Mikhael watched his son sleep peacefully against his side with a gentle smile, running a hand gently down his back. He had not been so sure about being a father at first. He had always been the kind of person who did not go looking for stressful situations, preferring to take things easy.

He looked over at his partner, where she sat at the table writing something. Though, they always seemed to find a way to him, instead. Not that he would ever regret those particular situations.

And now, he and Eris had another to add to their family.

Things had been strange the first few days according to Eris, and Mikhael had seen it that first night as well; with Nilas seeming distant, withdrawn and uncomfortable. He had been unusually quiet and subdued, barely making a sound.

Thankfully, it passed quickly and he became as affectionate and energetic as a young centaur should be.

Unfortunately, it was starting to become apparent he took after his mother in more than a few ways.

With some amusement, he silently hoped he did not inherit her temper. Some of the people in town were sure she had some werecat in her.

They never said it where she could hear, of course. And he would never admit to having thought the same thing once or twice. Even now there were those who wouldn't approach her after their first encounters with the raging beast that lived inside her.

Eris was a scary centauress when she was angry.

He looked back down at his son, a tinge of sadness appearing on his face. He was already growing up far too quickly. Even Eris, who had expressed similar thoughts, had been older when she first took up her crossbow.

And worse, he wanted to be an adventurer.

Mikhael was, quite frankly, terrified of what might become of his son and wanted nothing more than to put a stop to it. But, Eris made it clear to him that any attempts to stop the boy's dreams would be met with stubborn arguing and would do little to put him off; in fact, it would most likely only drive him more.

So, all he could do is watch his son train and hope that there would not come a day where he left and never came back.

The centaur was torn from his thoughts by his wife. "Dear, come over here, please. I need your help with this."

Gently moving Nilas and wrapping the blankets around him, Mikhael stood and made his way over to her. When he got closer, he noticed she had written out names and things like 'inquisitive', 'assertive' and 'too quiet' written beside them.

...Wasn't Sena that young centauress Nilas was friends with? Why was Eris writing about her?

"Eris. What exactly are you doing?"

Eris glanced up at her husband, a look of intense thought on her face. "I am trying to figure out who would be best for Nilas, of course."

Mikhael sighed and ran his hand across his face. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but with some of the ideas she had had over the years, this was not that surprising. "He is not even a month old yet. Do you not think you are going a bit too far?"

Eris snorted, going back to work on her list. "Nonsense. He might be like me with his sense of adventure, but he has gotten your quiet personality. And if he has gotten that, he has most likely gotten your inability with women as well. He will need all the help he can get. Now, he is very good friends with Sena and they get along well; but I feel she might end up being a little too quick to support bad ideas from him. We will have to see how she grows, first. I was thinking maybe Bianca. She is a year older than him, but that could be a good thing."

Mikhael felt the need to defend himself. "I was not bad with women."

His wife sent an incredibly deadpan look his way.

"I was not!"

"Mhmm. The first time I kissed you, you thought I was trying to bite you."

Mikhael cringed. "You had bitten me before. I was being careful."

Eris waved that off. "I only did that when I was angry. And it was very obvious I was not angry then. Or it should have been. And we can not forget you accepting Cerelia's 'late night grooming' session without a second thought." She scoffed. "Honestly. If not for me, she would have you wrapped around her finger to this day, and you would not have even realised."

Mikhael frowned and crossed his arms. "Eris. You are doing it again."

The centauress flinched slightly, shooting him an apologetic look. "Sorry, dear. Thank you."

Mikhael sighed and sat down besides her, letting her rest her head on his arm. "It is ok. I know you try."

Eris smiled and leaned up to kiss him gently, before turning back to her list. "As I was saying, Bianca might be a good choice. Then again, she does seem a little whiny."

She scratched down something else on the paper. "There is Mira, of course; the little darling. She is responsible and well-spoken and she does not seem to mind being around Nilas. He told me about the grooming between Mira, Sena and him; so there has to be some interest. You should ask him, dear. Fathers and sons talk about those sorts of things, right?"

Mikhael sighed again. He loved her more than anything, but sometimes he wondered.