#rayasisu

Suddenly, and for no particular reason, Raya stopped in her tracks, and looked around.

It was a wonderful day out, the early afternoon sun shining high above her. The path she walked on was one of the many in the Heart palace that she knew well, at the moment taking her outside, showing off the beautiful landscape that surrounded them. Today was a meeting with an envoy from Tail, specifically to discuss the matters of trade.

Things weren’t exactly perfect since Kumori’s exile all those years ago, but things have definitely been improving. The idea of a unified Kumandra was still far on the horizon, but at the very least it could be seen in these current days. At the very least, Heart was in good standing with Tail despite it all, so the meeting should be relatively stress free.

Raya looked down at herself, though more specifically the massive bump that stuck straight out from her middle. Years ago, had she been told she would be carrying the child of a dragon, or much less a child at all, she would have scoffed, and likely made some comment of not trusting whoever told her. Hell, the fact that it was Sisu’s child, of all possible dragons, would have been more insane to her. Aside from the fact she had straight up told Sisu she had no plans of having children, she always felt like Sisu was, how to say, on another level from her. A higher being, one to be revered and looked up. One who had no time for mortals such as her.

And yet, here she was, partners with that very dragon, and carrying her child. 

For some reason, Raya almost found herself laughing at this sudden realization. Yes, she knew all of this, and it was a roller coaster of emotions to get to this point, but looking back on it now, at where she stood right now, it almost felt like a fantasy. Perhaps it was the drawback of becoming a wandering vagabond at the ripe age of twelve, forced to trek across abandoned landscapes for six years in search of something you didn’t even know was real or not. For so many years, there has been one thing after another, from the Dragon Gem shattering, to Sisu dying, to the rise of Kumori, to the loss of so many dragons…for the first time in forever, Raya had a complete, silent moment to herself to reflect on everything. And, for what it was, it was nice.

“Heeeeeey!!”

Raya chuckled. Of course, when it came to having someone like Sisu as a partner, quiet moments like this came rare. Suddenly, from just over the path railing, the long majestic form of Sisu popped out, twirling in the air before puffing into a cloud of smoke, which then produced the human form of the dragon. While she tumbled through the air for a moment, she still landed confidently on her feet, putting an arm around the princess and kissing her cheek.

“Heya, babe,” Sisu greeted. “Miss me?”

“Of course. Good to see you, love,” Raya smiled. “How have you been? Or, I guess, where have you been?”

“Oh, you know. Around,” she remarked. “Just like you. And how you’re very round.” She laughed, giving Raya’s bump a loving pat. “Doing good carrying around Sisu Jr. in there?”

Raya laughed, playfully rolling her eyes. “Fine as I can be, after nearly twelve whole months of carrying this around. Any week now, or heck, even any day now, should be expecting their arrival. I…I’m very excited to meet them.”

“Me too!” Sisu beamed, leaning down to kiss her bump. “Think it’s been like, seven hundred years since a dragon was born? Least one from a human. I dunno. Jagan is a lot better with numbers than I am. Least he was, now he’s scrambling everything up with that pregnancy brain, ya know.”

“Yeah, I know that feeling,” Raya agreed, as the two continued along their path, though at a slower rate. “How’s Jagan, by the way? Doing well?”

“Oh, doing fan-tastic!” Sisu beamed. “He’s about the same size as you now, course that’s not slowing him down one bit with all his work. Helps he’s got Namaari at his side. OH! Speaking of,” Sisu went on, not missing a beat, “I think Namaari’s got some interest in carrying a dragon herself!”

“Really?” Raya responded, raising an eyebrow in genuine surprise. “Didn’t think she’d be the type to do something like that.”

“Weeeeelllll…I may have overheard her here and there about her feeling guilty and such still. You know, over the ah…” Sisu paused, stiffening up as she clenched her chest, grimacing at her partner.

“Yes, I…remember that.”

“Yeah. That,” the dragon nodded. “Course, unless she really really wants to, she might not have to. More and more dragons are coming back from the north. All of them were practically begging for forgiveness.”

“And you forgave them without a second thought, right?”

“Of course!” Sisu exclaimed. “They said they were very, very sorry! You would trust them too, wouldn’t you?”

Raya stared at her with a raised eyebrow, while Sisu stared back with a bewildered expression. They both held the expression for what felt like a solid minute before breaking down laughing. “Heh…sounds like you’ve got a lot going on. Happy for you, of course,” she noted, gently calming down. “Just things for me have been a little…duller.”

