Telling the Girls

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 17th September 2012

Characters: Parale, Ioven, Syren, Venrys
Description: The parents tell the children about the baby.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 8, day 2 of Turn 6
Notes: Follows Healer Confirmation; Late due to Eimi's LOA; Mentioned: Parme, Briata, Rhosyn, N'vanik, K'sedel, G'nir, Hygalia, Cyradis

Parale had went down for a nap and was rousing when she realized
it was past time to get the girls. Panicking, she realized then that
Venrys could easily lead Syren home from harper lessons. Sighing, she
sat up and rubbed her face, then moved around to start getting an
afternoon snack ready. She wondered if Ioven had stayed after she'd
fallen asleep or if he had to get back to work.

Ioven had indeed stayed home that day, trying to process all the
information that they had learned. Four months to prepare. Just where
were they going to put a baby now? He wasn't sure he could afford a
larger living quarters just yet. Not in four months. Not in even _six_
months. But could he go back on his word, back on his principles, and
go back to sharing her bed? He had asked, he had commanded, he had
tried to reason with her, and yet she had stubbornly refused to bend
even a little. Ioven hadn't asked much from his wife, just a little
respect. A marriage without respect was not a marriage at all, and he
would not pretend it was just for appearances sake. But he may just
have to share a bed with her again out of sheer necessity...

He had pushed those thoughts aside for a later time. Looking at the
candlemark, and hearing no movement in Parale's room, he took it upon
himself to go down and meet the girls at their Harper Classes. The
girls of course had been delighted by the rare treat of time with their
father. They chattered away the whole walk back, to the point where he
would not have been able to get a word in even if he had tried. As they
opened the door to their living quarters, he shushed them, telling them
that Parale might be sleeping in the other room.

Hearing the noise as she made sandwiches, she saw the trio come in.
"Well look there. Did you have a good day at lessons today?" Expecting
to see things they had made or drawn, she gave a small smile in welcome
while she poured cups of juice.

The barrage began again, with Syren bragging about how she was able to
spell all the words they had practiced the night before correctly. "And
I even know the names of the Weyrleaders of _three_ Weyrs!," Syren
continued, cutting off her sister before she could say anything about
her day. "There's K'sedel and Rhosyn, N'vanik and Cyradis, and Gl'ner
and... um..."

"It's _G'nir_, Syren," Venrys said with a roll of her eyes. "And his
Weyrwoman is Hygalia."

"That's what I said!" the little one protested emphatically. "And I
knew it was Haglia! I was just going to say it!"

Chuckling from where set out the sandwiches, Parale took a sip of juice
for herself. "Do you remember when we were at River Bluff?" It was a
brief stay but they had gotten married there with Briata in attendance.
Never had Parale thought she would be married at a Weyr, but she had
been.

"Yeah!" Syren said excitedly. "I even saw a gold in the sky, and some
bronzes! Maybe I saw Rhosyn and N'vanik!"

"K'sedel, Syren," Venrys corrected as she reached for a sandwich.

"That's what I meant, stupid!" It was obvious Syren was getting sick of
being corrected.

"Enough with the name calling," Ioven said sternly as he reached for his
glass.

Once they had all sat down and eaten, Parale decided the subject might
as well be broached. "So girls, your father and I went to see the Master
Healer today. And we have something to tell you." She paused, making
sure she had their attention. "In a few more months, you're going to
have a brother or sister."

Both girls went silent as they looked from one parent to the other.
Venrys' look was very thoughtful as she processed the news silently.
Syren, on the other hand, was just trying to understand what it meant,
and saw the serious look on her sister's face and understood that it was
something important. She decided it would be best to wait for someone
else to say something.

"Parale is pregnant, and she's going to have a baby," Ioven explained
for Syren's benefit.

Secretly, Parale was hoping this all went well, without too many
problems. It had been something they had discussed between themselves
some time ago, but they had never really talked about the possibility
with the girls, though it was obvious it could happen. She watched
Venrys and Syren for their reactions, willing for them to say something.

Syren could understand that this was big news, though couldn't quite
grasp how it would change their lives. She looked at her older sister
instinctively to see how she was reacting to this news. Venrys always
got things a little faster than she did, and asked all the right
questions. After all, Ioven's oldest was a thinker, and rarely
expressed an opinion until she was sure of all the facts.

"When will it be born?" she asked, turning her serious gaze to Parale.

"Well the healer says probably the end of month 11 or the start of 12,"
she answered easily. That was a question with a simple enough answer.
Syren's silence wasn't really encouraging, though.

The younger was not silent for lack of questions, but more out of
reaction to her older sister's rather serious reaction. Finally she
worked up the courage to ask, "Is it a boy or a girl baby?"

"We don't know yet, Renling. We'll find out when it comes to meet us."
Parale had her hopes, but she'd be all right with whatever it was as
long as it didn't kill her in the process or arrive unhealthy.

Syren liked the idea of a mystery, and she was excited about the idea
that she finally would have someone to boss around like Venrys did her.
But she kept all these things inside as she looked again to her older
sister for her reaction.

"Where will it sleep?" Venrys asked, this time directing the question at
her father.

Ioven shifted uncomfortably. His girls knew that for a few months now
he and Parale had been sleeping in separate bedrooms. "Ah, well... A
baby should sleep with its mother, at least at first. And then...
Well, we'll have to see what happens."

"It's going to be needing feeding and will probably not sleep as it
should at first. Your father needs his rest for work so it'll just be
easier that way." She knew it was going to be hard for the first bit
from what the other mothers had told her. A lot of time awake on her part.

"Can we pick the baby's name?" Syren asked, her excitement finally
shining through.

"It's a _baby_, not a pet, dimglow," Venrys said with a roll of her
eyes.

"Venrys, you do not call your sister a dimglow. Apologize!" Parale
didn't like that tone at all. She looked over at Syren, remembering
Parme's advice to include the younger girl as much as possible to alleviate some
of the jealousy. "And yes, Syren you can make some suggestions and maybe your
father and I will pick one of them. Venrys can make some too. The more,
the better since it will be the baby's name for always."

"Yay!" Syren cried, finally sold on the idea.

Venrys was certainly not opposed to the idea, but she was old enough to
know that a new baby would mean a big change in their family, and there
had already been a few of those over the past Turn. She decided she
needed some time to think about it on her own. "Can I go down the hall
and see if Ovid can play?"

"Did you finish your harperwork?" Parale asked automatically, though she
probably didn't need to. Maybe this was going to be okay. Either way, the
baby would come but she wanted it to have a family that would welcome
it, no matter the situation between its parents.

"No, but I only have to read a few pages," Venrys said, standing up.

"I think it's all right for about a candlemark," Ioven said. Perhaps
she needed her space to think about all that was said today. "But you
will do your reading right after supper."

"Yes, Daddy," Venrys said with a small smile and she picked up her
sandwich plate.

Last updated on the September 23rd 2012

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Telling the Girls