After the meeting, Tino and Berwald started to make the long walk home. "...What do we tell Lukas. I know we aren't going to tell him that the spell work...but what do we tell him?" asked Tino uncertainly. "He won't want to talk to her. He still blames her for Dagny's death regardless of the fact that he doesn't want her dead anymore," said Berwald matter-of-factly. "What about Mathias? Right now Lukas is distracting him but eventually he'll want to come and talk to Aiyanna," said Tino.
"Don't tell Mathias anything. Keep details minimal about our visits. Make sure any information given is boring. If Mathias finds out, Lukas will because Mathias is a horrible secret keeper. Lukas knows how to read him like a book," said Berwald. "True...but we still need to come up with a good reason as to why they can't come and talk to her. One that doesn't make any of this suspicious," said Tino. Berwald frowned and thought about this for a while.
"We'll say she's sick or visiting her kin. They won't be able to question that. Aiyanna is going to have trouble walking very far away from her camp soon. They won't ask her people any questions, they can't because we speak different languages than them. I think we can pull this off pretty easily," said Berwald. Tino sighed. "I hope so...Can you believe that England is the father?" he said.
"No," said Berwald simply. "Do we really want them looking after our nephews or nieces? Maybe Lukas has a point in wanting to be the one to look after them," said Tino. Berwald shook his head. "They're their children. Arthur and Francis may be a lot of things but they would take care of their own. If not, we step in and kick their butts," he said with determination reminicent of Mathias.
Tino smiled. "Those babies are going to be so cute though. I'm going to have to knit them a blanket or something….but it's going to be hard to know which color to dye the fabric. What color do you think I should dye the blankets? What gender do you think the babies will be?" asked Tino. "Well...Most countries end up represented by a man. Arthur has four older brothers so it makes it more likely that they will be boys. France only has one or two sisters," said Berwald.
Tino nodded. "So you think they'll be boys too? The only girl we have in our family besides mom is Greenland...and Dagny. But most of us are guys. I don't want to pick a color and end up having it be completely wrong," he said. "If they're twins, they take after Arthur's side of the family. I think it's safe to make them for a boy," he said. Tino smiles. "Alright then...but I'll try to make them neutral as well just in case. Hmm, this is going to be hard to hide from Mathias but I'm sure he won't get into my yarn work again," he said.
They walked along, happily chatting about the baby until they get to the edge of the settlement. They walked back to their house quietly, blinking when they were nearly ran over by a very hyper Dane. "How'd the meeting go? She agree to a truce until we leave?" he asked. "She'll stay out of our way til then," said Tino. "But we must tell anyone who asks about this land that we were chased away in order to keep them from discovering her once more," said Berwald quickly.
Tino blinked. That wasn't what they agreed to.. "What?! Like hell we're gonna say that! We'll tell everyone that we took care of all of them here but got bored and left!" said Mathias. Tino quickly caught on to what Berwald was trying to do. "Mathias, if we tell other people about this land in general, they're going to want to come over. They'll take over the territory after everything we've gone through. We need to give a good reason why they won't want to come," said Tino.
Mathias frowned, still not liking the idea. "If we tell them it was boring, they'll know we're lying and have something to hide. But if they think it was too tough for us, they'll not want to come because we've never admitted conquering a territory was easy. That and if they find out that there are people who are able to chase off Vikings here, they're going to be really not wanting to come and try to see for themselves what it's like," said Berwald.
Tino nodded. "That buys us some more time to go exploring with Emil when he's a little bit older. Maybe we'll even introduce him to Greenland," he said. Mathias smiled at that. "Well, as much as I hate it, it is a good idea. Let's do it! I don't think Lukas will care either way, but I'll tell him what our cover story is! It's a good thing that she thought of it!" he said before running toward Lukas's house. "Idiot," muttered Berwald.
"Be nice. I feel bad lying to him...but it's for the best. I'll go ahead and start spinning the yarn. Shoot Berwald, we forgot to ask her when the babies were due!" said Tino. Berwald frowned, doing the mental math. "Dagny died six months ago but Aiyanna doesn't look as pregnant as she would be if she were six months along. I'm guessing it will be another year before she gives birth, probably around the same day that Dagny died," said Berwald.
