Happiness in Numbers

by Nicole Field

  Youneda and Felix had been in the area since just after the Opening so they'd been a good guess. Not a successful one. Youneda had recommended going to check the sheep herding dragon clan, the Meo up in the Skagit. That'd failed, too.

  Finding trilliums wasn't going to be easy, apparently. They used to bloom all through the Pacific Northwest but the Opening had changed everything a hundred plus years ago. Tyson was halfway convinced that they'd gone extinct but Giang was certain that xe would find one eventually. It would be a miracle, really.

  The Opening had torn apart the veil between the planes and jammed a thousand different worlds together into one patchwork. Over the last hundred or so years, after the Unification had stopped the fighting, all the species had worked to ease the patchwork bits together into a cohesive ecosystem but there was a lot of work left to be done. Their patch of woods was one of the larger undisturbed sections of Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest left.

  Giang's smooth green bob swayed as xe gestured and explained to an entirely rapt Rudenth just what the Harmony would do for them all. Linking all the Elf enclaves so that they didn't disrupt the more material side of Belleview would be a good thing. Every week you heard about tourists getting lost in the Elves' pocket dimensions. Tyson didn't go that side of Lake Washington. He'd rather stay home with the kids and let Deidre deal with the Elves when pack business required it.

  "Rudenth has not seen these flowers," Rudenth said thoughtfully, her little tail twitching like an excited cat's. "But Rudenth has not lived here very long. The water plants are easy. Rudenth can grow them for you without any issues. But Rudenth would like something in exchange."

  That startled Tyson right out of his abstraction. Rudenth hadn't asked for anything other than a bridge over her creek since she moved in. Giang flapped a hand at Tyson without looking his way.

  "What did you want?" Giang asked. Xe looked completely willing to give it to Rudenth if it would get xem the plants xe wanted.

  "Visit?" Rudenth asked, teeny little hands clasped just over the swell of her egg-heavy belly. "Rudenth will be very busy tending the eggs once they are laid. It would be nice to have a visit from the pretty dryad-person Giang."

  Giang blushed vividly green and clapped xyr hands over xyr cheeks. "Oh! Um. Yes? I'd be delighted to, actually. Dryads and fairy dragons have always got along well and you're the first one I ever met."

  "Then Rudenth is the luckiest of dragons," Rudenth said. She put her little hands on Giang's knee, leaning closer in a blatantly seductive move that had Tyson staring at her. She even stretched her neck and fluttered her wings the way she would have for seducing another fairy dragon, despite the heavy swell of her belly weighing her down. "Rudenth would like very much to be friends with Giang."

  "Friends," Giang said.

  Xe beamed as xe very delicately rubbed right behind Rudenth's ears. Tyson went back to leaning against the maple. Or tried to. He was a good bit too hot and even crossing his arms over his chest didn't make the heat go down.

  Ten minutes later, Giang stood up and held xyr breath as Rudenth slid back into her creek, disappearing through the portal hidden under the little bridge they'd built. Tyson made himself breathe slowly, deeply, letting the heat and anger go. Giang wasn't his mate. Xe didn't show any signs of wanting to be mates with them. Or to be part of the pack, for that matter. He had no cause for being all up in Rudenth's face about her laying claim to Giang.

  Even if Tyson really, really, really wished he and Deidre had gotten there first.

  "You're tense," Giang said to him. Xe looked apologetic about it as xe headed back towards the house. "I'm sorry. The cold and water must have been disturbing for you."

  "Oh, no, that's fine," Tyson said. His cheeks went hot with embarrassment this time, instead of magic mixed with rage. "I just hang back and there's no issue. No, it's just… well. I didn't quite like her asking you for things."

  Giang blinked and stared up at him. Xyr eyes shifted color with xyr emotions. Green one moment, then brown as the duff below their feet, then as blue as the skies overhead. He still had no idea what the various colors meant though they did seem to be tied to Giang's emotions.

  "It's silly of me," Tyson said. He tried for a reassuring tone instead of a possessive one. "You're perfectly free to agree to anything you want. And we love having you here so visiting as often as you like is fine. I'm just… well. Overreacting, honestly."

