Ch: 45 A Change in the Weather 

“Really Journeyman Shai,” Thirp sang in frustration. “another tiny human? This one seems to be rooted in all of you at once…” She seemed almost excited by the prospect. “Untangling this knot will be quite challenging.”  

 

Marduk took the little ones in hand and led them off in the garden, while Thirp and the women worked on expanding the expansion to the annex on Gary’s little island in the sea of chaos. 

“Mortal cultures have so much of themselves linked to who is born from whom and whose parents are what.” Thirp explained as she worked on the garden wall. “Beings like yourselves are quite vulnerable to exploitation, lacking these ties to the mortal community. Someone noticed this and is exploiting it, rather successfully, I might add.”

 

Her rear limbs wove silken strands too fine to be seen, flicking them seemingly at random against the slowly rising stones. Tiny knots of silver thread clung in elaborate and complex shapes, before melting into the stones and vanishing. 

“We will make a few partitions and a nice little stream from the pool’s runoff. A little pond here, a few trees, some landscaping…” 

Thirp was having a grand time rearranging and expanding her adopted home. “My species are inveterate nest builders and burrowers. This really satisfies me on some basic levels.” She cooed.

 

Gary jolted awake in a sudden panic, reaching out reflexively, he found Shai, bundled up with the two little ones and Becky on his other side. Slowly, he calmed down and tried to drift off again, it was hopeless.

 

Gary hadn’t ever slept with anyone before Shai, but he fancied himself rather good at wriggling his way out of bed without waking her or the others.

Down in the shop he got busy; a little girl needed more than one outfit and Wilford had nothing at all. He started whistling ‘Norwegian Wood’ and just rolled that melody till the wheels fell off. 

He felt the first of the younglings show up to bathe on the public side at the usual time. He had missed that the last few weeks, the feeling of a pack of rowdy children frolicking in his pool set all the world right. Things got better when he felt his woman and kids join the fray.

He scooted upstairs, loose threads, cloth scraps and sawdust flying in his wake. When he cannonballed into the mess, still dressed in conjured work clothes, Amy clapped with glee.

 

Amy was still a novelty, Becky’s new protege naturally stirred interest and comment among the younglings. As precocious and active as Becky herself ever was, Amy splashed and giggled her way into the action and made herself a big part of the fun.

Wilford toddled to the edge of the pool, looked in at the swirling green waters and tumbled in without fanfare. Shai stood in surprise for just a moment, before diving in with a short squawk of alarm. 

She bobbed to the surface moments later, frantically searching. “Where be me baby, help me find wee…-” Wilford paddled by, completely under the surface. He bumped into Shai’s hip, then simply held on beneath the water, calm as you please.

 

“No living thing can drown in my pool Shai, it’s not water.”  Gary said softly, from where he floated nearby. “The stones aren't stones. The stove and fire don't burn, you can’t even fall down and hurt yourself here. The tools and machines are still dangerous, but the house is… me.” He sighed with pure relaxation. 

“Wilford and Amy could jump off the roof onto the cobblestones and not even get a scrape. Don’t tell them that though, that’s secret.”

 

When the older kids traded out for the younglings, the Wards went inside to prepare for their first entire day together without any chaos or madness.

The sun came all the way up, just before second bell, finding the young family upstairs getting dressed. “Ooo someone hae been busy sewing, Amy ye hae new clothes, an wee Wilford too.” Gary had whipped up a small selection of common clothes in bright colors and neutral patterns, sensible cool weather attire for sensible children. Amy of course still wanted to ‘be Elsa’, some battles were not winnable.

Wilford was easier, Gary had him in wool pants and tiny boots and a strange shirt bearing the words ‘Ward Instrument Co. We will rock you!’ in jagged black letters. A jacket of stiff black leather with shiny studs and pips at collar and shoulders finished off the slightly troubling toddler. 

“Who is just the cutest little roadie? We really missed an opportunity with his name.” Gary cooed and clucked like a new grandmother.

“I hae me first born son named ere we brought him intae the world, ye may get another chance yet.” She waggled an admonishing finger at him. “I’ll nae hae a daughter named Lemmy Kilmister. That ye can bank on.” 

