A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

When Elora's arm wrapped around Erik's neck, she thereby forced Emma to make room and stop the massage. Emma pouted a little, but Elora glanced at her with a playful yet challenging grin.

When the fairy then suggested they change the topic to her upcoming pregnancy, Emma quickly lost her pout to become excited.

She quickly leaned forward, hands on the couch backrest, making sure Erik could see her wide, hopeful eyes. "A-And I'm second, right?!" she asked immediately—and perhaps a little too loudly—before Erik could answer Elora. She glanced at the fairy. "Y-You figured out a way, right?!"

Elora giggled at Emma. "Of course, dear second sister," she promised in her satin voice. "Thanks to my research on Alice, I managed to figure out how to make shapeshifters and humans compatible a while ago."

Emma smiled brightly before looking at Erik again, eyes wide, hopeful, and pleading.

Erik, who'd not gotten a word in edge-wise since Elora sat down on his lap, wrapped his arms around Elora's waist and smirked. "Of course you're second, Emma. Your sister is third, Astrid fourth, and then it will be Naeku's turn."

He reached up to gently grasp Emma's chin before pulling her into a deep kiss. The action elicited a short yelp from the young maid-wife as she had to arc her short body even more across the sofa's backside. Yet, unsurprisingly, as soon as their lips touched, she leaned into the action as much as possible.

When they separated, Erik grinned at Emma's flushed, panting expression. "It will be Elora's turn now, and when I return from my trip, I'll put a baby in you, too. Assuming you want to, of course… Do you?" he asked, playfully, knowing what the answer would be.

The blush on Emma's cheeks deepened, making her even cuter. "Y-Yes, please…" she whispered, softly.

"Good girl," Erik chuckled, feeling himself become excited at the prospect of parenthood as much as his wives appeared to be.

He was about to turn back to an impatient Elora when Emma stopped him, suddenly a little hesitant. "O-Oh, but… Uhm…" she muttered, still arched over the sofa but, her eyes turned downward a little.

"Yes?" Erik asked with curiosity and comforting warmth.

"W-Well…" she muttered uncomfortably. "You-You mentioned Emily. I-I'm not sure whether you talked about this or not, but uhm, I'm not sure… if she'd want to… you know…?"

Blinking, Erik was taken aback a little, though Elora didn't seem surprised at all.

"I-I mean, she probably would if you told her to," Emma continued rapidly, avoiding eye contact, then softly and under her breath adding: "And she'd probably find some perverse enjoyment at being forced into it, too… the big pervert…"

Erik couldn't help smirking a little, hearing Emma's last mutter.

She quickly shook her head, ridding herself of these thoughts. "A-Anyway! I know you wouldn't actually force something like that on her, b-but I also know she might get swept up in this whole… thing… you two have going on and not tell you how she feels, s-so…"

Though they had the bond, something like this might have slipped through the cracks until it was too late. After all, Emily might get excited by Erik's dominant demeanor rather than his declaring he'd be impregnating her, and Erik might interpret that excitement poorly.

Erik smiled reassuringly. "I get it, Emma. Thank you for telling me. I'll make sure to have a real conversation with her beforehand, alright?"

Emma's bright smile quickly returned. Nodding rapidly, she straightened up and silently went to make some drinks for everyone.

Meanwhile, Erik's gaze returned to Elora, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes. "If you're done… maybe it's time for the first order of business on this topic?" she suggested crabbily, dragging one of Erik's large hands against her lower stomach.

"Hehe, of course, my love," Erik chuckled and smiled while gently caressing her stomach. "I think you said we have some choices to make?"

As soon as he mentioned choices, Elora suddenly lost any playfulness or grump. She nodded sternly. "Right, and it concerns the future of our child. What do you remember from what I've told you about fairy reproduction?"

Frowning, Erik thought back and had little trouble gathering the right information. "Let's see… I remember three things. Fairy's are all female, so you can only have daughters. You can get pregnant from nearly any other species or gender. And finally, while the child can have genetic markers related to appearance from their other parent, they will functionally and genetically always be fairies, no matter what race the other parent was."

Elora seemed pleased with his recollection and nodded with a smile. "Right, but it's actually a little more complicated than that. Fairies have two methods of birthing a child. One is the standard method, and essentially what you just described. Most fairies are born this way, and the only thing you didn't mention is that I won't be able to enter your soul during my pregnancy."

"Got it," Erik nodded, though a little disappointed at the prospect of delaying the reunion between Elora and his soul even further.

Meanwhile, Emma had brought them all some drinks and snacks before taking a seat next to Erik and silently resting her head on his shoulder with a contented smile.

Elora noted Erik's disappointment, and giggled a little before moving on. "Now, the second option is a little different, and it's actually how I was born… and how I got my special ability."

Erik blinked a moment before suddenly coming to a realisation. "Right!" he exclaimed with wide eyes. "You said before how you got that ability from your father, who's a blood dragon. Can't believe I didn't think of that before… So the second option does allow a fairy to inherit some traits from their father?"

"Essentially, yes," Elora nodded with a smile, before turning serious again. "But it's not a choice to be taken lightly… Back on Söl, we'd actually have to get special permission from the council to birth a child this way. This is one of the few laws maintained by both the Radiant Glade and the Obsidian Enclave."

As Erik's curiosity rose, Elora smirked a little. "Of course, we don't have to bother with the council, since we're outcasts and not even on Söl."

Then she turned serious again. "But it's still not a simple choice…"

Erik frowned, feeling her mood and meeting it. Seeing this, Elora continued. "First of all… you should know that fairies—despite our long lifespans, even among other Arcanists—are physically incapable of having more than two children…"