With more stories to entertain us, more time spent out under the pavilion, and a few more Geri Wolves to play with, we passed the remaining winter in peace and great spirit, our bonds as strong as ever.
We had continued to grow closer as the blizzard continued to rage on outside, and each of us began to learn more and more about the others, things that were hidden to everyone.
Camara's carvings improved each day, until she was carving out beautiful life like statues that held such detail and such beautiful line work that we were speechless each time we observed them.
The amount of carvings were many, and she had started to prepare for the child that grew in her womb, the noticeable bump warming everyones hearts whenever we saw her.
Kalia perfected her magic as best she could, and her control over the Weave was astonishing, while her mana capacity was incredible as well.
She could grow plants at will, and she had even managed to alter and enhance plants well beyond their normal parameters.
From small things like altering color or enhancing tastes to completely overhauling the taste or enhancing the size drastically.
It was... always a wondrous sight to come down in the morning to a kitchen overrun by pink vines budding with deep violet roses that dripped nectar.
Thankfully my experimental Dark Elf daughter was good at cleaning up as well, so I didn't mind these... confounding mornings, enjoying the way they broke up the monotony and inspired me with different dishes.
Aethisia continued to train herself with her Dama, the two Deerkin devoting most of their waking moments to exercising and sparring, mainly since Rhefia wanted to guarantee that they could properly guard us when winter ended and we left.
The two Deerkin managed to keep their muscles despite the lack of real hunts; in fact, I could even argue that they put on more muscle during the winter, or at the very least their preexisting muscles grew more defined in this harsh snow.
That might have been due to the influx of Geri meat, which was rather nutritional, and something the family had grown to enjoy immensely.
It had reached the point that we were all viewing the previously outstanding venison, pheasant, rabbit, and other meats as subpar; they simply tasted worse then the Geri meat.
Thankfully I was a good cook, so I made sure to use the non monster meat in the best ways to make sure they weren't the focal point of each meal, usually layering them with some other food to distract our pallets.
As such, when we did eat the Geri meat, I made sure to keep the rich, succulent steaks by themselves, reverting to the less refined plating I used to rely on just a few months ago.
Finally, there was Yiksa.
She had grown on us all during the isolated winter, and I had officially told her that she was apart of the family as a concubine to Rhefia and I.
To Camara, Aethisia, and Kalia, I explained that she would be something lower then a wife, but higher then just a friend, letting them fill in the blank there.
Kalia didn't seem too surprised by where her real Dama now stood; while not explicitly stated, the young Dark Elf had realized that the meeting between Yiksa and I wasn't as peachy as we made it out to be, but she didn't hold it against us either.
I had resolved myself to not tell her unless she herself wanted to know the truth, and Yiksa decided to bow to my judgement, remaining quiet as our daughter looked between us.
The reason she likely had an inkling about our real meeting was the way we acted in bed together; the difference between that me and the normal me, as well as how Yiksa changed depending on the mood.
It was too... natural to be simple bedroom play, and the few times that Kalia had seen us when we believed ourselves to be alone was growing steadily; in all honesty, I half believed that when Rhefia 'took care' of Kalia, she was pushing the girl to watch us, to try and get the truth to come out.
However, there was no 'ice' related to the subject, no hate or hurt of not knowing that truth, so we simply never broached the subject with one another...
As for me, I would like to think that I had changed, that I had grown...
Of course, I would need to ask the others, but considering the position I hold in the family, I doubt the answers would be honest instead of being flattery; that's the only problem with such a sexually active family that all wants the same woman.
They all want to remain on my good side so that they can fuck me; not that I complain about that, as the pampering and actions make me feel good, and I 'reward' them all frequently enough...
When the blizzard outside finally showed signs of stopping, we all began to gather our things and make real plans for the first few days of spring.
A journey to Birchan, according to Rhefia, would take us somewhere between a week or two weeks, and that was including the time saved by having the Geri pull a carriage when we reached a road.
Before Birchan though, were many small villages, hamlets, and a few cities we could visit to get a feel for civilization, earn some money, and learn how to act amongst the populace.
I didn't want to go around causing trouble, nor did I want to be ignorant and entitled just because I had some skills.
It sounded tiring, going around and acting so important, so instead I wanted to be civil and respectable; after all, my goal was to see the world, not rule it.
With that in mind, we decided that we should stock up a little on some more crops before setting out, which would give Kalia a chance to flex her magic a little as she altered the crops for us.
I was thinking that we could sell crops, pelts, animal bones, and more at the small villages, while we could take that time to learn what the people wanted to buy; things that weren't necessities, but instead luxuries.
Camara could carve some things, I could make some things, Kalia could grow some things...
It would all depend on what that first village told us, and the thought was making me excited!