ADJ Chapter 67

Under Watchful Eyes

Dawn came early every day, with much of the army already packing up its supplies by the time it had started its leisurely trek through the sky. Spike was amazed how used to it he was becoming. Perhaps it was an innate adaptability of dragons to get used to new places and schedules, what with how often he was used to sleeping on the move for long stretches of time, or experiencing a lack of accommodations like at home. Or maybe it was the simple establishment of an actual schedule for once, where timetables needed to be regularly and the pace was a measurable march of progress.

His family, for the most part, was not so enthused with the early departures. Granted, the interior of their carriage-turned-house was not subject to the rocking of the carriage as it clambered over often difficult or dangerous terrain. It was, however, not as fully furnished as what the lot of them had experienced at the palaces of their numerous hosts. That, and the ever-present chill of the coming winter nights seemed to seep easily into the interior, requiring multiple layers when asleep.

Spike felt the cold more readily than he wanted to admit, but only because he hadn’t experienced it much yet in his journeys. So far, only the early winters of Marescow had given him any sort of chill, and even then, he had dealt with it as best he could.

Here, now, was going to be different. This was going to be winter, well and truly, and even in some of the hottest and driest places in the world, the sting of ice was still known. For a dragon like him, he could adapt to it, get used to the cold as if it were nothing more than a slight breeze.

Yet that would take time, and clad in the warmest clothes he had, he marched along the carriage, towards the very center of the Marengol army. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, as he had not the slightest inkling of how things worked around here, the general and his overall command were also towards the center.

Sukhbataar was either incredibly busy after their initial meeting, or else he’d been purposefully avoiding Spike for a good while now. The delays had been minimal, and as such, moving back towards the heart of Marengol territory, to their ancestral homelands, was at a pace the dragon would have found rather surprising, given the terrain involved. From rocky windswept mountain slopes to dunes of sand reaching as far as the eye could see; plains of dust and jutted stone to chilled rivers fed from the snows at higher elevations. Grassy hills mingled with minutely wooded forests here or there, usually at the mouths of rivers or the base of the great mountains that ranged all along the horizon. Truly, it was a different world, a much harder one than he had known at home.

Home. Equestria was so far away, like a distant memory one needed to focus on simply to remember in passing. He had only been gone months now, yet it seemed like years.

A captain approached him through the throngs of marching soldiers. “The general wishes to speak with you,” he said rather curtly, and before Spike could reply, retreated to whence he came.

That was apparently all the warning he was to receive before Sukhbataar was by his side, marching as steadfastly as his soldiers, looking none the worse for wear from a species that was not as well designed for long distance travelling as a pony was.

“Dragon,” the dog said, thumping his chest in some kind of salute.

“General,” Spike replied, inclining his head. “You wished to speak with me?”

“Indeed. It has been some time now since we last spoke. As you are aware, the lives of those under my command take preference over the wellbeing and social interactions with outsiders, especially when we are setting out towards home at a pace we were not familiar with. It is all I can do to keep the ranks as orderly and alert as I can without having to worry about them running off, to get home as soon as possible. Many have been gone for years from their families.”

“That you care is admirable,” Spike said. “What is it you wished to talk about?”

“The Khan, once fully proclaimed, will no doubt wish to speak with you of Equestria, of trade deals and diplomats and all manner of politics a soldier like me does not care for. Others in his court would no doubt like to hear of its magic and creations, of culture and history and all manner of topics that interest so many, when I find them nothing more than passable curiosities. No, dragon, I wished to speak with you of the Equestria as you have lived it, as others have lived it.”

“Such as?”

“What is the stance of your homeland on slavery?”

“It has been declared illegal in all forms. The princesses told me it was abhorred by the very founders of Equestria, of the tribes that settled the lands and skies.”

“A good land then,” Suukhbataar replied. “Where I come from, it was not so.”

“Slavery is tolerated by the Khans?”

“In some form, yes, such as selling oneself for a set number of years to pay for a great debt. Some previous Khans, however, have issued proclamations seeking to curb such a practice, though others pay it little mind. In other places, however, it is not merely a facet of society, but a near integral part of it, an institution you might say. I have heard tales of it being such around the world.”

