-Back inside Infinus walls, two days later-
It was silent when they first arrived. No one said a word to the warriors touching Krugi's surface. Especially Jakery when he saw Ether coming back.
As if they both knew why, they frowned at one another. Both of their pupils got bigger and mouth became smaller, a ploy Yonies use to get what they want from their mates.
Orako tried to run for his father's loving grasp. Jakery caught the little Feral, then brought him up from the ground.
"Put me down, I want to welcome my Neddy!" Orako demanded.
"Sorry, little one, but I wan't to talk to your 'Neddy' first. Just to make sure he's alright," Jakery replied.
Ether dismounted, helmet in hand. He heard what Jakery said to young Orako, which he understood. Even he was afraid of himself.
The two would come face to face not long after. Jakery took a step back, threatened by the presence of a dominant.
And Ether mirrored Jakery. Instead he was stepping back for his brother's safety. Even if it was a dream, and he was overreacting, he didn't want to gain everything plus more just to lose it all.
"You look shaken up..." Ether commented on Jakery's surprised face.
"Y - yeah, it was because of a dream. One horrible dream," he replied.
The two stared at each other for a brief moment before Ether continued the conversation. He was careful to pick the right words that came out of his mouth.
"I had that dream too. I woke up, terrified of myself. I would never do whatever I did in that dream. I would drive a knife deep into my throat before thinking of harming you or my family," Ether clarified.
Orako fought off Jakery's grip before leaping into his father's arms. His tiny hands hugged his father, reuniting the two once again.
"I missed you, Neddy, Neddyyyy!" Orako perfectly mimicked Ether's excited Yonie voice.
Ether kissed his forehead, proud of raising his son like his mother raising him. The two reintroduced themselves to the other, a powerful moment for them all.
"Hey, Ether, do you want us to keep these beasts out or bring them back home?" A Feral asked.
"Swap them out. These ones have done well. Let them rest," Ether ordered.
***
Flames crackled and danced in the fireplace. Lighting up Ether's eyes and body. It was the first time he felt the soothing warmth over his body in a while.
A soft knock rung through the living room, alerting everyone of a visitor. Pearl, who was playing with pieces of metal by the door, got up and opened it.
The embers caught his attention by an overwhelming amount, enough to make him disregard the incoming guest.
From the corner of his eye, Ether noticed there was a small pink-ish figure leaping towards him. Upon contact, they wrapped Ether in a tight Yonie grasp.
He looked down to see Silsa's gleeful face smiling up at him. Which discomforted him. He wasn't close with Silsa, nor did he want to bring light to his Yonie side once again.
But the presence of someone like him slowly warmed it up. The feeling felt horrible, allowing one side to regain full control of his mind and body bothered him.
It was as if he was out of control. His Thresher heritage would make him too kind and easily frightened, while his Zegus heritage would make him too serious.
Ether threw Silsa off him, a task that required almost no strength because of the vast weight difference between the two. Silsa landed closer to the fireplace, warming him up.
He slowly fixed his smiling gaze to Ether. "Yomie! Hi, Yomie!"
"What? Yomie? Me?" Ether asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
Pearl calmly made her way to the two Threshers. Her eyes watched Silsa leap on Ether again, this time he caught him in a tight hug.
Instead of struggling out, Ether allowed it to happen. He understood how sensitive a Yonie was, if he tried his full force on the little one it could seriously injure him.
This decision caught Pearl by surprise. She was well aware of his problems with himself and the solution he found best, but this one crossed the line. It meant showing more power to his Yonie half than an equal amount.
"Yomie, Yomie, sonna yana tumori nati! (Girl, girl, you're a brave warrior!)" He whispered to Ether.
"Suto, nortivon sushta. Nokokaro, denavi, (No, get off. Please, stop,)" Ether swiftly replied in Icitru.
Pearl made her presence clear by hugging her mate. The gentle, soft arms startled the distracted Yonie.
"This is my mate, Silsa. You know, the one I want to make the next generation with. Why are you acting like this?" Pearl's bitter voice coldly asked.
Surprisingly, Silsa was brave enough to answer that.
"What? You are mates with a Yomie? But you cant mate with her, you are both giiiirls!!" He quickly opened his eyes. "Oooh! Ah! Oh! Hmm. Maybe you two love each other and wish to mate? Cute!"
Pearl looked at the small Thresher, shocked at his comments. What stuck out to her the most was him calling Ether a female despite clear signs of being too aggressive for being one.
"E - Ether is a male..." she replied.
Silsa looked stunned at her reply. His eyes looked up and down Ether's body, trying to find signs of him being a male. Realizing there wasn't any, he stopped.
"No, this is a Yomie! MY Yomie!" Silsa quickly shut Pearl down.
Ether uncomfortably looked at Pearl, silently begging her to do something about the Thresher without seriously injuring him. But he knew it wasn't possible. At least by force.
"No, Silsa, I mean, I am literally a male. Like, you cant reproduce with me. No matter how hard you tried," Ether tried explaining it to him.
But Silsa looked skeptical about it. Ether slowly realized he needed to show proof to Silsa, but he didn't feel comfortable with the most obvious option.
Instead of revealing himself, he decided to tell him more about his parents. The room went quiet, except for the distant lullaby of embers inside the fireplace.
As Ether continued his explanation, Silsa understood more and more. But there was one thing he was still curious about: why did he recognize Ether's heartbeats as female?
"B - but... I see your heartbeat and it's not male," his gentle voice said.
Ether crossed his arms. "Maybe by Thresher standards I'm a female, but don't call me your Yomie. I am not the kind to take care of a Yonie so much. Especially when I have my own issues with this side of myself."
"But why do you hate it? Being a Yonie is gooood! Everyone rubs your cheeeks and gives you foood!"
Silsa rubbed his own cheeks, making his eyes glow a faint crimson color. Effectively activating the ability to see Ether and Pearl's heartbeats.
"Because if I tried to live like a Thresher, a Yomie wouldn't want me because I rival them and Yonies make my patience run low. Just like you're doing right now," a hint of aggression underlined his voice.
Silsa bowed his head, defeated. He was aware of his imaginary Yomie and wished to bring it to life. While his Third Rule allowed him to change the world around him to fit his tastes; it couldn't bring fictional characters to life.
Which saddened him. Seeing Ether, someone who closely resembled his imaginary partner, gave him hope. Going for a real Yomie would be stressful, too.
Especially when he had to earn the trust of another family and hope mating season had some leftovers.
"You look like a sad one," Ether commented. "I'll tell you what. I can get you a pillow made from the softest and warmest Eteni wool, if you go and fight during phase two."
Silsa looked up at the Zesher. "Hmm... oh! Ah! Fight, yeah! I have an adorable little sword and a nice little shield and... what else do I need?"
Pearl giggled, she has never seen someone so confident yet so unable. From the way she laughed, it wasn't difficult to tell her instincts were being relieved.
Having competition over a partner would have turned the entire room red. Thawed became ruthless whenever something threatened their ability to continue their bloodline.
"Since you can imagine everything you need. Go to the Armory, down the street and a left. One of the smiths has the sketch of my original armor, go and imagine it and you can have it," Ether instructed.
After hearing those instructions, Silsa got up from the ground. He happily skipped to the door before stopping.
"Bye-Bye!" He gently said.
Then he exited the house and headed to the Armory. Leaving Pearl and Ether alone once again.
A moment of silence fell between the two until soft chirps caught their attention. Pearl knew what this meant. Orako woke up from his nap and was hungry.
While she prepared some raw Abako meat, Pearl decided it was time to suggest their next plans to her husband.
Plans that could make or break the pride of the Legion.