[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien smiled and nodded. "I hope so. The last thing I want is to be kissing you when I start feeling contractions."

[Eskal]

"My offer to marry during the delivery still stands," Marius teased.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien sighed and smiled, rolling his eyes. "Oh, I have to register the horse with the academy. Ah, I suppose I'll do it tomorrow. Hmm, I'm caught between telling Lauffeyra she's invited to the wedding now, and letting her wait for the official invitation."

[Eskal]

"Let her get the invitation," Marius said.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"I really should, but I also really want to see the look on her face, too. She'll be so happy and excited. She might even squeal." Astien chuckled.

[Eskal]

"We should both be there then," Marius chuckled. "I'd like to see her face as well."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien nodded. "You know, she's Loke's daughter."

[Eskal]

"Really now? No wonder she has a good head on her shoulders."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien snickered. "If only you knew him like I do. It's actually rather sad. Her father used to be one of the academy's brightest, or so I hear. His picture used to be among the other portraits of the academy's best, but now it's all gone. His portraits, his work, all of the books and theses he's written have had his name struck from them. And Lauffeyra has to see all of that. She should be looking proudly at her father's portrait. Instead, she has to hide who her father is."

[Eskal]

"Why does she have to hide?" Cormac asked.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

Astien sighed. "This is quite a story. Centuries ago, Loke was just another student at the academy. He was brilliant, too. I've read some of the theses he'd written, they're very good. He was Siran's protegè, learned all kinds of things from him. Then, Siran started an expedition, he and some other mages, along with a hires guard to protect them, do heavy lifting, they all went to try and find old, forgotten magics. Them they found, in their travels, the shape shifting magic. Siran wanted to destroy the tomes and books, Loke said they should be preserved. To keep Siran from destroying them, he stole it, along with a whole carriage full of old magics. He and Hjulmir. Siran declared him a danger to the whole realm, and had him marked as a threat just about everywhere. He had all of his academy records, all of his deeds forgotten, and spent just under three hundred years chasing him, trying to find and kill him."

[Eskal]

"Wow," Cormac muttered.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Everything he once was is gone now. Officially, the Loke who was once an academy student is as good as dead."

[Eskal]

"That sucks," Cormac said.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"It does indeed. A life put on hold for so long... At least now he's free."

[Eskal]

Cormac nodded. "I should go finish Wyn's book." He got up from the table. "I'll be back later."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Dinner's at eight!" Astien called. He winced and grabbed his belly. "Ah! Aiden, that was my kidney..."

[Eskal]

Marius chuckled and kissed Astien's cheek. "I'll go get started on laundry. Can't start a trip off with dirty clothes."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Of course. Can't be smelly when I meet my in-laws. I'm going to go lotion my tummy, I haven't done it in a while." Astien sighed as he rubbed his belly. "If I get stretch marks, I'm going to die."

(Ba ckon later, off to work. Kisses)

[Eskal]

"Stretch marks are normal," Marius said. "I have them from growth spurts and stuff."