Maya sipped on her cup of hot jasmine tea. It soothed her, bringing a warm energy with each sip. She relished in it. Ever since little Kai had been born just a little over a year ago, she hadn't been sleeping much. Right now, she was sitting on the outside of her home, sitting in a metal chair that was, albeit uncomfortable but bearable. She sighed. It was just the start of fall, and the temperature in the air was falling slowly.

"Kai's put to sleep."

She looked to her right, Ray was just as sleep deprived as she was, it seemed, if the tone of his voice and his worn expression were anything to go by. Maya laughed at her husband softly. It also seemed like he had put up a fight with getting the little one to lie down. Just over a year old now, and she could see so much of Ray in her son.

"Get yourself some tea, sweetie. You've earned it." Maya smiled.

Ray nodded in thanks, walking back into the kitchen to get himself some tea.
The silence returned, and Maya sipped some more of her drink, closing her eyes,
as she took in the warmth of the liquid that hit her throat.

"M-Maya?"

The woman almost choked on her drink.
She moved her cup down from her line of view,
holding it in her hands
She looked ahead.
Was- was that who she thought it was?

"L-Libber?"

Maya blinked in pure surprise.

Her friend seemed a little worse for wear. Her blonde hair that was usually down, was put into a high messy bun, something that was rare at best. Her eyes looked sunken in, and were those dark circles underneath? Had she not been sleeping well? Why would that be?She was wearing a big overcoat, keeping it tightly closed and wrapped around her form. Sure, it was becoming autumn, but…a coat like that seemed to be more appropriate in a few months.

Maya then placed her drink back on the table. She got up and headed in Libber's direction.

"Wha-what a surprise! It's really good to see you, though! What are you doing here?"

Libber smiled faintly, walking slowly up to Maya. Well, walking was the wrong word, Waddling would've been more appropriate.
"Heya Maya…It's good to see you too."

Maya wasn't an idiot. She recognized that waddle. She stopped in place and grew a look.

"Libber? A-Are you…are you?"

Libber squirmed. "L-Let's go inside and talk, yeah?"

"Oh-ok."

The two women went back inside, greeted by a very confused Ray
"Libber! This is unexpected…What brings you to the ol' Forge?" He asked, totally oblivious to the situation.

"Ray…. I think she's…okay- I just got to ask, are you pregnant Lib?"

Ray looked wide-eyed at that question. Libber sighed, taking off her coat slowly, she revealed a very large belly to her two, now gawking friends.

"YOU'RE THAT PREGNANT AND NEVER TOLD ME?!" Maya screeched.

Libber let out a tiny laugh. "S-sorry…I've been so busy…and…as you may guess, cliff doesn't want information about this one getting out…But I knew I had to come see you."

"How far along?" Ray wondered, sipping his drink.
"...about 6 and a half months."

"I can't believe you never told me!" Maya shook her head, disappointment written all over her face. Libber looking sleep deprived and exhausted made a lot more sense now. Maya directed Libber to sit in an armchair, Ray having taken her coat and placing it on a nearby coat hanger.

"...Have you been doing alright?" Maya wondered.

Libber sighed. "I suppose I am." Her hands slowly moved over her belly absentmindedly."Cliff hasn't been there as much as he wants to, though, he's been far too busy with work. Which you know, sucks."

Maya's eyebrows tilted sadly. "If you needed someone to be there, you could've just reached out."

Libber shook her head. "No. I can't impose my problems onto you. I can handle myself, sis." Libber then moved one of her hands and placed it on top of Maya's. Libber then smiled and gave a wink. Maya just gave her this blank, unfazed look back. She knew this was probably a front- she knew what pregnancy was like. Maya sighed in slight frustration and shrugged. "Alright- if you say so. Just know I'm here for you okay? I care about you."

Libber nodded. "I know that." Then she looked off to the side. "How has raising lil kai been?"

"Exhausting Libber, not even going to lie to you." Maya chuckled dryly. "It's not easy. But- also- so worth it. The way he jumps up and down when he's excited …The way Kai smiles…He's so sweet. And yet at the same time so fiery, he's for sure his fathers son. There are certainly ups and downs to having a little one around."

Libber nodded. "I'm excited to actually meet him- Seeing his little face- being able to hold him…"

"Oh, so you're having a boy?"

Libber nodded. "I couldn't wait to know the gender, neither did cliff! So- we had it found out a few weeks ago."

"Oh how wonderful!" Maya gleed. "Kai and him can be friends! Oh! What if we get matching outfits for them?!"

Libber gasped. "That'd be so cute! Maybe!"

The two women talked for a little while longer, mostly about life and parenthood. Ray had even joined the conversation. But it couldn't last forever.

Libber received a text on her phone.

"I'll be at the house in 45, see you there?"
Libber smiled down at the text. Her fingers flew across the tiny screen.
"As long as I can bring some take out for us""Hehe. Love Takeout! Get plenty of rolls! :P ""Haha, will do, :P Love u cliff.""Love u too, Libbs! Xoxoxoxo!"Libber chuckled softly. Cliff could be so funny. She blushed slightly. She loved him-
But wished she could see him more. She missed seeing and hugging him.
"Is that Cliff?" Ray wondered. Libber nodded.

"Yeah, He's gettin off early tonight it looks like. I should better head off." 'I haven't seen him for almost a week straight now."
She wanted - but didn't add.

"Okay Libber." Maya nodded. Ray helped his old friend place her coat back on, and Maya gave her some of wu's teabags. Libber exclaimed that she hadn't had his homemade tea in ages! Ray and Maya smiled, laughed, and wished her well as she left the tiny blacksmith shop.

The swamp seemed to have an extra stench about it today. Even after all these years here, Maya couldn't get used to it. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she looked out of the window of the single story, tiny, cramped, and crummy blacksmith forge she and her husband had been caged into. Maya coughed a bit, and choked back the tiniest of sniffles as she remembered her two babies.
Ray came up behind her and rubbed her shoulder.

"...Ray? Dear? Do you think Libber's okay?"

"..." That hadn't been the first time she had asked him in the past…what was it now? 10-11- 12 years? Time didn't feel the same when you were trapped in a single place for that long. Anyways, Ray noticed there seemed to be an extra edge of sadness in her words. She hadn't even turned to face him.

"I wish I knew, but we can't exactly ask Krux about her."

"That is true…" Maya resumed looking outside. She felt so bored. The most exciting thing that had happened in the past hour was a group of dragonflies that had decided to linger around the window for around 10 minutes. Maya envied them and their freedom. Which, to her, felt like a silly thing to envy. Another part of her said in her mind that feeling such a thing was sad and pathetic.
"C'mon Maya. Only you can help me with this next part."

At least she wasn't alone…

Maya once again faced her lover, giving him a coy smile. "Alright."