Arcturus patted Iruka's hand to ask him not to get up, hr himself went to retrieve the tray of food kept up for him. When he got back, Arcturus suddenly noticed the bump. To be honest Arcturus almost forgot about the once again bulging belly of Iruka. He glanced down at the relatively smaller belly this time and touched it. "So this child.... is there only one thid time?"
"I don't know." Iruka replied. "It might not be growing that fast due to all the magic I've used up."
"Well let's not worry about it now. Eat up, there's still some left if you want a refill. I will get the kids cleaned from their food fight and try put them to sleep." Arcturus said and stood up. "would it be a good thing? Keeping growing babies in you so fast should be a big burden to your body?"
"Would what be a good thing?" Iruka asked, pausing with his fork in the air with some of the food on it. "It should be a strain but, it doesn't quite feel like it. It's a bit weird I guess."
"I mean the babies growing slower this time. A longer gestation period would let your body accommodate to the changes better?" Arcturus said as he got one of the wriggling tiny griffins in his hand, trying to wipe his mouth. "Anyway, that's not really my field and I guess both of us aren't sure about it. So far not a single pregnancy was exactly normal but here we got healthy babies. That's what's important."
Arcturus continued to tend to the children and eventually got them all to sleep not long after Iruka finished his dinner. He collected the plates and sat down next to him. "Once you have recovered enough, I will try to see if I can find some jobs around, at least keep the cash flowing. With so many mouths to feed, our food will be depleted soon enough. What do you think?"
"Ah, it might help." Iruka replied.
He gave a nod. At least the children were healthy. When he was down eating, he allowed Arcturus to take his plate.
"You should start looking as soon as you can." Iruka said. "I'll stay here and tend to the kids."
"I wanted to be sure you are able to take care of yourself. At least you need to have the power to protect this home, otherwise i couldn't quite settle my mind thinking about you with the kids being there prone to danger." Arcturus explained. "Don't worry I got enough gold coins here to sustain for us."
"I should be okay...getting food and such for the kids is more important." Iruka said.
"Let's see how you are tomorrow morning. Now.. do you want to sleep now? Or do you prefer staying up for a bit more since, well,you just woke up."
"I don't want to sleep." Iruka replied. "I've been asleep long enough, but I really don't know what to do."
"How about we talk about your granny. from her look it was hard to determine her age, but she looked like she had been through alot. Excactly how old is she?"
"Last i remember I think I heard that she was ninety but, I'm sure she's older than that." Iruka said as he rubbed his stomach.
Iruka hated that his magic needed a routine, the only part of a routine that still could work was the sessions of passions they frequently had. Course Iruka was trying to ignore it as he sat there. How old was his grandmother? Man...he never asked.
"Ha and they say you should never ask a woman how old she is. Are you alright? You looked .. off." Arcturs noticed the belly rubbing and how Iruka zoned out a bit. He touchrd his arm and asked.
Iruka chuckled.
"No, you shouldn't. Espically her." IRuka said. "Yeah...I'm okay. What else do you want to know?"
"I dont know... like she somehow appeared to be... not the most normal person would look. Did you two get along well? I have a feeling you would be the one taking care of her."
"WEll she's not normal, she's a powerful witch who has her own firey personality when needed. Her speciality is visions, she can see multiple futures but whatever one comes true she won't know which one." Iruka replied as he drummed his fingers gently on his round belly. "Well if I could take care of her I would but, she wouldn't allow it. She hates people taking care of her."
"Wow so technically she knew the future, but then still with uncertainty. It would be a burden somehow wouldnt it, knowing there was a better possibility but couldnt quite control it when it didnt turn out that way...."
"Yeah. That's why she was unsure about you." Iruka said. "She saw nothing but ill futures for me with the past guy so, who knows what she saw with your and me."
A sigh left Iruka as he adjusted his position.
"I'm sorry....it's just a bit hard to stay comfortable...." Iruka muttered.
"Will it help if you lean on me so your belly get a little more space?" Arcturus asked as he moved onto the bed. He could rub his back while he lay on him.
"It's not space that's needed...it's just...my magic being a pain, seeking some parts of the...old 'routine'." Iruka replied as he glanced down at the ground, his face a bit red.