Kal looked down, “Why is it still hard? I haven’t been thinking about anything to keep it that way.”
Aradelle shrugged, looking embarrassed, while Ikuno’s brow furrowed in thought. “Perhaps there’s more to ‘Dell’s aphrodisiac than just making men mad with lust,” suggested the oni. “There may be something else in the dust that makes a man hard for a time as well, whether he wants to be or not.”
Aradelle looked at Kal, “I don’t know, my dust has always worked, so this has never happened before.”
Kal wrapped a hand around his prick for a moment before quickly pulling it away, “Damn, that’s sensitive, I feel like I could cum in just a couple of strokes. Is there any way to make it stop? If I get super sensitive afterwards, like usual, this could get painful for me really quick.” Kal looked at Aradelle, “I’d rather enjoy our time together instead of being done in a couple of seconds and having to stop because it hurts.”
Aradelle looked embarrassed once again and fidgeted, refusing to look Kal in the face. Kal wondered if alarunes were unable to blush as this was the third time he had expected to see her cheeks go red from how she was acting, but they remained almost pure white. The alarune spoke hesitantly, “There have been a couple of men in the past who drank my nectar and they appeared to recover from my dust a few moments after. There’s plenty around your feet if you want to try it.”
Kal raised an eyebrow and looked at Ikuno who smiled and nodded in response. “Let’s see if that works,” Kal said and dropped to his knees directly in front of the alarune. Aradelle let out a cute squeak and attempted to back away in surprise, only to bump into Ikuno who had moved behind her.
Ikuno wrapped her arms around the trapped alarune and began to kiss the smaller woman’s neck. “But… I thought,” Aradelle was quickly getting flustered as Ikuno brushed her hair aside and gently nibbled on her ear, “all that down there…” Aradelle let out a moan as Ikuno’s hands came up to her chest and softly brushed against her hardened nipples.
Kal smiled and shook his head as he slowly spread the alarune’s legs, “my feet have been down there. I’d rather have some straight from the source.” Ikuno moved her hands down to Aradelle’s legs and lifted them up in front of her, as though she was sitting on a chair, before spreading them wide and displaying her dripping sex for Kal. Aradelle hid her face in her hands in embarrassment but made no attempt to close her legs or cover her pussy.
Kal took a moment to appreciate the alien beauty before him. The yellow markings above her sex ran all the way down her lips making her womanhood look, quite literally, like the petals of a flower. Aradelle clenched in anticipation making her slit open for a moment, allowing Kal to see that only the outside was brilliant yellow, and the inside quickly turned a blue that was a few shades darker than the petals of her flower.
The alarune quivered as Kal leaned in and ran his tongue up her inner thigh where it met her pelvis. The area had been soaked with nectar from earlier and Kal found it to be startlingly sweet but also very light. Unlike honey, he felt that he could drink the slippery liquid all day. The way her sex dripped in an almost steady stream to the flower below he had little doubt she could produce more than enough if he ever wanted to try.
Kal leaned in and ran his tongue along her folds. The texture was different than he was expecting, being soft and silky but with an underlying roughness that was very distinct from Ikuno. He quickly realized that, much like how they looked, the strange texture was similar to a flower petal.
Aradelle was still hiding behind her hands and gasped as his tongue ran up and down the lips of her slit. Her hips jerked involuntarily, and a small rush of nectar flowed out as he lightly brushed over her clit. Ikuno had stopped nibbling on the alarune’s neck, panting with desire she as she intently watched Kal tease Aradelle. Looking up the alarune’s body and seeing her expression, Kal gave her a questioning look.
The oni seemed momentarily embarrassed as she returned his gaze. “I didn’t think watching you would turn me on so much, keep going, quit worrying about me,” she said breathing heavily.
Kal smirked and nodded, focusing his attention back on Aradelle. Flattening his tongue, he started where her nectar dripped to the flower below and slowly dragged it all the way up to her clit, sucking it into his mouth and flicking it side to side with the tip of his tongue.