Tino nodded. "That makes sense. I just realized something though Berwald...When will we decide to tell the others?" he asked in a quiet voice as they walk into their cottage. Berwald sighed. "When they seem ready and depending on when and how Francis and Arthur discover the twins. We'll have to play that decision by ear. We have to make sure Lukas is able to handle that information," he said.
"Mathias is going to be butthurt that we didn't tell him though," said Tino, finding his knitting needles. "Mathias would be butthurt no matter what. He should learn how to keep a secret," huffed Berwald. "You're just mad he told Gilbert you thought his beer was weaker than your meed," smirked Tino. "For three years, Prussia had sent me annoying birds carrying his 'latest' batch of beer in hopes of winning me over," said Berwald.
"That doesn't sound so bad," said Tino, looking a bit confused as to why anyone would be mad about free beer. "Mathias found out and managed to intercept every delivery after the third one. Took all my beer," he huffed. Tino laughed and sat down. "Well...A year should go by fast. Just think Sweden! Soon we're going to be uncles!" he said. Berwald nodded slowly, thinking, "Soon we're going back home. We won't really even get to be in their lives." He turned to make dinner.
Aiyanna struggled to get her shoes on, her nerves irked because Dagny had decided to pop in after being gone for a few weeks. She didn't know where the younger girl went during her time away, but Aiyanna welcomed the break from her constant chattering. For a girl that was usually so shy, Dagny was nonstop chatter when it come to the babies or the babies' father. "Hey!" said Dagny, suddenly appearing behind her. Aiyanna nearly fell over from the shock.
"Dagny, I told you not to do that. As the pregancy gets further along you're going to have to be more careful if you don't want something accidentally happening to the babies," she warned. That got Dagny's attention. She quietly sat down. "Sorry. I forgot. I just got really excited. My brothers made a lot of progress with their boat," she said. So that was where the girl went when she wasn't bugging me. "Is that so? Good. The sooner they're gone, the better," she huffed, finally getting her shoes on.
Dagny's face brightened up. "It's like you swelled up! Can I feel them kick?" she asked excitedly, already placing a hand on Aiyanna's stomach. "It's not like they don't stop kicking me. I swear, at least one of them is going to end up breaking one of my ribs. I did have a question though...When will their father be coming to meet with them?" she asked, genuinely curious. Dagny frowned. "I don't know," she admitted. "You don't know?!" asked Aiyanna.
"The Spirits wouldn't let me see that part of their future. But I know it shouldn't be more than a couple of centuries. He's bound to come soon and when he does the babies will be so happy to finally meet him. The Spirits said that originally England was going to build a coloney down south that wouldn't survive without my help after he met me here and that was when both babies would have been conceived...but they haven't said how this will affect any of that," she said.
Aiyanna frowned. "So you don't know how the alteration to your future might impact theirs?" she said. Dagny shook her head. "The Spirits said that the dead aren't privy to information that they could use to alter the course of the living. They made it very clear that if I tried to hard to alter things for them or try to see what they may face in the immediate future could result in me forever banned from seeing them or watching them...I can't risk that," she said.
Aiyanna sighed, wanting to ask more about her own future and how these children would impact it but she knew that Dagny would refuse to do anything if it had any chance of hurting her babies. Aiyanna was soooo over the babies. Dagny happily plopped next to Aiyanna. "Did you need anything? Are you hungry? I can move lighter objects now so I can bring you a slice of that bread you keep munching on along with that syrup your son discovered," said Dagny.
"...Can you pour that syrup on the bread for me please?" she mumbled, cravings hitting her the minute Dagny offered to get her some food. Dagny smirked but said nothing as she got up and prepared the food for her. Aiyanna balanced the plate on her belly and started snacking on the cakes. Dagny wandered around, blinking when she found a woven basket full of baby clothes. "What's this? I thought you said you weren't going to watch over the babies?" asked Dagny.
"Well, I'll take care of them until they can walk and talk unless their father come before then. I'm not going to leave a newborn to fend for itself in the wilderness. But don't hold me to it. I may be willing to take them in for a little bit because I am a mother as well, but as a mother I won't let your children threaten my own. If they get out of hand or do something intolerable, I won't look after them," huffed Aiyanna, finishing her snack quite quickly.
