Mpreg Central

Astien blushed. "Where is Cormac? He should be resting too, if it also happened to him."

"He's driving. I would have, but he had me stay in here to feed you."

"Ah. That would explain that odd taste in my mouth. Delas, take over for Cormac. He should be in here resting."
Delas nodded, and threw on his cloak and poked his head out the window. "Cormac, switch out. Astien wants you resting."

Cormac nodded and pulled the carriage to a stop. He put more of the salve on his hands once he got back into the carriage.
"You look exhausted," Marius said.
"It's just cold out," Cormac stated simply.

"You're not fooling me, Cormac. You and I have to rest, or we'll be sorry."

"Get into bed," Marius said as he took off Cormac's cloak.
"Alright. Alright," Cormac huffed as he removed his boots and shirt. He climbed up into his bunk and flopped down onto the blankets.

"Oh, Cormac, I just thought of something. When you proposed to Wyn, what did you propose with?" He rubbe his neck, blushing. "I realize I should know this, but, uh… I wasn't all there at the time."

"I really didn't give her anything. I mean I gave her the shell necklace, but I didn't give her a ring or anything," Cormac said as he tried not to scratch his itching hands. "It was just a spur of the moment thing so I wasn't prepared or anything."

"Cormac, you know the traditions, don't you? If someone wants propose, they must craft, by their own hand, that would mean something to their beloved. Like a doll for someone who loves dolls, to show that you know them well enough to know what they love; what their passions are. And it must have Tamara's holy symbol on it, to show that you are using the object to propose. It must be crafted by your own hands, to show that the other person is worth your time and effort. That, or you give them an object that means a lot to you, something to treasure, to show that they mean more than your most cherished possession, and you trust them to take care of it. You'd have to put Tamara's holy symbol on that too." He smiled and looked off fondly, remembering something pleasant.

"I have a friend, he and his wife are both warriors. We'll probably be meeting them in Falmein. When he proposed to his wife, he crafted her a beautiful sword, made of gold and silver, ebony and ivory, and set with a veritable rainbow of gems. And in the center of the blade, was Tamara's glorious insignia, made of ivory white as the driven snow. I saw it once, and remember thinking, 'It's so beautiful.' Completely useless in actual combat, but a fine thing to propose with."

"My mom never told me about that. She wasn't proposed to." Cormac sighed. "I have no idea what to give her and I really don't have anything I could use to give her."
"My father crafted a shield for my mother," Marius said.

"My father gave my mother a doll. It sat above the fireplace. It wasn't a particularly well-made doll, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that my father knew my mother well enough to know that she loved dolls an was passionate about them, and that he went through the trouble of making one for her."

Marius nodded and stroked his beard. "What does Wyn like? Besides you?"
"She likes reading and flowers and dresses..." Cormac closed his eyes and tried to think. "We haven't talked about that sort of stuff in a while."

Astien clapped his hands together, inspiration striking him. "I have an idea! You can do some metal working, make her a rose! An eternal rose, crafted of... Maybe ebony. Yes, a beautiful black, ebony rose, and Tamara's symbol can be painted, or crafted of gold, or ivory, a nice contrasting color. It would look so beautiful!"

"What about sapphires?" Cormac asked. "Her mother planted blue roses in the garden. It was her favorite spot."
"Blue roses?" Marius asked with a raised eyebrow. "There's no such thing."
"I saw them," Cormac said. "Wyn said her mom used to magic to grow plants. Her father didn't know, though. He didn't care for magic users. I didn't even know Wyn could use it until she made her hair pin into a rapier."

"There are blue roses in some of the academy's botony labs. Some students use magic to grow them, some simply do the cross-pollination required. A blue rose, then.. Sapphire could definitely work. And the stem could be emerald! Or, you could simply paint it blue. I imagine that would be easier. Certainly less hair-pulling involved."

"A sapphire rose..." Cormac thought for a moment. "It'll be perfect."
Marius smiled. "I bet she'll love it. Now you two get some sleep. Delas and I will take care of things."

Astien winced and clutched his belly. "Aiden's awake. I don't think that's an option for me." He chuckled and patted his bump. "Glad I'm awake, huh?"

Cormac dozed off.
Marius chuckled. "I know I am." He placed a long kiss on Astien's lips. "I was so worried about you."

Astien wrapped his arms around Marius, and laid his head against his chest. "It makes me happy to hear that. If I was back at the academy, no one would really worry about me. At least, not the way you do."

"Sorry I couldn't be of much help, Cormac did most of the work it seems." He stroked Astien's hair. "I'll be of better help in the future I hope."