Moaning loudly, one of Aradelle’s arms reached back and hooked around Ikuno’s neck while her other hand grasped the hair on the back of Kal’s head. The alarune pulled Kal’s head forward as she ground her sex into his face. Kal was having a hard time maintaining contact with her clit so he grabbed ahold of her hips to keep her in place. Unable to escape Kal’s tongue, Aradelle laid her head back on Ikuno’s shoulder and let out a high-pitched keen as her orgasm washed over her.
Kal continued tormenting Aradelle’s clit until he felt a rush of nectar start flowing from the alarune’s squeezing pussy. Her nerveless fingers let go as he moved his head down and began drinking the sweet fluid that poured from her sex.
The flow tapered off as Aradelle began to relax, her breath coming in gasps as she recovered. Kal stood and planted kisses on the alarune’s belly making his way up to her small breasts and teasing her nipples as she sagged limply in Ikuno’s arms.
“Ikki,” said Aradelle as she continued to catch her breath, “You are one lucky bitch you know that? I need you to promise me you will bring him back here, so we can do this again.”
Ikuno smiled and kissed Aradelle on the cheek, “Already planning on the next visit and you haven’t even gotten to the best part of this one? Besides you know that I will be back in two weeks for certain.”
“I won’t be able to do this again in two weeks, Ikki, you know that.”
Kal stood and wrapped a hand around the base of his cock then snatched it away like he had been burnt, “Nope not yet. What happens in two weeks?” he asked looking at the girls.
Aradelle stared at Kal then buried her face in Ikuno’s neck, “You tell him Ikuno!”
Kal couldn’t help but think it was odd for Aradelle to act so embarrassed considering Ikuno was still holding her up with her legs spread wide open for him.
He glanced at Ikuno and saw that she was looking back at him with a very calculating expression. “Not yet, Kal, I’ll tell you when we are all done. For now, try to stop thinking in solely human terms for a while. Things often work very differently for monster girls compared to humans,” said Ikuno sternly. Aradelle lifted her head off the oni’s shoulder and nodded vigorously.
Kal dipped his head in acknowledgment thinking that with all the interactions he would be having with monster girls in the future, doing as Ikuno asked would probably be wise. He had to admit, though, that he was curious why she was suddenly being so serious. Trying to put it out of his mind, he checked again to see if he was still under the effects of ‘Dell’s aphrodisiac. Wrapping his hand around the base of his prick he immediately noticed that he wasn’t about to cum at the slightest touch anymore, his sensitivity also seemed to be returning to normal quickly. “I think I’m about ready,” Kal looked at Aradelle, “I know what Ikuno told me, but I want to hear it from you. Do you want me to be the father of your child?”
Aradelle gave Ikuno a questioning look, “I thought you…”
Ikuno smiled back, “It’s one of the things I love about him. Just tell him what you want, dear, or will never touch you again with that beautiful cock of his. He doesn’t just want to hear it from you, he NEEDS to hear it from you.”
Aradelle looked back at Kal, reaching down between her splayed legs she used her fingers to spread the lips of her sex open, “Please give me a daughter, I want this more than anything.”
Kal’s prick throbbed at the alarune’s display, he had been expecting a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Nodding, he reached to the side and grabbed one of Aradelle’s vines. “I don’t think you dragged Ikuno back here just to be a bystander. I’m guessing you have used these on her before?”
“Kal!” hissed Ikuno.
Taking Aradelle’s mischievous smile as an answer he held the end of the thick vine in the thin stream of nectar still leaking from the alarune. Once the tip was fully coated he let it go and it quickly slithered out of sight behind the girls, a moment later a gasp and blush from Ikuno told Kal it had reached the oni.
Kal stepped up and placed his cock at Aradelle’s entrance, behind the alarune the nectar slickened vine nudged at Ikuno’s opening in the same manner. Kal leaned over and kissed Aradelle for the first time, the alarune’s eyes closing as their tongues danced in each other’s mouths. Kal wrapped one arm around Aradelle’s petite body and the other wrapped around Ikuno’s larger frame, even though his hand only barely reached her spine with Aradelle between them. Pulling them both into his embrace he steadily pushed into Aradelle until he bumped up against her cervix, the vine inside Ikuno mimicking his movements and making both women groan in pleasure.
