***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Magnus***

Astra led me away from the family mansion and towards the twelfth's living quarters. It only then occurred to me that – so far – I had gotten to see less of my own strata than any other.

This was at least partly remedied when my partner led me through some nice living quarters which had similarities with the public areas in the central living cavern.

According to my fairy guide, the twelfth possessed huge warehouses which were filled to the brim with the spoils of their hunts. The twelfth would provide these resources to the other stratas in exchange for services and refined goods.

Her explanations revealed that due to Tirnanog's nature, the twelfth was considered the wealthiest strata when it came to raw material resources. It wasn't surprising, since a decently powerful person simply had to step outside a settlement's fortifications and swathes of creatures and murdery wildlife would come flooding in, ready to be slaughtered.

As long as someone was proficient enough at surviving and killing things, it literally was wealth throwing itself at you.

Aside from using their hunting and gathering skills to make a living, the twelfth's people would take on mercenary jobs given out by the other stratas. In some cases, there wasn't much difference between hunting a monster or a human.

If a monster attacked the clan and couldn't be directly handled by a strata's defenders, the twelfth would provide the necessary troops to deal with the incursion. Though, the attacking critter had to be especially nasty to call for the twelfth's assistance.

Astra pointed out that such a thing rarely happened. Aside from some very specialized mutation sets aimed at certain professions, people of all stratas were looking out to be powerful in their own right. The Tates were one of the few ruling families who sacrificed combat potential in favour of mutations which helped with their healing arts.

My recent experience with Gilbert was the best proof that a craftsman wasn't necessarily weak. On the contrary. The older a person was, the warier you had to be of them.

Lastly, the twelfth could boast extensive training grounds and libraries concerning their chosen profession. It was practically unheard of for someone to call him- or herself a proficient warrior without having spent a few years within the twelfth's educational facilities.

The tour came to an end when we entered a promenade intended for recreational purposes with its wide, arching hallways and countless plants. Someone had gone so far as to transplant this world's version of grass to give people the impression of a park.

Though, I wasn't keen enough to test my skills as a fakir if it wasn't necessary.

The light was provided by the fluorescent flora, giving the promenade a distinctly alien look combined with the architecture of the archways. It was sobering to see how the Aerie had carved out this little pocket of civilisation with unspeakable monsters waiting just outside their walls.

But this wasn't why we were here.

Astra guided me to an old elevator where we received blankets and thick-furred mantles from a stall next to it. Then the elevator brought us upwards on a slow trip which took about twenty minutes.

Of course, I questioned my partner about our final destination, but she refused to spoil the surprise.

On the way up, the temperature quickly dropped – which had me thankful for the additional layer of insulation. Thanks to her filaments, Astra was mostly fine once she had wrapped herself up like a mummy.

For the first time, I didn't hide my filaments and instead used them to create a ski mask against the stinging cold.

When the elevator opened, we stepped out into a huge observation lounge which had been cut into the side of the mountain. And in the area just ahead of us was a window-front sporting the thickest glass I had ever seen.

Considering the wildlife outside, I still would have called it unsafe if it hadn't been for several metal bars providing reinforcement. Each was half a metre in diameter and ensured larger beasts wouldn't enter the lounge even if they somehow managed to break the glass.

“The initial snowfall has stopped,” Astra commented as she brought me up to a bench from which we could observe the ice and snow outside. “Before today, there wasn't much to see aside from snowflakes, but it cleared up last night.”

She placed a blanket on the bench before she had me sit down. Then she joined me by sitting between my legs and pulling the blanket around us.

I mentally tallied up how many days had already passed since our arrival.

Between recuperating from the long journey, training, our descent to the twelfth's hunting grounds and return, then exploring the third, almost a month had passed.

I still remembered the foreboding cloudbanks which were the first sign of winter following us right on our heels up to Mount Aerie. And how relieved everyone had looked once we reached the outpost.

“Four weeks of snowfall?!” I exclaimed, drawing glares from the few other people who were enjoying the panoramic view in relative silence. I only then noticed the altar to our left with the priest of Gaia sitting in front of it in the lotus position. It was one of the few elderly-looking people I had seen so far, judging by the white beard which was covered with ice crystals, formed due to his breath.

His hands were in a praying position and he was glaring at us with one eye open while the other was closed.

“Sorry,” I whispered. I wasn't necessarily a believer, but I was well aware nothing could create as many enemies as disrespecting certain religious fanatics. I already had enough problems, and aside from a first misguided encounter, I didn't know enough about this Church of Gaia to judge them.

To think I even had a stupid nightmare because of it.

The thought had me chuckle as I turned my attention to the scene outside.

Beyond the window, a white desert of snow and ice stretched out as far as the eye could see. In the distance to the left, I could make out a mountain range that was angled away from Mount Aerie, while some smaller peaks adorned Aerie's immediate vicinity.

