Cormac smiled and stepped inside. "I could drive you around in this so you can get to your appointments, if you need me to. Once I get the stove going, it'll warm up really fast. It wont catch on fire since the wood is enchanted and stuff."
"Mmm, that sounds good." Astien said. He dozed off on the bed.
Cormac smiled and got the stove going with a few logs. He quickly got the provisions he had bought and loaded them into the carriage. He then took Astien's list and steered them towards the closest appointment.
Astien woke up once he arrived at his next appointment. He went in, got his job done, and left for the next one. Finally, all of his appointments were taken care of, and he could finally relax. As he sat with Cormac in the carriage a thought crossed his mind. "I saved as much of my work as I could from the first carriage, but there's a lot that I'm going to have to redo. Like cataloging those plants."
(Sleepy time)
"I can help with that," Cormac stated as he made them some tea.
"You'd better." Astien chuckled. "It's your fault I have to do it again to begin with!"
"I know. I know." Cormac sighed. It was going to be a while until he could live that down, wasn't it? "I'm thinking we can leave tomorrow if you're up to it. We can stop by the bistro and you can try that challenge." I'll have to stop by Thorne's tonight if we leave tomorrow.
Astien thought. "Well.... I guess it's been a while since I've had a decent meal. But my appetite's been a bit lacking lately." He laid on his bed, lazily stroking his tummy. "I suppose we could leave tomorrow. Suddenly, all of the work I had to do, it all just seems... Like too much."
"We can stay for another day. I don't want you to overwork yourself. If you need more time to recover, then we can stay longer." Cormac said. "With us having a carriage now, we don't have to pay for a room in an inn."
"Hmm. It may be time for us to move on. I'm still not feeling great, but I think that's negligible." Astien poked his belly. His baby still wasn't moving.
"We'll head out in the morning then." Cormac raised an eye brow. "Is something wrong? You look worried."
"My baby hasn't been moving. He was squirming yesterday, but nothing today." Astien's ayes went wide ad fear gripped him. He sat up as straight as be could. "What if something's wrong? I read about some things that... He could have... Or... Oh Cormac, my poor baby!" Astien began hyperventilating.
"Whoah!" Cormac gently placed a hand on Astien's shoulder and one on his belly. "He's probably tired. You haven't been well for a few days and sometimes babies don't move for a while." He looked Astien in the eyes. "Just calm down, if you stress yourself out you'll trigger false labor again. Take deep breaths and calm down. Yes, like that. Everything will be fine, Astien."
Astien took deep breaths. "Okay. I think I'm calm now. I just..." He cradled his bump. "I'm so scared for him."
"It comes with being a parent," Cormac said gently with a smile. "Just give him time and relax." He gave Astien's stomach a light rub before removing his hand. He looked out at the sky from the small window of the carriage, it was starting to get late. "I'll make us something to eat." He got pulled out some of the food he had bought and a small pan and began preparing a simple meal, mostly for Astien since he smothered the entire thing with hot sauce and chocolate. Once it was ready he gave it to the man. "Here. Don't worry about me, I'm not all that hungry right now."
Astien took the food and slowly began eating it. It was smothered in his two favorite condiments, but today it was practically inedible for him. He placed his food down. He just wasn't hungry anymore. He was too worried. "That dream I had last night... In it, he had a name. I had given him a name, and it was perfect for him. I wish I could remember it."
"Maybe you'll dream about it again tonight?" Cormac suggested. "Maybe that mean he'll be born soon? I'm not really well versed in super-natural pregnancies." Cormac heart felt heavy, after all if he hadn't found out about his heritage or listened to his grandfather things would be much different right now. While he did replace the carriage and the horse they had lost, there was still damaged he felt he couldn't repair. He then thought about the odd man's words and started doubting his own presence. Maybe with what he did would lead this god-child to turn out for the worse. Then the destruction of the realm would rest on his shoulders. Cormac stood up from his seat. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in a bit." He hopped out of the carriage, closed the door behind him and wrapped his winter cloak around his shoulders.
Astien laid back. He wracked his brain trying to remember that name.
As Cormac walked, he saw a familiar silhouette in the distance. It was taller than most humans, and seemed to have pointy ears.
Cormac ran towards the silhouette. He didn't know why, but he just felt compelled to talk to the figure.
Running toward the figure, Cormac recognized it as Heceril.