"I don't think that I can handle this." Savon grumbled. He was looking at Kayla who was standing in front of him.
"Well to bad, its your fault anyways." He gave her an unbelieving look.
"Hardly, probably did it on purpose." Kayla punished him in the shoulder.
"Right, I'm done with you." She snapped and moved around him and past the building that was there. There was a bit of snow on the ground now. She moved toward where a few people were sitting on a couple benches.
"Come back here." Savon said and she was brought to a stop as his arm came around her, hooking just below her chest.
"Let go of me." She said sternly.
"No." He answered, she made an annoyed sound. "I didn't say I didn't want you. I can learn to deal with your condition." He said the last part with a bit of a smile.
"My condition?" She narrowed her eyes turning her head to look up at him. He still had a bit of a smile. "You're a regular comedian." She said trying to pull away from him again.
"I try." He sighed moving his hand more over her stomach. "You sure? For real?" He looked beside himself for a moment.
"Uh yeah." Kayla answered. "So you're going to learn how to be a parent, and I know that you can so don't you dare try and weasel out of it. You will learn. Not like I planned on having a child, and you'll be helping equally."
'Look what you've done.' Savon snapped to his other half.
'Good.' Damn his other half, shouldn't his human half be the part excited about this? Not that he wasn't. But he was far more nervous about fucking the kid up. Not exactly a parental figure, he didn't have anything to base parenting skills on. Look who his parents had been, and his other half had thrived in hell. The kid was doomed.
"Kayla." Jill said with a smile as they came up to the table. Savon still didn't know how to feel about her. She'd spoken with him for a good amount of time. She'd said that she was sorry for not trying to be more, but it wasn't like she really could have.
She'd taken a liking to Kayla, she was starting to age as well. Though they were controlling that, letting it happen slowly. She didn't want to be young anymore. She wanted to just go as all humans eventually would. Kayla on the other hand wasn't going to age anymore.
"Jill." She said with a smile. Jill greeted Savon as well, they weren't buddy buddy, but they were friendly. He didn't see a reason to hate her really, but he wasn't looking for a relationship with her either. They both knew it, and it was more of a time thing. Perhaps one day they might have something more but not right now.
"Is it true then?" Todd asked from where he sat facing Jill and Drake who were sitting there. Jax was there as well. He was very quiet, didn't seem to think that this world was real and was having a problem adjusting. Drake was helping him along with Jill.
"Yes." Kayla said with a sigh, it wasn't an unhappy one.
"How are you taking the news?" Drake asked Savon with a smile.
"So excited I might pass out." Savon's tone was dry. There was a laugh from the group and Kayla elbowed him in the ribs.
"Suddenly he's developed a sense of humor as well." Kayla said glancing at him. Ikis appeared coming over and sitting in front of her.
"How long does a human carry?" She asked.
"Nine months." Kayla informed her.
"That long? How unusual, hell hounds are only pregnant for five. How many?"
"One, or at least it better be." She mumbled glancing at Savon who just gave her a look.
"It is." Jax commented, he'd been the one to tell her for sure.
"Oh, yet there are so many of you." Ikis didn't get that. Humans clearly could breed whenever they wanted. She didn't say that out loud, she had a feeling that Kayla would not like the word breed.
"What about hell hounds?" Kayla asked.
"Four is typical, though normally only one survives as the rest are killed. It is hard to protect them where we used to live. It is a testament to my lineage that both me and my brother survived."
"Why you going to tell us something too?" Savon asked darkly, like hell he was going to take care of hell hound pups.
"No, I haven't decided yet." Ikis said turning her head to look toward where the other two hell hounds were laying some distance away. "Just curious about yours." She said and moved off. Drake cleared his throat and changed the subject.
"The fog has lifted from fire city by the way." Drake said. "There's still a lot of work to be done. Still groups to take care of."
"But we have a chance." Kayla said.
"Assuming no one does something stupid and opens gates that they shouldn't."
"I don't think that we will have to worry about that right now. I have a good feeling." Drake said, "Besides I think we should worry about ourselves for a while. Watching you play the father role might be fun." Drake said with enthusiasm and a smile.
"Go fuck yourself." Savon told him. The others gave a bit of a laugh again.
"Wow, and here I thought you were calming down." Todd said.
"You better watch your mouth." Kayla said. "Like "fuck" is the first word I want my child to say."
"Just for you I will curb it. But swearing is the least you should worry about." He said with a smile and briefly kissed the corner of her mouth. Kayla felt a sharp happy feeling in her stomach, this she could handle. The world wasn't perfect, it wasn't alright, but with this group it felt that way.
Plus she knew that even if the world came apart around them, there were those she could rely on to help. She'd put her life in Savon's hands anytime as she trusted him completely. She also trusted that he would be there for everything else.
"Good." She looked at the others. "See I'll have him trained in no time."
"About time someone does." Drake said. "Been trying for years."
"I just let her think that. She's the one that needs to be controlled. Clearly can't keep her off me, here's the proof." He said touching her stomach. Kayla hit his arm.
"Whatever you ass." She said and again there was more laughter. Something that their group needed it was getting easier.
Savon just gave her a bit of a smile. Not so long ago he would rather be alone than around others. He didn't realize that part of him had wanted this friendly banter, needed it. Not that he needed a large group around him, just these few people and this woman.
"So it will be okay for him to say ass."
"If it is a him, and no. But you're the one in training." Savon just raised an eyebrow.
"Just remember you picked her." Todd said. Savon gave a sigh and moved to sit pulling Kayla with him so that she was against him.
"I know." He commented, but he'd do it again every time. She glanced at him giving a bit of a smile, it said that she would too. That she would choose him over any other. For that alone he loved her, it was only made stronger by the fact that she did love him. That she told him so, he found it hard to say in words, but he showed her with his actions. That was all she needed, sometimes things just fell into place.
_____
Thick fog blotted out the world, leaving only the two silhouetted figures. Reaching for what is with you, is just as terrifying as reaching into nothing, hoping someone else will reach back.