(I'll set it up. If I need to change some details, I will edit this post.)

Some weeks had passed, and the arranged party and meeting of the three families was finally being held at Danae's house. Although the sheer size of the extended families made it difficult for everyone to arrive, Adykon and Aerta were in attendance along with Kos, Larek, Caex, and Veax, as well as Aura and Orna, plus many of the other children of the couple. In addition, Adykon's parents, Cayosin and Iskra, were there as well.

Aerta wasn't exactly on good terms with much of her family, so only one of her siblings or parents were present. She had shunned the life of an aristocratic female to pursue the life of a mage. Rather than simply keeping her magic under wraps as expected, she had embraced her gift. As a result, only a few of her sisters were even on speaking terms with her. The one sister of Aerta's present was Tala, a mage in her own right. Tala was a wizard, and unlike her sister, Tala had to learn magic in order to use it at all, while Aerta, a sorceress, had been born with it and had only to learn to control it. Tala was pink-skinned like Aerta, but had a somewhat darker underbelly and horns which were more curved, like those of their father, unlike Aerta's only slightly curved horns.

The families of the others were present as well, but Adykon wasn't sure who was there. Caex held Auryn in his arms, so Avera was probably quite near as well, although the warrior hadn't seen her when he stepped into the house.

Admittedly, Danae wasn't expecting as many people who had shown up, but it was no problem since there was plenty of room. Adair was a little unnerved that his house was filled with strangers but he'd deal with it since his wife was happy to have the company. The little purple dracon infant had finally been named, being called Sira. Most of the boys couldn't make it but Alan and Bela were there with their children, running about and already playing in the dirt.

Ryland smiled and hugged Aura from behind, nuzzling her briefly before pulling back. "Want a tour?" He asked.

Avera smiled and walked over to Caex, pecking him on the cheek. "You look a little lost my love," She said, taking Auryn when he reached for her.

Nyx happily talked with Sasha, and Hermia, having missed her sisters greatly, and she was happy catching up with them. There was only so much you could put in letters, and Nyx was use to talking and knowing everything about her sisters everyday. She still missed that, so this was a way for her to adapt, she guessed. She had the egg in pouch over her back, paranoid that something might happen when She and Larek were gone. She felt fine leaving it for a few hours, but didn't know how long they'd be here, and she felt better with it close. She was happy seeing her sisters happy, as she was. She knew Sasha was more then happy, being gravid. Sasha had always wanted children.

Tran was talking with Marx, asking his opinion on creating a few more fences, and some other handy things around the farm, where he had been trying to build a few things. Even though Tran was handy with tools, sometimes it was nice to ask his father's opinions on how to build what he wanted.

Jammy looked around, smiling at her children, pleased they had such happiness in their lives

Aura returned the nuzzle and then replied. "Why, sure!"

Caex turned to Avera. "It's still a bit new to me. Marrying outside the species. I'm just glad my parents were fine with it. Anyway, I guess Auryn can play with Sira. Sira is... another child of your parents, so that would make him your brother, and Auryn's aunt? Uncle? Er... Sira is a female, right? This is so confusing."

Larek introduced himself to Danae. "Hello there. I suppose we have you to thank for this occasion, Danae. My wife and I are expecting a child of our own and we, well, Nyx here is the one with the egg strapped to her back. If you have time, maybe you could give Nyx and I some advice on how to take care of these things? It is my understanding that you are very skilled with conception magic, which is how my brother was able to father Auryn with Avera." Larek too a look at Auryn for a moment. That was one big hatchling. Looking at Adair, Larek realized there was some similarity between the child and his grandfather, not a huge amount, but it wasn't hard to tell they were related.

Kos stood near Sasha. He was increasingly protective of her as her belly grew larger and larger along with the egg. It would be some time before she would lay it. He was alert to any signs of discomfort she may have. "How are you, my love? Back giving you any trouble?"

Orna stayed near Tran for a moment, but then saw Aura. She walked over to Aura and Ryland. She gave her sister a quick hug before turning to Ryland. "Oh, hi there, Ryland. This really is a nice place. How're you getting along with my sister?"