Spike frowned, trying to call back to the various lands he had seen, not recalling any signs of such practices. He’d seen servants aplenty all over, but had he merely looked over the presence of slaves, or had they been out of sight from the get-go? “As far as I can tell, many places I have passed through mirror the debtor slavery. I take it your homeland was different? You do not strike me as a natural born Marengolian.”

The dog chuckled, bitterly at that. “In that, you would be right, dragon. I am Marengolian by culture and adoption, not by blood, but in that lies the strength of the Khans. They can and will take those who others see as useless, barbaric, and primitive, and forge them into something that makes cities tremble and kings shit themselves in fear.”

He paused for a few moments, as if reliving such an experience. “I was born in a poor village, like many in most regions we will approach. We lived in the shadowed foothills of mountains, in small valleys barely fertile enough to grow the crops we depended on. Our main source of income was from trade with our neighbors, of the mines we ran and the various mineral wealth we would harvest. Iron, gems, copper and tin, as well as whatever our blacksmiths could forge. We have plenty of tools, but too many mouths to feed.”

It honestly sounded like a wide variety of mining towns in Equestria, though the earth pony magic helped them grow more food with less soil, along with the local weather teams ensuring good supplies of rain. Diamond dogs had no such access to magic, nor did they have cooperative weather guidance. It was hard to imagine such vast swaths of the world outside of Equestria had to endure weather as wild and untamed as the Everfree Forest, living on the whims of seemingly random weather patterns and simply hoping for good conditions.

“I take it you were one of those?” Spike asked.

“Aye, I was. Runts of the litter, my brother and I, and times were harder than usual. Normally the family would have gotten by with what little food we had, and when we were big enough, would go off to work in mines to earn coin from traders. But that year, it was worse, worse than usual by far. A drought hit, worst in a century some said, and there was not enough food to go around for our little shack.”

“So my parents sold my brother and I to a passing caravan bound for the capital.”

Spike’s stomach felt as hollow as an ancient cave. “They sold you?”

“Aye, they did.” The palpable anger was tinged with more than a bit of grief. “Their own sons, sent to do whatever the traders in the caravan decided they’d best be suited for.”

“Which was?”

“Another time, perhaps,” Sukhbataar replied with grim finality, silence resuming for a few moments. “More of Equestria, I should like to know. Of those that dwell there, what race are they?”

“Primarily ponies,” Spike said, mentally filing away the questions building from their suddenly aborted line of conversation. There was far more to this general than met the eye, and the Marengols in general. “Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, for the most part. There are bison in the drier parts, as well as crystal ponies to the north, in the Crystal Empire, and more than a few griffins, minotaurs and others scattered throughout the lands.”

“A fairly uniform place, then, without the variability of the Silk Road or the lands elsewhere. Are there dragons there?”

“I’m one of the only in the lands of Equestria, far as I can tell. Most live in the Dragon Lands, with some living elsewhere in neighboring kingdoms or regions.”

The general was silent for a few moments, as if puzzled by this revelation. “Have you, by chance, encountered other dragons during your journey?”

“As of yet, no. Should I expect some?”

“Well, much like your lands, they tend to keep to themselves. Even in regions where they are common, they tend to stick together in small enclaves, or prefer a solitary life away from the trappings of most civilization. Tribes may form around a singular dragon, and eventually all claim to be descended from them, true or not.”

“That would definitely explain why so many of my hosts have treated me with such respect. I take it you’ve met dragons before?”

“A few times, here and there. There are some that tend to stick closer to the Marengolian lands than others, and some just seem to wander. This is, of course, simply referring to the more common dragon races. I take it you have never met a kirin?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“A wyrm?”

“Didn’t know those were a thing.”

“Magma serpent?”

Spike shook his head.

“What about a Longma?”

“No.”

“Ice dragon? Shade dragon? Ice wyrm?”

“Have you met all these kinds of dragons?” Spike had never even heard of half of these before. What was the difference between a wyrm an ice wyrm, anyway?

“No, but I know those that have, and I merely wish to know if you have encountered them within your travels. You have been from one end of the world to this one so far, you must have met and seen much I and others like me have not.”