Kal kissed Aradelle once again, “Welcome to motherhood.”
Aradelle’s eyes snapped open, her reaction shocked both Kal and Ikuno as she suddenly went rigid and screamed in climax her arms and legs wrapping around Kal as her pussy squeezed down on his cock.
“Keep going!” Ikuno hissed at him but Kal was already moving, sliding out until only the head was left inside then plunging back into the trembling plant girl.
Aradelle’s grip on him began to loosen and her body started to go limp, Kal looked up at Ikuno, “If she passes out I’m stopping.”
Aradelle mumbled, “Nooo, don’t stop, I need this, please don’t stop.”
Kal thrust into her a little faster, “Silly woman, I didn’t mean stop completely. I meant I’m going to make sure you are awake the moment you become a mother.”
Aradelle moaned loudly, her sex clamping down on Kal as she climaxed again.
Having continued to thrust through the extreme tightness of both of Aradelle’s orgasms, Kal was beginning to get the feeling that his own release was almost upon him.
Ikuno noticed the telltale stutter in Kal’s hips, she leaned down next to Aradelle’s ear while looking at Kal, “Do it Kal, fill her up, give her a child, make ‘Dell a mother.” For the third time, Aradelle’s mind and body exploded in pleasure, amplified by the feeling of being filled with Kal’s essence as she clamped down and set him off as well. Kal buried himself inside the alarune as far as he could, the tip just brushing the entrance to her womb
Ikuno held both of them as they rode out their orgasms and came down from their lovemaking. Kal’s ‘welcome to motherhood’ stunt had left Aradelle in no condition to take care of the oni’s needs, the vine inside her had vibrated deliciously as the alarune climaxed the first time but had slipped out when Aradelle had gone limp. She was resigned to having to wait till next time, however, after watching something as amazing as the two people she cared most about create a child, her sex was in dire need of some attention.
Kal pulled back from Ikuno’s embrace catching his breath and smiling at her, Aradelle was looking down at her belly lightly running a hand over the alabaster skin, “I’m going to be a mother,” she whispered in awe. Aradelle sighed in contentment and leaned back into the valley between Ikuno’s breasts, “You really have no idea how much this means to me,” she said beaming a smile at Kal then looking up at Ikuno’s face before reverently stroking her belly again, “I don’t know how I could possibly thank you.”
Kal was still buried inside Aradelle, not understanding fully that being with the alarune while she was in season was guaranteed to produce an offspring, unlike human women. He figured that keeping everything inside would increase her chances, though that would be difficult in a moment as he was beginning to soften. Kal looked down at Aradelle’s belly, he ‘felt’ something. Stopping Aradelle’s hand with his own he pushed it over and up a little, “There she is,” he said then began pulling at Ikuno’s arm tugging at it and waving for her to give him her hand. Ikuno changed how she was holding Aradelle to free up a hand and let Kal guide it over top of the alarune’s. He looked up at Aradelle, “that’s our daughter” the words felt strange in his mouth, “our daughter,” he repeated. “Her daughter, that I’m the father of,” he said as if in a daze.
Aradelle looked up at Ikuno, “Ikki, is he going to be okay?”
Ikuno smiled at the alarune, “He’ll be fine in a minute or two. Sometimes it takes a little time for human men to adjust when they become fathers for the first time.” She leaned down to Aradelle’s ear and whispered, “only the good ones act like this.”
“Ohhh,” said Aradelle giving Kal an appraising look.
Kal took a step back, disengaging from Aradelle. As his brain tried to process everything, Kal’s legs gave out at that moment and he sat down hard on the rim of Aradelle’s flower, prevented from toppling out by one of her vines slipping behind his back and propping him up.
“Ikuno?”
“Yes, Kal?”
Kal looked at her but his eyes didn’t really focus, “I’m going to be a father, Ikuno.” His vision suddenly went blurry, he brought a hand up to wipe away whatever was blocking his view and his hand came away wet. “I’m crying…” he looked at the girls then the wetness on his hand, “why am I crying?”
Ikuno moved her arm to set Aradelle down only for the alarune to float in the same position Ikuno had been holding her, supported by the thick vines that her legs turned into.
