RP:Confirming The Inevitable

Summary: In order to get her pregnancy speculation confirmed, Meri seeks out Khitti for aid. Her sister brings her to the Tranquility's healer, who also aided Khitti with her own pregnancy, and Meri's suspicions are confirmed. Meri, however, is only two months along, technically, but in reality, thanks to her wolfiness, she's actually around four.

The Tranquility, Cenril Wharf

Meri :: It was never a guarantee that a visit to the Tranquility would be a happy one, Meri has experienced quite the roller coaster of emotions on this ship. Joy. Anger. Love. Sorrow. Today she was nervous, and she was not doing a good job of hiding in her mannerisms. Every step taken her boots were drug begrudgingly along the docks and up the gangplank until she is finally standing on the deck of the Tranquility. Languidly Meri's blue eyes roam the deck of the ship, surveying the happenings, not in the slightest hurry to find the red head to break the news to her, and get some potential confirmation. After exchanging a nod and a hey with this crew member or that as paths are crossed, Meri finally turns and moves for the stairs that would lead her below deck in that search for Khitti.

Khitti was… seemingly in a good mood. She hadn’t quite made it outside yet, to decorate for Yule, but inside, there were smells of baking and cinnamon-scented pinecones, as well as fairy lights all along the hallways--all of the tiny magical balls of light strung together to keep them from floating about--and Yule trees, big and small, in various rooms. The redhead had turned the armory and weapons-training room into a veritable Yule haven, and was currently in there finishing up the last of the ornaments on the tree. It was taking longer than usual though, for she had Dominic with her. It was his first Yule! and she was super excited for him. Khitti showed him each ornament she’d bought for it, then helped the sprout to put it up on a steady branch. “If your father threatens to burn down the tree, you’re just gonna have to make the saddest face ever okay?” She made a pouty face at Dominic, complete with her bottom lip poking out a bit, and the kid attempted to mimic his mother, but instead just blew a snot bubble. “Kid, I’m gonna have to attach a bucket to your face or something.”

Meri didn't bother to ask which room of the ship Khitti might be in this time, she followed the decorations in wonder. It was at this moment that she came to the realization that if she and Cal did make a baby, they were going to have to step up their holiday game. A Charlie Brown tree was not going to cut it every year. Eventually Meri found her way into the same room as Khitti and Dominic just in time for Meri to witness that snot bubble. A brow is lifted and a smirk is given, her nervousness temporarily replaced with the joy of seeing her nephew and sister. "I swear snot bubbles are like an art form to him." Meri rolls her eyes at her own self. "The ship is looking good. It's making me hungry though. I really suddenly want to eat cinnamon rolls." This is said as she greets her sister with a hug and then scoops her snotty-blowing nephew into her arms for a hug. She probably gets a bit of snot on her, but this is not a first time thing.

Khitti || “Imagine the bubble art he could make if we were able to feed him paints. We could make money off this kid making pretty stationary for those ritzy types,” Khitti said with a smirk of her own. “There should still be some at the shop if you wanted to stop by on your way home. Or, at the very least, some frozen that can be made up real quick. You remember that Scandal guy? The dragon that was in the dunk tank at Lanara’s birthday carnival? He came into the shop the other day. Turns out he likes sweets and baking. Hired him right on the frakking spot. He churns out baked goods about as fast as I did when I was a vampire.” Khitti seemed oddly enough like Cal right now, if only because there were imaginary money symbols in her eyes. “Speaking of home, what’s up?” She eyed her sister curiously. It wasn’t out of the ordinary that Meri showed up unannounced to the ship, but there was almost usually a reason, whether that reason was to spend time with her sister or kidnap Dominic.

Meri tries to recall the drunk dragon and Lanara's party. You'd think that such a detail would be easy to recall, but it's actually overshadowed by the fact that Khitti was kidnapped at that party. "I think I have seen him around at some other events...." Meri says with a bit of uncertainty. At very least she knew he was present at the Adventurer's Guild meeting. "Good. You could use a second talent at the shop, especially since you have been catering quite a bit. Lionel might be good for pushing pastries at parties but I would not trust him with an oven. I'll have to be sure to introduce myself to this Scandal sometime to see if he's really as good as you say he is." Meri smirks. She trusted Khitti's opinion, she just was inventing excuses to eat sweets. "What's up? Oh. Not much. I mean." Meri puts Dominic back on the ground so that he can practice his bubble-art without Meri ending up wearing more of it. "Do have a wee bit of news though. That I could use some help uh...confirming."