  "Oh," Giang said. Xe patted Tyson's arm fondly. "Thank you for being so protective. Dryads do tend to be taken advantage of but I'm human enough that I'm quite capable of saying no. Just not to adorable tiny little fairy dragons with egg bumps on her belly."

  Giang put xyr hands over xyr cheeks, so visibly delighted that Tyson found himself grinning at xem. How could anyone be so beautiful, so enticing, and have no idea whatsoever of it?

  "She really is cute," Tyson agreed. "A little bit of a challenge for me but hey, that's just the conflicting magic. Mori adores her and goes out to visit on a regular basis."

  "He's growing so much," Giang said as they entered the backyard. "I didn't think that I would see the difference in size in a matter of weeks."

  Mori was there with Janie and August, each of whom held one of the twins, both of them in their human shape today rather than the more common pup form. Mimi was awake in Janie's arms but not for long. Her eyes were drooping. Cece had already fallen asleep in August's arms, draped over August like she was the best thing ever. Which, actually, she was. Fire-gifted baby cuddling in a fire spirit-dragon.

  "Oh," Giang breathed.

  Xyr eyes weren't pointed at the kids. Xe was staring at the pixie nest where a cloud of pixies had swarmed up and out, obviously on the hunt for prey as they had tiny spears in their hands and nets. Hunting for sparrows, then. When they went after mice or rats, or even insects, pixies didn't bother with spears or nets. They just bit. Sparrows were too fast for that, though, so they needed to augment their mouths that were already full of razor sharp teeth.

  "Scared?" Tyson asked protectively.

  "Not at all," Giang murmured. Xe stood and watched as the pixies flew up into the sky, puffs of white, pink and blue hair looking like an ever-shifting cloud as sunrise. "I've never seen such a strong flock before. They're quite healthy. Bigger than normal."

  Tyson snorted. "That's what happens when you give them what they need to survive and respect their right to live, love and have children. Deidre just about went feral when she realized that all the laws keeping pixies from making new nests was keeping them from breeding."

  "I remember that council meeting," Giang said with a huge grin. "She was so fierce. And right. The pixies have as much of a right to live as anyone else. The mayor is working on setting up approved locations for them but it's a bit of a conflict with the pigeons. They tend to like the same territories and don't get along at all. Though that does make sense. Pixies are predators and pigeons know it."

  Tyson stared. Honestly stared. Which had the result of making Giang blink and then start laughing. It was a gorgeous laugh, full of snorts and wheezes, snickers that wrinkled xyr nose. He wouldn't have thought that his heart could squeeze any more than it already did around Giang but here he was, a half-step away from clutching his chest.

  "Everyone forgets the pigeons," Giang finally said, grinning at him. "They're pets, you know. Humans bred them to be docile, to be useful, for generations. Just like dogs and sheep and horses. But they forgot about it with the pigeons. It's sad. Pigeons just want to be loved. So of course we make sure they have nice safe roosts and plenty of clean food and water. They don't wander or cause trouble when their roosts are safe."

  "I… honestly had no idea," Tyson said. "I've never seen a pigeon. They don't come out here."

  Giang nodded. "No, they wouldn't. Too many predators and pixies in this area. That's why the mayor is working so hard to find good places for the pixies. Their territories can't overlap with the pigeons'. Or each other's. I don't think we need pixie battles
in the sky."

  "Definitely not," Tyson agreed.

  He'd seen a few of those. Most everyone in the suburb had. Before they'd let the pixie cloud settled under their deck, three local bands of pixies had done battle repeatedly in the sky over their heads to claim territory. It was part of why Deidre had offered to let the pixies stay.

  "Would you, ah, like to come in for some tea?" Tyson offered nervously. He just couldn't keep the nerves out of his voice, or the shake out of his hands.

  "I'd love to," Giang said with xyr brightest grin. "As beautiful as Rudenth is, she's very cold. Clearly from one of the colder regions. I mean, I thought she was just the sweetest thing I've ever seen but now I'm chilled right through."

  Xyr lips were green. So were xyr fingertips which were normally pink-toned. Tyson bustled xem right into the house and into the kitchen which, thankfully, was empty right now. It wouldn't last. There wasn't much time before Deidre got home with the day's groceries. Enough, hopefully, for him to brew Giang some tea and maybe, possibly, if he was really lucky, find a way to show Giang that he and Deidre were interested in xem without scaring xem away. From what he'd already seen, xe did tend to be skittish about anything relationship oriented though Tyson had no idea why. Xe were sweet and kind and the kids adored xem, just like Tyson and Rudenth did. He had no idea how anyone wouldn't want to have Giang around.