Dagny grinned and threw her arms around Aiyanna. "Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she said, repeating the words so fast that they blurred together. "Yeah, whatever. Just don't take this for granted. Now you don't have to be so upset about your brothers leaving. How much longer should that take?" asked Aiyanna. "Should be a few days after the babies are born," said Dagny confidentially.
Aiyanna nodded before getting up and pulling the basket over to a small stool. "These are some leftover clothing from my other children and some that I have made in the past few months. I need to hunt some more animals to make more though...I'm not sure how fast the children will grow. They usally reflect the growth of their people, but neither of their people seem to be actually present yet," she said.
"I suppose that is a good idea. They'll need the clothes either way," said Dagny, "You know, making the clothes would be easier if I knew what gender they were," said Aiyanna. Dagny shook her head. "Sorry! Can't tell you. It's the only thing I seem to be able to control right now, you not knowing the gender. Have you spoken to Grandmother though? I want to know what she thinks about all of this. I'm sure she's excited to have more descendents," said Dagny excitedly.
"I wouldn't know. I spoke to her once but she would only tell me about the children's lineage and a bit about what to expect. She was very emotionally disconnected and kept the time that we spoke very limited," said Aiyanna, frowning a bit. Her mother had always been close to her, so she wasn't sure why her mother was suddenly distant. She knew she had screwed up, but her mother was usually very understanding when she made mistakes. Her mother had never just decided to cut herself off.
Dagny frowns. "Could it be because the Spirits or whatever got on her back for being so involved with the two of us? They did seem upset that she was interacting with us so much," she said. Aiyanna frowned. "I hope not...but that could be a good explanation. She might have to prove that she isn't emotionally involved for a while. Usually she'd give me a little bit of a glimpse into the child's future," she said.
Dagny frowned. "That's strange...I haven't seen or spokent o her in a while either. By the way, Tino left some toys and clothes for the babies in the forest for you or one of your people to find. He and Berwald are really excited. He's going to wait there for an hour before he leaves," said Dagny. Aiyanna nodded. "That explains the tingling in my spin. Just...Let me figure out how to get up, she muttered, somehow managing to get off the floor.
Dagny giggled before leading her to the place where Tino had decided to wait for the Native American. The Finn had been knitting something before jumping when he heard someone approach him. He turned to find a very pregnant Aiyanna standing behind him, panting slightly. He blinked and immediately stood up so she could sit on the stump he had been using as a chair. "Here, sit down. No need to wear yourself out. I'm sure the babies are already doing that," he said nicely.
"Thank you," muttered Aiyanna, managing to sit down. Finland nodded, moving to the sack he had placed on the ground. "I made some clothes and Berwald, you know him as Sweden, has carved some baby toys and smelted a rattle. Hopefully the babies like it. I tried to keep the clothes as thick as possible because it gets cold up here. Not as cold as my home maybe, but it'd be pretty cold for a little baby," he said quickly.
Aiyanna smiled. "Thank you Finland. I appreciate it and I'm sure Dagny does as well. How are your siblings?" she asked. "They're doing fine. Norway is doing a lot better now that we've started production on the new boat. Denmark said that Norway had a dream about Dagny and that ever since then he's been a lot more calm about everything. He seems to have accepted her death a lot better," he said.
Aiyanna raised an eyebrow. Dagny hadn't told her that she had visited her brother in his dreams. Finland smile. "But nevermind about us. How do you feel? How have you been doing? Have the babies started moving or anything?" he asked. Aiyanna placed a hand on her stomach where one of the babies had decided to start kicking at the sound of his uncle's voice. "You could say that. One of them is bound to break a rib," she said.
Finland smiled at that but hesitated. "May I please feel? Only if you're comfortable with it that is," he said. Aiyanna nodded and placed his hands on her stomach. He froze as he felt a particularly strong kick on one side of her belly followed by a weak kick on the other side. He smiled and Aiyanna smirked. "The other baby doesn't kick as often as the first one but when he does he tries not to bring too much attention to it," she said.
