Today was the day it was all going to happen.
River and I held our laughter over our bowls of cereal when Darcy and Lavender entered, looking absolutely exhausted.
We hadn't got much sleep last night either. Thier pounding on the walls to try and stop us did nothing. It only made us laugh at them and how forward we had been.
Now, seeing them so tired only made it funnier. Like we were in that salt circle again trying not to get caught by Lavender's parents.
There was no time to take in the sight though. We were already running out of hours before the fireworks tonight.
Barely out of the shower and we were making our way to the nearest service office to renew my license and get a new one just for being a demon.
Things had changed. I needed a whole seperate license just to tell everyone I had been born, cradled, isolated, spotted, and was now Broken; a demon split from thier original Bound human. Apparently, after the stealing of the souls more demons were finding themselves Broken.
I hadn't had my photograph taken like this since I had progressed through my license. Now, my frozen thirty-five year old self was being plastered to everything just to give myself some sort of identidy.
It was such a serious photo too. No smiling; staring straight ahead. It didn't even look like me.
A simple hazard perception test proved I wasn't going to hit anyone with a car anytime soon. Some money and an eye test thrown in was all I needed to be given a sheet of paper saying I could drive until the real card was mailed out.
Now that I could drive, it was time to get my own car.
The parking lot reeked of fresh tyres and cheap perfume made to make the preloved cars smell new again. The storm blowing and beating the cars only sprayed rain in our faces and washed the scent of tyres everywhere.
I could tell River was out of his comfort zone as we circled the parked cars with the eager saleswoman pointing out each highlight to the cars like they were her favourite children.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsocldCVwL
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARi2Pa42zz
I was too. Neither of us had done anything like this for ourselves, let alone together in such bad weather.
Lavender was handed everything through life, and I highly doubted Darcy's parents would have taken River out to buy a car if he could afford it. They barely let him outside thier property.
The saleswoman boasted and made each one beam underneath thier ugly yellow stickers plastered to the front windows. She was pushy, maybe a bit too much, which made us feel rushed to make a decision. That and the rain pelting us relentlessly.
The one that did catch our eye was a little white Corolla wedged between an SUV and a Lancer. It's selling points we're that it had frosty aircon and low kilometers on it, but our main concern was the back seats and if they would fit the family we wanted.
For now, we were only hoping for one. But, there had to be room just in case things changed.
And it had to be safe. Nothing too big, and nothing with only two doors. Having the back completely closed in didn't give me a sense of security. It only made me dread what could happen if our baby was trapped in the back of a wreckage.
I wouldn't see myself getting into a crash anytime soon, but the thought still haunted my mind.
Ten thousand dollars was a lot of money to spend on a preloved car.
The paperwork I had to fill out for it too was hefty. It felt like I was signing my life away as the saleswoman observed where I signed and guided me along each page while trying to add in more extras to squeeze more money out of me.
I felt accomplished once the keys were in my hand. Like I had done something momentous.
I wanted to tell someone; maybe even brag a little about the car of my own even though it was no luxurous ride.
The privilege of the first drive went to River who waited for the woman to reverse it out and line it up with the front gates for us.
He was nervous about being given such a big responsibility. Since I hadn't driven a vehicle in over ten years, I felt safer that River could navigate the busy roads.
Once the nerves of the busy traffic passed, he was a buzzing bundle of joy.
I don't think he'd ever been behind the wheel of a car he called his own. I couldn't see him doing it anything like this when he was under the rule of Darcy's parents.
Was it the same now Darcy was an adult? Did River just take the backseat with the kids to grin and bear it?
He looked too excited to be someone who drove himself around often. It made me laugh at how much he reminded me of an excited puppy.
With longer and emptier back roads, I got to take the wheel and savour the feeling of it under my hands. It filled me with so many emotions.
The last time I had driven, I had first turned into the Death Bird while panicking and screaming for my mother to save me. I had been a wreck, and I had abandoned that car with all shreds of my humanity.
But now, I saw the rain flitting over the windscreen and pour over the passing scenary surrounding us. It gave me just a sliver of the sensation I got when I used to fly and how the water would roll off my feathers if it wasn't too heavy.
I missed that. Being up there and not choked in traffic or having to abide by road rules. There was nothing more freeing than being alone and one with the weightless wind.
Our first stop as independent adults was to the hardware store to pick out wallpaper for Darcy and Lavender. Rather than drag them out like what was planned, we could do the shopping for them and surprise them with the ones we bought back for them.