Khitti shrugged at Meri and her not-quite-remembering, “No. No baking for Lionel.” She squinted at the blonde a bit, trying to discern her meaning of “confirming”. “Meri, it’s probably considered abuse of my magic to figure out if your constipated or not. Can’t Cal make you something for that?” She’d scoop up her kid and wander down the hall as she spoke, dropping Dominic off in a playpen in the situation room where Brand was busy doing paperwork, dividing nothing from nothing again. Khitti refused to help him with it. Between the shop, the Paladin’s Guild, and Lionel’s Frostmaw business, she had enough to deal with. She could’ve really hired an accountant by now for all three, but she’d just not had the time. If Meri hadn’t followed Khitti, then the redhead would return to where she left her after leaving the sprout with his dad, “Okay. But seriously, what is it that needs confirming?”

Meri :: Some people might be embarrassed. Meri wasn't. She whines, "I have asked him before, but what he whips up is not nearly at clearing the pipes as you are. You've just got this talent..." Meri would follow after Khitti, only part way and then they would eventually both return to their original room. It's not that Meri minded spilling the beans while Brand was still potentially in ear shot, but girl talk just wasn't the same if there was a dude overhearing it. Meri crinkles up her nose indecisively for a moment, trying to figure out how to drop the news on her sister. At one point, Meri had an idea of what to say but Khitti derailed that with her constipation talk. Plus that nervousness was starting to set in. She wasn't nervous about Cal, she had confidence in the Catalian. Meri was currently suffering from the 'what if I am wrong' nerves. "Well I think you might end up being an Aunt Khitti in a few months. That's what Cal and I are hoping to have confirmed."

Khitti’d been snickering all throughout Meri’s pretend whining about Cal and his failure constipation medication. But, when Meri said the words ‘Aunt Khitti’, she sobered up real quick-like. Mostly, though, she was just surprised. “What? Really? I thought you were doing the herb thing.” Khitti blinked and thought about it for a bit, “Well… I guess I had been too there for awhile, but uh… that didn’t work out for me either…” She cleared her throat awkwardly, then briefly, pointedly stared in the direction of Brand’s “office”, her right eye twitching a little. Finally, she shook her head, then grabbed Meri’s arm, “C’mon.” Khitti’d led her sister through the ship, smiling ever so politely to Brand’s crew as they passed them. They’d reach the medbay soon enough and the door closed immediately behind the two of them, “Lennier, I need your help please.” Thankfully, there was no one else in there besides the bald, elven healer, but he was clearly very busy, dealing with small vials of blood, and doing a bit of testing on them, “Are you sure it needs to be right now, Miss Khitti? Several of the crew has felt a bit ill and I’m checking for scurvy.” He finally looked up from his work and noticed Meri as well, “Oh, hello,” before shifting his attention back to his captain’s woman, who’d gotten all flustered and whatnot, “Indeed. I can finish this later. What needs to be done?” Khitti managed to finally get the words though, with a bit of a smile tacked on the end, “We need you to use that thing you used on me to find out if I was pregnant. But… not for me. And! You can’t tell anyone about it. Not even Brand.” The elf pursed his lips in thought for a moment, but then merely smiled at the pair, “I do not divulge info about my patients unless absolutely necesary.” With a nod, he’d go to fetch his various supplies, while Khitti led Meri once more, this time to the nearest examination table, “Here. Get up here and pull up your shirt a bit. Doesn’t need to be all the way.”

Meri nods when Khitti inquires about the herb thing, her blue eyes following Khitti's own twitching gaze toward Brand's office. Before Meri musters up a response, Khitti is grabbing her arm and leading her through the ship to the medbay. Meri did not mind, Khitti was probably one of the handful of individuals that could get away with such an action with Meri too. They were family. On there way there, Meri explains, "I dunno. Maybe being a werewolf messes with that herb stuff. Or. Maybe I forgot." Meri felt a little bit bad to learn that they were interrupting scurvy tests for a baby confirmation. Lips part to speak her objection, they could wait a bit. Or come back later. Or go see that chick in the guild hall that helped patch Callum up maybe. Meri got none of these objections out. Khitti is leading her to the examination table and Meri is following, and sitting, and lifting up her shirt. Yes, yes there was definitely evidence that there could be a maybe-baby. Or a food-baby, as someone is probably hoping. There Meri sits and waits, but not totally silent, "Well. I don't think we are keeping it a secret once we know." Meri gives pause, and reconsiders this statement. Cal has expressed concerns in the past, witch hunters, pregnant ladies, and babies. "Well. I guess I should probably double check that one with Cal first if we are pregnant." Meri smirks and looks at Khitti, "He's really hoping that he gets to blame you and your sweets, for the record. If I am not pregnant, will you please stop making me fat?"

