Blood from Stone [AU]

[GamesMaster]

He pauses as a thought strikes him. What if I move Beth into Cattown, she converts, and we have twin elven babies? I'd be lynched. "Right. Well. In any event, I don't plan to leave you, I hope you'll stay with me, and if you're willing to move to Cattown, I'm willing to make that happen. How soon do you want to take residence? It might be easier as your pregnancy gets harder to have roommates on hand."

[Bethany]

"...I'll ask Dad to start looking into properties- knowing him, I'll be getting a few blocks of property so we'll have some options," Bethany says with a look of long-suffering love. "You can ask your dad about lessons and books." She winces as something occurs. "...and after I talk to Dad, I'll try and figure out how to explain this to Carver."

[GamesMaster]

"Carver could move in too," offers Don, hesitantly. "If that's the problem. He's a good guy, the bandannas know him. I plan to invite bandannas to live with us mostly, so that won't impact my ability to find roommates."

[Bethany]

Bethany studies Don for a moment. "Would... I... I haven't said anything, you're both adults but I have noticed you two don't... hang out as much these days."

[GamesMaster]

He shrugs. "I like Carver well enough. He's been busy, I understand." And I'm not thrilled with his insistence on being 'busy' with guardsmen. 

[Bethany]

"And so have you," she allows. "But... is... have you both been 'busy' because of me? Because of our relationship?" she asks quietly.

[GamesMaster]

"No," he says, instantly. "At least, I have not been. No, I like Carver a lot. He's a Bandanna, and he always will be. But... we live different lives. It's perhaps inevitable that we will grow apart, over time. He's an adventurer, and I'm a statesman."

[Bethany]

Beth studies him for a moment, then nods. I'll talk to Carver about this as well. I suspect his (honest) answer would be at least a little different. "Alright. But, um, no. Well, yes, I think Carver will have... reservations about me moving to Cattown- he'd object to me moving out anywhere honestly," she says with an eyeroll. "But that's just his knee-jerk over-protectiveness. No, it's... He's got... issues with the idea of bastards. He can't accept that they won't be, that not being married won't change the fact that our children will have two parents that care, love and support them." She pauses as something occurs to her. "Would... would- you claiming them along with me. That includes you being recorded as their father on official records, right?"

[GamesMaster]

"Beth," he sighs. "I will speak to my father. If there's a way, I'll find it. But I can't. The point of claiming the kits in advance is to determine, if we broke up, who would keep who. I don't want to leave you, and you don't want to leave me, but we can't say that will last forever. Not even the gods can promise that. By the time we want to break up, if we ever do, we'll be angry at each other, and be fighting over the children. By claiming them in advance, at birth, we know how they will be divided later, if things go wrong."

Which doesn't go into the part where cleaving too tightly together implies that they're not cleaving to the rest of the Tribe as much, and might drive Don to make trade-offs he can't justify. Don knows this, and yet, just as surely, he knows he's already fallen for Beth, is already compromising his morality to keep her. He doesn't bother to state any of this aloud. 

[Bethany]

Beth stares at him, knocked off balance. "Then- then what- what did you agree to earlier, exactly?" she asks, voice carefully even.

[GamesMaster]

"I... what? I didn't. I told you it would be impossible. I can't just have what I want, Beth. I have to consider the Tribe. You know this."

[Bethany]

"I thought..." She rubs her forehead tiredly. "The Tribe gives to the Tribe, right?"

[GamesMaster]

His tail lashes once more. "You don't understand the pressure I'm under, Beth. Please. You've made your case. As I said, if there's a way, I'd be happy to. But I don't anticipate it being possible."

[Bethany]

"Why do you always have to give and never get?" Bethany asks softly. "You have more, sure, but you give more too. So much more..." She's not talking to Don, not really.

[GamesMaster]

"Beth.... I get things. You just don't see the whole scales the way my Tribe does." He rubs at his head, sounding tired.