Shai paused and shook her head. “Gary, we did nae bank in Ellis nor in Fallon. I did forget.”

“Sounds like an excuse for a road trip. Maybe a boat ride with Esperanza and the boys… I could build a boat engine…” 

 

“Gary!” Becky barked. “No projects until after the festival. That’s a new rule, right Shai? Now let’s go visit grandpa Harlan.”

 

Shai’s family forge in the craft ward sprawled over a quarter of a block by itself, outbuildings and storage sheds surrounded the low stone building. 

The front room had a lofty ceiling and a roaring coal fire in a central hearth. Bedrooms that seemed more like cubicles opened directly off the main room. Candles and a few enchanted stones provided light since the windows were small and set high up near the slate roof.

While the structure was simple, the interior furnishings more than made up for its rough and sturdy construction. Rugs, pillows and throws were everywhere, competing with houseplants and children’s drawings for space. In a place of pride by the cooking hearth hung an expanded print of Dannyl’s cartoon telling Gary and Shai that Otho was looking for them. 

“I do love that, we must do summat fer him, beyond that horrible weapon ye an Tallum hae devised.” Shai whispered, while her step mother nearly burst, gushing over the new little ones. Harlan crowed proudly about being present for Wilford’s birth.

“Mine first grandchildren, aye tis a good festival o Craft this year! Two newborns tae celebrate… three an we count Shai’s silly carpenter.” He made a broad wink at the pair, while his wife scolded him for rudeness and laughed at Gary’s expense.

The musician pulled out his mandolin and began playing something light and gay. “You know, master Harlan… under the law I am the father of these two children… that makes your unwed daughter… the mother of my sweet babies.”

Harlan’s massive, jovial face slowly changed colors while Shai subtly slipped between her parents and her fool. He turned pink, then red, maroon and finally an apoplectic purple with bulging eyes and spluttering lips. 

“Boy, I nae yet hae murdered thee becuse those babes dinnae emerge in the usual way… an ye marry her when yer indenture be done, I shall welcome thee as a son… until then, ye do balance on a knifes edge.” He said through teeth clenched tight enough to break rocks.

 

“Just so we are clear, I can no more run off on Shai than I can escape my own shadow… Papa.” Gary embraced the unwilling giant while Shai fretted.

 

“Shai, ye have found a boy wi naught but sawdust in his head.” Harlan said as he began to laugh. “I should put up with much frae ye just fer how ye did vex Theo. He does complain o whiffs coming frae somewhere, yet. He ne’er did find frae whence that stench did come.” Harlan chuckled in his barrel chest while Adelia played grandmother without reservations. 

 

“Amy you darling child, let me look at you, oh! Such a lovely dress and doll, Someone thinks you are very special.” She hurled matronly hugs and kisses around the room with little care for who they landed on. 

“Who is this young ruffian? Did your great buffoon of a father dress you?” She plucked at his leather jacket and tisked. “What is this? A shirt with writing on it? How odd, Shai, what does this say?”

With a long suffering sigh she explained. “It be what Gary calls ‘merch’ when others do see summat wearing this shirt, twill ‘grow brand identity’ or some such.”

 

“Does he know that most folk do not read?” She asked mildly, her tone suggesting that her question was instead; ‘is he quite mad?’.

“Aye.” Shai answered both questions at once. “There be many workings in progress, twill be some time ere all be made clear. Trust in me, trust in that man o mine.”

Shai found Gary and Harlan passing the children back and forth between themselves while the little ones giggled, Becky was down below the two giants, playfully trying to steal whichever she could get her hands on. 

 

“Ooo Gimmie!” Becky sang and jumped, trying to snatch a baby that was always just out of reach. Harlan deftly scooped her up and added her to the game. Soon all four adults were passing the children around while they laughed. 

Adelia dodged Becky, since Harlan’s wife was human sized and unable to toss a nearly grown, giggling teen about like a sack of meal.

#

 

Gary and Shai left the kids with Harlan and Adelia, while they took a stroll to the lumberyard. Shai lounged in the watery sunshine, sitting on a massive log, while Gary negotiated. 

