As soon as Nikola began to put on his running shoes, Dimitri came out of their room already wearing running clothes.
The brunette blinked a couple of times. Was Guild Master Arnold sending Dimitri on a mission?
"Do you want to go by the fountain? Timmy and Vera will love it," Dimitri said, as Jack and Jean came out with a stroller.
"But… the guild master told me to walk. I… why are you guys coming with?"
Dimitri sighed, Jack shook his head, and Jean furrowed his brows.
"Aren't we a family?" The younger vampire asked as he pushed the stroller through the door.
"Yes, and since you don't believe in us, you will be pushing the stroller outside," Jack told him drily.
"You are not alone," Dimitri said, a fond smile on his face. "You don't need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You just need to be happy."
"We will go through the park as well," Jean said as he looked back at them. "Timmy and Vera need to see something green and get natural light. We leave them at the inn way too often."
Nikola sucked in a breath.
He had been alone for so long that he had never thought that his new family would want to share in his training.
With stinging eyes, he took the stroller from Jean's hands and began to push the babies through the streets.
Timmy winked at him, giving him a dimpled smile soon after.
Vera blew him a raspberry.
Nikola felt like he belonged.
As they were passing by the temple, Nikola heard Timmy give out a giggle. The baby boy was looking at the golden building so, as if it was going to give him candy.
Vera began to babble.
"Do you want to go inside?" Nikola asked. Their walk was nearly at an end.
With a sudden start, Nikola realized that Timmy and Vera were never baptised.
Or whatever the alternative was in this strange and magical world.
"We have an hour. We might as well listen to a sermon," Dimitri suggested, as he pushed the gates open.
The place smelled of thyme and lavender. Of candle smoke and freshly baked bread.
The four sat by the benches. Taking the babies out of their stroller. Rocky the golem was sitting quietly and looking around.
Nikola realized that he, too, was not baptized.
The temple's priest looked at them, then nodded. Soon, the man was walking their way.
"Good morning," the priest said, as he looked at the two babies and the golem. "I don't feel any divine blessing on these three. Is that why you have come?"
Nikola nodded.
He didn't want to deprive his children and the golem of a blessing. Now more than ever, he thought that they needed all the blessings they could get.
"Then, I will need for you to bring them by the altar. The Three Mothers will judge them."
Nikola opened his mouth to protest. He had heard about the Three Mothers and how they sometimes laid curses.
Only for Dimitri to take hold of his hand and give it a little squeeze.
"Don't worry," the blonde told him as he slowly took the babies from Nikola's arms. "Everything will be fine."
The brunette nodded.
The babies were placed in shallow basins. Rocky placed his thumb in one as well.
The priest raised his hands to the air.
"Mother of Mercy, protect these lives! Mother of Learning, protect these spirits! Mother of Death, do not come until they are old and gray!"
A sudden burst of wind began to go through the temple. The water in the water basins began to glow a soft silver color.
"May they grow strong!" The priest said finally.
Timmy got a small green light over his head. Vera a small red light.
Rocky got a big brown one.
The priest exhaled.
"No curses. They were found innocent," which was something to be expected, since the only one who could fight off the three had done little but muck stables during his short life. "If you wish to know their talents, then I can tell them to you!"
Nikola looked at the three.
Rocky was playing with the water. Timmy was giggling. Vera was yawning.
"Yes, please," Nikola said. He wanted to know how to support the three.
Knowing that one day, they would be out of the nest and into the big bad world.
A world where they would be chased by goblins, deities, and perhaps even tax collectors.
Nikola had no idea which one of them all was the worst.
"The baby boy will become a druid and a necromancer one day," the priest said, pointing at Timmy.
"The little lady is a fire mage in the making! I suggest you be cautious with her. One tantrum, and the whole town might end up in flames!"
The priest laughed at his joke. Not realizing that Nikola was taking every word literally.
"And the golem is already an earth elemental. He can bring even the rockiest field to blooming! I suggest you invest in a translation rune so that he could be able to navigate the world!"
Nikola nodded. Already making plans on buying one.
"And all of you, all four of you," the priest said, as he looked at them all in turn. "Be blessed."
The priest must have known what they were. Must have known that they loved each other.
Nikola couldn't shake off the feeling that this acceptance had been easily given.
Too easily.
"Now, I know what you are thinking," the man said as he smiled at them. "That you should be treated like dirt, just because you are the way the Three Mothers have made you. But you know what? Life is too short for such nonsense. The sermon is starting in an hour. I hope I see you then."
Nikola took Timmy and Vera and placed them back in the stroller.
He had listened to one entity, who had thought himself a god.
He didn't want to repeat his mistakes.
But how was he going to fit in if he refused to listen to the wisdom of the locals?
"We'll be here," Nikola said.
Carefully guarding his heart. Refusing to make a vow.