Aerta walked over to Bela. Apart from Danae and Avera, she was the only other human woman here. "Hi. I'm Aerta. I think we met once, briefly. At one of the weddings. I'm not sure if we've been properly introduced. I'm Caex's mother, married to Adykon."

Nyx moved aside when Kos talked to Sasha, giving him a hello as she looked about, deciding to try and talk with some of the others, but not knowing where to start. It wasn't just that that there was a lot of people, it was that she had no idea who was who, or whose family was who.

Sasha smiled at Kos, "I'm okay" She said, knowing that Kos was protective and wanting her to be alright. "I promise to sit down if my back starts to hurt" She told him, "Lets go talk with some of the others. That's the whole point of this family get together, right"

Tran watched Orna go, greeting her sister, and smiled, finishing with his father, looking about to see if there was something else he could do, wondering who to talk to.

Avera giggled. "Yes, she's my new little sister and she's Auryn's new auntie," She said.

Danae smiled to Lareck and nodded. "It's nice to have family visit, new family especially. And all I can say about your child is... Nothing will prepare you for anything," She said with a laugh.

Ryland smiled and released Aura from his hold so Orna could hug her. "We're getting along great, I was about to give her a quick tour if you wanted to join us," He said.

Bela pressed a hand into her back when she felt an uncomfortable twinge. She was looking rather large now, baby due in a month or so. She looked up when she heard a voice and had to crane her head back slightly just because she was short, shorter than Avera even. "Oh, hello there, I think I do remember meeting you. I'm Bela, married to Alan and mother of the little terrors rolling around in the dirt and mud outside," She said.

(Don't be afraid to interact with each other. Like, if you two want to have Avera and Nyx's families communicate without my characters as intermediaries, that's cool too. :D )

Kos extended his hand to Sasha and they stood up. "Let's go take a look around, then."

Looking around first, Kos saw his grandparents talking with Marx and Jammy. Cayosin and Iskra were country dracons, from a rather poor background. While he could identify with them on a level, having been born to a poor mother in a terrible city, Kos was still a put iffy about their goat-herding ways. They could be a bit brash. Cayosin looked much like his son, but he was smaller and starting to show signs of aging, however subtle they were. He was also darker-skinned than Adykon, but they two had similar horns. His claws, especially those on his feet, were cracked and worn, a testament to a lifetime of working on a rocky farm in harsh conditions. None of his other children were present at this gathering.

Cayosin told Marx and Jammy about his life on the farm. "... and when the drought came, we didn't eat nothing for a whole month! Two months! A year! We didn't have markets out there on the farm, unlike you city folks." Iskra chided him "Now dear, that's just a tall tale."

"Oh, I've got a bunch like that myself" Aerta replied to Bela. "And there's another egg on the way for me, already laid. "I hope your back is okay. Hmm. It won't fix the back pains, but we've got something for you. Well, there's more than one of it. Danae will get her's later, but this is for you." Aerta held out her hand and teleported in a figurine of a sleeping dragon, made of transparent blue crystal.

"It changes position if you tap on its head" Tala demonstrated by tapping its head, and the figurine moved, standing up and assuming a pose. She tapped it again and it looked like it was about to strike, standing on its hind legs. She tapped it again and it curled back up and looked like it was asleep again. "Aerta and I enchanted them ourselves."

"I hope you and Alan are getting along well, and that your kids are okay. They seemed to be quite happy to see my young ones when I brought them over" Aerta thought about it for a minute and sighed. "They're probably beating each other up right now. We'll have to deal with it later. And clean them. I'm going to get Adykon to help with it. I hope Alan will help too."

"I'll help!" Tala added, getting a little excited. Realizing her reaction she calmed down. "Sorry. It's just that, I'd like to start a family of my own, but I haven't found a male whose interested yet. At least, not one who wants to marry me." She had had several boyfriends, but Tala hadn't yet found a male who wanted to commit to her.

"Alright. Take us on the tour!" Orna said, holding onto her sister's arm. "Wait. Tran! Want to come along?" she asked, turning to him.