Khitti || “Well, I meant it’d only be a secret for as long as you want it to be, Meri,” Khitti said with a smirk of her own. She would’ve definitely assured Meri that interrupting Lennier’s work was fine--some of these crewmembers got scurvy all the time. Nothing a bit of orange juice wouldn’t help. “This won’t take long. I promise. And, you’ll be dealing with a bit more fat than that if this -is- a baby.” Khitti poked at her own excess fat that, really, just helped her fill out a bit more--she’d always been way too skinny after all. Lennier returned promptly with his things and began setting up a screen, attaching it to a pole with a metal arm that allowed the screen to hang freely, until it was pulled taut and clipped near the bottom of the pole. Before Lennier could speak, Khitti snatched up a vial of green liquid off the elf’s tray, offering it over to Meri, “This unfortunately does not taste great, but it help Lennier see what’s going on inside.” The elf finished setting things up and moved to the opposite side of where Khitti stood, both of them sort of hovering over Meri. In his hands were a small metal orb, which would be pressed to Meri’s stomach when she was ready, and rolled around a bit, “This is what he used on me after Dozla realized I might be pregnant.” Whatever the hell was going on with Meri’s stomach would soon end up on the screen, and if she was far enough along, there’d even be the sound of a heartbeat to go with it.

Meri had no idea what Lennier was hauling out for this project, were this another healer Meri would start feeling rather skeptical and dubious at this point. But this was Lennier, he's helped to patch Meri up a time or two, and it was also her sister. That green vial is eyed for a moment, "Is my stomach going to start glowing green or something wild?" Before either one confirm this detail, Meri decides she will discover the answer by trial. The vial of green liquid is emptied and a face is made while making it, "Ugh, what even. No please don't answer that. If it is frog something, I don't want to know." Meri takes a quick check of the belly to see if she was suddenly radioactive, but her attention is not there for long. The sound of a heartbeat would soon indeed be filling the room, which would pretty quickly pull Meri's attention to the screen where she stared. Then then smiled, a smile that is soon extended to the soon to be Auntie.

Khitti just stared at that screen for a few moments before shifting her attention to her sister, her eyes a bit wide. “Oh gods. That’s definitely not a frog.” She certainly wasn’t going to faint, but there was a look of concern, “How long has this been this way? You’ve not been sick or anything, have you? I, uh... “ She was certainly very happy for her sister, and allowed a smile to form to let her know of this, “You’re going to have a very quick pregnancy, Meri.” She blinked at how odd that’d sound to someone that didn’t know what she knew, “That is to say, you’ll end up lucky like me, except you won’t have some undead kid shooting some gem contraption at your stomach.” And it won’t be Khitti getting stuck in the Shadow Plane this time. “Basically, when I commissioned that bow of yours from Alvina, she told me then that she’d had her kid, Bryce. Which is crazy because she was hardly showing at all when I saw her on the beach, after I’d found out that I was pregnant. Her pregnancy went super fast because of Hudson being a werewolf. So, it looks like you lucked out,” she finished, sticking her tongue out at Meri. “I doubt I’ll be that lucky if Brand and I have more kids--not that I need anymore dark magic messing around with my insides.” Realizing she was babbling on and Lennier was standing there awkwardly, yet ever so politely, Khitti grinned innocently at him, “Sorry! Go back to what you were doing. And thank you, Lennier.” The elf bowed to the two ladies and returned to his work, aiming on cleaning up his supplies later. “Let’s get you off this table and out of here so he can work in piece,” she’d say, offering a hand to Meri to help her.

Meri makes a cross-eyed expression at Khitti as Meri tries to consider how long she has been like this. This expression intensifies when Khitti mentions that Meri is going to have a very quick pregnancy. Meri was lucky? Meri didn't dwell on that thought for long, Khitti reminds Meri of that moment that Khitti got shot in the belly with that gem contraption. No cross-eyed expressions for that one, just a straight frown, expressing as they leave Lennier's work space so he can resume his testing. "Yeah, that was a scary as crap moment." Meri was convinced she was going to lose her nephew. "I think a fast pregnancy is going to be a blessing and a curse. It's really only been two months..." Meri pokes curiously at her belly, not really sure how long this bun is going to take in her oven. Maybe she should try and talk to Alvina about that directly sometime, sooner rather than later. Yet at the same time, Alvina was a busy woman and Meri had a lot to prep for. Meri would try and send her a letter, very least. This to do list items is tossed to the back of her mind, as Khitti and Meri through the ship, the blonde asks, "Well, do you have any pointers for Cal and I? Any must buys? Or...Cal would probably much prefer to know...are there any things that we should absolutely NOT waste our money on?" Meri chuckles.