River picked out two new white and blue dinner sets that he loaded into the trolley and advised me on colours, putting back the yellow and green one I had picked out.
We went for a white one with shards of blues, greens, browns, and silvers flecked through it. It looked like something that belonged in a kitchen too.
We even chose our own dinnerware for home. Everything was plastic, even the cups that looked like real glass.
It was out first step into squashing anything that could trigger River. By eliminating the easiest ones, we could both live happier and not on the edge waiting for another snap.
We couldn't buy anything for the baby since we didn't know if it was going to stay like that for long.
Demons matched ages for survival. We could find ourselves with a baby one night and a full-grown adult the next. River wasn't ready to accept that. He was adamant that the reason demons aged themselves was because of the environment. If we could make it feel safe, it wouldn't find the need to cut its life so short.
The only thing we had was the cardboard box the plastic ware came in. We'd use that as a bed for our baby until we knew what we would be caring for.
A quick trip back home to offload the plates and wallpaper only left us with a few hours until the fireworks were planned to start.
Since it was still storming here, we made the decision to travel further out to ones that weren't battling the weather that cancelled them. It was our best chance to find falling spirits.
We worked quickly to tear down the existing wallpaper and glue up sheets of the new one. River's gouge marks were the first to be covered before Lavender and Darcy appeared to help, with the girls and Moss close behind.
All hands pressed and peeled off the old sheets that rippled to the floor. We worked as a team to breathe life into the kitchen gleaming under its new makeover.
Jumping into the shower to scrub off the stench of the glue and the burn of the cold weather only cut into our precious time.
We emerged better suited for the weather in hooded jackets and longs. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDA0KNDl2T
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoOEmIqHrl
River bundled up a blanket for the car and led the way outside.
We drove for the closest planned fireworks two hours away. The storm hadn't touched the town eagerly preparing to bring in the new year.
As we drove, the storm peeled from the car and was left behind us. The freezing cold wind quietened to a soft breeze and the clouds themselves turned from an angry black to a foreboding grey tinged in the bottoms of the white rivers blowing above.
We found ourselves a col-de-sac several kilometers from the planned fireworks at the arched bridge. Our car lurched over the gutter to park on the grass and overlook it towering over the water boats bobbed on to get the best show. Our little curve of road behind us only served the dissapointed faces trying to find a park for themselves.
It was just us and the sky. The perfect view to an amazing night slowly darkening over us. I didn't care how illegal it was that we were on the grass, I just cared about our best chance tonight.
River was ready. He grabbed the blanket and climbed onto the bonnet of the car before I knew what he was doing. I followed him up, snuggling into his side when he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close.
The bonnet burned beneath us and the glass of the front windshield bit from the storm it had to endure.
I was hot and cold all at the same time. It only made my nerves intensify within me as they rattled in the pit of my stomach.
River noticed my uneasiness and rested his head on mine. Our tails held each other while our hands did the same.
"Are you worried about tonight?"
I nodded.
"Do you think it'll happen? That we will catch one?"
"You make it sound like you haven't been one of those falling spirits yourself" River nudged me with a chuckle "they'll fall and we will help whatever decides to come to us."
"Do you think they'll know where to go with all the fireworks? I remember being so scared of the sky exploding around me. Did you have fireworks too?"
"They'll know where to go" River smoothed my hair under his hand, kissing my forehead "and no, I didn't have them. It was quiet and dark when I fell into the river. The fireworks are just to let them know that it's time to come."
"You think so?" I turned back to the bridge in awe "do you think they'd let more off to try and make spirits fall more than just once?"
"Well, I wouldn't doubt it" River shrugged "I've seen demons with all sorts of colours and odd mutations walking around now. Maybe something unnatural like that is making them that way?"
"I heard it was because they don't need to hide from the humans anymore" I snuggled into River's chest "a lot has changed."
"A lot has" he agreed with a smile as his hand stroked my back "some for the better."
I remained silent. I knew he was still lingering on the idea of our baby gaining its spots too early. That's if we caught one at all tonight. We were so far from where it would all be happening.
"You think it'll be blue?" I perked up to try and move River's mind from the dark thoughts "or have red on it like Azalea?"
River blinked down at me before getting lost in thought.
"I think with how twisted the spirits are, it'll be bright white with rainbow spots all over it" he replied "something humans would see straight away."
