Author's Notes: Well, this happened. I was supposed to be working on Scepter Two and instead this shows up on my document, completely unbidden. Looking at about 7 ish chapters, give or take. Some long, some short. This gets a little dark, people.

Kalibose's hands, Mae decided, were the most attractive part of her mate. His fingers were long, squared off at the ends, and could be both delicate and strong at the same time. The tattoos of arcane symbols that centered over his knuckles and ran down the first segment of his fingers lent an exotic and powerful look to them. They glowed, when he was working a particularly intense spell. It was to his hands that Mae had felt the first twinge of physical attraction to him. His hands could wrought great destruction, or they could be as gentle as a child's. He seemed self-conscious of them-when out in public, he kept his hands tucked into his sleeves or in deep pockets. Even when visiting his brother, they were often hidden away, although not as much recently. Only at home did he pull his sleeves up, take his overcloak off, keep his hands out of his pockets.

Mae had not thought to ask about this idiosyncrasy of his: after all, Kalibose had been through so much, even more than he had spoken to her about. And there was always stuff to do and think about: why the grocer down the corner seemed to burn bright in her vision when she passed him, for instance, but only when he was outside sweeping his front walk, never inside at work. Why her sister-in-law always seemed to have this sickly bronze aura about her that no one else noticed. What kind of threads bound people together, some strong and tripping others in their paths, some floating on delicate spider webs. And even more confusing than that, which were relevant to her daily tasks and her possible future. The fate of a tiny spider that she avoided when walking out the door to the apartment building most likely did not effect her in any way, and yet she had caught a glimpse in the corner of her mind of a tabby cat's teeth and claws and what she assumed was the spider's demise. Before, the little trickle of fates and futures were easy to ignore: now they were the worst, and sometimes the loudest. That tabby cat would go on to have three litters of kittens, before eventually getting ill and freezing to death in the alley behind the florist's shop. All of this, as soon as she gave it the tiniest bit of notice, filled her head at once, and it was only after two separate people had tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she were alright, or if they needed to fetch someone, did she realize she had been standing half outside the apartment building, her hand still on the door, her eyes blind and staring and the other hand limp at her side. She had started, tried to laugh it off, and hurried on her way, but she knew, as much as she couldn't help overhearing the gossip in the reagent store, that people in the neighbourhood talked about her. She tried not to let it bother her, but when someone in the grocer's avoided her eyes, or when a neighbour returned her greeting with a strained smile, it wore her down. She wanted to bring peace to people, not distrust.

There was a slight pressure on the back of her head, so gentle that she didn't even startle when she realized it was there. She blinked a few times, then looked up to meet the eyes of her mate. He smiled his quiet smile at her, and smoothed her hair, now that he saw she knew he was there.

"I couldn't tell if you were sleeping or just deep in thought. Would you like me to take Amaryssa?"

She glanced down. She had been feeding the baby, whom had dozed off in a contented sleep, then she had spaced out. She felt it would probably be safer to hand her off to Kalibose to put in her bed, but she was so warm and comfortable in her arms. So grounding. She shook her head and sat up straighter.

"No, I'll keep her a bit longer. She's happy where she is." She leaned down and gently kissed the two-week-old on the forehead. She sighed in her sleep in response, and Mae rested her cheek against her soft one for a moment. She had waited for years for this. She was going to savor her every moment that she got. Kalibose nodded his head at her response, already distracted back to his own devices. He donned fingerless gloves and his heavy cloak, before sitting down at the kitchen table to lace up his heavy boots.

"I'm going to run downstairs and see if Lissa needs anything before I come in at noon. Now you do remember that she is coming over tonight to meet the baby?"

He paused to look her in the eye, as if he thought that she had already lost interest in what he was saying. Mae looked at him curiously. Had she been so distracted lately that she couldn't even participate in a conversation? She remembered that Lissa was coming over. Although, she couldn't remember if she had planned anything to cook, or if she was wearing proper clothing, or if the diapers needed washing first...

Kalibose continued on as if she had answered him in the negative. "Lissa will be here around 7. She is bringing supper. I will pick up some bread while I am out. Do you need anything else?" This time, the look he gave her was worried, and she tried not to give him a worried one in response. She mentally sorted through what she thought was in the kitchen and kept her voice as chipper as possible when she answered.

"Honey, for tea please." The relief in his eyes was subtle, but the enthusiasm with which he kissed first her on the forehead and then Amaryssa, was genuine.

"I'll be back soon." The last thing he did before he left the apartment was tuck his hands, although covered, into his sleeves.

