~~
Trinity
~~
When Valerian released me his eyes were red and swollen from all the tears he had shed. I smiled and laughed because that was what he was doing.
"I think you're still going to want to see." I giggled. "I think we should fix those." I pulled my magic to me and reduced the swelling in his eyes for him. I knew that it was going to take away the stinging ache of the tears as well.
"You're skilled in magic?" He asked me with surprise. "Does that mean that those two charms I made were for your children?"
"I didn't know you made them, but yes. Reagan and Rika had a warlock crafted equivalent, but we learned that those wouldn't work here. They are already using their powers, but I am worried they will hurt themselves."
"These little ones must be special." He grinned as he looked at Reagan with an inquisitive stare. "D..d..do you mind if I hold him? I haven't held a child of my bloodline in so long."
I knew that I could trust him with my baby. I also knew that he must be overjoyed and excited to have received the news that he had gotten today. I wasn't going to dangle family in front of his face and then tell him no. That would have been cruel to him.
"He gets a little temperamental at times when strangers hold him, but you're more than welcome to try. If he gives you trouble, there are three more babies to hold."
Valerian grinned and reached out for Reagan who, surprisingly, went right to him. Reagan was looking at him with wide curious eyes. Tentatively, as if nervous, Reagan reached his hand out and grabbed a fistful of Valerian's hair. He didn't pull it, he was just feeling it.
"Mama, him hair blue." Reagan sounded as if that was the most exciting thing they had ever seen. "Mama, him hair blue. Hair blue, Mama." He turned to giggle at me as he repeated himself. "Haha, hair blue."
"Yeah, Reagan, he has blue hair. Isn't that cool?" Reagan just giggled and looked back at him.
"Hello there, Reagan. I am your Athair mór [1]." The entire name sounded complicated, and completely foreign to to Reagan.
"Ah her, ah her." Reagan was doing what he could to repeat the words, but he could only phonetically get out parts of it.
"Close enough." Valerian grinned. "I will be Ah her until you get a little older. You lot will be the first ever to call me that name."
"Mama, Ah her?" I heard Rika call out jealously from Reece's lap. "Mama, me want Ah her."
Reece stood up and walked over to where Valerian stood before me.
"Care to try two of them." He joked with the man. "She's getting a little jealous of her brother."
"I would love to." Valerian grinned and shifted Reagan so that he could take Rika in his left arm.
She did the same thing that Reagan had done. She reached out and gently grabbed his blue hair and giggled.
"Mama, him do blue hair." Rika was just as excited as Reagan had been.
"They are so adorable." He squeezed them to his chest, hugging them tightly.
"Dada, me go Ah her?" CJ tugged on Carter's sleeve as he whined.
"Mama, me too." Elias turned and begged Nikki to go to see his Athair mór too.
"What do you say, Val? Do you want to sit on the floor so you can play with them all at once?" Gloriana laughed at him.
"Yup, I sure do."
As he said that he walked over to an empty spot on the floor and plopped on it. Come here my garpháistí [2], come see your Ah her." CJ and Elias ran toward Valerian with grins and giggles, and he caught them in his large arms as well.
For a while, we all just sat there and talked while the children used their new Ah her as a jungle gym. Valerian seemed to love it. I guess the older Fae really are family oriented, especially if they have been without a family for a long time.
When the children got tired and fell asleep on Valerian for a short nap, he just stayed there and let them be while he joined in on the conversation. During our talks we learned that Valerian never mated but he did have a child, a spark of jealousy was in Gloriana's eyes as she looked at her brother since she had never even had that much. We also learned that Valerian and his wife did not last, and she left, abandoning her son in the process. She now, supposedly, lives in the Faerie plane with the dark Fae. She was a Silkie, a sea Fae, that had been why they were paired together to begin with. Valerian raised his son to be a proud warrior who fought for his people. But when his son, whose full name was Antirrhinum, had died in the wars, it had nearly destroyed Valerian. He became closed off and was considered mean or cruel by a lot of people. In truth, Valerian just didn't want to be hurt again.
You would never have known that Valerian was ever closed off because he was so open and animated when he spoke right now. He was telling us stories from his youth, and from when Antirrhinum was a child. I had a hard time processing that these childhoods happened hundreds and thousands of years ago. I mean, if you listen to Valerian, he, Gloriana, and Sorrel had been born directly from the Goddess Danu before she started turning the other Fae, or fairy creatures, into her children. The only ones that she birthed though, were the three siblings that were at the top.
It was truly fun getting to know about all of them. It was getting late though, and we were all ready for bed. The meal that we had come here for had been forgotten, and we were all too tired to even eat now. Though, we had made plans to have breakfast with Valerian in the morning. He was really excited to see us all some more.
"I am so glad you are here for the Yule celebration, that just means that we get to see a lot of each other during this time."
"And, there is another benefit." Gloriana smiled at us. "You can all call me Aunt Glory now."
"Oh, can you all call me Athair mór? It's the words we use for grandfather. I know there is no 'great' in there, but I am still that to you. Well, most of you. Samuel, you were married to my granddaughter, but I never met her, and I am sure calling someone who looks younger than you grandfather would feel awkward, the same goes for you Lila, you can just call me Valerian. But the rest of you are my grandchildren, my garpháistí and I would love it if you could call me Athair mór."
"I think we can do that." Dad was the one who answered, and even he looked older than Valerian. However he was, in truth, his great great grandson.
"Thank you, Wesley. Thank you all so much."
I thought about something then. Dad, though he looked older than Reece and Noah, didn't look like he was almost fifty, and Mom didn't look her age either. Even by wolf standards they looked younger. I had to wonder if that was because of the Fae influence in our lives.
I would have to ask about that later.
[1] Athair mór is an Irish form of Grandfather that translates to Great Father.
It is pronounced AH – her MORE.
[2] garpháistí is Irish for grandchildren.
It is pronounced gar – fosh – te
