"Please, as if a Healer like Quylla wouldn't check the babies a hundred tis a day just to make sure they are fine." Morok snorted. "As for the nas, we are still discussing them. At least officially."
"Between us, I was thinking about suggesting sothing starting with 'ph', like Phreesia. Quylla still misses her sister dearly and I want to honor Phloria's mory."
"That's unexpectedly thoughtful of you." Lith narrowed his eyes, speaking in between morsels of at. "Phreesia is a girl na. Are they both girls?"
"A boy and a girl." Morok tutted with pride. "At least I'm beating you at this, Lith. I'm doing in nine months what is going to take you more than two years."
"That's a weird thing to brag about, but okay." Lith shrugged. "What about the boy?"
The question was innocent, yet the Tyrant almost choked on his beer and stared at Lith like he had poisoned his ale.
"What?"
"One second." Morok bit his own hand until it bled and then had his friends heal one tooth wound each, paying them one copper coin for the job. "Everything we say from now on is covered by patient-Healer confidentiality. Rember that."
"You have just redefined the concept of going overboard!" Nalrond was flabbergasted. "You could have just asked us to keep this discussion for ourselves."
"Yeah, right." Morok scoffed. "Then one of you lets it slip during sex and I'm screwed in the not-funny way. Won talk. No matter how much they assure you they will keep your secret.
"They will tell it 'in confidentiality' and in five minutes everyone knows."
"I can assure you that you are never on my mind whenever I do sothing even remotely intimate with my wife." Lith emitted a retching sound. "Also, you're wrong. Kami kept my identity as a Tiamat secret until ln exposed it.
"She never ntioned that or my tower to anyone, even after we broke up."
"That kind of secret, I believe." Morok nodded. "Do we want to talk about the Dragon and the Maiden? The Demon Lord and the Princess? The Healer's Kiss?"
It was Lith's turn to choke on his beer and spit most of it all on the floor while gasping for breath.
"How do you know those nas?" A look around the table revealed that his friends were staring at the sand or the sky, playing it cool while holding in a laugh. "How does everyone know them?"
"As I said, won talk." Morok said. "Isn't that right, Mister Longclaw?"
Nalrond went pale and held his throat as a piece of at blocked it. A blast of darkness magic cleared his windpipe and saved his life.
"What about you, Big Bad Wolf?" Morok spoke casually, but Ryman turned paler than moonlight.
Yet he knew it was his turn next so the Tyrant found the Skoll prepared. He had stopped eating and drinking as soon as he understood where the conversation was heading.
"I heard you've given the dear old riding hood a whole new aning." Morok played with his keg, keeping his eyes on Protector without a hint of humor in them or his tone.
"I get your point." Ryman nodded. "Patient-Healer confidentiality it is. Not a word will escape my lips."
"Agreed." Lith and Nalrond nodded.
The worst part of that revelation was that despite the shock, none of the three n had missed the awkward look of the other two when it was his turn to be grilled by Morok.
Everyone at the table knew intimate details of the others through their spouses and believed to be the only one whose privacy was safe.
Not anymore.
"Going back to my baby boy, Quylla has not-so-vaguely hinted that she'd love to na him after her father. I responded by not-so-vaguely hinting that I'd rather na our son after Lith. No offence." The Tyrant raised his hand and nodded in apology.
"None t- Why should naming soone after be a bad thing?" Lith snarled.
"Dude, are you serious?" Morok looked at Lith like he was the weird one of the two. "Your life seems out of a bard's tale. The secrets, the struggles, the fights to the death, and the whole bunch of people you've seen die since you've learned how to walk.
"Those things are exciting on paper but having a life like that is a nightmare. I want my baby boy to be happy and live comfortably. Not to be forced to slaughter his way just to buy a piece of fresh bread."
"I can't argue with that." Just the thought of the recent events involving his mother made Lith sigh heavily. "No offence taken, then. But what's the problem with naming the baby boy after Orion?"
"Again, are you serious?" This ti anger twisted the Tyrant's usually aloof face. "The guy barely tolerates my existence. Orion doesn't like and makes no secret of it. He doesn't respect in the slightest.
"I feel no desire to honor such a man. On top of that, what if it jinxes my bond with my son? What if due to their shared na Orion and my child develop a good relationship, and Orion's an attitude toward rubs off on my child?
"No, no, and no!" With each "no", Morok slamd his fist on the table harder. "My in-laws from hell may be fun to spectators like you but not to . I'm not going to reward their bad behaviour. I would just enable them to raise the bar further."
"Whatever is in this food, we need to stockpile it." Nalrond pondered. "If it makes even Morok wise, we should treasure it dearly."
"I am wise, jackass." The Tyrant snorted. "I just don't see the point of being wise in my daily life. It's boring and wastes a lot of ti."
"I agree with you." Protector nodded. "Just tell Quylla what you told us. She loves her parents but not to the point of being willingly blind to their behaviour. The conversation might hurt her feelings but might also push her to nd bridges between you and her parents."
"Agreed." Lith nodded. "In your shoes, I'd also limit the grandparents' access to the children if they don't change their attitude. It's a privilege you grant them, not a right."
"I'm sorry for you, dude." Nalrond poured Morok another beer. "I'll try to make Orion and Jirni see reason."
From there the conversation took a lighter note. They deactivated the Hush array and the mood improved as more food and drinks were served.
"Thanks for earlier." Haug approached them when he was sure he wouldn't intrude a delicate conversation. "If not for you, Dryna and Zelima would have ended up airing their laundry in front of the entire Tavern.
"I wanted to stop them, but didn't know how to do it without sounding like an insensitive jerk."
"No problem." Morok swept the air with his hand. "Insensitive jerk is my middle na. If you are grateful, though, feel free to give us a discount. These animals eat like animals."
Protector was an Emperor Beast, Lith a Divine Beast, and while the exact nature of Nalrond's Agni bloodline had yet to be determined, he consud a lot of food as well. Compared to them, Morok was a lightweight.
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