At Ikuno’s annoyed look, Aradelle shrugged and gave her an impish smile, “I liked the feeling of you holding me.”
Ikuno shook her head in mock exasperation and went over to Kal wrapping her arms around him, “Yes, you are going to be a father, Kal. How do you feel about that?”
The dazed look started to fade as Ikuno hugged him, “I’m stuck somewhere between jumping around with joy and terrified at the responsibility, does that make sense?”
“It makes perfect sense,” said Ikuno holding his head to her chest.
A moment later Aradelle glided over and joined in comforting Kal wrapping her arms around his torso, she looked at Ikuno, “I think I know why you like him now.”
“I imagine having to take care of a daughter so soon throws a wrench in my plans for learning magic,” sighed Kal.
Ikuno’s brow furrowed and Aradelle giggled, “I think it’s time to explain what happens in two weeks.”
Kal perked up, “You said something about that earlier, what happens then?”
“That,” said Aradelle, her iridescent blue eyes were shining and she smiled wide as she backed up and put her hands over her belly, “Is when I give birth.”
Kal’s jaw dropped, he quickly collected himself remembering what Ikuno said about monster girls being very different from humans.
“She won’t give birth to a baby like humans do,” Ikuno elaborated, “instead she will birth a seed.”
“Yup!” continued Aradelle happily, “and while I hibernate this winter I will get to hold her the entire time and pass some of my knowledge to her,” Aradelle’s face fell, “then spring will come.”
Kal was confused by the sudden change in the alarune, “What happens in the spring?” he asked looking between the two women.
“I promised ‘Dell that I would be back the spring after she had her child to take the seed and plant it, I have a spot picked out not far from my cave.”
“That means you won’t get to see your daugh…” Kal caught himself, “our daughter, grow up.”
Aradelle glided over and hugged Kal, “Aww, you’re so sweet but other than getting to visit where she’s planted you won’t really get to watch her grow up either.”
Seeing Kal’s confused expression, Ikuno spoke up, “Alarune’s pass on knowledge to their young while in the seed because other than a sapling to catch sunlight they stay underground until fully mature, which can take a few years. I’m sorry Kal if you were thinking it was going to be like raising a human baby. You will still be able to visit her sprout, just make sure it’s the right one, alarune sprouts mimic that of one of the plants nearby for protection.” Ikuno chuckled, “It would be embarrassing if you got caught cooing and making baby talk at a regular oak or elm.”
“Going from being a new father in two weeks to finding out I won’t actually meet her for… how many years?” asked Kal.
“Hard to tell since it changes depending on the alarune’s affinity, the richness of the soil, availability of water, and how much sunlight she gets as to how many years pass before she comes above ground and can form a body like ‘Dell, after that it’s usually another two years before she becomes sexually mature.”
“I don’t think I really needed to know that part Ikuno.”
“I think you do, Kal,” chimed in Aradelle, “once she becomes fully mature she won’t care that you are her father, only that you are a human male. Her drive to mate will be just as strong with you as with any other man. She can overcome it with time, but it may be rough on you both for a couple of years.”
Aradelle fidgeted, rubbing her thighs together and looking bashful again, “Speaking of mating, ummm… Could we do it again? It’s been a very long time since I was last with a man.”
“Certainly,” Kal said smiling, “But there’s someone who needs our attention first.” Kal looked up at Ikuno.
“Oh yes! Most definitely!” said Aradelle.
“Wait! No!” yelled Ikuno as strong vines wrapped around her and dragged the laughing oni into the middle of the flower.
------
Kal awoke and looked outside the little shack he and Ikuno were sleeping in, Ikuno had explained before falling asleep that she had built the hut for Aradelle to increase her chances of snaring a male traveler. Enchantments alerted the alarune if there was an unescorted male in the area and the shack was situated directly downwind of Aradelle on the trail that Kal and Ikuno had taken from the mountains. Itoffered a place to rest with another weaker enchantment to make the traveler feel slightly tired, allowing Aradelle the opportunity to release her aphrodisiac dust and have it drift down to the small building’s occupant. Since the trail was rarely used, and even less so by unaccompanied travelers with the constant possibility of bandits and predatory monster girls, the setup had rarely proven effective. Instead, it had mostly become a handy place for Ikuno to spend the night during her visits.