"Something we couldn't keep to ourselves" I added to his murmered agreement.
That did sound like something they'd do.
We just wanted a home where no-one would bother us, but the spirits would make sure that never happened now that we were relying on them for a spirit of our own to nurture.
"It'll be fine" River rubbed my arm, throwing his another hand up "it'll probably be green of all things."
I laughed at the absurdity of it. He did too then fell silent as we both watched the bridge.
"Do you think it'll happen?"
"It'll happen" he spoke firmly "don't jinx it."
We watched the silence and the night sky start to twinkle with the curious spirits gathering above.
"But what happens if it doesn't?" I fretted, feeling him tense beside me "what if they all fall somewhere else and we don't get what we want tonight? Will we have to go back to dealing with your broodiness until next year? I don't know how long Lavender or Darcy are going to tolerate you treating Moss like he's yours."
"If I wasn't so worried, he would be" River sighed, taking his arm from around me to hold both my hands in his "Look, Teddy, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm really counting on it to work that I don't want to think about if it doesn't. Yeah, I'll be a mess; I'll admit that. And yeah, I'll probably go back to annoying you until we do get a baby of our own. I just want this so badly. If it doesn't work, I think Lavender and Darcy won't want me around thier kids. I just want a baby with you. I've wanted this for years, and for years I've missed every falling spirit out of that damn sky. Now is our chance."
His face sparkled with hope but I still had my doubts. He clutched my hands in his but I pulled them out to place over his.
"If it doesn't happen tonight, we can try again" I tried to smile up at him "I just feel like you are winding yourself up so much that you won't be ready if nothing happens. I want this too, not nearly as badly as you do; but I'm ready to love something small and helpless again" I smiled at his wide one "I miss that, and I feel like I didn't get to have that with all my children, but I'm ready to be let down if nothing happens tonight. I think you need to be too."
His eyes and ears dropped before the tears ran. He nodded but sobbed, trying to wipe it all away. I pulled him into my chest and felt his arms wrap around me and his claws clutch my clothes for comfort.
"I don't want to go home alone again" he whimpered into me "sleep al-one a-and be alone ag-again."
"You won't. You've got me" I stroked his prickly back "and I'll never leave you again, OK? Not until you get sick of me and want to trade me in for another human."
He squeezed me tightly and shook his head, trying to swallow. His protectiveness of me made my insides flutter with admiration.
N-never" he choked out "n-not a-again."
I liked the way he made me feel like I was the most important thing to him. I had been the same way with Lavender, but it had always felt so one-sided after our trust was broken with each other.
I could feel that way with River and I knew it was going to be the same amount of love that would come back to me. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAKbBWNHUu
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It always had been; I had just been to ignorant to see it earlier. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEMlWmGqET
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I thought I had been put here for her, but with River here in my arms so broken and open, I knew it was for him.
I dipped my head down to cradle into his shoulder, savouring the unbroken contact between us.
"I love you" I whispered to him.
"I l-love you t-too" he sniffled back as his head rested against my neck.
This felt so right. I wanted to fight the damn world just to keep River from ever feeling like this again.
Had I felt like that with Lavender?
I had wanted to break the bones of a boy for her, but for River, that boy would be dead beneath me.
Oh, shit.
I really did want to watch the world burn just to protect this thing most precious to me.
I would be Cradled again for him, have the tag torn from my ears, have numbers burnt into my skin, and lose myself again, if it just meant he'd be protected by me.
I'd this how he used to feel with Darcy?
I felt... powerful; untouchable even. Nothing would tear us apart.
Nothing was going to touch River. He was mine and I was his. We'd have a whole life together to figure out all the rest.
We didn't need to exchange souls to get that connection demons had with humans. To me, it had happened right now with the clarity of why I was here.
I don't even know why I was growling as I held River to me. Nothing was here to take him away. There were no threats but the ones in my mind.
I felt River's lips gently kiss under my chin. I looked down to see him smiling up at me, snuggling further into my arms.
"Look at you, protecting me from those nasty lights" he teased and rested his head on my chest so he could watch the silhouette of the bridge dance with the lights of the workers setting up the last of the fireworks "so strong."
I rested my head on his, keeping him trapped in my arms. He seemed to like it, even with his spikes pressing into my skin.
"Did you feel it?" he whispered.
His hand trailed up the side of my cheek that I grabbed and held there, nodding.
"How about you?"
