Day One Thousand And Ninety-Four

Dear Diary,

Y'know, sometimes I fuck things up, but now and then I get them right.

Actually, I think it's really encouraging when I realize that not only have I maybe been getting more shit right lately, but I'm doing a lot better when it comes to 'remembering things I promised to do' as well as 'remembering time critical shit before the deadline is in the rear view mirror'. Yeah, sometimes I wind up juggling a lot of shit all at once, and after that I fall apart a little bit, but I remember one of my science teachers talking about how humans are burst workers. Like, we're built to wander around looking for food, and when we find a food source we give a hundred and ten percent to bogart that shit, then we need to take a break once it's all secure in our bellies and backpacks and shit.

Makes me feel a lot better about my 'spate of activity followed by collapse' pattern of behavior. Okay, makes me feel better about it in the abstract, because I'm not feeling as guilty about the crashes, but right at the moment it's making me feel more along the lines of worried about Thursday.

Eh. Fuck it. I try not to be that bitch, but Thursday is a problem for Future Me. For right now, I've got shit to do.

So after spending all day yesterday learning new nuances about shit I already knew by translating that shit from English to Celtic, I had a whole lot of new knowledge and a sleepy kid on my hip. With her being older than she looks, which given how old she looks makes me think that she's, I dunno, ten years old or something, and she also looks a little malnourished and shit, it wasn't a big problem for me to carry her, but I definitely realized right then that along with all the PTSD mental issues and Soul damage she had, she'd also wound up with some long term physical issues from whatever'd been done to her.

When I got settled in the Dining Room, I waved Doc Z and Marie over. When they got there, I spoke quietly to avoid waking her. "Hey, Doc, you did some looking into her physicality when you did that long Assess on her, right?"

"I did."

"Did you see evidence of long term neglect? Like, not abuse, I know you saw that, but like, her not getting all the food she needs, or going without proper hydration, or folks not letting her sleep?"

He sighed and nodded. "I'm sad to say I did indeed see evidence of all of those. Although the hydration one is a bit hard to pin down, since the body recovers from that quickly. But there are still markers, and she has them."

"Fuck. Uh, can you maybe work with Marie and I to help make sure she's getting, like, all her proper nutrition to make up for that?"

He nodded, grinning ruefully. "I just wish I'd thought of it myself."

So it turns out that along with as much high protein, high vitamin food we can pack into her, Aisling also needs Fae Grain. Lots of Fae in her makeup, I guess. Along with some quick chicken bisque and a whole assed variety pack of pureed, deep deep fried fritter bits, we baked up some fresh Fae bread. Nothing fancy, just some beer bread, because waiting for yeast to rise was just not giving 'dinner time now'.

I mean, yeah, there were loaves of Fae Bread for Maze, Ria, and Tallulah, but those had been baked earlier, and 'fresh out the oven' got her nomming better than 'baked this afternoon' bread.

She wound up with a little tiny food belly, even though I was super careful and didn't force her. I just kept the food there, and she kept eating. Hell, I had to surreptitiously steal the food away when she upred like she was about to upchuck.

As she snoozed on my belly in the Bath later, the Docs floated over, both of them looking a little chagrined. "What's up, Docs?"

Neither of them got the joke, but I decided to let it slide, what with it being a reference to a cartoon from the dawn of time. Also that cartoon being from another universe entirely.

Doc Z nodded to the little one. "We think... Well, Steve thinks he's realized something."

I turned to Doc G, who nodded. "She shows signs of being force-fed before."

"Dafuq you say?" I immediately shook my head. "Not mad at you, Doc. Just... How could somebody do that to a little kid?"

Doc Glass looked kinda constipated when he replied, "I have taken oaths to do no harm, yet..." I waited, and finally he hissed out, "I find myself glad that you have not."

I gave my boy a quick hug, then said, "so we gotta regulate her food intake? Like, both make sure she eats enough of the right stuff, but not keep it coming until she's full to bursting, because she'll do that shit literally?"

Doc Glass sighed, nodded, then closed his eyes and turned to Doc Z, who held him and said, "it will be well, Steven. Tabitha will care for her." After a few moments he murmured, "and do unto whoever did this as they deserve."