“Well, no dragons, but plenty of other things.”

“Such as?”

“I encountered naga within the walls of Baghdad and again in the streets of Istanbull. I’d never met one in Equestria, nor most of the places I’ve yet been through.”

“Ah, yes, well the snake-kin are more recently beginning to expand out from their jungle homes within the jungles, terribly reclusive at times. I take it much of who you saw were merchants?”

Spike nodded. “I’ve met diamond dogs before as well, though clearly a different sort than yourself.”

“Yes, our kind is most scattered,” Sukhbataar replied. “Ever since the downfall of our ancestral kingdom thousands of years ago, we’ve been scattered to the four winds, our kingdoms either small but lasting or great but fleeting. Even so, many of our kind care only to establish communities no larger than towns of sorts, content with being under the yoke of others so long as we are treated well enough.”

“Where was this kingdom of yours?”

The dog shrugged. “As far as we can tell, early ancestors of our race migrated through the steppes of Marengolia from the vast realms of Siberia, settling into the Indus River valley. We were likely one of the very first races to inhabit that region in the numbers we did, and eventually we grew so large that when whatever disaster that fell upon our kingdom occurred, it drove us to scatter to the four winds, rather than merely shrinking our borders. There are very little records surviving from that time to tell us exactly what happened, and the Chinese are very secretive about their more ancient records. That will change, of course, should war come to their doorstep.”

“Will my family be travelling through a warzone?”

Again, the dog shrugged. “There is no true way of knowing something will occur until it does, Spike the dragon. Predicting the events of the future is no more than blind luck or extremely advanced magic, and even then it can change in an instant. I tend not to believe in such foretelling, else my freedom and rise through the ranks of the Marengols would not have been so thoroughly embraced by yours truly.”

“But there may still be war.”

“Perhaps the new Khan will be one of war and conquest, yes. Many have been and many more will be, it is in our blood as a nation to be bloody, a culture that has lived and struggled for countless generations out in the steppes. Or perhaps the Khan will wish to foster trade and good relations with countries, seeking to establish diplomatic ties with neighbors and conquer through the pen, and not the sword.”

“Quite the swing there on the scale of things.”

“The Marengols are not a very populous race, seeing as we are more a culture than anything else. The lifestyle of their ancestors did not allow for much settling in one place, so they tended to be very nomadic. Only now are we beginning to settle in some areas, but even then, we are spread apart from one another often, so as to secure our borders but also maintain our cultural heritage.” Sukhbataar paused for a few moments, as a flag signaled something from the far side of the group. “I believe you will be an important piece of the new Khan’s decision for peace or war, though I do not know how. I must go, though we shall speak again soon enough. Farewell.”

The general moved off once again, and as Spike found himself alone beside the carriage once more, lost in thought as the army moved on, he couldn’t help but ponder this new information. What would the Khan be like, if the previous one had clearly had no issue with waging war for years? Would the winter deepen enough for safe passage to be rendered impossible?

Enough delays could see him and his family basically stranded for weeks, time he did not have. His foals should be born in Equestria, in what would become their home, not out on the road far from help in case of complications. Equestria boasted some of the best medical facilities he knew, in both practical and magical matters. He would not put the risk of complications on his wives, and would see them home in time for their foals to be born, even if he had to cut his trip short and rush home.

He could handle the heat the princesses might throw his way. They’d sent him on such a quest with marrying in mind, they’d surely understand if he put the priority of said family over the trip itself. He’d already been tempted half a hundred times to have them be sent to Equestria ahead of him, to continue the journey on his own, and would only continue to do so as their pregnancies progressed and the journey went on, but knew in his heart that sending them off would not work as he wished.

What if he went through another trial or cultural event as he had with Asalah becoming a part of his family? What if he needed their magic to help in case he were incapacitated, like in Istanbull? What if his lackluster genteel diplomatic skills got him into a sticky situation he’d have otherwise avoided with their help?

No. They would stay with him unless a portion proved far too treacherous. Until then, together they would be, into this great unknown.

Eutropia was silent as she tended to the dishes within the kitchenette, cleaning up after yet another rather quiet luncheon. Most of them were quiet these days, given how long most of them had been together. The others always had stories to tell, either from Equestria or from their journeys since Spike had taken them into his fold.