"Oh, you are silly" he snorted at me "I felt it when we were all sitting around the table after I took Moss. It just clicked and I realised that I wasn't there for Darcy."
His words did make sense. The way he told Lavender that I was nothing to her anymore and how he handed Darcy over to her made more sense now.
And the sex we had last night. I knew he saw me differently in the possessive way I was his only focus.
"We're the only ones who can hurt each other, Teddy Bear" River ran his claws lightly down my cheek "nothing else matters."
It didn't, did it?
Both our heads lifted when the first of the fireworks speared up into the sky. It screamed before bursting and fizzing gold in a colorful orb. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1bIDtcegr
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC00iOEkHOK
More joined it, dashing to the night to powder the void with colourful clouds and bright, dazzling lights.
Then, the spirits started to fall.
We both sat up, watching them.
They dropped over the water and towards the town further away. I felt my stomach drop when one sailed through the sky over us and continued into the distance.
Another followed as we helplessly watched, spiraling down into a treeline neither of us would reach.
The fireworks suddenly dampened our mood. The spectacle triggering the spirits just wasn't working in our favour tonight.
"Maybe we can try and catch the one in the trees?" River mumbled, knowing how futile that was.
Perhaps.... it wasn't our time yet?
More spirits fell, all in places so distant we had no chance. Seeing them fall crushed us both. It was slipping straight through our fingers and all we could do was watch bitterly.
"COME ON!" River snarled to the sky when more fell towards the bobbing boats further out, standing up on the car roof "GIVE THEM ALL TO THE HUMANS BUT NOT TO YOUR OWN KIND?! FUCK YOU!"
"River!" I breathed "don't say that to them!"
"What? It's not like they listen to us anyway!" he threw a hand to gesture to the sky "they never have and they never will!"
His anger was with the spirits but I felt like it was aimed at me. I dropped my head down in defeat and wrapped the blanket tighter around myself.
Maybe demons were not fit to be parents? Just like Darcy said?
"Teddy" River moaned out and slid down to force himself under the blanket with me "I'm not mad at you. It's just... we ask and beg and talk to them but they just don't give a shit. It's like we just get thrown down here and that's it. They're probably up there right now, laughing at us and how much of a fool we look."
I hated how much sense he made. I felt like I was being judged by how desperately we had chased the fireworks. We had bought a new car and I had got my licenses for what? So we could bring home a baby in a cardboard box? Live in our house with our plastic kitchenware like a family? Actually be happy?
The spirits were fucking with us. Obviously we were in the wrong area. All of them were falling much further out.
"We'll head to the next area then" I mumbled "they're playing us for fools."
The fireworks hadn't ended but there was no use wasting more time here. We could use it to find a more popular area where they were falling.
Did spirits choose where they landed? There was no choice in where either of us landed when we were born.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMLdQ4NNvq
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOxTVopaAQ
But with demons now, it was all so different. Was that a thing the spirits gave them now? Free will?
"The next one is just on the other side of the water" I pointed out to the town where spirits fell "it starts in ten minutes."
River nodded, getting up from the bonnet so he could guide me off it and open the door for me. He bundled up our blanket that was smoothed into the cardboard box in the back seat while I started up the car.
"It'll work, OK?" he smiled from behind me "we are just in the wrong place."
I wanted to remain as optimistic as he was. I forced my smile and waited until he was in the seat beside me before I started to inch the car back over the gutter and onto the col-de-sac.
We both took one last look at the spectacle exploding over the bridge, trying to bring light to something so dissapointing.
I started to follow the road around until River gasped out and slammed his hands on the dash.
"TEDDY! STOP! WAIT!"
He almost had his face pressed to the windscreen to peer upwards, pointing.
"LOOK!"
I forced on the brakes and pressed my forehead to the windscreen as well to see a glimmer in the sky above us.
"Do you think...?"
"It's...just a normal spirit" I squinted up at it "not a falling one."
River squinted, grumbling as he focused.
"Yeah, maybe" he shrugged "let's go."
"If it was, that would be some dumb luck" I laughed.
River laughed too before both of us fell silent when a flashing light shot from the sky to trail and spiral downwards past the curve of the col-de-sac we faced.
Holy fuck.
I yanked on the handbrake while River darted from his seat to peer over the edge. His tail swished and flicked as he scanned the dark drop to the choppy water below.
"Stay with the car" he breathed, backing up so he could sprint for the edge he threw himself over.