  Giang took xyr mug of tea and cradled it close to xyr chest. "Oh, goodness, that's wonderful. I'm from alpine dryad stock, aspens and the like, but I do love my warmth."

  "I could… warm you up?" Tyson offered, barely able to contain himself from flooding the kitchen with heat just at the thought of wrapping his magic around Giang.

  "Could you?" Giang asked only to shake xyr head and smile. "Silly of me. Of course you could. Yes, please. I'm quite cold and I shouldn't drive like this. Slows the reactions down terribly."

  "Stay right there," Tyson said.

  He didn't have permission to touch xyr, so he carefully let his magic spread through the room. Heat, no fire attached, flowed outwards from his body. Tyson used his hands to sculpt the heat so that it swirled around Giang. Who sighed and smiled as xe closed xyr eyes and sipped the tea like it was the best thing ever.

  Delicate green strands of hair drifted across Giang's cheek, shifting under the flow of heated air. Xe lifted xyr chin and Tyson sent more warmth down xyr neck, pooling in the pocket between Giang's chest and arms. Xe leaned forward, mouth open slightly and eyes shimmering with a reddish tint that he'd never seen before. They gleamed, too, brighter than he thought was normal. As if Giang's magic was reacting to Tyson's.

  "We're home!" Deidre called from the back door.

  Giang jerked and stood, eyes wide with sudden panic. Xe set down the mug of tea and grabbed xyr bag. "I should go. Thank you for escorting me, Tyson."

  "No, you… don't have to go," Tyson sighed as Giang ran out of the kitchen and out the back door.

  He heard Deidre exclaim something but when he looked around the corner Giang was long gone.

  Deidre raised an eyebrow and Tyson groaned as he let her pull him into her arms. She rubbed his back and kissed his forehead.

  "Didn't get a chance to tell xem you're interested?" Deidre asked.

  "I don't know," Tyson groaned. "I thought we might have had a connection there but then xe spooked when you came in. I just. I don't know."

  Deidre chuckled. "I'll talk to xem next time xe visits. Come on. Help me bring the groceries in."

  Tyson nodded and followed her outside. Damn it all.

  Lilac

  Giang bit xyr lip as xe hesitated in front of the pack's house. The front porch was back, not yet painted but at least the beams and boards and steps were there. With everything still feeling so raw after the last time she'd been here, Giang finally noticed that the house had metal siding made to look like old fashioned clapboard. Odd that the porch was wood when the house had metal siding , but at least it was done. Constructed.

  It looked much better than it had with only part of the porch there. Very sturdy. Xe could feel that Deidre had chosen ethically harvested timber, trees who were mature and whose dryads had consented to the harvest. No one that Giang knew, thank goodness, but then it was all hardwood so the dryads had probably just grown new trees from the stumps had left behind. Or they'd made sure that there were side shoots that they could inhabit. Or simply moved to new trees, for that matter.

  Regardless, xe really wasn't happy about coming back today. Yes, xe needed to talk to Rudenth and the fiddlehead ferns xe needed should be at exactly the right stage for harvest. But xe wasn't sure how to face Deidre after the last time xe'd been alone with Tyson.

  Xe was terrible at figuring out when someone hit on xem but even xe had realized that Tyson was interested. Which was… stunning. Flustering. Shocking.

  Delightful.

  Xe was so careful about affecting the people around xem. Xe had to be. Giang could almost believe that Tyson's attraction was real. After all, he hadn't grabbed xem, made any comments about xyr body or what he wanted to do to xem. It was just… attraction. Interest. Kind and gentle warmth with attention to what Giang thought and felt. Xe'd never had anyone react that way to xem before so maybe xe'd finally gotten xyr powers fully under control.

  Maybe.

  "Giang!"

  Xe started as Mori dashed out the front door and leaped from the porch straight into xyr arms. Giang tried to brace xemself but there was no hope. Mori knocked them both to the grass while giggling madly. His little tail wagged like he was a puppy instead of a dragon. Even breathless and aching from the impact, Giang couldn't help but laugh, too.