Kal stepped outside and took care of his normal morning business before starting to pack their things for the trip back home. Ikuno had yet to stir which came as no surprise to the farmer boy. Aradelle had made sure to show the oni just how much she appreciated everything Ikuno had done to the point of completely exhausting the cobalt skinned woman. Ikuno’s legs had still been shaking as they arrived at the shack last night. He had to admit, Aradelle had some serious stamina.
“Uh oh,” Kal said picking up an empty ceramic jar. With everything that they had done yesterday he and Ikuno had forgotten their other reason for visiting Aradelle. Looking at Ikuno’s sleeping form he decided to go see the alarune before coming back and waking her. He didn’t expect to be gone long since their activities yesterday had left quite a bit of nectar in the middle of Aradelle’s flower.
Tromping back through the woods Kal reached Aradelle after a few minutes to find the large outer flower petals had all risen up, along with some slightly smaller green leaves, to form a bud with the blue tips of the petals sticking out the top.
He tapped lightly on the leaves finding them to be surprisingly stiff and almost wooden in strength, “’Dell are you awake?”
Two of the leaves in front of him folded down followed by the white and blue petals, revealing a bleary-eyed Aradelle.
“Hello beautiful,” he said copying Ikuno’s greeting from yesterday.
“Kal?” she poked her head out of the bud and looked around for a moment, “Just you?
Kal smiled, “Ikuno’s still sleeping, I didn’t think it was possible, but you wore her out so much I thought I was going to have to carry her part of the way back. I have a feeling she might be a little sore this morning.”
“Good, that’s a soreness she will enjoy, and she deserves it for everything she has done for me,” she said looking down and running her fingers over her belly for a moment. Kal reached up and moved her hand over the small bundle of magic he could feel coming from that area.
Placing his hand over hers he said quietly, “It’s still amazing to think that’s my child in there.”
Aradelle’s iridescent eyes shone as she looked at him, “You really can feel her, can’t you?”
“I think so,” he said, “I can’t be for certain but that little ball of magic appeared not long after I filled you up the first time.”
She slid her hand out from beneath his, so he was touching her belly then laid her hand over top, “So what brings you here this early? Or were you just coming to say goodbye?”
Sighing, Kal reluctantly removed his hand and produced the ceramic jar, “There was another reason we came to see you but with all that happened, we forgot about it. So, I was wondering if I could just scoop up some,” he looked into the bud to see the middle was bone dry, “nectar… Umm…”
Aradelle looked sheepish, “I absorb any extra back into my body. So, you will…” she buried her face in her hands unable to say more.
“Get some straight from the source again?” said Kal grinning.
Aradelle nodded behind her hands her petite body shaking with embarrassment.
Setting the jar down inside the center of the flower he reached up and pulled her towards him, then pulled her hands away from her face and kissed the shy alarune. On a whim, he brought both of her arms behind her back and held her wrists together with one of his larger hands. Aradelle gasped as he broke the kiss, making his way down, he began to nip and kiss around her neck.
“Are you going to claim me like you did Ikuno?” Aradelle said breathing heavily.
Kal paused, “Yes,” Aradelle gasped, “but not yet.” She groaned in disappointment, “When you give yourself to me I will happily take you as mine.”
“What you said about trust yesterday works both ways, Ikki loves you, and I trust her. I think I could give myself to you now without regret.” Aradelle was starting to pant as Kal’s free hand ran over her alabaster torso occasionally brushing across her small blue nipples.
“Give it time ‘Dell, you are carrying my child, and Ikuno cares for you very deeply, which means a lot to me. I can say honestly that I already care about you deeply as well, but I want to be able to tell you I love you and mean it the same way I do with Ikuno.” Kal kissed his way down to her small breast and took her nipple in his mouth teasing it with his tongue.
Aradelle leaned her head back and gasped at the sensation closing her eyes, “Ikuno is a lucky woman.”
Kal kissed his way down to her belly, “Soon enough, you will be too.”
