Chapter Text
Essek teleports back from his first visit to the Blooming Grove since adopting Miriella. He was reluctant to go but Caleb convinced him to do so in order to restock the herbs he uses to relieve pain and relax tense muscles. He hears Caleb talking to their daughter in soft Zemnian and feels his heart fill with even more love for the brilliant man he gets to call his.
Upon coming upstairs, he is surprised to see Caleb with a new ginger kitten. “Caleb-bey, we talked about this," he says in a gently scolding voice. Caleb turns to Essek with tears in his eyes and Essek rushes to embrace him.
"What is wrong, darling? It's alright, I'm not actually upset, we'll --"
"That's Miri," Caleb says, interrupting him, "she was in so much pain and I didn't know what to do for her."
“That's alright love.” Essek says as he continues to press on Caleb’s arms “how much longer does she have as a kitten?”
“Ten minutes.” Caleb answers. “Alright let’s go upstairs with her and we’ll learn how to do this together” Essek leaves his hand on Caleb’s elbow as the three of them head to the nursery.
Essek shows Caleb how to prepare a few lotions as well as a salve to protect Miri’s skin from drying out. As he works, he keeps up a steady stream of chatter, explaining what he is doing interspersed with stories about the pranks that the Clay siblings continue to pull on each other. When Caleb lets out a genuine laugh, Essek knows the panic has subsided. He continues to talk about his visit to the grove until Caleb begins to count down from five. When he gets to zero, the ginger kitten in his lap becomes a small halfling girl with auburn curls and freckles to rival her Papi. Caleb picks her up gently and pretends to throw her but actually softly places her on the bed. Essek comes over with the needed supplies and they work together to help ease their daughter's pain