She had few stories to tell, nothing to the grand and adventurous as what the others had experienced, nor did she feel she should share the stories of her relative youth to the others just yet. It did not diminish her in the eyes of the others, and she felt no need for it to hold such sway over her. Her life, with the troubles it had had, was not one for the history books, true, but it had been her own, and its own story was one she was continuing to write with every passing day.

Yet, her life had changed, ever since her mother had bid her to leave Istanbull with the dragon and his family. There could be no doubt of that. The frightful apparition of a monster turning into a splendid host, while the true monster lay out in the wilds of Transylmania. A touring of history of disparate beings as downtrodden as hers, linked to wild whims of history, but ones who had risen above and made of themselves a great nation. Lands so ancient their bones could tell stories of empires come and gone long before her own city had been a mere trading outpost on the ancient shores of her homeland.

Life was never constant. Indeed, permanence was anathema to life, always changing, always struggling against and overcoming odds at all turns. She had gone from an egg to a young hatchling, and from there, onwards into a young adult, ready in body but not spirit to take the next plunge into adulthood. She’d still lived with her mother, after all, a fledgling growing far too big for their nest but not yet ready to set out on their own.

Her abrupt departure from Istanbull had more or less been her true fledging, and now she was a part of a flock of her own, albeit at first rather unwillingly and rather separately. However, as the weeks and leagues had gone by, she’d grown closer to them, getting to know them as well as they were learning of her.

Drying and filing away the last of the plates, she sat down at the table, a cup of now-cool tea resting between her talons. She’d picked up drinking it more often these past few weeks, as this journey through lands the Marengols had either conquered or intermittently controlled was beginning to stress her out, just as it was everyone else. The tea was soothing, sort of like liquid meditation, something to keep her calm when the stress of being unable to spread her wings or even just walk outside proved too much to bear.

Even with the danger of being outside known to them, other than Spike, none had been outside since they’d left the Persian king’s capital. Spike was afforded the ability to be out as he wished, though he never strayed far from the carriage for very long, and often preferred walking alongside it, regardless of terrain. Even if he returned to his family every night, Eutropia could tell he was not taking their captivity any better than they were. Perhaps he saw it as him being a warden of prisoners?

The others were taking to this isolation in their own, often subtle ways.

Maria had busied herself with writing letters and poofing them away, usually utilizing Spike’s magical breath to do so. From what she had gleamed from their discussions, Maria was corresponding with her family on a more regular basis, usually on personal matters with few political dealings scattered throughout. With how often they were responding, the mare was clearly setting things up for her eventual arrival in Equestria, likely arranging lodgings for when her relatives came to visit. She wasn’t getting as much sleep as she had been, and it showed with how often she needed a pick-me-up during different times of the day.

Chrysalis was busying herself with some strange sort of mental communication with her race, often muttering in her sleep while her eyes dimly glowed. Most of the words made sense to the others, and the news of a new palace being built in their underhives was certainly something to speculate. However, the queen was becoming increasingly sensitive about the subject, and either tended to start deflecting probing questions, or become a tad snappy if one pressed too much. Secrecy was clearly becoming important for such matters.

Trixie was busy with letters as well, though nowhere near to the extent of Maria. Instead of just her family, who tended to rarely respond and often ask questions hard to answer at this point, she was also regularly speaking with Spike’s plethora of family and friends in Equestria. As it turned out, there was quite a bit of history between the unicorn and those who had seen Spike off. Most of it dealt with the new quarters being built within Canterlot, but there was also the news of happenings back at home. However, while she still slept more than Maria did, Trixie was beginning to have what equated to potential nightmares, or at least restless dreams. She refused to tell anyone else about their contents, but seemed to fall into a temporary stupor of sorts when babies were mentioned before perking up and making small talk about other related things.

Now, Asalah, she was restless, pacing all the time, as she did not feel the need to correspond with her family, nor write to others. However, she was practically glowing, smiling all the time, and filled with a rather chipper mood that both relaxed and annoyed the others. Three of the dragon’s wives were clearly pregnant, and as far as anyone knew, Asalah was not. Yet her chipper attitude, radiant smile and the sheer amount of help she was providing meant something was up.

