Chương 327: Epilogue 1. Thank you

The vat broke open with a cracking sound, thick fluid draining into the basin below as it overflowed when Fantina reached in and - with hands sure in the way only seen in those with great experience - withdrew the mostly red, wrinkly little baby with a small tuft of dark hair from inside.

She didn't even have time to wrap the little one in the waiting blanket before a frail howl filled the room, tiny arms flailing with the jerking motions of the newly born while clutching at whatever edge of cloth the even tinier hands could reach.

"Fertility's blessings upon you and your family," Fantina said as she turned toward the waiting pair, both Kite and Dragonfly having watched the whole proceedings with bated breath. Neither seemed to be able to shake themselves from the stupor as they took in the little being with all of their senses, auras included. The emotions of a newborn were always raw and confused, but as usual, the distinct demand of warmth, closeness and sustenance quickly came to dominate.

It was only when Fantina held the little baby out to them that they finally snapped out of it.

"Oh… He's so…" Dragonfly breathed as they received their son, cradling the bundle between them with utmost care as they held one another and their first child.

"I mean, I have seen him. Felt him when we visited. But now he's… Really here."

"I believe that wonderful might be the word you are looking for, dear wife," Kite filled in, barely keeping from choking up himself.

"Beautiful."

"I know. It's weird. So cute, even though you look like a tiny, angry lizard," Dragonfly laughed as the little one fell silent when he was fed from a nearby bottle adapted for the purpose which Fantina handed Kite next, the priestess proving adept at simply gliding around the couple who was now so engrossed in their own little world.

Feeling the boy growing calm and content as he fed gave rise to a rather primal feeling of contentment that was a lot more powerful than Kite expected, and hunger soon gave way to weariness as the baby fell asleep, bottle still in mouth as it drifted off.

"I have seen so many - both my own and others - and yet it still instills a certain kind of awe in me," Fantina murmured in the silence that followed, with Kite and Dragonfly simply standing there and looking at their little one.

"Through Fertility's grace, life keeps finding a way, and that frailty we see now is a deceptive one. They can endure a lot, these children of ours, but with the two of you as parents, I'm not concerned in the slightest. But remember; no matter your power, this is still something new for you to learn. It's not just a child that has come into the world today, but a pair of parents."

"I… Oh gods, Kite. I really hope we can be good enough. I don't remember almost anything of my parents, so I hope I don't mess it up."

"Do not fret, my ardent Dragonfly," Kite said, hugging both her and his little son close once more.

"With your passion and care, I don't foresee anything else but a wonderful life ahead of us."

"You did mention that you had a name in mind," Fantina said, breaking the two ever so slightly from their reverie.

"Anything you wish to share, as we present him before Fertility?"

"Well, since this first one was a boy, we have an easy theme to follow," Dragonfly replied, giving the nose of the sleeping child a soft little boop.

"Wren. Song of Wren Heralds the Calm. As usual, the aura of Ardent Horizon Seeker was impossible to properly detect when Kite entered his abode in Heavenward, but this time it was the older man's physical tells that gave him away as his piercing blue eyes locked onto the bundle Kite was cradling in one arm. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Father," Kite greeted with a smile while trying to hide his amusement as best he could when Ardent just kept staring at the tiny face of Wren, the baby looking around the room with that rather unfocused gaze that was typical for a three-week old little one. As always though, Kite's father was hard to fool when it came to the spiritual.

"I can sense your mirth loud and clear, Son," Ardent remarked, still unable to look away from the baby.

"And I hope you can show some leniency towards me in this regard. I… I…"

"Have perhaps not gotten the most experience with little ones over the years spent in meditation?" Kite filled in, earning himself a quick, dry glance from his father before Wren reclaimed the man's attention with a little burble.

"Well, Father, I come here to present to you the newest addition in our line," he continued, presenting the little baby to the other gold-ranker.

"Song of Wren Heralds the Calm. Wren. Your grandchild."

"It's… A fine name," Ardent remarked, and Kite actually caught a stir of unidentifiable emotion in his father's aura at that moment.

"You've done well. Both of you. He's… I knew they were small of course. But just not…"

"No, it does feel different when you're actually up close and personal," Kite agreed, gently touching a small hand that instinctively gripped his finger.

"So small and frail, yet filled with life. No wonder Fertility adores them so. Here," he then said, holding out the bundle towards Ardent.

"Hold him." This offer caused Ardent's eyes to widen slightly, the older man looking the most put on the spot Kite had ever seen since the time when Obsidian Crow had exposed his presence to Kite and effectively forced the pair to introduce themselves to one another.

"I… Perhaps it would be best if…" Ardent began, but seeing Kite's insistence, those protests gave way to the truth of things.

"I… Am afraid I don't know how. I know how to hold something, of course, but not… He looks so fragile…"

"That was how I felt too when I first held little Raven all those years ago," Kite chuckled, even though he didn't relent in how he proffered little Wren to his father.

"And believe me that practice makes perfect here. You are an experienced gold-ranker, father. I do believe that you have both the precision and self-control needed for the task." Ardent Horizon Seeker, the indomitable and unflappable head of the Silent Horizon Sect, still seemed quite terrified at the prospect if the slight twitching at the corners of his eyes were to be believed, but then he steadied himself as his aura stilled like a slightly rippling lake suddenly falling placid.

"Good. Cradle your arms like this. As long as you keep the head supported you can rarely go wrong," Kite instructed, and soon enough little Wren had been safely handed over to his grandfather, looking up at the man with an unflinching gaze. Ardent just stood there in silence, still not seeming to know what to do with himself, so Kite spoke once more as he felt that there were some things that needed to be said.

"You never got to experience this, Father. With me, that is," he began while sensing how Ardent carefully let his aura intermingle with the raw and uncontrolled one of the child.

"That… That was why I felt that it was important that we made the trip here soon. Because this here? It is something I feel that every parent, no matter their circumstance, deserves to experience. Even if it is a generation too late." As he spoke, little Wren seemed to have deemed his new resting place as adequate, because he soon gave off a soft little yawn before drifting off to sleep in mere moments.

"Dragonfly and I mean to plant the next little one in their vat within a few months. She has demanded at least five children, but I believe seven is an auspicious number to aim for. We may never have had this chance, you and I, but… Now you can at least have that opportunity with them. Your grandchildren. Starting today, with little Wren."

Still unable to tear his gaze away from the sleeping baby while standing in the middle of the room a bit awkwardly as if barely daring to shift even the slightest, Ardent Horizon Seeker, Kite's father and now a freshly minted grandfather, managed a nod and then to speak with a slight thickness to his voice that might be the most intense and pure emotion he had conveyed for well over two decades, if not more.

"... Thank you."