"Well, that; useful I guess. Thanks" Larek said, being polite. It didn't really help him very much, though. He excused himself and found Nyx. "Yeah, this is quite the gathering.Imagine if we brought everyone over. If Avera's brothers and all of my relatives were here, we'd need a bigger house to hold them all. Shall we see what my father is up to?"

Caex nodded. "Well, nice to see so many new lives around here. Sira's got an interesting color. Purple isn't very common, but the shade is very nice. I wonder if magic had something to do with it. Like, can your mother choose what features her children will have, at least physically?" he wondered.

Adykon was busy talking to Adair, going over his time as a warrior. Like most of the group present, they were dressed for home, and for the males (at least those who wished to dress like this), it meant no shirt. Although he was initially uncomfortable with it, Adykon realized he could use this time to show what scars he had, as they were on his chest.

"... got this one from a rebel. I was just 20 years old and had barely held a sword in actual combat, when we were called out to retake a mine. It went well until we were ambushed from behind, and all of a sudden, this green guy draws a scimitar from out of nowhere and slashed me across the chest! Say, have you spent any time in the army?"

(I know. It's just hard doing that. Sometimes I forget whose who)

Sasha smiled, and stood up, taking Kos's hand, looking about, seeing her parents talking with what she suspected was some of Kos's family. She wasn't too sure who was who, and that was getting to be problematic here. She recognised faces from the wedding, but other then that, she wasn't too sure whose family was whose. She had already started working on her families tree, using her sewing abilities to make a tapestry, and suddenly realised the enormity of the whole thing, with Kos's family too, and with her sisters, their families were expanding. "uh, who should we talk to?" She asked

Jammy laughed, "A very tall tale, I'd imagine. As you didn't starve to death, but I hope the drought wasn't too hard on you" She said, as Mayt nodded, "I imagine it's harder in extreme heat or cold to grow crops effectively" he said

Tran nodded, "Sure" He said, "i'll come along. It's a nice place" He said, with a smile, feeling more comfortable with Orna, then in the crowd of people.

Nyx looed up at smiled as Larek joined her, "We barely managed to fit everyone in at the wedding, so we'd differenetly need a bigger place to hold everyone" She agreed, nodding, "Sure, lets go see" She looked about in search of his father, looking through the crowd.

Hermia felt out of place-sure was use to knowing everyone in a crowd, like she did in the inn, and she started to search for more familiar faces, before chiding herself, and looking about for someone to talk to, but was at a lose as everyone seemed busy interacting

"How about my grandmother? Her name is Iskra, my father's mother" Kos suggested. She was still in good shape for one so old, although dracons didn't really start aging much until about a century old. She still had some decades to go before that time.

Cayosin explained it. "Oh, there's very little cold, Jammy, but there's a lot of heat and sand. My family had to eat goat meat and drink goat milk for their main food most years." He pointed at Adykon. "See my son? That's what goat gets you!"

Iskra looked at Jammy's claws and horns, which were much less worn and weathered than her's. "How do you keep such nice claws, dear? Can I call you dear? A grandmother can call anyone 'dear' these days. Anyway, those are some lovely claws, Jammy." she held up her right foot for a moment, for emphasis.

Orna took Tran's hand. "Thank you." She turned to Ryland. "Now, about that tour?"

Larek went over to his father, finding him and Adair. "Oh, my father's showing off those scars again. He didn't do that until recently. I suspect he still doesn't like it, but it makes for a good conversation starter. Hm, you have some scars too, Nyx. You ever explain those to others? Besides me, of course."

Veax wasn't very comfortable in such large crowds. He stuck close to Hermia. "Hermy, shall we... shall we find a more quiet area? I like my family and Avera's family seems nice, but I'm not good with such a group." He didn't mind his own family or Hermia, but in crowds with people he didn't live with, he got nervous. He wanted to play some music for the crowd, but doubted anyone could hear it over the talking. He had left his guitar upstairs anyway.

Sasha nodded, "Okay, Iskra" She said, hoping not to mess up the name. "Lets go talk with her" Sasha never really talked with her grandparents, beyond her father's father, so she thought it would be interesting to talk with Iskra.