I saw the branches of dark brambles and trees scratch River on his fall into the water. There was a billowing of white foam on his entry before darkness consumed it all.
I dashed back to the car to park it where River had jumped. I waited and watched the waters as my hope turned to worry for his safety.
I knew something couldn't happen to him, but the rough waves weren't going to make anything easy. He would be swimming blind under there, not knowing what his hands would be snagging.
He could be tangled in fishing line or have dived straight into an abandoned shopping trolley. All sorts of things could be happening to him and I was just standing here, trying to spot a demon who effortlessly blended in with the dark waters.
I saw movement and white spots that made my breath catch in my throat.
"RIVER!"
It disappeared under the surface again I frowned at.
I should do something. I should go in after him.
I threw off my shoes and peeled away my socks to stuff inside them. Checking the water, I saw him surface again, scan the area, and dive back under.
Had he lost it?
Next, I pulled off my shirt and started to work on the buttons on my pants. I checked the water again to see River bob back up.
"I GOT IT!" he threw a thumbs-up towards me "I GOT IT!"
"WHAT?!"
His grin was massive. All I could see was his white fangs flashing back up at me as he paddled to land and started to climb up.
I clutched the clothing and pile of shoes as I watched River climb back up to the road and follow it towards me. He cradled his chest and ran excitedly towards me.
It seemed like he was running in slow motion. I paced there, waiting to see our little spirit for myself.
"I can't believe it" River gushed as he slowed down before me "look."
He moved his hand to have a little shadowy head pop upwards. It's large, golden eyes blinked curiously before it huddled back down into River's arms.
"It's actually here" I gasped before the tears came.
River nodded, crying as he smiled.
"Look at how small it is" he marveled "that was us once."
"That was" I giggled at him.
Both our heads pressed to each other as we marveled over our baby snuggled between us. I held the clothes that the little shadowy hand gripped at them.
"We're actually parents now" he sniffled "this is actually happening."
"And all it took was for you to jump off a cliff for it to happen."
River laughed as he held the shadow to his dripping shirt.
"Let's get you in where it's warmer" I smiled at him "and get our little one into its box where it won't be wet."
River agreed, taking the time to lower the shadowy demon into the blanket that it curled up in. I saw its eyes peek over the edge before darting back down when we climbed into the car and blasted the heater.
"What do you think it is?" I peered back at the box.
River did the same, turning to me.
"We won't know until it takes a form tommorow. Then we can decide what to call it."
"We haven't really settled on names, have we?"
I peeled the car onto the road, checking the box in the back.
With my back turned, I felt like it was going to dissappear.
Would a tiny demon be OK back there all by itself?
"I was thinking... maybe something else" River thought aloud. He dug into his pockets to pull out my bird piled with glue in the cracks that snaked along it.
"Is that....?"
"I fixed it for you" he smiled to me "I was going to give it back but the times weren't right. You were in hospital, then we had the whole snap, then we were busy all day today. But, I wanted to let you know I kept it safe and I can see why you love it so much."
River's thumb ran over the indent I had rubbed into it over the years.
"It's like a good luck charm" he marveled.
"It kind of is" I glanced over to it and felt myself soar at seeing it safe again "it helps me."
"Which is why I added something."
Instantly, I grew worried.
River unfurled his hand to let my bird dangle from a leather strap. It had a ring pierced into its back to hold the makeshift necklace River swung.
I couldn't break River's happiness after all the effort he had gone to. Putting that ring straight through my bird only made me think of him harming my Bee.
It was a sweet idea, but not one I agreed with.
"You hate it."
"No...."
"I should have asked" River gripped the ring to start twisting it out of her back "it's your thing and I thought I was fixing it."
The ring was attached to such a long screw. I cringed at the hole it bore through Bee and the dust that spilled out.
River clutched Bee and covered the hole with his nail.
"I'll fix it" he muttered "I know it's special to you."
"She is."
He looked so ashamed as he held her in his hands. I forced myself to focus on the road instead of my Bee.
As much as i wanted to just tuck her away somewhere safe, I had to get us home safely.
"I was thinking about Gull. Maybe Gulliver..."
"For Bee?" I frowned.
"Bee is cute too" River pondered until he realised "for our baby. Is the bird named Bee?"
I kept quiet. I knew my projection onto the little bird was harmful, but it was the closest I had to the one thing stolen from me. It was the only part of Bee I could keep safe, and now she was sitting there with a damn hole in her back.