“Cause of the pregnancy?”

“Yep,” Raya nodded simply, patting her bump. “I realize that a lot of the downtime is because of the relative peace now that Kumori is gone, which I’m thankful for more than anything. Hopefully a day will come when Kumandra will have to worry for nothing, when we can all live in harmony as one people once more. But…”

“But?”

“There’s still work to be done for now,” she sighed. “And I can only do so much. Sure, I’m handling important tasks like trade, but compared to what you get to do? Pfft…I’m practically sitting around on my ass and getting bigger. Tuk Tuk has done more than me in this past week alone. Tuk Tuk.”

“Aw, come on, Raya,” Sisu started with a smile, her voice now a lot softer. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. I just got more stuff to do cause, ya know. Last dragon for a while and all that. And hey, let’s not forget what you’re doing for this guy right here.” She patted her partner’s bump for emphasis.

“I know, I know. It’s just…I just feel I could be doing more even while I’m pregnant, ya know? Not sure what, but…something?”

“If you ask me, you’re almost doing too much,” she teased with a wink. “Hey, if it’s anything, after you pop this one out, we can switch places. You can do work in the world, and I’ll be the pregnant one.”

Raya chuckled. “Yeah, I think that’s…you can get pregnant?”

“Duh. Yeah,” she remarked, as if it was obvious. “I was thinking we’d, like, alternate for a while? You have one, then I have one, then you have another, and then I have another, and—”

“Let’s just wait to see how I feel after this one, okay?” Raya quickly interrupted.

“Heh, alright,” Sisu smirked. “Well, what about you? Gotta be something ya been up to. How’s the old man?”

“He’s…managing,” Raya remarked with a laugh. “Honestly, he’s doing good. He’s just worried about me, is all. It’s how parents are.”

“Yeah, I…I guess so,” the dragon agreed, her cheery demeanor suddenly dropping for a second to something a touch more contemplative. It didn’t last long though, as Sisu quickly shook it off and went back to all smiles. “What’s he even worried about anyways? He knows he’s got, like, me by your side at like almost all times? Least when you’re not in the heavily-guarded palace.”

She shook her head. “It’s less about my personal safety and more about my pregnancy in general, especially now that I’m so close to being due. You…remember all that stuff I said about my mother, right?”

“Ooooh…oh, right,” Sisu nodded, wincing a bit. “Yeah…yeah, I totally see why he’d be all up in arms. That’s pretty scary…but you’re strong, Raya!” She assured her partner with a wink. “Like, c’mon. You were able to defeat fricking Kumori. You fended off the Druun on your own when you were twelve. Having one baby? Please, that’ll be a cake walk for sure.”

Raya laughed, and looked down at her bump. “I hope so…even still, my father is very proud I’ve decided to take this up. He’s been so proud of everything I’ve been doing, in fact. I know it was a lot, but still…feels kinda weird.”

“Well, the world ended again when you were twelve, you saved it when you were eighteen, and then you defeated another ultimate evil like a year later,” Sisu recounted with a casual air. “And now you’re aiding in the repopulation of a new generation of dragons. Babe, you’ve gone through and done more in a decade than most dragons would try to do in an entire lifetime. You deserve all the flowers you’re getting.”

“Not saying I don’t feel worth it, more so that I’m…”

Before Raya could finish, she could feel a bit of movement within her, and then a quick, sudden kick, that caused her to wince. She staggered over to the path railing, bracing herself. Sisu, while caught a bit off guard, helped her along. “Hey, hey. Everything alright, Rie?”

“Y-Yeah, just…baby movement,” she sighed, rubbing her bump in an attempt to quell the activity. “Phew…been getting a lot rougher lately, it feels like.”

“Yep. That’s a sign of the egg about to crack,” Sisu remarked, and in turn received a bewildered expression from Raya. “Oh, I just got like, birds on my brain. Stopped by the lower halls on the way in. You guys got some great falcons. There were some eggs there, and the retainers said you could tell when they’re about to hatch by how much they shake. Just made me think of that, I dunno.”

Raya simply blinked, and eased herself back to standing. “Well…not like that’s any indication I’ll be popping anytime today, right?”

“Oh, nah,” she shook her head. “You still got like a few days or so. But it’s definitely gonna be soon.”