Speaking of which, the zebra mare sat down at the table, a small book in her hands, one of many the mares had gathered over the course of their travels. Thankfully, they were weightless when placed in one of the travel bags, or else the small library within each might have crushed any carriage beneath them.

The title in a language Eutropia could not read, likely that of Asalah’s native lands, the griffin watched as the zebra bookmarked a page and closed it.

“You wanted to see me?” she asked, folding her hands.

Eutropia nodded. She’d asked for a rather clandestine meeting with the zebra, well, her friend really. She’d become fairly close with the others, but undoubtedly the closest with Asalah. Exactly why, she couldn’t quite say, but she felt this sort of talk would be best with one most likely to understand her conundrum.

“I wasn’t sure who else to bring this to, seeing as it pertains to me,” Eutropia began. “The others, I know them, but I don’t know them like you do, and I don’t think they know me like you do. We’ve only been together for a few months now, right?”

“I’d wager so, feels like longer,” Asalah said, leaning forward slightly. “What’s this all about?”

“Well, it mostly pertains to me,” the griffin said with a sip of her tea. “I’ve been having dreams these past few weeks, ones I’m not entirely sure of. Dreams can be as random as anything else, or they can be an insight into one’s soul, or according to some, prophetic. I’m not really sure where these lie in that regard, but I needed to talk with somepony about it.”

“Are they nightmares?”

She shook her head. “No, no, far from it actually. They are often very nice, calm dreams, though occasionally, they can become a bit more… confusing.”

“Confusing how?”

“They show me things I don’t think I’ve ever seen, or maybe imagined at some point. Sometimes it appears from my own perspective, at others times, from the sidelines, as if I were watching this happen to someone else.”

“What are they?”

At this, the griffin felt a slight blush creep onto her face. “Well, they always involve me, but recently, they involved a male. Sometimes it was in fun or exciting situations, like exploring an ancient city or temple complex, or visiting news lands, or fighting bandits. Others became more… intimate.”

“It’s Spike now, isn’t it?”

Eutropia was at a loss for words at the zebra’s guess. “H-How-?”

“The others told me what they’ve seen, and frankly, Eutropia, I’m only surprised that I didn’t see it sooner,” Asalah said with a smile that could only be defined as “smug incarnate”. “Though I am glad you came to me with this, I’d wager I was one of the more understanding of the four, if only by a little.”

“You… you’re not mad?”

“Mad? Why would I ever be mad?”

“It’s your husband, their husband, Spike! Why wouldn’t someone admitting to having dreams about them like that make you upset?”

“Dreams are one thing, acting on those is another. You haven’t acted upon them, my dear, and trust me, we’d all know if you’d tried.”

“What do you mean?” Eutropia wasn’t one to be scared easily, but the casual nature air of this conversation was starting to get to her. What was going on?

“We’ve known for some time that you like Spike, though I guess we only recently found out just how much that was,” Asalah replied with a shrug. “It’s not like we’d hold that against you either, Spike is a very likable drake, for many reasons I’m sure you can guess, but he’s also an ideal partner. Kind, considerate, considerably affectionate, and highly likely to be able to not only care for his family’s well being, but to also keep them safe. Doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome, influential, and has a great wealth of friends and family to bring to the table. Any mare or lady would fall head over heels for him were it not for his assignment and his herdwives stealing the spotlight.”

“So… you’re not mad for my… attraction to Spike?”

“Of course not! Provided it’s for the right reasons, of course.”

“What?”

“Spike is my husband, yes, as he is the others, but we’ve all married him for differing reasons,” the zebra said, listing them off with her fingers. “Maria married him as part of a deal with her parents over political ties and diplomatic necessities. Chrysalis married him under the pretense of control but later as a means of providing an heir for her kingdom, as well as an ally for her realm. Trixie because she fell pregnant with his foal and sought to give them a good life, as well as to not exclude him from their lives. I was married to him due to the cultural disparity dictating courtship and intent to marry, as well as my father wishing to see me off with one who could care for and protect me.”