"Goat meat and milk is good for you, even if it isn't a variety." Jammy said, looking over to Adykon, resisting from saying that she imagined genetics played a part in it as well, and nodded with a smile. She looked to Mayt and smiled, enjoying herself. She looked at Iskara, then at her claws. "I'm a healer. Not a magic healer, but I know how to maintain my claws and horns above the normal. I talk my daughters the same thing, and my sons-I figure it's good for them to know for their wives as well as for themselves. Living in the city, and walking on the hard stones, I had to find a way of dealing with, and preventing damage. It took me a few years of practice, but this is the result" She said, realised she was talking to much, and said, "Thank you" Mayt Chuckled, taking Jammy's hand in his own.

Tran smiled, giving Orna's hand a squeeze, waiting for the tour politely.

Nyx walked over with Larek, "I think it's a way for him to feel comforable in a situation. Or something" She shrugged, "There isn't much to explain about my scars. I got them training, or in my first few adventures with Redding. It wasn't like I got them doing something really dangerous" Despite Larek's reassurance's that her scars were partly her beauty, and her own attitude about not caring what others cared about them, Nyx didn't like what people thought-that females shouldn't have scars. "And no one else has really asked about them before" She shrugged.

Hermia nodded, feelng grateful at the offer, knowing that Veax didn't like crowds so much, and Hermia didn't really want to try and immerse herself in the crowd herself. "Sure" She said, giving him a smile, "let's go"

(Hmm. Iskara. Might be a name for one of Iskra's daughters. I know that was a typo, but it might be useful. Adykon has sisters, after all. Thanks!)

Iskra turned to Sasha. "And she is... your wife. Right, Kos?"

Kos nodded, not sure if Sasha heard her. "That's right, grandmother. She is." He replied.

The old female smiled. "Seems like my strongest grandchild found the prettiest female in her family." She was something of an old-fashioned dracon from a backwater area. There, the people were relatively unsophisticated, and often chose mates based on shallow things, like appearances.

"Well, yes, grandmother, but it's more than just my muscle and her looks" Kos replied.

She gave a little snort. "Nonsense, my boy. You are the strongest of the young males here, she's the most beautiful female around. What's not to understand?"

Kos had to stifle the urge to raise his voice, doing his best to remember that this was his grandmother. "While I see where you are coming from, there are other considerations. If I was just interested in looks, there were other females. Sasha isn't like those females. She's smart, bold, and patient. And she understands me as being more than just a large pile of scales and muscles."

Iskra nodded, giving him a 'whatever' look, then she turned to Marx and Jammy. "Yes, what was that? Oh, right. I'm glad you taught your daughters, Jammy. I'm sure they'll look after my grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. You know, I already have some great-grandchildren from my older sons and daughters. Adykon isn't the oldest in his family, you know."

Orna gave Tran a squeeze back. "Did anyone tell you how nice you look without that shirt on?" she whispered, so that only he could hear.

"Well, it doesn't matter much to me. I know female skin doesn't scar much in our species, but that doesn't mean females with those things don't exist. I don't think anyone here would judge you on it. Well, maybe my grandmother, but you have to bear with her. She's rather set in her ways, but she can be very nice. You know, she once saved me from an attack on my father's farm. I was only ten at the time. That's how I got those acid burns on the calves of my legs. Oh, did I ever mention that? It didn't leave many scars, but if you look closely at my calves, you'll see something there."

Veax led Hermia outside, near a tree.

"Much better out here, isn't it, my love?" he said, lying on the grass, on his stomach.

"it's Sasha" Sasha said, and smiled politely, listening to the backwards and forwards of the conversation, with a soft sigh. Different areas and different cultures had different views, she knew, but she found it amusing with the different perspectives, but did wonder if there was something she was missing about herself, to be termed the most beautiful female. She decided the best option was to just stay quite, unsure of what to say, looking to Kos when Iskra turned away, back to her parents. "Different ages?"

Jammy nodded, "They will do well with them, I'm sure. They have so far. It must be amazing to have great-grandchildren. You have a great-grandson via Caex and Avera, and Our daughter Nyx and Larek have their egg, and Sasha and Kos are expecting an egg in a few months" Jammy said, "And my other son, who isn't here, is expecting an egg with his mate as well" She added, looking to Marx, thinking that they would have at least three grandchildren with in a few months of each other. "I guess we just need Tran and Hermia, and then that's all of them with children of their own" it was a saddening, yet happy thought to know that.