I had failed her yet again.
"You can talk to me about it" River pressed "I had my own doll I kept to myself too. Fern gave it to me. She was the one who used to calm me down like this."
River held both hands over his cheeks. It was the same way Darcy had held him when River had swallowed his medicine.
"She was very good to me in there. She was my best friend. We used to listen to the fireworks together and she would show me funny things on her phone. She always wore a different flower in her hair and smelled like fake mangoes. She was the one who gave me the doll. She called it a worry doll. I could tell it everything that worried me and it would all be stored in this little doll. I tried making my own from sticks when things got tough."
I smiled at the vision of River whispering to a pile of sticks. It was actually kinda cute he tried to make his own version of his fixation.
"It sounds dumb, but it really helped me when I couldnt see Darcy at all. I was in there, waiting for who knows how long before I was actually allowed to get visits from him. For a while there, it only made things worse; seeing him. But when I knew he wasn't with his parents, things settled down."
"And Fern left you?"
"She made sure she was put on each year with me. I think she was pushing aside her studies to come see me because there were times where she would bring all her books and papers to try and get some work done while she was with me. They saw how good she was and kept her on. Losing a demon to the darkness wouldn't have looked good on thier sheets."
"Yet they hosed you with water."
"Well" River shrugged "it was meant to be him cleaning my room, but he saw something better to do. I couldn't reach him in the chains, but once I was out of them, he didn't try that shit anymore."
"Good" I gripped the wheel tighter "I hope you mauled the motherfucker."
"Teddy" River gasped with a quick glance to the back seat "you can't swear in front of the baby."
I smirked, keeping my eyes ahead.
River leant in close to me, lowering his voice.
"But I did tear open his fucking shirt with my claws" he sniggered as he mimed it "straight down the front. Hairiest nipples I'd ever seen."
I burst out laughing. River was thoroughly amused by my reaction, trying to hide his own laughter.
We were still joking around when we parked outside Lavender and Darcy's house and pulled out the cardboard box.
River covered the misty demon with the blanket to shield it from the storm still raging on outside.
It wasn't as fierce as before but was still noticeable enough to try and shove the box from my hands gripping the cardboard close.
We both rushed inside to huddle by the front door. It was only then I realised how ridiculous we both looked. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7O5UCRAh0
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River was drowned and dripping beside me while I only wore my pants that still had the button popped open at the front. The rest of the clothes were tucked under River's arm while he dropped our shoes down by the door with the rest of them.
I could hear the sounds of the party game in the background. It immediently was paused so Harlow and Tori could storm towards us excitedly.
"Did you get one?!"
"Can we see it?!"
Thier reaching hands picked at the blanket while I pulled back. River was obviously uncomfortable but not in a position to try and deny the girls seeing what would be part of thier extended family.
Luckily, Lavender and Darcy were quick to spring up and curb the overexcitement of both of them.
"You have to be gentle" I told them as I peeled up the blanket "just looking, OK?"
"It still will be very small" Darcy added "just like Moss was."
Both girls instantly quietened down and gasped when the little demon peeked over the box at them both.
"This looks familiar" Lavender smiled down at the tiny demon grabbing Harlow's finger she offered it.
"Where did you find it?" Darcy asked in awe.
River gestured to himself with a smirk.
"Right" Darcy grew serious "we need towels then, for River and the baby. Tori, can you grab them please?"
She hesitantly pulled from the box to rush for the cupboard in the hallway.
"River, you'll need one of your shirts; a dry one. Teddy's too. Get it out of the box; we can put it in River's old repairs one."
River left me to pry the confused demon out of the box and bundle it in the blanket.
I carried it to the kitchen table where Lavender was already emptying the box so Tori could pack the towels into it.
"What now?" I turned to Darcy who held his chin in thought.
"It's just fallen a long way and would be scared and confused" he spoke "it needs something to hold on to."
"I got it!" Harlow exclaimed, running to her room to come out holding up a cow plushie that she pressed into the corner of the box.
The demon instantly clung to it and buried its head into the soft surface.
River ruffled his towel over himself while peering into the box. 89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVy7G7Y1vbp
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxftkozJE9y
He covered the demon in two shirts which it instantly snuggled under for comfort.
"It likes the dark" River noted "strange little thing."
"You were all for the light" Darcy smiled to River before turning to me "I had a little battery bear light I used to have on while I slept. River was so drawn to it when he first arrived; like a little moth."
