Vidia was leaning back in the large bed in Milori's house, wings frosted and several blankets on top of her. Milori was sitting next to her, an arm draped comfortingly around her and his gaze fixated on a small bundle wrapped up in Vidia's arms. All was relatively quiet except for the occasional rattling of trees outside and whimpers from their newborn child. Snow drifted past the window softly, and even though Vidia normally abhorred the cold, frozen, substance, she had to admit it was rather serene.
No one said anything for a few seconds, just admiring the tiny baby. Finally, Milori spoke, lifting a hand to stroke the side of Vidia's face as he did so.
"She's perfect," he murmured, a soft smile appearing on his face. His eyes shifted from his daughter to wife, unable to settle on one.
Vidia rolled her eyes, a smirk barely visible. "Well, I should hope so- because I am not doing that again." She leaned her cheek into Milori's touch all the same, unable to completely mask her happiness.
A low chuckle escaped from the winter sparrow man, long used to Vidia's sarcasm and sense of humor by now.
"May I?" he asked, reaching his hand's towards the bundle, taking the baby into his arms only after Vidia nodded and assisted in handing her over.
His smile only grew as he held her close, taking in her features and every little detail. The tiny baby reached her small, chubby hands up to her father, unravelling them from the blanket around her. Vidia's eyebrows furrowed; considering the nature of their relationship of being from different seasons, the two were still uncertain about how their child would react in each respective climate, although Dewey had certainly offered a few theories. Still, the exposed arms made Vidia nervous.
"Cover her up!" she insisted quickly, her tone harsher than she would have liked. She shook her head by means of apology. "Sorry-..I just… do you think she is warm enough?"
Nodding, Milori quickly obliged, re-swaddling the infant, taking car to not pin her wings in an uncomfortable position. He placed a hand on the baby's face, checking her body temperature. "She seems fine, my dear. Although you are right- you can never be too careful."
Vidia's expression relaxed slightly at the news, although she was still weary of what temperature she would be best suited for; either way it seemed one of them would get the short end of the stick. She hoped that the cold wouldn't affect her too much; at least they could all be together for great periods of time in the Winter Woods, so long as they kept warm. But there was no fathomable way for Milori to visit the warm seasons. She shook her head, pushing the concerns away for now.
Sensing her thoughts, considering the same ones were running through his head, Milori reached over and squeezed her shoulder encouragingly.
"You know, we still have to name her," he offered with a smile.
Vidia wrinkled her nose, releasing a sigh. "I know- I'm terrible with names though," she admitted.
"Well that is what you have me for," he replied with a cocky sort of grin, a habit he had picked up from Vidia over the years.
She rolled her eyes in response, scooting herself back against the pillows so that she could better see her daughter. Every name that came to mind seemed far too cliché and entirely unfitting for her. After a few minutes of thinking, she let out a sigh, shrugging her shoulders.
"I don't know," she started, her tone exhausted and exasperated. "All that comes to mind is Autumn- since it is the in- between seasons… but then it would sound like we are naming her after the incompetent, high maintenance, minister," she snorted.
Chuckling, Milori shook his head at Vidia's apparent disdain of the Autumn Minister. Granted, he wasn't particularly fond of him either, but he had worked alongside him for many years.
"What about Iris?" he offered as a counter suggestion, although he wasn't quite sold on it himself. Vidia wrinkled her nose in response.
"No flower names," she insisted. "Ro is already convinced that she will be a garden talent, and this will only inflate her ego." Vidia frowned as she readjusted her position to a more comfortable one. "What about Acira? It means 'Fast'." She smiled at the baby, secretly hoping that she too would be a fast flyer. Milori arched an eyebrow at the blatant tendency towards her own talent.
"Who's trying to persuade talents now?" He pointed out, his expression soft but with mocking undertones.
"Well I don't see you suggesting anything- or were you thinking something along the lines of "Lady Snowflake?" Vidia snorted at Milori.
"Hardly – I was thinking Lady Frost," he retorted with a laugh, switching their daughter so that she was in between both of them. "Well names aside, I hope we can at least agree that she is beautiful," he added with a smile, bending down to plant a kiss on the baby's forehead.
"She is going to need a name eventually, Milori," Vidia replied, stifling a small yawn. She leaned back, nestling her head upon his shoulder, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. The banter about talents and seasons had become a sort of an inside joke between the two of them, even if they were both loyal to their own season at the roots.
"Unless I just refer to her as 'Beautiful,'" Milori teased, his eyes widening up after he said it. Vidia looked up at him, an incredulous look spreading across her face.
"You should leave the joking to me, dear," she sighed, frowning slightly. Milori merely shook his head and reached over to the small table next to the bed, grabbing a rather thick book, leafing through its many pages almost immediately.
Names and their Origins was written in a thick calligraphy at the top of the binding; the name "The Keeper" could barely be made out in scrawl handwriting. Dewey had given them the book quite a ways back, although neither one had glanced through it much; they had decided to wait to name their child and hadn't given it any thought.
Vidia furrowed her eyebrows, confused by what Milori was doing, and irritated that he hadn't replied. "What?" she repeated in an exasperated tone.
Milori's expression suddenly switched to a broad smile as he promptly closed the book.
"Anwen," he said simply, turning to Vidia for approval.
"Excuse me?"
"Anwen. Meaning- Very fair, beautiful," Milori explained, the smile still prevalent on his face.
Vidia thought the word over, glancing at her daughter as if trying it on for size.
"Anwen," she said softly, letting the word roll off of her tongue. A small smile krept onto her face as she whispered it once again, running a hand across their daughter's hair. "I love it." The smile on her face grew as she turned her head up to face Milori, her expression praising him more than her words could.
As Vidia's approval of the name became apparent, Milori brought her in for a side hug, bringing Anwen in closer as well.
"Anwen," he whispered, kissing her head first before doing the same to Vidia. "Vidia." She blushed under the affection of his tone, lifting up her chin to give him a proper kiss.
"I knew you had to be good for something," she teased as she pulled away.
"Only the best for my Ladies of the Fall Frost."