#dalra

“Both of them?” Naoh’ra said with a quiet horror in his voice, the small miqo’te tucked against his side as they settled in for the night didn’t stir, though Naoh’ra stroked a soothing touch across his hair, his ears twitching in his sleep. His small hands hadn’t released the bard’s clothing since they’d stopped for a brief respite on their travels through Ala Mhigo. Dalien nodded, expression somber. After the battle and their victorious journey back to Rhalgr’s Reach, the two brave fighters had hardly been on their minds, but now that the celebration had faded and the reality of those ripples from the battle had finally begun to settle in. 

Those lost in the fighting had left too many orphans, and they had ended up in the makeshift orphanage here in Rhalgr’s Reach. It made Naoh’ra’s chest ache at the thought of so many lost, and their families ripped apart like this. Too many of those young faces that had been staring adoringly up at Dalien because he’d healed them or helped them in some small way, in awe of the kindness of the Warrior of Light.

“They apparently named us his caretaker should something happen to them in the battle, partly in jest…” There was a wry sort of humor to the whole thing… But the end they’d deemed nearly impossible had come to pass. It was not exactly something either of them had planned for, nor seemingly Solen’s parents. “He has a home with us,” Naoh’ra said firmly with a nod towards Dalien, and the way his husband’s expression softened eased some of the ache on behalf of those like Solen that had lost their families. 

The voice was quiet and hazy with sleep and the words were lost in a yawn, but Naoh’ra’s attention dropped immediately to the miqo’te who had stirred to waking, shifting to sit up and then settle himself against the bard’s side, eyes wide as he peered up at them, ears flat. 

“Yeah kiddo?”

“Are you going to leave soon?” “We have some things to do here in the Reach, but then we’ll be going home after that.” The wide eyes dropped away with disappointment, but then fixed back on Dalien when the gruff voice continued the thought.

“You’ll be coming with us, if you’d like. Your parents wanted us to look after you if anything happened to them.” His expression was soft, and despite his gruff

The ears perked up immediately, and his eyes glittered with unshed tears suddenly in the firelight. “Really?”

Both Naoh’ra and Dalien nodded in turn, and M’solen threw himself against Dalien’s chest with a force that rocked even his massive frame, his arm dwarfing the miqo’te’s form against his side. 

“Um…” he started hesitantly, face still buried into Dalien’s chest, voice muffled somewhat by the man’s bulk. “Will I have to leave my friend here?” 

“Your friend?”

He nodded, finally extracting himself from Dalien’s side to peer at Naoh’ra and answer his question. “I have a friend that would be really sad if I left them alone here…” 

Naoh’ra felt his lips thin and he turned to meet Dalien’s eyes, brows arching. “Tell you what… How about you go lay down for a little bit while I talk to the Great and Mighty Warrior of Light and we can figure something out for your friend?” The young miqo’te hesitated for a moment, ears flattening again, but they perked up as he set a hand on M’solen’s head, ruffling his hair. “If they want to come too, maybe all of us can go home together. We’ll be in to sleep in just a little while and we’ll let you know what we decide, alright?”

Seemingly bolstered by the words, M’solen sprang to his feet and trotted over to the tent where they’d been set up to rest for their brief stay here, a decently comfortable cot big enough for Dalien and Naoh’ra, and now their new ward, since he’d been insistent on staying with them for the night.

“You should already know what I would say,” Dalien’s gruff voice breaks Naoh’ra’s reverie after the tent flap closes behind the flick of a tiny tail, and he runs a hand through his own hair, a crooked smile on his features.

“Well, I know you’re a big softie, and you wouldn’t be able to say no to those big eyes. And I know we’ve plenty of space at the house. And we always did talk about adopting, though… Admittedly I didn’t think it would be quite like this.”

A quiet grunt of affirmation met the words, and Naoh’ra shifted to slide up beside Dalien, tucking himself under one broad arm not unlike the kitten before him. He took a deep breath and let it out. 

“If it were up to you, all of those kids would be coming home with us, hm?” Naoh’ra teased, lacing his fingers into Dalien’s in a way that spoke of habit and comfort. “Well… If we had the space, I’d be hard pressed to say no.” There was a long silence as they peered into the fire. “My sisters and mother will be delighted to finally have some new kids to dote on. Maybe they can take care of them when we’ve got business to attend to?”