Kal searched out one of her vines and wrapped it around her wrists as he removed his hand, he knew it was a token gesture as she could release her arms any time, but she seemed to enjoy the game, getting herself even more worked up.
Nectar was running down her legs in small rivulets but Kal ignored it, placing a hand on each knee he attempted to pry her tightly closed legs apart. Kal quickly checked to see if the vine was still around her wrists. Seeing it was still there, he tried again to open her legs but with much more force, as her legs opened Aradelle began panting harder letting out small high-pitched moans with each breath as her sex was displayed to Kal. She turned her head to the side in embarrassment but her real feelings were betrayed by her rocking hips as she searched for some kind of stimulation.
Kal brought his hands up to her bottom, taking a cheek in each hand he leaned forward and gently flicked the little yellow pearl between her lower lips. Aradelle grunted and her whole body flinched at the touch, at the same time a small flood of nectar came pouring out of her slit. A nagging feeling in the back Kal’s mind told him he was forgetting something, but he pushed It away. Completely focused on the alarune he leaned forward and took her swollen clit in his mouth tracing small circles with his tongue. Kal took his time working her up slowly, even stopping every so often if he felt she was getting too close. Aradelle whimpered in need pressing her sex against his mouth as her body shivered with pleasure. Deciding she’d had enough, Kal gripped her behind and sucked her clit into his mouth switching between swirling his tongue around it and flicking it back and forth.
Aradelle’s legs clamped down on Kal’s head as she came, her back arched with her head thrown back and mouth open but no sound came out. Aradelle released her hands from the vine and brought them forward, tangling them in Kal’s hair as her body undulated rubbing her sex up and down Kal’s face quickly coating him with her sugary sweet nectar. Kal stoically rode out Aradelle’s climax as her body thrashed about in the throes of pleasure. When her body relaxed he quickly adjusted his hold, putting one arm behind her back the other under her knees, cradling her as she came down. He held her to his chest and kissed her forehead as her breathing returned to normal.
“Spring,” said Aradelle once she had recovered, her shining solid blue eyes looking up at him.
“Hm?”
She put a hand on his cheek, “This spring after you and Ikuno have planted our daughter’s seed I want you to come back and make me yours.”
“I promise ‘Dell,” he answered and leaned down to kiss her. They stayed like that for a long moment before Aradelle broke the kiss and snuggled into Kal’s chest, sighing contentedly.
Kal loved Ikuno but he had to admit there was something primal and satisfying about holding the smaller alarune like this, he felt powerful and protective in a way he never got the chance to with the larger woman. Eventually, Aradelle sighed and glided out of his arms to stand up. Looking out towards the edge of the clearing, she smiled and raised a hand, waving.
“Hi, Ikki!” she yelled, holding up the small ceramic jar with one of her vines, it had been completely filled to the point of overflowing, coating the end of the vine, “Kal said you forgot something!”
Ikuno came stomping over, Kal’s and Aradelle’s eyes widening at the look on her face.
Clueless as to what to do in the face of a jealous looking oni Kal stood rooted to the spot.
Ikuno leaned down so their noses were almost touching and growled, “You could have woken me up!”
“What?” said Kal utterly confused, that was not what he expected her to say.
“You could have woken me up! Instead, I showed up too late to join in and had to settle with getting myself off out in the trees while watching you two!” she held up her hand to Kal’s face and he could certainly make out the familiar scent of Ikuno’s sex on her fingers. “Do you have any idea how much it turns me on to watch the two people I care most about making love?” she glared at him in challenge. “And you are way too easy to tease sometimes, Kal,” she said her face splitting into a huge grin at her prank.
“Dammit Ikuno, I thought you were really mad at me!” he said as his body sagged in relief.
“That was mean, Ikki!” Aradelle piped in.
“I am mad at you! You didn’t wake me up so I could join in!”
Kal blushed, “Actually, I didn’t plan on this when I came out here, I thought I could just scoop some up from what we made yesterday, I didn’t know ‘Dell would take it all back in overnight.” He looked over at Aradelle and smiled, “Not that I’m complaining about how things turned out.”
Aradelle gave him a sultry look, “Neither am I.”