She nodded, but once more looked down at her bump. “I…I suppose this is kinda late to bring up concerns, but…I guess I’m just worried if this will turn out alright. First dragon to be born in so long…what if it has some raw magic abilities? What if they become something desired, like the Dragon Gem was? What if things break down again? What if—?” “Raya, Raya,” Sisu interrupted, tilting her head up to face hers, while placing one hand on her bump. “Easy there. Better not to get wiped up into that spiral. First of all, if any nation tries to steal our kid away, I’ll kick their butts so hard, their ancestors are gonna feel it.”

“Really?”

“Really really,” Sisu chuckled. “And second off…we’re gonna manage this, okay? You’re not gonna be the only one welcoming a new life like this. I think we can trust the other nations now to not go at each other’s throats again for a power grab. Like, come on, after the Druun and Kumori, do you think they’ll want to deal with the badass mom duo who kicked both of their butts?”

Raya smiled slowly, and even laughed. “Yeah…good point…”

“We just gotta take it a bit slow, yeah? Baby isn’t here yet, but we’re gonna make sure everything’s ready for them when they do get here,” she explained. “And from there, when they do come…well, we’ll figure it out! We always do?”

Raya chuckled. “Yeah, we always do.” The two leaned in, and kissed.

The two continued along the path, idly chatting and flirting between each other until they eventually came to the council chamber, to which Sisu held the door open as Raya stepped in. She barely even got a chance to take in the whole room when she heard a voice callout. “Hey-hey, Raya!”

Raya turned to the sound of the voice, seeing a rather stocky young man hurrying over to her. At first, she didn’t recognize who it was, but after taking into account his voice, his face, and the way he dressed…she couldn’t believe it: it was Boun!

“Boun??” She exclaimed, her voice laced in pleasant surprise.

“Yeah! How’s it—woah.” He skidded to a halt when she turned to face him fully, his eyes quickly darting down to her bump. “I…didn’t you say you weren’t gonna have children?”

The princess laughed. “When I was eighteen, yeah. Not exactly the same person I was back then. And clearly, neither are you. You’ve really grown.”

“Yeah, in more ways than one,” Sisu pointed out, having hurried over to her partner’s shoulder.

“Sisu!”

“Hey, she’s not wrong,” Boun chuckled, confidently patting at his girth. “With my family back, means I didn’t have to spend as much time cooking just for me. I stuck with it of course, but it was nice to get a break from the kitchen now and again, even if it meant I ate more.”

“I can see that,” Raya agreed. “You do look good, Boun. Definitely been too long.”

“Same here! Always a pleasure to see my two favorite customers! You guys gotta stop by Tail sometime soon, got some new items you two would love!”

“Oh, we gotta!” Sisu beamed, turning her face to Raya, only to be met with a raised eyebrow. “Well…probably after the baby comes.” She leaned closer to Boun, and said in a hushed tone, “She gets queasy real easy when she goes riding on me. Like, just the past week, we—GAK!”

Raya playfully pulled Sisu back up to her, provoking a laugh from the young cook. “So, Boun,” she resumed. “What brings you to Heart? Are you working with the Tail trading envoy?”

“I’d hope so,” he chuckled, crossing his arms. “I’m leading the Tail trading envoy.”

“Oh, nice!” Sisu beamed. “My guy’s moving up in the world!”

“That’s wonderful to hear,” Raya smiled. “I apologize if I kept you guys waiting. Sisu and I…well, we were just catching up.”

“Ya know, as wives do,” the dragon teased, kissing Raya’s cheek.

“Not to worry, I knew you guys would be here,” Boun assured them. “Well, Raya at least. Didn’t think Sisu was much for official government discussions like this.”

Sisu simply blinked, staring off for a moment, before the realization came over her. “Oh, right! I don’t,” she laughed. “I probably got somewhere else to be right now, anyways. Maybe check on Namaari. Or Jagan. Or both! I’ll see where the rain takes me.”

“Well, if you do run into Namarri, give her…” he paused, as if holding back on saying something, “...my regards.”

“Mine as well,” Raya added. “Travel safely, my love.”

“Always do. Catch ya later, babe,” she nodded, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “And same to YOU, lil guy!” She bent down and planted a kiss on Raya’s bump. “Chao,” she saluted off, and ducked back through the door.

Boun chuckled. “When it comes to shrimp, how they act changes between each season. And yet Sisu…seems like she hasn’t changed a bit.”