  "Think you're too big for tackle-hugs there, kiddo," Janie said from the front door. "You flattened xem."

  "Sorry," Mori said, though he didn't look at all sorry for it.

  Giang snorted and rubbed behind his ears, gently moving him off xyr stomach. "That was too much, Mori. I'm very sorry but no more flying leaps into my arms."

  Mori's ears drooped as he made the most dramatic sad-baby-dragon eyes in the world. Up on the porch, Janie started snickering. Giang shook xyr head solemnly and Mori whined, ears, tail and head all drooping so sadly that Giang nearly gave in. But really, Mori was growing like a weed. And Giang simply wasn't big enough to take any more leaps like that. Pretty soon even Deidre would have a hard time with it.

  "No flying hugs," Giang repeated. Xe rubbed xyr head and then laughed softly. "But you can run around me in circles like the cubs if you like. That's fine. Just no tripping me with your tail. It's much longer than the twins'."

  "I can do that!" Mori squealed.

  He perked right up and started running circles around Giang, looking like nothing so much as a little red blur. Giang laughed as xe dragged xemself back to xyr feet. Goodness, xe really did love these kids. Far more than xe should. Even Roger, the only full human in the pack, was a delight to talk to.

  Giang gathered up xyr collection tools, the bucket, trowel and checklist intact if scattered around xem. When xe headed up the stairs, Janie was still snickering at xem and Mori dashed inside, galloping like a crocodile, shouting to Deidre that Giang was there.

  "He didn't tackle you, did he?" Deidre said the instant Giang walked into the big messy living room with its piles of toys, shoes scattered around and comfy couches that looked like a whole hoard of children lived on them instead of only a handful.

  "Yes," Giang said with a wry smile. "But I told him he's not to do it again. He's to only run around me like the cubs do."

  Which, of course, got the cubs to scramble off the couch and run around Giang's feet as they yapped happily. Deidre rolled her eyes and gestured for Giang to follow her through the big, comfortable house. It was so clearly made for family and living instead of style and showing off. Every other such old Victorian xe'd seen was so fussy. It was as though other owners felt the need to decorate exactly as Victorians would have rathered, instead of updating for the way people lived now.

&nb
sp; "The porch looks much better," Giang commented as Janie caught the twins and Roger grunted under the effort of catching and holding Mori who giggled and wrapped himself right around Roger.

  "Still got a bit of work on it," Deidre said. She waved to Tyson and August, who was Janie's girlfriend. Both of them smiled brightly at Giang but didn't follow out towards the backyard.

  Which, stunningly, was full of people. Werewolves, witches in both the traditional pointed caps and a very nonstandard tichel, not to mention dragons of four different varieties. Giang blinked and then moved a little closer to Deidre who made a face as if to apologize for the crowd.

  "One of the other women announced that she's pregnant last night at our monthly hunt," Deidre said. "Everyone stuck around overnight and has been partying in the backyard. We got a full-on barbeque going. Tyson, Janie and August are cooking a whole pig in our new fire pit. They take turns heating the rocks around the pig. And, of course, the pixies decided that they'd invite the dragons over to the barbeque after Felix—the old dragon hunter who tried to help you find trilliums? He's their best customer in the area—after Felix got a load of contaminated pixie dust and turned the drug runner in, but he's off-kilter from the effects of the bad dust. They decided he needed something to distract him from it so the dragons and Felix are arguing about who's stronger."

  "Not fighting?" Giang asked, a bit worried even as she struggled to keep up with Deidre's words. Xe'd met both Youneda, the oldest dragon in the area, and Felix, his neighbor, of course. Anyone who wanted history of the area went to them, though Felix always complained about it.

  "Nah, they're just bragging about their glory days for the younger dragons," Deidre said. "You'll be fine. They all know you're coming and what you're looking for so we've stayed away from your collection sites. I think Rudenth has some stuff ready for you, too."

  Giang nodded. Now that Deidre had explained, she could see the various groups of people. The witches were taking with a glowingly happy young werewolf couple. That made sense. Everyone knew you consulted a witch for a pregnancy. No point going to a doctor until you knew there was a problem. Witches were so much better at pregnancy that doctors could be.