Tran smiled, "I believe you have, on several occasions" He said with a chuckle, whispering in reply

"I know" Nyx said, "You told me that to begin with-something about the scars are part of my beauty" She said with a smile, "I'm sure your grandmother is nice, especially if she saved you" She said thoughtfully, shrugging, "But my point was, the stories behind the scars aren't truly interesting. Most were caused by clumsiness, despite the lessons i learned from them"

Hermia nodded, stretching in the warmth of the sun, enjoying it, and laying down beside Veax, "it is, very much so" She said "It just seems a bit overwhelming in there, without knowing everyone there"

"Ages? Oh, you mean, how old is my grandmother?" Kos asked. "Also... wait a minute..." Kosjurec walked over to Iskra. "Grandmother, didn't you notice anything unusual about Sasha?"

"What do you mean? She doesn't have any scars, does she? Like Nyx? If she does, tell her that she should get those removed. It's very unbecoming for a female" Iskra replied.

Kos let that slide. "You realize my wife is gravid, right? I'm going to be a father. In fact, I'm already a father, it's just that our child is still growing in her womb."

"Yeah? I thought you said you had something unusual to report. A gravid female? That's nothing special. Do you know how many times I've been gravid? How many eggs I've laid? Want to guess how many actually hatched? Or how many children I've had to bury? It took me years, but I replaced every egg and child who didn't make it. What do you have to say to that?" the old female tapped her right foot on the floor, waiting for a response.

"Grandmother, don't you care about... ah, never mind." Kos walked back to his wife. "You'll have to overlook Iskra's attitudes. She's really set in her ways, and she's had a hard life. I'm sorry if she hasn't been all that polite with you."

Iskra turned back to Marx and Jammy. "You have another son? What's he like? I trust he's been married off to whoever he's expected the egg from. And I will say, if he's anything like Tran, your other son is also a fine male."

Orna just smiled back, waiting for the tour to begin.

"Well, learning how to fight is interesting, especially when the one learning it is doing so in defiance of what is expected of her" Larek assured Nyx.

Veax nodded, turning onto his back. "I'm sorry if I seem so insecure. I really don't mean to pull us away from the others, Hermia. Some days, I think I was meant to have been born a dragon, but wound up in a dracon's body instead. I've never been much for big crowds. Like a lot of dragons, I prefer the shelter of my 'cave' and company of my mate to large gatherings."

Sasha was holding back laughter, listening to the conversation between Kos and his grandmother. She didn't take any offense to it. It was refreshing to have the views and opinions out there from a female. She gave Kos a smile and a shrug "I think she's great" Sasha said "I don't get to see my grandparents much-I think I've seen them three or four times my whole life. Well, accept for my fathers father but then, he lives in the city too. I don't mind her attitude" she said "well, I did mind the comment about Nyx but she wasn't really that impolite. Just has different views, because she's had more life experiences"

"Railing is an adventurer. He married Prudance about four months ago, so yes, he is married to her. Railings...more intense then tran but still a fine male. In my opinion, but I'm sure all mothers think that" Jammy said.

"I didn't learn how to fight or become an adventurer because it was in defiance. It was to try and find, and save railing" Nyx pointed out "you make it seem like I'm special" she added with a laugh.

"I don't mind at all" Hermia said "I like just being with you" she said, "it's always perfect" she smiled she stretched out, content, "I love you Veax. Being with you is all I need"

"She's had a hard life, and for much longer than I had. My father rescued me from the slums of Hekaga when I was just a toddler, but no one came to 'rescue' her. My grandparents were too proud to accept any money from my father, or even their invitation to live together with him on his farm" Kos explained. "Still, they've been able to live on that dry, thin land for about eighty years now, so they must be doing something right."

"And what about Prudence? What's she like?" Iskra asked, suddenly curious.

"You are special" Larek assured her. "Few females would become adventurers, and those who do don't always do so for unselfish reasons. Most do so to find treasure or to become famous or something else which is self-centered."