Finland grinned. "Too bad Sweden isn't here. He would have loved this!" he said. Aiyanna tried not to frown. She was actually happy that the intimidating Swede wasn't around to try to feel the babies. "Perhaps next time...Only six more months before this is finally all over and these things are out of me," she said. Finland nodded sympathetically. "I suppose it is very uncomfortable situation," he said.
Aiyanna huffed. "You don't know the half of it. I can't even put my shoes on if they require laces. And I'm serious about that one baby breaking my rib. It keeps kicking the same spot as hard as it can it feels. If it's a boy, he'll have a strong future in hunting and sports," she muttered, rubbing her side. Finland smiled. "Well...either gender I'm sure the babies would be strong. It's a good thing. Hopefully it means that the babies will be strong countries as well," he said nicely. Aiyanna nodded and gestured to the bag. "May I see what you brought?" she asked.
He quickly pulled over the odd looking red bag and pulled out two rattles, one in the shape of the moon and the other in the shape of the sun. "These were made by Berwald. He thought it would be the most gender neutral thing he could shape them in that were round," said Tino. Aiyanna didn't jump when she heard Dagny laugh, suddenly appearing only to her. "Those are so sweet. Tell him I love them," she said.
"I made some clothes for them as well...well, they're actually hats, socks, and mittens. It's so cold up here that I know they're going to need it. I'll have blankets made soon but I kinda got sidetracked by the booties and everything. They were so cute that I had to make a matching set. I should get going though. I told the others I was going hunting and I usually don't take so long to catch something," he said.
Aiyanna blinked. "You've only been her for an hour...at least that's what Dagny said. She said she loved the two sets by the way," she said. Tino nodded before grinning. "Dagny's here? Is there any way that you can help me see her?" he asked. Aiyanna shook her head. "It's hard to concentrate my magic because the babies are draining my energy pretty badly. But yes, she's here," said Aiyanna.
Tino smiled. "Dagny, we'll keep your secret. We'll look after Lukas. Just take care of yourself okay? When the time is right, all of us will be happy to guide and teach the babies," said Tino happily. "Dagny says thank you and to remind you not to forget to look after yourself as well. She said to make sure that you all take care of Emil and each other. An to keep yourselves out of trouble, Vikings or not," said Aiyanna, relaying what Dagny.
Tino nodded. "We will Dagny. Now I should get going on hunting something. I have about ten minutes before they begin to suspect something," he said. "Would you need help? I can see if we already have any recent kills or I can accompany you on a hunt," said Aiyanna, wanting to repay the Finn's kindness. Tino shook his head. "I couldn't ask you to do that in your condition. I'll find something by then easily," he said before holding a hand, indicating she should be quiet.
Aiyanna had opened her mouth to argu before falling silent, hearing the telltale rustle of a nearby animal. Tino's hands were a blur as he pulled his bow from its quiver on his back along with the arrows. He aimed at something Aiyanna couldn't spot in the bushes and grinned. "I think I took down a buck in the next clearing over," he said, helping her up and leading her to his kill. She blinked. She'd never met a marksman like that before.
Aiyanna followed him to the clearing, blinking in surprise when she realized that Tino had shot the beast through the eye. A perfect shot. "This should do. I'll just say that the noise of the settlement meant that I had to go deeper into the woods to hunt. Have a good day Aiyanna! I'm sure either Tino and I will try to visit you so. We'll certainly visit you in six months if we can't make it any sooner," he said as he hefted the deer over his shoulder.
"Um...Of course. I do have to ask that you aren't in the room when the birthing process is being done. It's already enough of an invasion of privacy to have to carry these babies. I would like to attempt to retain some level of dignity through all of this," huffed Aiyanna. Tino smiled. "Of course. We wouldn't want to infringe on your hospitality. We just want to be there to hold the babies before we go...and at least get to be close to them at least once. They're our family," he explained softly.
Aiyanna nodded. "Thank you Tino…" she said before he nodded and turned around. He walked back to the settlement, easily hauling the deer over his shoulder. Aiyanna nodded and went bck to her own settlement, frowning as she trudged back to her own camp through the mud. She rubbed her belly. "You two are definitely going to be evicted if you don't out when your six months are up," she huffed, grumbling about how her feet hurt.
Happy Super Bowl!I Lemme know what you guys think about the latest chapter!