I shot them both a crooked grin. "Hey, that's the Camden way, right? Fuck, something Phileo and Camden have in common, and I think it's spreading to the rest of the Alliance via the Academies."

"What's that?"

"Somebody fucks around, we make damn sure they find out."

I got gentle, yet somehow fierce hugs from them from that. Once I had all the kids in bed, Saffron tugged me to the Bedroom, but I kissed her on the forehead and said, "I've got some prep work to do for today, Kitten."

She opened her mouth, said, "but it's not until..." Then she shut her mouth and pouted just a little.

I smiled at her. "Hey, why don't you pre-game a little, and I'll hurry back when my errands are done?"

She pouted a little more, then crossed my eyes with a sultry, "I'll be waiting right here, love."

So I did, in fact, hurry back after my visits to the Temple of Love, to Jackville, to New Amsterdam, and to Rich Man's Port, where Tallulah was just wrapping up one of those weird later night Court sessions she did sometimes. I wasn't really sure if it was tied to moonrise and moonset the way I initially thought back when I first met her, or if she held night time Court for nocturnal Fae, or if she had some entirely different reasons.

"Both of those, actually, along with old habits of keeping some of my more contentious subjects off balance." Before I could reply to her reading my brain, she tilted her head and added, "I suppose some Mortal sailors who work shifts dictated by the winds and tides need evening Court appearances as well now."

I gave her a hug and kiss and murmured, I'm so proud of you for adjusting to that, T, directly into her brain.

Weird, her skin ought to be pale enough for me to notice blushes easier, but it turns out the freckles make it weird. I mean, I notice, but not because 'cheeks get pink'. Instead that pearlescent glow around her freckles shines even clearer, and the sort of red-brown of her freckles deepens to a short of blood red.

"Did you want to join me in my quarters here again?"

I started to shake my head, then decided that explanation was better. "Saffron's waiting for me in the Bedroom. Although..."

Bring whatever's left of her when you're done, I'll be watching while I 'pre-game'. Goof.

I grinned as that lit Tallulah up like a beacon, and she took my hand to lead me up to her private quarters. Along the way I asked her what I'd come to ask. Glad I did, because I did not wind up with two brain cells to rub together by the time both of my Tyrannical Ladies were done with me.

Look, I have a type. Multiple types. But 'domme' definitely is a big part of it.

At any rate, woke up and discovered that Aisling liked eggy grilled cheese as much as Ria, and wonder of wonders didn't complain about the addition of veggies into the mix. Unlike Ria, who very politely let Marie and I know that it 'added an undesirable textural component'.

We all hopped to school, and I got all the proud mama vibes when I realized Maze absolutely didn't need to be in my basic Arithmetic class, but had decided to stay to help her new little sister out.

Then lunchtime hit. I Co-Located to pull Menace, Maze, and Hailee aside and quietly murmur, "some of the stuff at lunch might upset Aisling; can you three try to keep her distracted and calm?"

"Of course, Papa."

"I will Consume her Distress should it threaten to overwhelm her, Mother."

"We god dis, Mama."

"Thanks, girls."

After that I hopped that me up to the Altar and dropped my Blend. I did not drop my clothes, because this was absolutely a kid friendly ceremony. I'd dickered over what to wear, but eventually decided on my uniform. Which seemed to spontaneously swap away for The Dress the moment I dropped my Blend. Weird, but not bad weird. You wanna be part of this too, Dad?

"We wouldn't miss it for the world, Daughter," Sigyn said quietly from behind me. The two of them gave me a quick squeeze, then moved to one of the front row pews. Seats. Benches. Whatever.

I turned to where the kids had all slowly quieted as they realized I was sitting there on my Altar all unblended and in formal Holy Garb. I stood then waved two of them forward. "Boy? Girl? Come here, please."

They walked up, looking like... Shit, I'd seen that look so many times back in Camden. That look of somebody who has built something up, who is absolutely hoping for something, but had been beaten down so much by life that they couldn't really fully commit to incipient happiness. The look that says they're eternally waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I smiled as they made it in front of the Altar, then reached out to ruffle their hair before sitting down. "I have a question for the two of you. Each, both, whatever. It's kind of important, but I don't want to hurt you or pressure you or anything about it. Are you okay with that?"