"Yes, as we have said to each other before. I love you too" Veax replied, standing up and stretching his arms and tail, letting out a little roar.

Sasha nodded, "they come from different times, and have different views. As far as I can tell, most parents are like that, not wanting to accept help" she said, looking about, "who rose should we talk to?" She asked, although she hadn't really talked with Iskra.

"Prudence is a nice, caring young dracon. She's perfect for Railing" jammy asked, wondering about the curiosity, "her mother died when she was young, so she had to step up and look after her father and brothers. She's dutiful, and a lovely daughter in law"

Nyx made a face "while treasure and fame probably makes life easier, I'd rather have my family safe then all the gold in the world" she said, "shall we go talk?"

Hermia smiled, and watched Veax, contentedly, staying where she was

"How about you finally go talk to my grandmother? If she gives you a hard time, I'll back you up. Just keep in mind her age and views. You aren't going to sway her, but you might be able to get her to like you by playing to them." Kos told Sasha.

"Sounds like she's a fine female indeed. I trust she'll be laying eggs soon. There's an old saying where I'm from: a family can be measured by the number of its eggs." Iskra said to Marx and Jammy.

"Sure. With who?" Larek queried.

Veax walked over to Hermia. "Want to take a walk? Maybe we should check on the kids? I... oh, wait. Who's watching Danae and Bela's kids? In fact, I think some of my younger siblings are out there too. Oh, maybe my older siblings are there. I have teenage brothers and sisters, you know. Some of them are here now."

Sasha nodded, "Alright" She said, approaching Iskra, and by extension her parents. But then she was stuck about what to say. So she just stood there for a minute, waiting as her mother replied, "She is a fine female. They told us a few days ago that Prudance is gravid" There was restraint in her mothers voice that Sasha had rarely heard before, and Sasha said, "I don't think that saying has much merit. There's lots of things that can measure a family. Love, for one, and how the family actually is together" She said

Nyx looked about, "Uh. is anyone free?" She asked, unsure who to talk with.

Hermia rose, and nodded "Sure, lets go for a walk" She said with a smile, "How many kids are here today?" She wondered, curious on that

Iskra thought about it for a moment. "It's good to hear that Prudence has the next generation of her family on the way. As for that... that other stuff, yeah, love is important. Still, there is something important in having more children. I remember once when my father was humiliated when he had no eggs on the way when the other males in his village did. My mother wasn't happy about that either. I supposed it called his virility and her fertility into question. While they had more kids later on, I never really forgot that for the last seven decades."

"Well, maybe my father is" Larek suggested to Nyx.

"Not sure. At least a dozen" Veax replied.

(Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!)

"Oh, my back's fine, it's just a little achy, I'm about to go and sit down to put my feet up," Bela said, shifting. She gave the statue a curious look and smiled. "Thank you for the gift. And Alan and I are doing great, he's such a big help with the kids especially, he'll even try to cook but I've told him that I'd be fine with doing it... He's not very skilled as a cook, he burns water." Bela then looked to Tala and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be having hatchlings of your own soon enough."

"Alright, let's start upstairs and then work our way down," Ryland said, loosely draping his arm over Aura's shoulders before leading the small group up a set of stairs.

Danae smiled and chuckled softly as Larek left, looking a little confused before she went over to Bela and Aerta. "Not long now," Danae said, patting Bela on the shoulder. "Not long at all, the last visit I had with the healer said I was actually due at anytime," Bela said. Danae then looked up to Aerta with a smile. "I see your younger brood were having fun wrestling in the mud with my grandkids."

"Mhm, magic certainly had a part in her color, just like it did with Auryn and no, the magic helps only with conception. The color and size depending on gender are just effects of it," Avera said, setting Auryn on a blanket she'd stretched out on the floor before standing and putting a hand over the tiny bump on her belly. "And I'm sorry, but I dearly hope that this will be a girl."

Adair honestly didn't care for war stories or scar stories. His view was you had them, that's the end of it. "Yes, I did have my time in the army. I did not care for it nor the battles I fought. I much prefer the life of a farmer, father and the occasional adventurer," Adair said.