“...and I’ll take that elm Shai is sitting on too, can Emily run the sawmill for these? I’ll wait till she’s on, or pay extra, she’s the best by a mile.” In a half hour Gary spent far too much on dead tree corpses, then he had to buy more leather, glue and bones.

 

“I had planned to do a little lumberjacking and harvest some beasties on our trip, I guess we kinda took a loss.” He struck a pose of abject misery and turned his trouser pockets inside out revealing nothing. 

“I might have to get a job if they won’t let me trade, know anybody looking for a musician down on his luck?”

 

Shai laughed and gave him a gentle shove. “Destitute wastrel, begone! I hae what I need of thee!” She jingled her bracelet of tiny silver charms at him. “I dinae even ken how much I hae cheated frae thee boy. I should keep thee around until I be sure thou art truly a dry well.”

 

“Uh huh… how long do you reckon that will take?” Gary asked patiently.

 

“Ye do be shifty, I shall let thee know ere too many decades pass. Till then, ye shall survive on mine largess an benevolence.” Shai continued to praise her own open handed nature until they got back to collect the kids.

“Di ye have fun wi Grama an Granpa?” Shai asked the little ones while Gary carried them both.

“Yeah, lumberyards are boring.” Amy announced. “Forges are more fun! Whoosh! Bang! I wanna learn ta blacksmith!” 

Gary groaned in horror. “Girls can’t be blacksmiths! New house rule! Shai is more than I can handle already.” 

President for life Gary found himself voted out of office on the walk home. 

Prince Wilford’s rule began just before and ended around lunchtime, when he decided to throw a tantrum… and his leek soup at the table. 

Princess Amy seized the throne in a bloodless coup, when Otho came in to help with the cleanup. Otho the dog, Otho the man was unlikely to lick leek soup off the walls without a good reason.

By the end of naptime, Gary felt like he was ready for a quiet afternoon in the workshop. He had deliveries on the way, new ideas to build and Esperanza was in the front room with Yuzef.

 

That took a moment to process. With a jolt, he hurtled back upstairs, skidding to a halt in front of the pair while they were still taking off their shoes.

“You look sprightly and fine this day Gary, where might…” Her tongue slowly and sensually moistened her plump, pink lips at the thought of Shai. It was involuntary and very distracting. 

“Slow it down Ranza, we have new developments.” Gary held up his palms, trying to halt a runaway train. “You know how everything is nuts and nothing is like we thought?” He gasped, trying to get out in front.

Her eyes lit up at his words. “You have had a change of heart? Ohh, the feast we shall enjoy! This one is fairly aquiver!”

 

Gary was in the midst of backpedaling through his own home… again. When Shai, Becky and the little ones came downstairs behind him and things went as one would expect.

 

The two women seemed to hardly exchange more than three words, yet the entire situation became crystal clear to everyone who was not Gary. 

“Babies?” Esperanza asked when she saw Shai’s face, Amy and her bundled boy child.

 

“Aye, two.” Shai replied. Everything after that happened outside the range of male hearing.

 

When Wilford had been mauled and squeezed and Amy finally took her baby back, Esperanza started busting Gary’s chops. 

“You could not spare poor Esperanza a crumb, despite so many buns in the oven.” She rocked back on her heels in despair and moaned pitifully.

“Very funny.” Gary said. “We have kids here, keep it nice. Amy, Wilford, Esperanza is your sister too.” 

Gary and Shai led the whole messy family into the stable to get Annie involved. She was the best at keeping Esperanza mellow and she needed a crack at Wilford too.

#

 

Out in the stable, Esperanza was struggling with new information, while playing with the little ones.

“This one cannot accept Contracts until her majority. The law will not allow.” She cast her eyes down, seeking answers in her ample bosom. 

“What priest would enact the ritual rather than submit this one to the orphanage instead?” Esperanza insisted, stubbornly sticking to what she knew for a fact.

“Becky is high priestess of Knowledge, Ranza, though I suppose it doesn’t matter now. Knowledge has been sneaking into people’s dreams like Beast does. Except, he can sign up with you right there.” 

Gary smiled wide and happily at his sexy friend. “He’ll grab you up tonight, don’t be shy about grabbing back, Ducky loves cuddles. Hardly anybody hugs a god and they all need it so badly.”