Khitti spied that frown and shook her head at it, “It’s all whatever now. Things are going to be very different for you. Even if it’s similar to Alvina’s, it’ll still be different. So, I read anyway.” They’d walk to the ship’s library, Khitti still speaking as they headed that way, “Well, you’ve already got the crib. You’ll definitely need a few dozen diapers--but probably no more than that, since they’re washable. You just want enough so that you’re not gonna be doing laundry all the time. Same with bottles too, just because there’s never any telling how the whole milk situation is gonna end up and -at some point- you and those boobs of yours are gonna need a break.” Khitti was not going to bring up the fact that sometimes it hurt. Maybe that was just a Dominic thing? How does a kid get so bitey without teeth? “Annnnd, here.” When they finally reached the library, she’d pull out the few books she’d read before Dominic showed up and then even grabbed one Brand had bought. It was called “So Your Life Is Over: A Guide For New Dads”. “That last one’s for Cal,” she smirked, “Brand actually went out and bought a book to read too. Of course he’d like that one.” Khitti rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Judging by how all of Alvina’s kids are growing, it seems like you’ll be speeding along through everything.” Now it was Khitti’s turn to go cross-eyed. Dominic hadn’t even said his first words or really started eating solid foods. It was something Khitti would have to deal with in the new year. “Do -you- want a baby shower? I know we didn’t get around to one for me, but…” She shrugged, leaving the decision up to Meri. She certainly didn’t want to throw a big shindig for the blonde if she didn’t want it.

Meri is making a lot of mental notes right now. During her more artistic days, she would have at least been able to whip out her charcoal and sketchbook to take these notes down. Hopefully her memory won't fail her. The books that are gifted to her are taken, the last title earning a solid grin and a hearty chuckle. "Yeah, I think he and Brand are probably on the same page with this book. He took the news pretty well. He only fainted for a little bit and then he seemed...mostly okay. Possibly because he was is still hopeful you are just making me fat." She gives the books a bit of a jiggle. "I'll be breaking his heart soon enough." Naw, Meri did not really believe things were quite that dramatic. "He has already resigned to diaper washing duty...I think he'll be pleased to know that he may not have to do that as long as the average parent does..." Which means that even if Meri did not have a chance to talk to Alvina before the pregnancy's end, they still had plenty of reason to try and touch base. "Do I want a baby shower? Well, I won't tell you no...but I am not sure who you'd invite outside of yourself. Lionel and Brand?" Meri chuckles and shrugs. "So not having one is just fine too."

Khitti || “It’s better that he resigns himself to that now than having to drag him kicking and screaming basically, like I had to with Brand. Thankfully, -that- didn’t take long. I think with the fact that I was so tired after everything and couldn’t even manage to make dinner that he realized he needed to step in,” Khitti said with a laugh. “He wasn’t -that- bad, but he certainly was resistant to the idea of kids for…almost as long as I’ve known him.” The redhead shrugged, then eyed her sister, realizing she spouted off a lot of things, “I will write you a letter with a bunch of stuff in it, so things aren’t forgotten. Things that you definitely need, things that are up to you if you want, but might be nice to have. Things that you may end up needing, but not in quite as large of a quantity as what I had to get. Stuff like that. But, for now… You should probably go ruin Cal’s life. If I need to come help you tie him to the bed so he doesn’t run away, then just let me know.”

Meri nods in earnest agreement. Yes, a letter would probably be good, especially if pregnancy brain was an actual thing. But instead of admitting that outloud, Meri just says, "Pleaaaase." Ruining Cal's life is met with a nod and a knowing smirk, but that part Meri was not so worried about. "Cal's wallet probably curses you and thanks you in advance for the lists." Meri tucks the pile of books toward her chest, at least until she deboarded the ship and loaded them into her saddlepack for the trip home. "And trust me, I will let you know if we need to tie him down." With her free hand, she thumbs her nose, "Not that she'd really have much chance of escaping me anyway right now. I think you still have that fancy little fox trinket." Which Meri did not seem concerned about getting back from Khitti at this exact moment, for she gave Khitti a hug, went to say bye to Dominic and Brand, and then returned home to present Cal with his new found reading.