Private I'm Not Ready For This

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus' shoulders seemed heavier as he crossed the threshold back into their room, where the twins sprawled on the rug, Starlin snoozed in his cradle, and Rhiannon on the bed. Crouching down, he set kisses to Marcus and Eloise's foreheads, then gently requested the room. "I need to speak with mummy, okay? Then maybe we can have a little sleepover in here? All five of us? But you'll need to fetch pillows and blankets first."​

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With the twins dispatched, he lifted a gently whining Starlin and cradled him against his chest. Then he sat on the edge of the bed. "I know you're awake" he teased, reaching his free hand out to lightly trace against the back of her leg. "So... Forrest brought home a girl." With a shake of his head, the God of the Underworld sighed. "I thought we'd have many, many years before we had to deal with any of this stuff, I fear I'm woefully unprepared."​

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Soothing Starlin with gentle shushes, he glanced over at his wife. "He took me by surprise, quite honestly. I think I owe apologies to your staff, my love, or... Well, at the very least I need to ensure Forrest apologizes. He intends to march upon the City of the Muses, believes they are housing slaves within the ruins. This girl he claims was among them... An enslaved Goddess no less."​

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Still cradling his youngest, Arcturus lay back on the bed with a very heavy sigh, and a gasp of exasperation. "I feel like all I do lately is make the wrong decisions. I sent him to bed, he was on the brink of passing out... Tomorrow we can deal with it, right?" He wanted to know what she thought of all of this, after all. "I'm sorry your mountainous sanctuary is so often filled with chaos, my love, as soon as Celephaïs is workable I'll make it known that issues should be brought there. You and the children deserve better than to have your home hijacked like this. Can you ever forgive me..?"​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Not long after her sojourn with Dev Ossian ended, Arcturus returned to their room. Marcus and Eloise were dismissed for the time being, although both grew excited at the prospect of a sleepover and ran off without complaint. Rhi smiled faintly in her "sleep".

"I know you're awake."

Her smile broadened before she opened her eyes. Propping herself up on her elbow, she looked at him and Star.

"So... Forrest brought home a girl."

She let him talk, listening intently. Of course, she already knew all of this, but she wanted to know what he thought of it. Arcturus seemed unsure about the whole thing, and for good reason. Forrest had only just met this girl, yet he appeared to be already infatuated with her. Enough to be overprotective and threaten anyone who dared to come near her, as if she were a fragile thing.

"What does the girl say about all this?" Rhi asked afterwards. "She's probably terrified. A former slave, in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers..."

Arcturus sank down on the bed beside her, Star resting against his chest. The baby lifted his head, giggling at his daddy's exasperated noises. He was also drooling a great deal, but that's teething for you.

"You're not making bad decisions. Me, Darien, Theryn, Forrest—we've all been at each other's throats. And you, my poor God of Death, are simply caught in the middle of it." She stroked Star's tiny foot with her thumb. "It's not fair to you or the kids to go on this way. Once we eradicate the last of these supposed slavers in the City, that will be enough. Darien and Theryn can go their way, we go ours."

"I'm sorry your mountainous sanctuary is so often filled with chaos, my love, as soon as Celephaïs is workable I'll make it known that issues should be brought there. You and the children deserve better than to have your home hijacked like this. Can you ever forgive me..?"

"What? You're asking for my forgiveness?" Her expression grew strained, betraying the conflict raging within. Pharus, Theryn, Darien. Rhi had not tried to do the right thing so much as she had tried to control them. Though she felt no regard for their feelings whatsoever, she did feel guilty for how her actions had affected her husband and children. The pain and fear and anguish she had caused them was not worth it.

"I should be kissing your feet, Arc," she said. "I would, if I could still bend over. I am sorry for what I did. Well, not killing slavers, but all the rest... Can you forgive me for bringing such chaos down upon our family? For making you choose?"