Astra indicated the mountain range and spoke in a moderated tone. “You see that? Third peak to the right? That's the mountain top from which you got your first look at Mount Aerie.”

“Just how is anything surviving out there?” I questioned. It was apparent everything was covered in several metres of snow. There was so much of it, down in the plains, the storm had formed snow-dunes.

Astra shrugged. “Not sure. Some creatures are hibernating, while others survive thanks to being opportunists. I figure it's not so different from Earth.”

I hummed and allowed myself a rare moment of silent contentment with the world while I watched the white landscape with my partner in my arms. Astra's insistence on reaching Aerie before winter fell was no longer surprising. It would have been impossible to travel on foot through the snow.

Would we even have had enough food to survive the winter if the snow had caught us in one of the shelters? Maybe Astra and Thalia hadn't mentioned it because it would have demoralized the group.

Astra took my hand and inspected my swollen fingers.

“I've still a lot to learn about this world,” I mused.

“It's not that bad,” Astra replied while she tested the joints. “Nothing is broken, so I figure Gilbert likes you. He wants you to come back.”

I forced myself to smile while I looked at our reflection in the glass. “Well, I may avoid visiting him too often after this.”

“Don't complain about receiving a lesson.” Astra huffed. “It's not like I haven't told you not to challenge an elder or one of the older paired warriors. You have to take better care of yourself.”

“It's still confusing to me,” I pointed out. “Bruce Patel is an asshole, but now I understand he let me get away. But why? I mean, he used his goon to mess with my head, but let me go after a good whacking? I've built this image in my head of the Patels using their strata for some sinister purposes, but it doesn't fit together with letting me go.”

It took some time before Astra answered.

“I believe you still haven't gotten accustomed to some of the clan's unspoken rules,” she began once she had arranged her narrative. “Remember how my parents told you to let them take care of the other elders? It's about ranking and power, and being a strata's supporting pillar. If the elders would indiscriminately attack weaker members of other stratas, we would end up living the law of the strongest for real.

“Instead, the elders hold themselves and other powerhouses in check. For an elder to lay hand on a weaker opponent from another strata would leave the others free to do the same. It would be a dangerous precedent, a line nobody wants to be crossed. When Bruce had his subordinate mess with you, it was fine, because someone who was presumably on your level attacked you. When you rebuffed their subordinate and escaped without a scratch, it would've looked bad for the Patels if they had personally stopped you. It was lucky their guards didn't manage to catch you. Giving you a beating before allowing you to run was borderline at best.”

“So, I am relatively safe as long as I stay in public and don't challenge them directly,” I translated.

Astra sighed and leaned back into my chest. “Just don't overdo it. You've made Bruce really angry. I bet he would have done more than just giving you a beating if Travis hadn't held him back.”

“Don't worry,” I assured her. “I've no plans of returning to the third any time soon.”

I embraced my beautiful partner beneath the blanket and stole a few squeezes, but she quickly stopped me from doing anything untoward in this holy place.

There was no question, I had to be content with my hands on her hips or suffer the consequences of her ire. When everything beneath the belt or above the belly was a forbidden zone, I laid my hands to rest on the only remaining place.

“Has my constitution allowed you to fortify your padding?” I joked when I realized Astra's usually toned belly had developed a little bit of fluff above her musculature.

“Are you serious?” my partner grumbled and stopped my groping fingers with a few filaments before moving my hands to where her navel was located. “It's natural for a woman in my state. That's the other thing I wanted to talk about – aside from the panoramic view.”

“Your state?” My mind came to a stuttering halt before it froze, now closely resembling the landscape outside. “You mean...”

I measured her belly with both palms, trying to compare the size to my memory.

This wasn't well received and answered with a hissed rebuttal, “Are you serious? You should be well aware by now that it's almost impossible for us to get fat.”

“H- how do you know?” I asked.

Astra sighed. “I've been overdue on my cycle for a week.”

“But...” This was worrying me. “A week is too short. It should take much longer for anything to be noticeable!”

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Astra***

“I think you are overreacting,” I grumbled, but Magnus didn't have it. He was carrying me princess style towards the clinic, not even bothering with a carriage since he could run faster. From time to time, he even flashed forward a few dozen metres with flash step.

Once I had shared my suspicion, I had been picked up and removed from the 'hostile' cold environment.

“Do you have any idea how fast an embryo is supposed to develop?” Magnus questioned while he pantingly overtook a slow-moving carriage.

“No.” I rolled my eyes while I gestured at the side-walk with spread fingers. “Do you see any pregnant women or children?”

“Well, to answer my question: me neither.” Magnus forewent the obvious answer to my question and instead replied to his own. “But I do know there shouldn’t be anything noticeable after a week, or two! What if it is growing too fast and you are hurt? You are the one who told me those horror stories about getting children in this world!”