"Awww" Harlow cooed.
River was embarrassed. He folded his arms as his tail jerked down near the ground.
"You can't go bringing up mushy stuff like that" he mumbled to Darcy.
"I think it's cute" I chimed in to only have him burn brighter.
"Well, I have more where that came from" Darcy teased "you were adorable as a baby."
"You should have seen Teddy" Lavender grinned "he did whatever I did, like a little shadow. He even wore the sweetest dre..."
"Uh uh uh!" I butted in and placed my hand over her mouth "we get it. We were cute."
"We hated each other" River flicked a finger between us as he faced the girls "the first time I met him in person, we almost got into a fight."
"What happened?" Tori asked.
"We became neighbours" River's face softened when he looked to me "and all of us met each other. Me and your father lived on one side and Teddy and your mother lived on the other."
"But back then, humans and demons were two different people" River continued "me and Teddy went to one school and Lavender and Darcy went to other schools only for people like them."
"We learned about that at our school" Tori chimed "but we all have everyone together. The demons get thier own special classes too and people they can talk to if they mutate like you, Uncle River."
"Really?" I blinked in disbelief to both girls nodding enthusiastically.
"We do all sorts of things together! It's really fun! And some of them have weird names too like yours!"
I smirked at River who shook his head.
"I once went to school with a person called Butterfly" I laughed "and another one called Angler. Really nice guy; he lives in the flower field now with his son."
"Really?" River grew interested "I actually used to hang with him when I actually showed up. We used to...."he paused, looking to the keen girls"...put bad things on each other's backs."
"The circles?" I prompted to his nods.
"Can we see?" Harlow grinned excitedly "pleeaassee!"
"Pleeaasseeee!" Tori sang out too.
"Not tonight" River chuckled and waved it aside "maybe when we don't need to think about getting this little one somewhere nice and quiet."
The girls groaned in dissapointment while I picked up the box and felt our baby scuttle inside at the sudden movement.
"Tommorow, we will all have to see how our little one goes. Can you both help us with that? We have names to pick out once we know what gender it'll be."
Tori and Harlow were overjoyed by thier inclusion. They agreed quickly before they were sent back to the paused game.
"Just make sure neither of them try to sneak in through the night" River sighed to Lavender "I'm not good with people lurking around in the dark, and with the baby..."
"They'll stay in thier rooms."
River relaxed at this reassurance and joined me so we could retreat to where it was safe and quiet.
I placed the box on River's bedside table so we could both watch it while snuggled into each other. River wasn't even going to warm himself up from diving into the depths since that would pull him away from our baby peering back at him.
He was going to be it's shadow. And I was going to be there right beside him every step of the way.
"Tommorow, we will have a name for you" River spoke against me while looking up at the box "just don't turn into an adult, OK? That would be weird to wake up to."
I giggled at how true that was.
We both laid there, just chattering to our baby to keep it settled until sleep dragged us under and shouting woke us up, fists pounding on the door.
River was the first to bolt upright while I tried to piece together what was happening. He climbed over me for the box that I pulled down onto the bed.
A baby demon laid there with pure white skin shining around the shirts covering it. I pulled them aside to see it had flecks of red and blue running down its little arms and along the tops of its tail that split into two.
Its black eyes blinked open before squeezing under its frown and warbling cry. The pounding stopped so Darcy could throw open the door, causing River to snarl at him.
"You two need to see this now" he gasped, moving "NOW!"
I wrapped one of the towels around our baby so I could hold it to my chest to try and soothe it.
River grumbled and growled his way out of the room to follow Darcy.
I heard him cry out and come back to hurry me out with the baby.
Everyone was gathered around the tv. There was a broadcast streaming with warnings bannering the bottom of the screen. Images of people on thier boats plucking demons from the water were shown before it cut to video of various demon babies and children having thier backs shown to already be spotted.
Every single demon who had fallen last night had been spotted. Not a single one escaped the mass confusion sweeping the nation.
"No" I breathed and fumbled for the towel "no."
River peeled it down and clutched at his head he hung when he saw the white flecks spread across our baby's shoulder blades.
All of the spirits who had fallen last night were being hunted for. There was a reward called for information on any who might be withheld from what now had to happen.
Barely a few hours old and without a name, our baby was one of them, and I was ready to sacrifice everything to make sure it wasn't going to be stolen from my fingertips.
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