Page 16 of Interlude

“Good job, Lila,” Xavier rolls his eyes, but I can see him trying to smother a grin.

“Are they getting blood?” Before they shifted, they were getting it in the form of the fish they would catch to eat, but they aren’t eating like that anymore.

“Yes, they do when we swim,” Cas replies.

“But not as much as they were. A Vilaxian baby gets its blood from its mothers milk when they are breast fed, and then they get it in their drinks until their fangs grow in at the age of five,” Link explains.

“They don’t get fangs until they are five?” I ask.

“No, because could you imagine a bunch of fangy, grumpy toddlers running around?” It’s Saxon who answers, and when I look up, he’s standing in the doorway of the suite. He looks tired. He must have spent all night on the flight deck, relieving Bubby.

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be fun,” Xavier agrees as the door closes behind Saxon, and he joins us in the kitchen.

“Put a little bit of Lila’s blood in their bottles today. It won’t hurt them,” he suggests, taking Cordelia out of my arms. “Is daddy’s little girl grumpy?” he asks, rubbing his cheek against hers, and she and I both melt.

She mutters something incoherently as she snuggles into his arms. I pull out of Cas’s embrace, go over to the fridge, and pull out three already prepared bottles. I also grab a bag of my blood and proceed to divide it between the three bottles. “Is that enough?” I ask Saxon, and he nods.

Cas nods in agreement. “Yeah, that’s good. It shouldn’t hurt them. They are shifters, and shifters don’t mind a bit of blood.”

I put the bottles in the microwave to warm them slightly. It has a bottle setting, so it never gets too hot. Once done, I hand them out to my three toddlers, each of them reaching for one.

“They might be having a growth spurt. Don’t be surprised if they are sleepy after their bottles,” Saxon warns. “Or at least that’s what happens with our children.”

Link nods, and I can see him making notes on his arm screen. “This is all very helpful. Thank you, Saxon.”

“As long as they are not suddenly teenagers when I return. Then I’m going to cry,” I warn them, and Saxon chuckles.

“They won’t be teenagers, I promise,” he says as we watch the three of them guzzle their bottles. It’s like an instant fix. The dark circles under Cordy’s eyes disappear, and her skin starts to shine ever so slightly like Saxon’s does.

“Well, I guess these three did end up with some of your DNA in the change.” Cas slaps Saxon on the shoulder, no jealousy in his tone.

“Oh my god, it’s just one more thing we have to worry about—blood sources for them. What do children do for blood?” I ask him, not sure if it had been discussed or not.

“Exactly what you just did, and when their fangs come in, we teach them to bite. They don’t get venom until they are older though,” he explains.

“But who do they bite?”

“People in their clan. That’s why we have them. Everyone supports one another. They only need to feed once or twice a week until they hit maturity. That’s when it kicks into overdrive, the venom starts to work, and they feed daily. By then, they have usually started to establish their own clans. It’s part of their schooling. With the kids being predominantly shifters, though, they probably won’t need to feed every day, and clans really won’t be possible here in the circus.”

“Ah, let’s not count our chickens before they are hatched,” Link warns. “I’m certain these three are going to have unexpected traits. The other babies will probably have them too, since Lila’s eggs were fertilized.”

“Our kids aren’t going to have any friends except for each other, but they are all blood relatives, so when they get to the age to start looking for mates, clans, streaks, and possible family groups, they are going to leave us,” I wail, knowing this isn’t going to be the usual eighteen or so years like it is on Earth.

“Well, maybe we need to start employing acts that are made up of families. We could add a school as well as a playground. Let’s face it, there’s still a lot of space on this ship that isn’t needed,” Cas points out, going over to Cally and taking her bottle out of her hand before she drops it. Her eyes drifted closed three quarters of the way through it, and she’s out like a light. Jack is fighting it, but both he and Cordy look sleepy too.

“Don’t forget there’s also the academy,” Xavier says, taking a sip of his mug. He’s taken to drinking coffee just like I do.

“The academy?” I seem to be the only one in the room who doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about.

“There is an elite school located on the planet Vizzar that fosters intergalactic and interspecies relationships. I attended,” Xavier explains. “A lot of royal families and upper echelon send their children there to learn to be diplomats.”

“As did I, but obviously a lot earlier than Xavier,” Saxon says, reminding me of the fact he’s a lot older than I am

“What about you two?” I ask Link and Cas.

Cas shakes his head. “No, I did my schooling on Fluxx with the rest of my family.”

“I attended the academy for a year, before my mother decided to drag me home saying that the education wasn’t up to her standards,” Link says with a frown.

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