Asalah paused. “Yet those being the reasons for our unions was not why we love him. Maria fell in love with Spike because he was the ideal partner from the stories she’d read growing up, even if she had been beginning to resign herself to the acceptance that such fantasies of such love were likely extremely rare. Chrysalis fell in love with Spike from their shared adventures, the guilt of attempting to seduce and beguile him under a cloud of lies, and because he was genuinely such a good and kind drake that she felt powerless not to. Trixie fell in love with Spike due to the ability of him to not only provide for their eventual family, but also because of his gallantry and willingness to take her into his fold even if their union was the result of an unforeseen, but preventable, liaison earlier in his journey. As for myself, Spike is able to take me away from a home I was growing to detest, has shown me a love deeper than I thought possible for a male, will do anything in his power to keep me safe and happy, and has been giving me nothing but love and attention so deeply that it’ be hard to imagine anyone else doing the same.”

“So you all have your reasons, both as to why you are married and to why you love him so…”

“So what are your reasons, Eutropia? Why do you feel this attraction to our husband?”

The griffin sighed as she took another sip of tea. “Besides the obvious good looks, kind heart, and willingness to listen without much complaint or disrespect?”

“Clearly.”

“He makes me feel… strange inside.”

Asalah arched an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”

“When I’m near him, I feel… different than I used to. I was always so guarded, my mother saw to that, but for good reason. No reason to fall head over heels for someone who may not feel the same about you, or may wander before that kind of relationship can strengthen into a great one. Spike… my insides get all tingly when I’m near him, butterflies and all that.”

“I see…”

“Not only that,” Eutropia continued, pushing her tea aside. “It’s these little things that I just don’t understand. When I sit near him, like around a fire or in the carriage, his aura just seems to envelope me like a warm blanket, shielding me from doubt and worry. He smells like strength and determination, bravery and honor, but there’s this presence in his eyes that I can’t grasp. He sees right through me, I swear it, right down to the real me, and he doesn’t judge for what I’ve done, or what I could have done. He doesn’t see some potential griffin orphan from a country that wronged him greatly and hurt him in ways he’s never been hurt, he sees me, Eutropia Aeraktos, for who I am, faults and all.”

“I think I’m starting to understand…”

“On top of that, I can’t stand being around him half the time, if only because I don’t understand why this happens!” she cried, standing up. “My head feels dizzy when he brushes past me, when we talk I can’t seem to string most words together unless I really concentrate, and his smile makes my knees go weak! I can’t eat in front of him because I’m worried I’ll make a mess, I train him harder than any other would be just so I’m not slacking off for his sake, and I feel upset whenever someone else outside of his family looks at him! I’m not a possessive or jealous bird, Asalah, but that’s exactly what I felt when he would talk with Lila, or Hadhayosh, or even the Persian Queen. That can’t be normal, it just can’t be!”

The griffin collapsed back into her chair with a huff, cupping her face with her talons. “What is wrong with me?” she muttered through her clenched beak.

“You’re in love.”

The griffin’s startled squawk brought a great big smile to Asalah’s face. “I, I don’t-,”

“You’re in love, Eutropia, best as I can tell. There’s no doubting it now. I’ll admit, I was pretty certain this was the case when it was brought up by the others, but now I’m sure of it.”

“Brought up?”

“Did some of this start when you caught Spike and I rutting up in the gardens?”

The griffin’s face grew redder than a tomato. “How did you-,”

“Know? Spike said he thought he smelled you when we left, but I knew I caught something move out of the corner of my eye near the stairs when we changed positions the first time,” the zebra said, smiling as the memory flitted through her mind. “Not that I mind it now, I’d have thought a peeper on such a private act would anger me, but given that my first with Spike was in the middle of the Samarea Desert with his other three wives watching, and participating immediately afterwards, I guess I was inoculated against such prejudice early on.”

“So I’m in love with a married dragon,” Eutropia muttered. “Just great.”

“It is.”

The griffin’s nonplussed look must have been evidence enough of the need to clarify.