“Okay you two, cut it out,” said Ikuno. She walked over and took the jar from Aradelle’s vine, securing a lid on it, “I do need to get home sometime today, and you are expected back at your farm as well.” Giving Kal a stern glare, she continued, “Not to mention after watching you two my fingers weren’t nearly enough, and I want to get home in time for you to do that to me.”
Goodbye hugs and kisses were given, with no shortage of fondling and teasing from Aradelle after Ikuno claimed the tent in Kal’s pants for herself, before they walked back to the shack to collect the rest of their belongings and head home.
------
Two weeks flew by for Kal and soon enough they were back visiting a very different looking Aradelle, Besides the rounded belly her white skin had turned orangish-yellow while her hair had gone a deep purple and her arms and legs were now fiery red where they used to be blue the only things that remained the same were her iridescent blue eyes and the yellow markings above her slit. Kal thought she looked like a pregnant fire sprite standing in a flower.
Kal and Ikuno were also joined by a very grumpy looking Perra who had insisted on coming along to the birth of Kal’s daughter and became even more insistent when they tried to ward her off by telling her that she wouldn’t be birthing a baby, but a seed. Looking back Ikuno and Kal both thought they should have instead tried to dissuade her with tales of the trip over the mountains. Much like Kal’s first trip, the trek had left the girl sore and with a couple of bumps and bruises from where things had gotten icy further up.
The actual birth was surprisingly anticlimactic for the humans, with Aradelle laying back in a reclining position and calmly announcing “here she comes,” moments before a baby-sized, smooth, almond-shaped seed slid out into Kal’s waiting arms, Ikuno had insisted he should be the one to ‘deliver’ his daughter.
Aradelle stood up looking very pleased with herself while Ikuno positively beamed at him.
Kal held the giant seed in his hands that was also his first child and daughter, for the life of him he had no clue what he was supposed to do next.
Perra leaned over his shoulder, “Aww, isn’t that sweet, Kal, she has your eyes!”
Kal was at a loss for words as the other three burst out in laughter.
Once Aradelle had regained her composure she asked Kal, “What will you name her?”
“Me?” asked Kal, “Why me? Shouldn’t you name her?”
Aradelle leaned over and hugged Kal, “She has a very special opportunity to be one of only a few alarune to ever be named by their father,” she said running a hand over the smooth shell.
Kal looked up at Ikuno, “Help?”
Ikuno laughed and raised up her hands in defense, “Nope, ‘Auntie Ikki’ as ‘Dell called me earlier, is staying out of this one.”
Kal looked down and tried to imagine a baby alarune with her mother’s white and blue markings beneath the hard brown shell.
“Eludora… her name is Eludora,” he said.
Aradelle bounced up and down clapping her hands, “Eludora sounds wonderful! I love it!”
They sat and chatted amicably for the next few hours until a change in the sun’s light warned them their visit was almost over. Eludora was passed to Perra and Ikuno who both said a couple of words of encouragement. Perra thought it weird until they explained that Aradelle would pass on some of her memories to the new alarune and that she wasn’t just talking to a seed. Then she was passed to Kal, not trusting his voice he just held the seed tight to his chest. Kal planted a kiss on the hard shell surrounding his daughter and handed her back to Aradelle.
“You’re a good man, Kal.” she said and kissed him lightly on the lips, “I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in the spring.”
“Goodbye, Perra, it was nice to meet you,” she said to the girl.
“Same here Aradelle, I look forward to seeing you again,” replied Perra with a well-practiced curtsey.
Aradelle then turned to Ikuno and kissed her hard, “I will never be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for me, but I’ll certainly try when you come back in the spring.”
“Sounds good, just stop before my legs turn to jelly next time,” Ikuno said grinning.
“No promises,” replied Aradelle.
“Goodbye.” Aradelle moved to the center of her flower holding Eludora tightly to her chest. Her legs came up and back bowed as she curled protectively around her daughter. Aradelle closed her eyes and sank down into her flower’s bulb, her flower petals fell to the ground and the harder outer leaves folded up and over the two forming a protective cocoon for mother and daughter to wait out the cold winter.