"Nothing." Kamila checked with both Invigoration and Dragon scales. Raldarak was at peace, oblivious of his mother’s worries. He might have been asleep, but he was so small that it was hard to tell. "Let’s hope you are right, Sirma." Kamila stood up and instinctively checked on the baby again for any reaction, finding none. "Let’s go share the news with the others. Zin, in front of me. Sirma, to my left. Filia and Frey to my right." "Why the battle formation?" Zinya asked. "Because Lith is going to kill me for making him miss R- the little imp’s first kick." She replied. "And you use women and children as a shield?" Zekell snorted, showing his powerful biceps. "You could have asked for my help." "Yeah, and you would have thrown me to the wolves for the exclusive selling rights of any new trinket Lith came up with." Kamila grunted. "Of course, I would!" Zekell replied. *** Lith was indeed disappointed for being left out, but also as worried as Kamila. The baby’s smarts and ability to communicate were amazing news for worried parents but terrible for loving partners. Kelia laughed so hard when she understood the reason for the couple’s conflicting emotions that she had to leave the room not to offend Lith’s feelings. "Poor Kami." Baba Yaga sighed. "Now she has to be ten times more careful that the old lizard doesn’t pull a fast one on her." "What do you mean?" Kelia asked while they strolled in the Mansion’s park. Baba Yaga explained to her Leegaain’s habit of teaching Dragontongue to babies in the womb so that their first word would always be "Dya/Dad". "I think it’s cute and lovely." Kelia replied in confusion. "Right now, I’m sure it does." The Crone nodded. "Yet if you had just undergone months of pregnancy followed by hours of labor just to hear your baby say ’dad’ before you hold him in your arms, you would make your mission to choke the life out of Leegaain." "I guess you are right." Kelia chuckled. "I want to buy Kamila a congratulatory gift. Do you know how I can order one?" "Blasphemy!" The Crone shuddered in horror, taking one page from Zekell’s book. "Gifts are something you either make or pick yourself. It must be thoughtful and personal. Let’s go to Lutia and look for something cute." "Lutia?" Kelia went pale. "Can’t I just browse a catalogue or something?" Her only experience with cities dated back to when she was a street urchin in Gima’s slums, before Dusk tricked her into bonding with him. To Kelia, a city was a place filled with poverty, hunger, and violence. "Oh, right." The Crone nodded. "I forgot you’ve never been outside the slums. You went straight from there to the Red Emperor academy and then the Imperial Palace. Don’t worry, not all Mogar is Gima. Besides, you can defend yourself now, and I’m no pushover either." "Yes, but…" That wasn’t the only problem. Kelia was still scarred by Night’s attack, and the idea of being in the open again terrified her. "If you don’t feel safe with a white core while touring the birthplace of the Supreme Magus, you will never feel safe, child." Baba Yaga empathized with Kelia’s loss but didn’t let it stop her. "You can’t live in the academy or the Palace forever. "Come on. I promise you won’t find waters shallower than these to dip your toes." *** Lutia turned out to be noisy and crowded as Kelia feared, but also bright and lively. No orphans prowled the streets looking for food scraps or begging. No gangs of criminals ruled the city blocks. The worst she witnessed were merchants overpricing their goods and people cursing them before walking away. "Man, finding a gift is way harder than I thought." Kelia had just visited shops, but she was no less exhausted than after a morning of harsh training. "Are you satisfied with your choice?" The Crone asked. "It’s my first gift ever, but I think I did a good job." Kelia nodded. "That’s all that matters." Baba Yaga said with a reproachful voice that didn’t match her words. "Are you mad at me?" "No." Yet the answer sounded like a yes. "Is it because I have never gifted you anything and my first gift is for Kamila and not you, Grandmother?" Kelia nailed the issue in one. "Don’t be silly, child." The Crone lied through her teeth. "I’m too old and wise to care about who gets what. It would be petty of me to expect a gift just because I took care of you all this time." ’Why is it worded like a denial but sounds like an accusation?’ Kelia thought. ’Still, she’s right. I should have bought something for her as well, and now it’s too late.’ Lutia was filled with Camellia-themed merch, but it was mostly trinkets for tourists. On top of that, Lith could easily Forgemaster them way better with magic just like he could buy jewels and clothes for Kamila. It was the reason Kelia had been inspired by the recent events and had bought a music box playing a lullaby. It would please mother and baby, maybe even give Kamila a bit of privacy by distracting Raldarak. ’How could I be so insensitive?’ Kelia thought. ’Grandma even helped me by modifying the music box to improve the quality of the sound and change the tune into one of the lullabies Kamila sings to her children. ’Grandma was right by my side the whole time, she pulled me out of my shell, dragged me here, yet I treated her like an accessory.’ "I worked up quite an appetite after all this walking, Grandma. What do you say if we go eat some jam bread and tea at Cornerstone? My treat." "Sounds like a lovely idea." Baba Yaga’s smile now extended to her eyes. Kelia had never gone to a city and had never bought food for someone before. It would be her first gift, and even though it was just cheap bread, Baba Yaga only cared about the thought. There was literally nothing that Kelia could buy in the entire Garlen that Baba Yaga couldn’t do better herself. Between Creation Magic and her long life, there were only a handful of things she couldn’t make. The bakery of Vexal Cornerstone still prided itself on being the Verhens’ favorite. Or rather, so it was written on the signboard. The shop was busy for most of the day, and so late in the morning there was always a long line in front of the counter. Nobody looked in Kelia’s direction twice, but the moment the Crone limped in with her cane, everyone froze. The hubbub of orders and chatting disappeared so abruptly that Kelia feared someone had Hushed her. She was about to conjure the Full Guard spell to defend from the ambush when she noticed that everyone’s eyes were on Baba Yaga. "What are you staring at? Haven’t you ever seen an old woman?" She grunted. "If you don’t want my money, I’ll bring it somewhere else." "Nana?" Vexal walked his way from behind the counter, bumping into clerks and clients. "Is that you?" "Yes. Do I know you, young man?"