“Spike could use a woman like you,” Asalah said. “You’re no soft mare like the rest of us, even with the magics of three of them being potentially potent, or in the case of Chrysalis, incredible. No, you’re mentally and physically fit, with training and skills all of us lack, and to be frank, your attraction to him is not merely the last remnants of teenage lust. What you feel for him, it’s been bothering you for some time now, hasn’t it?”

“I… yes, it has, but I thought nothing of it then,” she replied. “Why now, why now of all times did it choose to escalate like this?”

“Personally, I think it’s a combination of things, most recently your witnessing of our private moment.”

Eutropia’s blush remained as the zebra continued.

“Firstly, Spike is attractive, but the reasons for that, as we’ve discussed, are very variable. Your attraction to him has literally nothing to do with his status, or his looks, or his political ties or even his draconic heritage. You’re attracted to him by both his kind, generous nature and his willingness to listen to you, to have you participate instead of remaining an outsider. You’ve become a friend to us all, willingly, without any expectations for us on your part. Eutropia, you’re already practically family, and personally, I would be honored and overjoyed to call you a fellow herdwife.”

Eutropia felt her heart clench at the same time as she stifled a gasp. “You… you would?”

“Of course! You are not only attracted to Spike for those highly commendable qualities, but you are afraid to act on them because you are worried about not fitting in. I felt the same way before our first night together, it’s something I would not take lightly otherwise. If you feel this way about Spike, then it’s likely he may feel the same way about you, only he may not yet realize it. You’ve noticed how scatterbrained he can be at times, or how focused he might remain for such a long time as to ignore less important matters within him.”

“I… I have noticed, but… what if he doesn’t feel the same?”

“Oh, I’m sure he will, once we’ve all talked with him,” Asalah said, rubbing her hands together with ill-disguised glee. “Oh, a new herdwife! Here I’d thought he might be done, but no, I couldn’t ask for a better one among those we’ve met than you, Eutropia. What do you say? Want to join our family?”

Family. It felt like a lifetime ago that she’d had one. Eutropia knew she’d have had to leave the nest someday, to either strike out on her own or find someone to love and raise her own brood with. Yet, in those fleeting moments between sleep and awake, she’d doubted she’d find something as special as what her parents had had. She’d worried, if only for precious moments, that life would pass her by, and she’d find herself old and alone, flightless and feeble, while the world went by, vast and uncaring.

Yet now she had the chance she’d believed beyond her reach, the chance to be a part of a family. An unusual and rather unique one, true, but one she’d already come to admire and respect, for the love and familial bonds they shared had eclipsed anything she’d dreamed of for herself. She would do her mother and father proud by joining a family like this, by becoming a part of something far greater than just her. After all, wasn’t that the definition of marriage? Becoming part of a greater whole than the self? Two, or in this case, several individuals making up a greater collective of love and fellowship?

“I… I would be honored if I would be able to join your… your family,” Eutropia replied, retrieving her tea.

“Excellent!” Asalah said, leaning forward suddenly to give her a hug. “I’ll tell the others! Not Spike, of course, this’ll have to be our secret for now, just us ladies and all that. By chance, is there a ritual or courtship involved among griffins?”

“Not particularly, at least not where I’m from,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, if Spike is going to do this right, and I know he’ll want to, even with the rest of us supporting and maybe even encouraging such an action, then we’ll have to make sure he doesn’t do anything problematic. What would be a good way of doing that?”

“Well, occasionally females of griffins chose their mates, rather than the other way around for some races,” Eutropia said. “It’s usually the more martial ones that tend to do so, so… like me, I guess?”

“Excellent! After Spike is forewarned, we’ll get some sort of courtship set up,” Asalah replied. “My guess is, however, he’ll want to do things your way, as he’s already done most of the choosing so far, and I'm pretty sure the rest of us can encourage him to let someone else take the lead this time. He's been putting in so much effort for us all, time to switch things up. What would be a good time to tell him you’ve chosen him as your husband?”

The griffin shrugged. “I don’t know right now, but when the time is right, I’m sure I’ll know what to do.”

"Excellent! Now, we'll need to talk about breaking this to the others..."

Author's Notes:

Super late chapter?

Yes.

Am I working on the next?

Even as you read this, yes.

ETA?

Undetermined.

So many thanks to all who have stuck it out thus far.