Shai gave him a swat for his cheek. “Dinnae make trouble boy, tis serious tae Contract wi a god.”

“I am serious, he acts standoffish, but hug him and feel him melt. Thirp too, I wonder if that’s my influence…” Gary pondered that for a while as Annie gently walked Wilford and Amy around the yard.

 

Becky refused to comment, remaining silent on the topic of hugging gods. Her half smile suggested mischief could be incoming.

“Either way, this is going to be a fun festival. We’re taking the kids for a walk before dinner, feel free to settle in, or come along.” He hugged her again, giving a good squeeze. “Oh, important safety tip, don’t let anyone in unless you see a human face. We have sneaky robed nasties lurking.” 

Esperanza bustled off to make herself at home, whistling something cheerful on her way. Gary and Shai had a lovely stroll while the little ones got very sleepy. 

Annie’s swaying gait worked like a charm, Shai rode holding the kids, while Gary trotted along a circuit of the town. 

Back home, an uneventful evening and quiet bedtime seemed almost mundane, despite being goddamn magical and dreamlike. Good food, good friends, a little music and once the little ones were in bed, a bit of an evening smoke. 

All those forces conspired to send Gary and Shai off to bed in a fine mood.

#

 

“What the…?” Everything seemed normal in the other house, until Gary went outside. All three girls, the god and the spider were there, so was Wilford. That was no real surprise. 

A few dim figures could be seen lurking in the distance, beyond the lights. Gary was sure one was Beast and the other felt familiar, Healer perhaps. 

The thing that flummoxed him was the garden wall, now expanded and enlarged to encompass a significant area of almost real land. A low stone wall surrounded his extended territory, though less formidable than his inner barrier. 

A stream of still warm bath runoff meandered through groves of bamboo and wild herbs. It passed under a number of partition walls and bridges as it made its merry, tinkling way off to the edge and dropped into nothing.

A marvelous flower garden and gingerbread playhouse in all the shades of childish delight stood behind a perfect white picket fence, just inside his main walls. Both little ones were rolling on the perfect, verdant lawn while Becky watched from an open window, draped in rainbow lace curtains.  

Nearby, just through a gate and over a small wooden bridge, Shai waved from the stoop of her rustic stone and thatch cottage. “We hae made thee some space, come here an see what we hae wrought together.”

Gary bolted through the gate and onto the bridge before stopping suddenly with a happy grin. “Oh! That tickles!” As he passed the gate, a subtle warming shiver rolled up and down his entire being, ringing him like a temple bell struck with a pillow.

“Aye! It do indeed my love!” Shai welcomed him inside with a warm embrace. Her house was simple, rustic and smelled of her. Sweet spices, spring flowers, forge smoke and patchouli. Everything was picked out in a myriad tiny decorations of the brightest colors, with empty spaces making it all feel like Home. 

He landed on a couch and got buried in children and woman immediately. “That works for me.” He mumbled from the depths of the pile.

“Scoot kids, we shall be along in a wee bit… we must need tae check some things out.” Shai said, her broad hints and winks might have fooled Wilford… 

“Come on you two, off to the main house! Amy, you can show me what this ‘Disney’ thing is. We can dig through Gary’s memories… ask me first though…” 

Becky led them away, no doubt on her way to eye guzzle every Disney movie Gary had ever seen. Poor kid had no idea what she was in for.

 

Gary also had no idea what he was in for. “Ye are in Shai’s power now boy, tis my home an ye will be stepping lightly tae Shais tune!” 

She swished close by him and flung her hair across his face in that way. When he looked down, his clothes were gone like a whisper in the dark. 

“That also works for me…”

#

 

“We’re not sweaty…” Gary whispered in Shai’s surprisingly luxurious bed. “I’m not even tired or spent, just… satisfied.”

“Aye, tis grand, but we must needs get…” She twisted in his arms and bit his shoulder just enough. “...sticky as well.” She growled, licking his shoulder where her teeth had marked him.

 

Back in the main house, they were met by a delegation at the door. “You didn’t see the new lil mermaid, just the old one. We wanna watch the new one too.” Amy announced, obviously, she was the leader of the rebels.

