Chapter 10

                                    

                                          
Andra adored Landon.
"You are such a sweet little thing," she said, still holding him as Marcel generously arranged the funds needed to get Seylah to start over in a new city. "Look at that nose, oh, we all have the same nose, don't we baby, don't we?" 
"He's so... quiet," said Ryan, tilting his head and smiling just from the comfort he felt knowing he and Andra were both okay, all things considered. It had been a very, very long time since they'd been able to exhale and believe 'I am safe.'  "I wonder if you would have been like this as a baby." He considered it then scrunched up his nose. "No, I think you'd be a wailer. You came out already arguing."
"What do you expect?" She 'booped' Landon's nose gently, then moved her finger around, watching how his eyes tracked the movement. "Not all of us are darlings like baby Landon, no we aren't. And baby Landon is so smart, yes he is." 
Ryan knew what she was thinking before she even said it outright. She was already too attached. She would have adopted every stray animal and abandoned child they came across since 1520 if it wasn't for Ryan reminding her that their lifestyle was not ideal for an innocent like that. 
But the circumstances were different now. "So, you're keeping him?" he asked. "Is this certain?"
"Of course I'm keeping him! Look at him," she held Landon up for emphasis as if Ryan didn't already know what he looked like or what the conversation was about. The baby whined and curled up his little fingers, balling his fists as Andra squealed in delight. "He's precious and he's our brother. We can't just drop him off at the nearest orphanage or set him up with a foster family. If he gets injured and bleeds black, what will they think? If he somehow has a fatal accident and springs back up, he'll be hunted. He needs to be with me, where I can protect him and teach him."
"We don't even know if he'll be able to do those things. Malivore never managed to... procreate before. What if this little guy consumes things? Or what if he does nothing at all?"
"Then we will find out as he grows and deal with it. Whether he's special or just like any other human, I will do everything I can to support him. Doesn't matter to me. Would you rather some human be raising him, unaware of the supernatural and unable to protect him or respect him if he's different in any way? I've learned enough about how things in this modern world work to know that those raised by strangers still tend to experience abuse. I won't make you take care of him, Ryan, not if you don't want to. I'll do it myself. I want to."
"And what about Malivore?"
"What can we do with that small pit right now? Nothing. Not yet. Maybe not for a long time. We have no way to defeat him and we have no way of knowing anything unless we go in, which is basically suicide. But in the present we have this baby, our little brother. I don't want to let him go. I want to take care of him. I can't walk away from this. Just look at him, he is so—"
"—cute," sighed Ryan. "Yes, you tend to acquire or do things because of cute-ness. I didn't forget." His smile grew slightly when he saw how Andra laid Landon on her chest, the baby's hands wiggling out to hug her neck. "You think knives are cute and apparently... babies too."
Andra pouted, rubbing Landon's back. "Look at his little face, Ryan, he's so sweet."
He relented. "Okay, fine, we'll keep him."
She grinned. "Hear that, Landon? You're getting a new home. I have a room for you to use, all for yourself. Would you like that? I've never been a big sister nor have I been a mother but I will learn to be a good one, just for you."
Landon heaved a sigh that she estimated to be far too dramatic for such a small child.
Marcel cleared his throat, approaching as Seylah took her leave, one small smile of satisfaction in the direction of Andra, Ryan, and Landon. The middle of the three beamed encouragingly, hoping she would know that they wished her the best, along with the silent promise 'We'll take care of him. You don't have to worry.' Seylah deserved to be free.