They both looked confused, but nodded. "Yes... Mama?"

I smiled a little wider. "Yeah. Mostly. Sorta. That's part of the question. You really want to officially be our kids, right?"

A little mischief might have worked its way into my smile as the two of them started to speak, then stopped, then cycled through that three more times as the rest of the Mom Collective dropped in around the Altar. Boy collected himself and nodded, while Girl said, "yes. Yes, please."

I'd done a little, I dunno, something like what I did with my Worshippers when I figured out what they wanted over the past week. I didn't normally do that with my kids, but this... This seemed important enough to do it. "The two of you never told us your names." They both looked real dodgy at that, worry back in full effect. "That's fine. I'm guessing that's related to what happened to you," here I might have nudged Hailee, who laid a hand on Aisling's shoulder as Menace tried to talk to her new sister while also watching the goings on at the Altar. I also noticed Alex and Lindsey standing between Menace and the Altar, gossiping, which incidentally totally blocked Aisling's view and probably made it a little harder for her to hear me say, "with the Spartans."

Aisling tensed, then slumped a little. Not out like a light, but clearly under the influence of Hailee's Skill.

Boy and Girl both tensed, but nodded. No pseudo Bane Sidhe freak outs from them, thankfully.

"Is that all?"

They looked at each other, and shook their heads. 

"So... Do you still want those names? Like as middle names, or secret names, or anything like that?"

They looked at each other, then back at me. Girl shook her head, one firm shake, and Boy said, "no, Mama."

I thought, T, you're up.

I hadn't really needed to. The moment Boy said that, she stepped forward and down a step, so she wasn't towering over him. "Boy, may I have your name?"

He nodded and said something, a word that disappeared from my memory the moment he said it. Then he looked a little disturbed as Tallulah turned to his sister and said, "Girl, may I have your name?"

Her eyes got real wide as she realized what was about to happen. Then she smiled and said another word that erased itself the moment she said it. Getting better at that, T?

She might have smiled a little as she stepped back, then thought, with some time to prepare, yes.

I only just asked you last night, and, uh, you didn't prepare much of anything after that. Not for this.

She just smiled a little wider and thought, I am Archmage Crow of House Crow, and the Global System Spell is bound to my Soul. I can prepare quickly.

I chuckled at that, then turned back to the pair of kids, who looked both eager and disturbed. "So... I know a lot of families here and now do namesakes." They looked sorta confused, although Boy glanced over at Loki. "But it would be weird if there was another 'Tabitha' in the house, or if I wound up yelling at 'Sigyn'. So nobody currently living in the house. Or, y'know, direct blood relatives I might wind up feeling some kinda way about you being named after."

They both nodded, although that look of confusion was growing. Must be weird to not have a name. "You ready?" They nodded. "Which of you wants to go first?"

Boy looked at his sister, then waved her forward. She shook her head. "You first."

"Okay." He stepped forward, just a little. "Mama?"

I reached out from where I sat, pulled him to me and head bunted him. Then pulled back far enough I didn't deafen him when I said, "welcome to House Aetos-Diaz, Jack Aetos-Diaz."

He blinked a little at that, his head turning almost without conscious volition to look at the bar. Where bartender Jack did indeed notice, nod, and shoot him a salute. My new Jack smiled a little, looking maybe a little confused about why I'd name him after a bartender, until someone sitting opposite Loki and Sigyn cleared his throat and murmured, "welcome to the family, brother-in-law."

Yeah, I hadn't heard him and Adrienne come in either. Nimble Jack can be sneaky as fuck, apparently.

I kissed Jack on both cheeks, then while he boggled and chewed air about being named after, y'know, the dude who ruled the Southeastern portion of Atlantis, I turned to Girl, who'd stepped up close. "Ready!"

I smiled, head bunted her, then pulled back. "So you are. Welcome to House Aetos-Diaz, Karen Aetos-Diaz."

That got me a little choking noise in my brain. What? I asked you first.

I thought you were perhaps going to name some future kit after me.

Upset?

She chuckled into my brain. No. Just surprised. And honored. Thank you.

By that point the Mom Collective had moved in, hugging our now official two new kids.

Yeah, nobody learned shit about Math or Language this afternoon.