisted obsession and control from birth onward either. She hadn’t been loved and truly wanted by either Elynor or R’sia. She hadn’t even been a person. She had been property. Something else the bronzer owned. Something he could brag about. The dark haunting thoughts probably reflected a bit in her gaze as Elysia turned her gaze from Dmitri and Erilena and back to the two little babies in S’rei’s arms. Lucky. They were lucky in more then one way. Snorting softly she continued. “I guess you don’t. You know me pretty well by now.” Better then anyone else currently living probably. Even if sometimes S’rei didn’t seem to understand her either. Mostly because his thinking tended to be a bit more dragon like then most people. Very logical.

Shifting herself into a more stable position as S’rei shifted his weight for her Elysia attempted a smile for him. “Of course they do you goof. That’s not what I meant? I mean. You love them already don’t you?” The words were soft, almost curious, with maybe just a touch of a earnest tone to them. Did babies really have the ability to make you love them just by existing? If so then why hadn’t that same charm worked for her as a child? Were her parents really just that twisted? The greenrider didn’t quite understand what he was questioning of her but that was okay she supposed. It was clearly just something else she hadn’t spoken with sure clarity and the bronzer certainly wasn’t a mind reader. “Yes you are one now. And I’m sure you’ll be a good one.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “It’s not a shot at your age? More just like I’m just amused that big bad S’rei looks positively adorable holding something so tiny that they could both probably almost fit together in one of his hands.”

The greenrider trailed off into complete silence and shot S’rei a curious and slightly anxious look as the man moved slowly but confidently to slip Emitre into her arms. Dark eyes widening Elysia’s breath caught in her throat as the bronzer adjusted her arms and left her to support the baby on her own. What! No. Just no. For a moment she turned her head to give S’rei a clearly pleading look trying to communicate through the gaze since she doubted she could speak through her suddenly tight throat. She couldn’t. Please don’t make her. She’d… Movement had the greenrider’s head snapping quickly back to the baby as the little boy in her arms gave a tiny yawn and flailed his little hand about before going still again. Elysia let out the breath she had been holding. Emitre looked…so content. And okay maybe he wasn’t so funky looking. In fact those little fingers were kind of adorable.

For a moment she just watched the little baby silently, marveling at how light and tiny he truly was. How…perfect. The rush of protectiveness that the greenrider was now feeling was almost startling in it’s intensity. Carefully and slowly she hazarded adjusting the baby with one arm so that she could touch his tiny hand with just one finger. “Okay.” She breathed the words coming out still anxious but with a soft quality. “Maybe I’d could be convinced to let you steal them every once and awhile.” Offering S’rei an anxious smile she then slightly narrowed her eyes. “But this does not mean I agree to be called grandma.” Turning her gaze back to the baby she tried to keep the anxious tone out of her next words. “Do you think he likes me?”

[Requiem]

The bronzerider let most of Elysia's comments pass in silence. His mission was currently getting her to hold one of their - yes, he thought of the pair as theirs rather than simply his, even if Dmitri was the greenrider's ex rather than her son - grandchildren and the rest was more or less an afterthought. He did, though, nod to her question about loving them almost absently. What was strange to Elysia was the most natural thing in the world to S'rei. His family was perhaps the only thing he ever got emotional about, and he'd never had or met (yeah, dragonriders tended to leave a trail of children in their wake) a child of his that he didn't care about. For a man who felt very few emotions compared to the majority of the population, who tended to look at things more directly than most, the only real name for it was love. So of course he loved Dmitri however belatedly. And of course he loved Dmitri's two little newborns. It wasn't like he was likely to have more of his own unless by accident, and the drama that was likely to bring...Elysia was an extremely emotional creature.

Chuckling at her quiet admission - was that wonder in her voice? - he squeezed her lightly with the arm he'd threaded around her waist after she had Emitre securely in her arms. "I don't think he's aware enough of his surroundings to have formed an opinion yet," S'rei responded, his amusement, though gentle, still plain. "But he seems comfortable enough with you." At least while he was still asleep. A child liking an adult was something of a weird concept anyway. They needed you, wanted you sometimes, but liked? That was something that wouldn't be established for many turns to come.

"I'm probably going to steal them with or without your permission, if only to combat this alleged big and bad image you think I have," he teased her lightly. Though, yeah, having her on board with the idea was infinitely better than simply telling her he wanted his grandchildren around him despite her wishes. S'rei was always for convincing people to see things his way rather than fighting them on things if it could be helped. Everything went much smoother when the people involved weren't at odds with one another. That and you could only beat people over the head with things for so long. He wasn't the biggest, strongest or most intelligent bronzerider out there, yet alone any type of superlative person, so the longer he could play the game without having to involve himself in pissing contests the better things went. (It also made for some altogether interesting reactions when he did choose to be stubborn about something.)

"And, also, I'm not the one who would be calling you grandma, so I'm really not sure why you keep telling me this." Probably for the same reason that she tended to insist she was never having children every other breath. He'd gotten the message (both of them, really) the first time, and was beginning to wonder just who it was that she was trying to persuade or convince. Not enough to bring the topic of children up again, though, and the Grandma thing was more Dmitri's line than S'rei's. Dmitri seemed to find it hilarious that Elysia was kind of filling that role. Probably because it seemed to bother her so much.

[Rei]

She was actually rather lost for the moment. Elysia watched Emitre with almost single minded intensity as she tried to work out what exactly she was feeling. It was a rolling mixture of things. Some of which she wasn’t quite totally sure she understood. One tiny little part of the feelings scared her though. It was almost as if she felt longing. For what? Certainly she didn’t want a womb leech? She had seen what it had done to Erilena. She frowned slightly as she pushed the feeling aside, dark eyes watching the little newborn as his lips moved soundlessly. Bewitching little thing. She was almost startled out of her state of wonder when S’rei squeezed her and her head snapped back to him suddenly before dipping back towards the baby at his words. “I suppose not.” The greenrider uttered softly her tone laced with something almost like disappointment. Of course not. Why hadn’t she thought of that? The poor thing had just been born hours ago. He might not even know which way was up yet. So maybe that meant he wouldn’t like her after all. Why did that even matter to her?

Her gaze traveled to the baby in S’rei’s arms then before traveling back and forth between the two twins. They looked much the same right now. Well one was a bit bigger then the other. It was hard to really grasp that just hours before they had been actually inside Erilena. And now they were tiny existing people. It was almost mind-boggling in a sense. The whole concept of pregnancy. Certainly more intricate and emotional then she had ever really bothered to think about before. But then. She never had cause or desire to get pregnant herself. And she had never been close to a person who was either. Her eyes slipped back to S’rei when she realized that he was talking again. Whoops. Snorting softly in response to his amusement the greenrider stayed silent and let him continue. A brief glare was shot him for his response to the grandma issue however before she shrugged one shoulder.

“First of all. I just told you that you could probably steal them. Not that that matters since apparently I don’t get a choice.” Lifting her chin slightly she continued. “If that’s the case you can deal with Dmitri when I break one of his little porcelain babies.” Because yes. Despite the fact that she was holding one of them now…she was completely terrified of moving or doing something wrong. Not that Elysia was willing to verbally broadcast that fact, even if it was a little apparent by the tenseness in her body. “And furthermore I mention it to you in case you get it into your head that such things are funny. I am nowhere near old enough to be a grandmother.” Turning back to Emitre she spoke in a softer tone to him. “I have no idea what I’m doing you know? I haven’t even owned so much as a puppy before and firelizards hardly prepare you for babies. So I should probably apologize to you and your sister in advance.” Wrinkling her nose she half glanced at S’rei. “They don’t do much do they?”