Anira

Five months later...


As expected, I’m huge. My butt has doubled in size, and my belly looks enormous, but one thing I can’t deny is how happy I am. I was worried about how the birth would go and who would be with me, but to my surprise, a reclusive angelic had a vision that she would be by my side when our baby was born.
I asked Luna about it, and she only told me to trust the power of the Moon Goddess; she has never been wrong. Well, my labor could happen at any moment. While it hasn’t arrived yet, I’m here, making coffee for my best friends.
The last heat brought many revelations and couples formed, and I’m still in shock at everything that happened.
“The smell reached us from the road,” Emmy says as she enters, heading towards me and kissing my belly.
“As always, the best breakfast only exists on the hill.” Arow kisses my head.
“You could open a café here,” Emmy says, and I smile.
“I’m a veterinarian.” I stick out my tongue, teasing her.
“And I won’t deny that you’re the best I know, but this coffee is thousands of times better than anything you make,” she points out, making me smile.
“I have to agree with her.” Auror’s voice fills the kitchen.
“Even you?” I point the spatula I’m using to flip the pancakes at him.
“Yes, even me.” He winks at me.
I smile at the interaction of the three who decided to chat while I grumble.
“I still haven’t forgiven you; you kept me out for months,” I retort, sitting at the table. “Jacob, Kynai, and Lannur are in the same boat as you two.”
“My Ann, we couldn’t come here to reveal things in the middle of the heat,” Auror tries to smooth things over.
“And in the coming months, Auror? The heat is over, and I found out that my best friend and my best friend are destined; how is that possible? Besides, even you are on my blacklist,” I threaten.
“Hahahaha!” His laughter bursts out. “Even me?”
“Yes, don’t you dare go against the mother of your child; I am the law here and will always be right.” Pouting, I shove a generous piece of pancake into my mouth.
They all smile, and even though I’ve already forgiven them, I’ll use being pregnant to have them cater to me.
“It hasn’t been easy, Ann; many of us were taught that humans couldn’t be trusted,” Arow says, and Auror swallows hard. “We’re slowly showing that the Moon Goddess makes choices we can’t question.”
“Let no one dare defy the goddess’s will for me,” I huff, knowing well that centuries of history aren't broken overnight.
We finish breakfast, and just as we get up, I feel the liquid running down my legs and a contraction happens.
“Aiii!” I scream, and I hear Auror’s roar. “Calm down, it’s just my water breaking; our baby is coming.”
I’m swept into Auror’s arms and carried to our bedroom. The moment my body rests on the mattress, the angelic trio appears, bringing the most beautiful reclusive oracle I’ve ever seen in my life. If I thought they were perfect before, it’s because I hadn’t seen the woman behind them.
“Hello, Anira, I am your companion on this journey. My name is Mayllini.” She smiles, and my jaw drops.
“Holy shit! I’ve never seen beauty like this.” I cover my mouth while everyone smiles, except Auror.
“Could you leave us, Leader Auror?” Her voice is like a soft chant.
“I’m not leaving!” he growls furiously.
“Auror,” I call, placing my hand on his face. “It will be alright; if you stay, I’ll worry about you and won’t be able to focus on our baby.” I don’t know why the angelic Mayllini asked him to leave, but she had a vision, who am I to contradict her?
“Are you sure? I can help.”
“Please,” I whisper, and he gives me a kiss on the forehead.
“I’ll be on the other side of the door.” I watch him leave, and my heart tightens.
“Don’t worry, my child, it won’t take long,” Luna says as the oracles position themselves by my side.
I see the elder angelic positioned diagonally at the foot of the bed. She closes her eyes and bows her head, then her whole body begins to shine.
“Your baby is a fragment of the goddess; no male Férnus has ever been born like him. He will achieve great feats. His Férnus fur is white as snow, and his eyes will be like the summer sky.”
“Will he be like us? With white hair?”
“Yes. In a few minutes, you will feel pain. Your body is already ready to bring your baby into the world; just push, and it will all be over.”
I look at the oracles by my side, and they are like Luna. Mayllini’s smile brings me peace.
"What's it like to be you?" Her smile widens.
"What’s it like to be you? In the end, we are part of a whole. So many things have changed with Kynai coming into my life."
"He is a lucky male," I say, noticing her look of love.
"We are a complete bond."
Before I can say anything, a powerful wave hits me. The pain is real, the sensation of my body opening is real. I do as instructed, pushing and screaming loudly. I hear a thunderous roar from outside; Auror must be feeling what I’m feeling since we are linked, he was just being quiet.
When I think I can’t push anymore, I feel a tremendous relief, and in Mayllini’s hands is my baby. His hair is as white as mine, with ears and a tail like Auror’s.
"Here, your gift from the Goddess Moon." She walks over with him, who is crying loudly, wrapping him in a white cloth after magically cleaning him.
As I take him in my arms, Auror is brought in and placed by my side. My hair shines like the powerful light of a street lamp, mimicking the angelics around us. They hold hands and begin singing a chant I’ve never heard before.
"It’s protection magic," Auror informs me. "They are following the Goddess’s orders, surrounding our baby with magic to prevent any ill intentions from those who want to take him from us."
"Does the Goddess know who it is?"
"Yes, that’s why they were sent. Our baby is a fragment of the Goddess."
Auror wraps us in an embrace, and our baby remains quiet, as if sleeping. Minutes later, they stop glowing, and the chant ends.
I blink a few times, and we are alone, just Auror, our son, and me.

***


Auror


Being expelled from the room where my companion and child are feels like having my heart torn from my chest. I cannot stay away from Ann, so I access the mental door that links us and remain quietly by her side in the way allowed.
When I sense her pain, I roar in fury knowing she feels it too. I want to protect her from even this.
After everything, hearing our baby’s cry awakens in me something as powerful and protective as the feelings I have for Ann. They are my family now, and I surround them with my arms, protecting them with my life.
“They’re gone,” Ann says, confirming what I knew.
“Yes,” I reply, still enveloped by the sensation of holding something so perfect in my arms.
“We never talked about a name. What do you think about giving him one?”
“What do you have in mind?” I ask, curious.
“I’ve always liked Roman.”
“It’s a beautiful name. Roman Montecião Vont’in.” I kiss her hair.
I hold our baby in my arms. He was born as a férnus baby; by the time he is five, his transformation will occur, and he will fully take on a human form. At ten, he will undergo his first transformation into férnus, and by eighteen years of age, he will learn everything I can teach him. The young ones stay with their parents until they complete a hundred cycles and their heat arrives.
“Then we won’t have 24 hours of intense mating?” Ann asks as I explain the coming years.
“No, but if you wish, with the desire I have to be on top of you, we can create that routine before the mating cycles and send Roman to his uncles' house. He has many.” I see her smile as she murmurs that I’m impossible.
“Can we come in?” we hear a knock at the door, and it's Arow and Emmy.
“Yes!” Ann shouts, and they enter our room.
“Oh my God! He’s beautiful! Can I hold him?” Emmy asks, and Ann hands Roman over. He just sleeps; férnus babies sleep more than 20 hours a day until they start to move around.
“Have you given him a name?” Arow asks from behind Emmy.
“Roman,” I reply proudly.
“A beautiful name for a beautiful baby,” Emmy says, and she soon returns our baby to Ann’s arms. “Let’s go, let’s leave them alone.”
We’re left alone, gazing at our son as doting parents. Soon, Roman wakes up and begins to feed, and seeing them in this position makes me even more protective of my family.