Gregor and the Proposal Problem
Chapter 2 - Getting Reacquainted
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Gregor and Luxa walked into the new great hall while Luxa pulled him along. She babbled unendingly about the work that been put into the new Regalia and what had been fixed and what had been added.
"...Much larger than we really wanted, but it looks impressive, don't you think?" Luxa asked him about the hall they were in.
"Yeah, I barely recognize it anymore," Gregor answered. They stopped at the doorway on the opposite side of where they had entered.
"Do you want to see everyone again?" she asked him quietly. "They're all here. Lapblood's here, and of course, Ripred. All our favorite gnawers, plus some fliers and more than a couple humans, and-- " She paused. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."
"No, let's go," Gregor told her. "I miss everyone. I haven't seen them in years." He grinned. "Literally." Luxa smiled.
"Come on then. It's about time for dinner, and I'm pretty sure I know where at least Ripred is."
They found Ripred in the kitchen, apparently cooking. Gregor rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He wasn't, and he now saw Hazard, now eleven, and Meg running around as well, helping the rat, while Howard and Temp stood and watched.
"Bring some of that cheese here," Ripred barked, and Hazard rushed to do so. "Not a big piece. And you," he directed his gaze at Meg. "Stir this while I greet your brother." He gestured to the pot in front of him. Meg took the ladle from him, and Ripred turned to Gregor. "How's my favorite rager been since he left?" The rat bared his teeth in a grin.
"Fine, but better since I got back," Gregor replied. He looked at Ripred quizzically. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Ripred took the ladle back from Meg and dipped his paw in the mixture. "I'm cooking." He tasted it, and his eyes lit up. "Perfect," he said. He took the piece of cheese from Hazard and grated it over the mixture.
"Umm, why?" Gregor asked, peering into the pot. Ripred shrugged.
"The cook got annoyed. She said if I was going to eat the same thing everyday, I might as well learn how to cook it. Then one thing led to another and now she's gone and I'm the one cooking. And it's not just shrimp in cream sauce anymore, either." He nodded at Hazard who took the pot and poured it over a large bowl of noodles and mixed them together. "Fettuccini alfredo," Ripred explained. "From an Overlander cookbook." He looked at Luxa. "We need to eat outside. It's too hot in here."
They talked a lot as they ate. Apparently, there had been peace for four years, something unheard of in the past.
"But don't believe I've gotten soft after all this lack of action," Ripred growled at Gregor. "I'll still train with you, for your benefit as well as mine. A rager never loses his instinct, and I need someone to practice with. Including in the dark."
Gregor laughed. "Don't worry, Ripred, I've been practicing." He looked at everyone seated around him. Lapblood had come as soon as she had smelled food and Mareth had joined them soon after. Everyone from his adventures who was still alive was there.
"It's almost like a reunion," Gregor remarked. "If only Ares—" Gregor stopped. Ares. The image of his bat lying on the ground, his blood spilling from his throat unlocked memories he would rather forget, but knew he never would. A wave of pain and sorrow swept through him at the memory, and he was almost glad when he was broken out of his reverie by Luxa.
"Gregor," she began. He looked at her. "I know no flier will ever be able to replace him, but I have found something that might help ease the pain of Ares's loss." She smiled at him gently and cupped her hands to her mouth. "Aurora!" she called. This struck Gregor as odd. Luxa usually kept her bond with her as much as she could. His thoughts returned to reality when Luxa turned back to him. "Even after so long we all remember and miss him," she murmured softly to him.
"Me, too," he murmured, mostly to himself. Luxa glanced up.
"Ah, here they come," she told him. They? he thought confusedly as he scanned the sky. Everyone continued eating as if everything happening was to be expected. Rapidly approaching were three smudges that quickly turned into bats. The center one he recognized as Aurora. The two fliers flanking her were unfamiliar, but as he studied them, he realized with a jolt that the flier on Aurora's left looked uncannily like Ares. He stared at the black bat at they landed. He glanced at Luxa who was smiling at him.
"Go greet her," she urged him. Gregor stood and stumbled towards the gold bat.
"Greetings, Aurora the Flier," he said, stealing glances at the bat beside her.
"Greetings, Overlander," she said, and her soft voice was filled with amusement as he dropped all pretenses of looking at her and openly stared at the black bat on her left, who stared back at him, undaunted. He looked back at Aurora, shock and confusion on his face.
"H-how—" he stammered.
"I'd like you to meet my pups," Luxa's bond said in answer. "This is my daughter, Artemis," she said, indicating the silvery gold bat on her right. Artemis nodded at her.
"Greetings, Overlander," she said in her quiet, musical voice. Gregor nodded mutely.
"And this," Aurora continued, indicating the black bat to her left, "Is my son, Zephyr."
"Greetings, Overlander," Zephyr said in a voice that seem all too familiar to Gregor. Gregor couldn't even reply. He looked closer and gasped.
"Ares?" he asked Aurora hesitantly.
She paused before answering, "Yes, Overlander. Ares is their father."