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"I'm not sure," he confessed, insofar as the girl's viewpoint was concerned, "I have yet to properly meet her, she was asleep when they arrived. I feel confident that it was just exhaustion... I hope it was just exhaustion." The idea of their son coercing someone to return with him was... frankly horrifying. He'd like to imagine he instilled enough morality within the man to avoid any unsavoury business. Kidnapping was not a Dinn family agenda.​

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"We shall find out tomorrow, bright and early no doubt. The Mercurians are on their way, no doubt they'll arrive before dawn. I'll have their rooms set up so they can go straight there. If you'd like, I can carry you down there? Ahead of the rest, even, so that none need to see you're so bedridden..."​

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He doubted she'd want to, being so late term with triplets was causing her great discomfort he knew. He heard her whimper and whine in her sleep, however much she was able to avoid it during the day. ​

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Starlin's little giggles set his heart alight, and carefully he sat the babe up on his chest. He was getting stronger every day, able to hold his head up without support though Arcturus' hand remained set upon his upper back ready to help him all the same.​

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Rhiannon tried to claim he was simply trapped in a difficult situation, but Arcturus shook his head. "No I am at least somewhat to blame, I should have done more to mediate matters. I should have stepped up instead of slinking back into the shadows. I'll endeavour to do better, my love. I promised I'd be a good husband, father, and by coming here a leader. I'll stand by your side then and lead."​

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She seemed surprised that he sought her forgiveness, and that had Arcturus turning his head toward her with a raised brow. Starlin babbled away, gnawing on his fingers here and there as lines of drool were soon wiped all over his father's chest. ​

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"Of course I forgive you, you are my light, my life, my sun and my stars and my moons. We... We need to communicate better, I think most of these issues could have been resolved if we just... talked. Openly. I love you, Rhiannon." He turned his gaze to the babe, and grinned ear from ear, "And I love you little Starlin. Oh yes I do." He leaned in to give the baby a belly kiss, then turned back to his wife and extended an arm her way.

"C'mere, you..."​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Rhi raised an eyebrow. She had done a lot of bad things, and would do a lot more, but her son kidnapping a slave girl simply because he was infatuated with her certainly wasn’t something she approved of. Mainly because of the implications it carried. “Well, we better make sure,” she said.

She couldn’t help but flinch at the mention of the “Mercurians” coming to the Sky Temple. You’re supposed to be playing nice, she reminded herself, forcing her expression back into neutrality. Yes, she could play nice, so long as they didn’t wear out their welcome. “That won’t be necessary,” she said. “But I will send a representative to listen and speak on my behalf.”

Deep down she still wanted them both gone—not just from her territory, but from Zaathru itself. Rhi still clung to dreams of ruling the entire planet, with Arcturus at her side and their children governing the individual nations and clans, worshiped and adored by the people. If nothing else, she was confident that she could outlast Darien and Theryn and any other deities they came across—although at the rate she and Arcturus were going, it seemed more likely that they would outbreed them. She rested her hands on her stomach. After seeing pictures of what full-term triplet pregnancies looked like, she wasn’t looking forward to getting even more huge. But she was looking forward to meeting these babies.

Hopefully the dreams would end after they were born, too. She’d been having strange nightmares lately, growing more intense as the triplets grew inside her, making her whimper and cry out in her sleep. Everything she’d read had assured her it was normal, a result of heightened hormone levels. But she wasn’t so sure. It seemed more like signs and portents… but she could never remember what the dreams were about when she awoke. Only that they frightened her.

Starlin’s laughter pulled her from these dark thoughts. She reached out to stroke Arcturus’ face, her hand brushing over ginger stubble. He looked good with a beard.

"No I am at least somewhat to blame, I should have done more to mediate matters. I should have stepped up instead of slinking back into the shadows. I'll endeavor to do better, my love. I promised I'd be a good husband, father, and by coming here a leader. I'll stand by your side then and lead."

“Arcturus,” she said softly. “Arcturus, lord of my love, father of my children, God-King of Zaathru. I didn’t want to mediate matters back then, nor did I want to force you to choose sides. Part of me is glad that you didn’t put yourself between me and them. I know you want to make everyone happy, you sweet, darling man, but sometimes you just have to let us resolve our differences for ourselves. I think things turned out pretty good, all considered.” No one had died, anyway. “You’re already a good husband and father. As for your leadership, the people love and fear you. One of my Apsara wants to name her firstborn after you, the God of Death. Can you imagine? All I ask is that you don’t leave me with another damned annoying psychologist. Let us do as we please, damn those who call us crazy or monstrous.”

He forgave her, and wanted to talk to her more openly. “Then let’s talk,” she said. But then he pulled her closer, and she quickly realized he didn’t mean that they should talk right then and there. “I adore you,” she said. “Both of you.” She kissed Star. “All of you! Eloise, Marcus, you can come back in now!”

The twins came barrelling through the doors, giggling and dragging pillows and blankets with them. Soon the whole family had piled onto the bed together, ready to have that sleepover.

Arcturus Dinn​