“Like you said love, I haven’t seen it. Have you?” He asked gently. “I’ve been here a little while and my life at home was… different, so I missed some things.”

 

“I saw it. Just once, they took all the kids from the hospital to see.” She said, looking lost and a little confused. “It kinda feels like a dream now. I was sick before.”

 

Wilford started the group hug, it was all his chubby, toddling fault. Anyone who says differently must clearly be a scoundrel.

Shai didn’t even notice when Thirp joined in, getting eight legs into the mix was a game changer. Marduk pretended to be an unwilling participant, but his struggles were pure theater.

 

“Come Amy, I will show you how to watch your own memories like Gary, then you can show them to the others!” Thirp sang as he led her off to the children’s picket fence. 

Gary got up to follow, until Shai stopped him. “Thee and me kinnae enter the children’s garden, we will nae fit until they hae a place like mine.” 

She hugged him when he sagged in disappointment. “Fer Becky, t’will be soon, the others, in their own time. Ye will nae be crowded out o yer own soul now me boy.” 

 

They sat on a comfy sofa in the garden, with a giant spider and a tiny god on their laps, watching their three children watch a movie about a girl who was half fish. 

“This seems fine.” He said to the Devourer, who seemed to also be enjoying the move from its distant nebula.

#

 

Festival morning came slipping in like a wayward drunk, it started out dismal and rainy before dawn. Dark, damp and cold with a fitful breeze tossing pennants and awnings and making a bit of noise. Dawn rose, chased the clouds away and left a cool, bright and almost still day.

Everything felt shiny and new, even the gray and blocky Adventure compound seemed just a little more alive today. 

When the sun finally kissed the cobblestones of the uplands road, utter chaos erupted. Nearly the entire Adventure compound hit the public pool together in a swirling melee. Towels popped behinds, soap bars skittered out the bathing room door and into the pool to vanish forever with a pleasant scent. Laughter, jokes, ribald comments and giggles erupted with volcanic fury. 

Before second bell was finished ringing, there were orphans on skates and boards everywhere, making the smooth pavers of the parade ground finally useful. 

Boys and girls who had been trained in martial arts and prepared for the risky lives of warriors from birth, had a few advantages when it came to stunts and tricks. Having magical healers was probably helpful too. 

Gary was no skater, two legs were part of the required equipment, but any kid in the foster system who could figure out which end of a screwdriver went where, would learn how skates work. Gary spent more time fixing toys and doing home repairs in most of his short lived foster families, than he did going to school.

That paid off very nicely, thank you broken system of designed neglect.

 

The stunts and tricks were fun to watch, but it was the fierce joy and excitement on their faces that made Gary grin like a moron. 

“Mark my words Shai, putting those booties in motion is going to do more damage to social order than any simple mad orphan could alone.” 

“So this thing ye would build out back… this skate park project…” She began, seeing a glimmer of potential in the distance.

“Operation: Skate Park, is fundamental to the plan, weirdly enough, you guys already do parkour and rock climbing. Once bikes hit the roads, watch out kids.” Gary nattered as they walked along together to the temple district with the little ones bundled in the dog cart. 

Gary pulled it himself, happily showing off his kids to any acquaintance they bumped into. It seemed like they bumped into everyone.

It took Gary a while to realize that every grandparent, new parent, aunt and uncle with a new little one, was on the move, heading to the temples en masse.

 

“You guys have that luck token for babies thing!” Gary laughed wildly and capered in the cart leads. “I forgot that!”

He smiled even more widely. “You would think someone would remind expecting parents of that… I should scold Theo for this lapse in attention to his duties.”

 

Shai just relaxed in the pleasure of the moment. Her man, her children and her town, all new washed clean and out on a winter’s mid day walk. 

 

“It dinnae get better than this, nae till Amy’s wedding…” She murmured, before realizing with shock that she was eyeballing the other strolling families for a potential match.

Fate, fortune and cruel irony arranged the universe just so, with a subtle shift in the axis of creation, Shai looked to her left.

She found Adelia, smiling beatifically in absolute pleasure and joy. “Welcome to the Marriage Games Shai. We have been waiting for you.”