God Children. It was a nicer name than Cabot, chosen by her people for them all.
“Yes,” Delyth answered. “I am from the Brig’ian Mountains. I have never met another like me, though. If there are others in the mountains, they have hidden well.”
Kala’s gaze was steady on Delyth for a minute or so before she nodded in some sort of understanding. “You will ask my mother. She might know more of your kind. She’s napping now, but she’ll join us for dinner.”
The door opened just then, and Brande’s voice called out in greeting. Kala’s face lit up in obvious joy as she called back. Maiak looked up from his place in Delyth’s lap but did no more than smile when Brande walked in. The Cabot man looked tired but happy as he bent to kiss Maiak’s head, then Kala’s cheek. Then Alphonse’s head, and then Delyth’s too. Brande had already accepted them into his family.
“Healer Alphonse, Delyth, I’m glad to see you found your way here. Simple enough, no?”
“Very easy. Your directions were good,” Alphonse agreed.
Brande looked around his home, pride shining in his eyes, and then he settled in the chair beside Alphonse with a groan. The healer could sense the pain he was in, how tired his body was. But she didn’t think it right to say anything about it.
Instead, she stood. “Kala, could I help with the cooking?”
The two women were discussing dinner when Brande leaned closer to Delyth and Maiak, clawed finger tracing the lines of his son’s cheeks with feather-tenderness. The little boy chuckled. “You are a mess, my son.” He sighed and looked Delyth over once more. “You look strong enough. Will you help me move the table and chairs outside? When we are lucky enough to have friends and family join us for a meal, we must entertain in less crowded spaces.”
Delyth tore her gaze from Alphonse, where the other woman smiled in the early-evening light coming through the windows. “Yes, of course,” she said.
The whole scene had such a genuine feeling of warmth. Delyth had never known what family could be like, other than the warrior’s bond of shared service. The comfort here… it was like that of the little cottage she shared with Alphonse, but with a wider group of people who cared for and supported each other.
Delyth stood, setting Maiak down gently on the floor. He toddled off to entangle his mother’s feet while she worked. Together, Brande and Delyth worked to move the dining furniture out into the garden beyond, Delyth trying to take the lion’s share. She knew that Brande was likely tired from his day. She helped him light lanterns and set the table, all while the smells of the kitchen drifted into the neatly kept backyard. Neither spoke much, but it felt a natural sort of silence. Like camaraderie.
By the time dinner was ready, they had given the space a bit of a festive air. Lanterns and ornamental glass hangings dripped from low hanging branches, decorations that Brande made himself from sea treasures as little gifts to Kala. He was equal parts sheepish and proud telling her of them.
Alphonse and Kala came out laden with food, helped by little Maiak, his now-clean hands laden with plates and napkins. An older woman Delyth had not met yet followed, a baby wrapped in her arms. Her skin was greyer and tougher than Kala’s, but otherwise, the resemblance was immediately clear. They both had the same expressive way of speaking. Delyth did not think she had ever been so happy once they all sat around the old table, except perhaps the afternoon Alphonse returned from her studies to find the warrior in the little cottage near Nyth’draig.
Brande held out his hands. Kala took one, and Alphonse took the other. Then she offered her hand to Delyth, and the others at the table completed the circle.
“Thank you,Wynne, for the bounty we will share with our friends, Healer Alphonse and Delyth.”
“Thank you, Wynne.” The others murmured, and Delyth hastily chimed in at the end. She hadn’t prayed since her days at the temple, but it felt natural to clasp hands this way before the meal. The smells were even more tantalizing now, rising from a stew that included prawns and seaweed.
The older woman smacked her lips appreciatively and then grinned across the table at both Delyth and Alphonse. She was missing several of her teeth, but her eyes were keen.
“So,” the old woman croaked, her voice roughened with age.“Is it typical for your kind to love outside of the clan, Delyth?” She jerked her chin towards Alphonse in explanation.
“Mother,” Kala murmured.
Under the table, Delyth squeezed Alphonse’s knee. The healer had the sort of pinched look she got whenever she started doubting herself, and the warrior wanted to make it clear just how happy she was with their relationship.
“I know no clan,” Delyth said truthfully. “Nor any other of my kind. I should think, though, I would love Alphonse even if I did.” She took another bite of the delicious stew, thinking. Kala had said to ask her mother… “Have you ever met others like me?”
The old woman peered between the two of them and then smiled again. “I remember stories my grandmother told me, as a minnow. There was a time when all the clans were whole and happy. The Shark Teeth—” She gestured to herself and Kala, Brande, Maiak, and the baby resting in the small cradle beside Kala. “Fish Skin—You’ve likely seen them on the docks.” She ran sharp claws over her throat, and Alphonse thought of the people with gills. “Cloud Catchers,who had wings with feathers and Dragon Kin—” She nodded at Delyth’s own strong wings. “We all lived with the humans for a time, but they have higher birth rates and more land.So the humans soon outnumbered us and forgot the way of things. Things just