I crossed my arms. “I hoped you would take it as positive news and cheer me up instead of envisioning the worst-case scenario.”

Magnus grinned stupidly. “I’ll celebrate once Thalia or Sienna give us the thumbs up. And look, I doubt many married women are being carried to the hospital princess style. Most only get the three steps from the doorsill to the bed.”

“Oh, there was such a thing back on Earth.” I hummed appreciatively as some old childhood memories of movies came to mind. “Now that you mentioned it, it is nice to be carried around. At first, I was a little conflicted, but this feels satisfying on a certain level. I am just a little surprised about your endurance and your ability to navigate the tunnel system. Please make sure not to overdo it.”

“I always had a lot of endurance,” Magnus replied, sounding a little offended. “Though, taking you with me using flash step is admittedly a little taxing. And I took the time to study the tunnel network with Parallell Mind. At least the main connection tunnels. Turns out, it is a lot easier to memorize things if several me’s are doing it at the same time.”

“Oh, that’s a neat idea!” I clapped my hands together, determined to think positive thoughts if Magnus was already playing the Devil’s Advocate.

Although, I had a feeling the quick advancement of my pregnancy wasn’t all he was worried about. “I’ve to try it too.”

A short time later, we arrived at the hospital and Magnus practically manhandled a nurse into letting us visit Thalia’s office. If waving around the presumably sick scion of an influential family could be called manhandling.

Luckily, Thalia was indeed working.

She looked up with raised eyebrows when Magnus practically kicked down her door.

“Thalia, you have to take a look at Astra!”

“What’s wrong?” My friend’s eyes focused on me. “Are you sick?”

Instead of sharing in my partner’s overreaction, I tried to channel some positive vibe when I answered in a chipper tone. “I think I am pregnant!”

“She says it’s been about a week, but it's already noticeable!” Magnus clarified the reason for his freakout.

Thalia had dropped her pen at my proclamation and raised her hands in celebration, but when she heard Magnus’s words, she sobered up and pointed at the nurse who had followed us into the office. “Get Sienna!”

A few minutes later, I was on a reclining chair with Thalia, Sienna, and a third Tate hovering over me like anxious grandmothers. Magnus was standing at the door and wringing his hands with beads of sweat on his forehead.

He really shouldn't have run so fast.

“Don’t worry, girl,” the new woman by the name of Kiera assured me. “We will know in a minute what’s going on with you.”

“I am not worried,” I rebuffed the doctor who was specialized in pregnancies according to Sienna and Thalia. “Maybe you should rather check Magnus. He looks like he overdid it by carrying me here.”

The whole fuss was slowly getting on my nerves. I had intended to tell Magnus the good news and then spend some romantic time watching the scenery while we made plans. Being able to have kids would have our status within the clan rocket to the skies.

Now, there were entirely too many people hovering over me.

As if the universe had heard my plight, a fifth person entered the room to make it worse.

“I heard something is up with Astra?” Iv asked, looking around with interest. “Did she catch something during her little outing with my brother?”

“No,” Thalia corrected her. “We think she is pregnant!”

Iv formed a silent ‘o’ with her lips before she turned on Magnus. “What did you do? I am too young to become an aunt!”

Magnus pulled down the corners of his mouth. “Isn’t it obvious? She is my wife and so far I haven’t heard about any effective contraceptives.”

“The most effective contraceptive is not doing it!” Iv complained. “Or using other orifices!”

“Iv!” Magnus reprimanded his sister in a stern tone.

“Could you two be silent for a moment?” The new doctor asked while she used a bottle to apply a generous amount of some transparent goop to her hand. “I will be using a sonar mutation to take a look into Astra, and people having arguments next to me doesn’t help.”

“Do you have to-” I didn’t get to finish my question before she slapped her cold hand onto my belly. Instead, I shrank back and drew in a sharp breath.

Meanwhile, the doctor moved her hand around and hummed appreciatively. “It looks like everything is in order aside from the unusually fast development. I suggest another check-up in a few more days to monitor the situation. Maybe we can even tell the genders by then!”

Magnus became a lot more attentive at that. “Genders? As in, multiple?”

“Oh, yes! I can sense three embryos!” the woman proclaimed in a euphoric tone. “It’s truly a day to celebrate!”

“Th- th-” Magnus stuttered and paled before he reached for the wall next to him, then sank down to the ground. It looked like a shock reaction.

“Hey, bro? You alright?” Iv kneeled next to him and poked his cheek, but Magnus just stared off into the distance. “You know, men are supposed to do that when the kids pop out. Collapsing right now is a little premature.”

I could only roll my eyes while I pointed for Sienna and Thalia to take a look at my partner. “I told you to check him out. He carried me all the way here from the promenade. I bet he has a circulatory collapse.”