Mae could feel the draw of zoning out again, and determined to fight it, shifted Amaryssa in her arms and stood up. She still felt a little weak from giving birth, even two weeks later. Brekke had mentioned that it was a hard labor, although what Mae knew was that it wasn't the labor that had given her trouble that day. She brought Amaryssa up to her shoulder and patted her softly as she strode into the kitchen. There had been tea earlier in the morning, but it had gone cold. With a little bit of creative shuffling, she got another pot set on the stove, and paced the kitchen slowly as she waited for it to boil.

Now that she got the idea of how attractive her mate's hands were in her head, it was hard to get it out. It was strange, really, Mae thought as she leaned back against the counter, the idea of finding a person physically attractive. Not that she wasn't attracted to people. In fact that had been her problem in her youth: people were amazing and wonderful and every single one took her heart with their personality. From her first crush on a pretty girl staying at the inn in Astranaar at 15, to everyone in between, she only saw the glow of their aura and wanted to see more. Kalibose had always been a little special though-she was attracted to more than just his personality. Which, she thought as she took the whistling kettle off the heat and added tea leaves, was probably a good thing, as he was often prickly to be around and could be unpredictable in his moods.

Amaryssa wriggled in her arms and Mae answered her as if she had spoken. "Yes, your Daddy can be a right grump."

Mae bounced her as she glanced around the little kitchen. All the dishes were done, the towels were folded and put away, even if they weren't completely even. The floor was swept and the trash had been taken out. Even if Kalibose was a grump, he tried to do right by them. For all of them. Mae fixed herself a solid mug of tea, adding in plenty of honey (which, she discovered to her satisfaction, was nearly gone) and balanced both it and the baby carefully as she went back through the house. She passed the table, the tiny living room, and went right for the bedroom in the corner. If Amaryssa would sleep, she probably should as well, after her tea. She tucked the newborn into her cradle and sat down on top of the comforter, sipping her tea thoughtfully. She didn't tell Kalibose enough that he was appreciated. She made a mental note to remember to do so this evening, after their company had gone.

Lissa's visit was a happy one: she was a good family friend at this point, not just an employer. She brought a lasagna, and Mae had pulled herself together enough to make a lemon cake, and dinner was pleasant. Having people in their space was inherently stressful though: more than once Mae caught Kalibose fidgeting with the candle flame or a napkin on the table, only to stop abruptly and shove his hands in his pockets. She was almost as relieved as he was when Lissa left, and sighed as she closed the door behind her. Kalibose had already disappeared from sight, and a few moments of searching found him standing at Amaryssa's cradle, watching her sleep. He stood quietly, his hands braced against the wooden side, his face unreadable in the low light. She came up to him and put her arms around him and he shifted to put an arm around her, although he did not lift his head.

"It is strange, how much peace she gives you. It was not something I expected."

Mae nudged him in the side. "You can pick her up. I won't tell."

Kalibose shook his head. "She's sleeping. Looking is enough."

They stood in quiet for a few moments, until Kalibose seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. "We should probably pick up from supper."

There wasn't much to do, after all: three plates, three forks, a quick sweep. They sat at the table afterward, and Kalibose still had a melancholy look on his face. Mae took a sip of her tea, and reached across the table to take his hand. He startled, as if he had been falling asleep.

"Thank you, by the way, for taking care of everything these couple weeks. I appreciate you so much."

As she spoke, she stroked one finger along the side of his hand. She had been hoping to bring him back to a more pleasant mood, but instead he stiffened up and she thought he was going to yank his hand away from hers.

"What are you doing?" His voice was strained, and Mae immediately stopped and held his hand loosely in hers.

"I was just going to ask you, what the story was behind the tattoos on your hands. I've always thought they looked so neat." Was it her imagination, or did his face pale? He withdrew his hands from her grasp and immediately tucked them into his pockets.

"It's a long story."

"The baby is asleep, we have time." Mae had no idea what his problem was. She had touched his hands before, in innocence and in passion, and he hadn't withdrawn from her like this. Or had he? Suddenly she couldn't remember if she had touched him in this manner before, or if he had avoided it. She felt a pang of guilt as Kalibose stared at the table.

"We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to."

She said it gently, and it did the trick: he brought his head up to look her in the eye. There was conflict in his eyes, and with some difficulty, he spoke.

"Give me some time to think on it, alright?"

"Alright."

Kalibose glanced over toward the bedroom where Amaryssa was still sleeping. "Are you finished with your tea? If so, we could go to bed early."

Mae smiled as she finished the last sip. "We can, if you want to."

His eyes still held a bit of that vulnerable look as he nodded his head. "I would like that."

It was only after all the candles had been blown out, and the night was safe under a cover of darkness, did he remove his hands from his pockets to wrap his arms around her to sleep.