"Can I please have some quiet?" Quylla massaged her pulsing temples. "Also, what about Orikan, Dad? Why don’t you call him your little fairy as well?"
"Because he’s a boy!" Orion snorted. "Do you think he would like something like that stuck to him while he grows up?"
"Not a chance." The entire male audience made gestures of denial, even Valeron the Second.
"Orikan needs something cool." Orion continued. "Something that reflects his natural talents that he sadly has yet to display."
"You have a point." Quylla nodded. "Gods, I’m out of my mind from weakness. Please, Urhen, apologize to everyone on my behalf. I don’t think I will be going back to work on the people of Zelex for a while."
"You have nothing to apologize for!" The Balor replied. "You have just given birth. You need time to rest, and your children need their mother. We’ve waited millennia to undo our Fallen state. We can wait a bit longer."
"Do you want some Vital Storm?" Ryla asked.
"Gods, no." Quylla shook her head. "It would make things worse. I need to get used to my pre-pregnancy strength. I’m not really weak, but after months of boosted power, I feel like a larva."
In the few days after their birth, Orikan and Jirya had already demonstrated they liked their own personal space. After sharing a womb for nine months, they quarreled the moment they were brought too close.
At the same time, they cried for their lives if the other wasn’t in their line of sight. The twins considered each other to be annoying and pushy, but also the only constant in their lives.
They had been together for as long as they could remember, and being alone scared them even more than sharing their space annoyed them.
"Damn, if this is your larva form, when you turn into a beautiful butterfly, I’ll have to chase men away with a mace." Morok said while serving her honeyed tea and her favorite biscuits, making her blush.
"Thanks." She giggled. "How did you know I was getting hungry?"
’Easy. You’re always hungry.’ He thought.
"Husband instinct." Morok actually replied. "Don’t worry, Kamila, this storm will soon pass. Or at least it will abate when Master Ajatar does his own reveal. When is the election for the Beast Representative in the Council?"
"Soon." Lith said. "The Council waited until now only because Friya is Faluel’s ’soon-to-be’ Harbinger and my guest. Even though I don’t play politics, I have a certain weight in Council matters. Now more than ever."
"How soon?" Morok asked.
Ajatar Warped in the room and replied:
"Tomorrow."
***
The Awakened Council Headquarters, the following day.
The election of a new representative was always an important event, no matter the faction. The other representatives always participated to take a look at the candidates and push for those who would make the Council’s job easier instead of harder.
Much to everyone’s chagrin, no one was better at evaluating political and de-escalation skills than the Liches of the Undead Council. They were short-fused creatures who hated to spend a single second longer than necessary out of their labs, which gave them a keen instinct for troublemakers.
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