Nevaris woke up with a lost expression. An expression that faded the moment he tried to sit up as pain lanced through his body like a branding iron.
Looking at his reattached limbs and the clear absence of scarring, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Nevi?"
A voice as soft as a whisper broke his thoughts as he finally noticed the woman sitting anxiously by his bed.
His heart thumped wildly as he took in the sight of her.
Smooth silver hair cascaded down her back like molten moonlight, framing a pair of elegant, curved horns that swept proudly from her temples. And as she stood and began walking toward him, her form was a mesmerizing blend of draconic majesty and feminine grace.
Her figure was lush and powerful–broad hips, and strong, shapely legs that hinted at both beauty and dangerous strength. Her silver yukata hung loosely at her shoulders, subtle scales shimmered along her shoulders and collarbone, catching the light like polished steel.
And her eyes gleamed with the quiet intensity of a creature born of fire and destruction.
But somehow they didn't scare him. The terrifying mix of love, warmth, and worry within them made his chest heavy.
Seeing him sitting there without speaking, Selunara grew increasingly anxious. Quickening her pace, she grabbed his face and began to observe him thoroughly, checking for any injuries or signs of discomfort she may have missed.
"A-Are you okay Nevi!? Is anything still hurting? Tell mommy quickly, I'll heal you again!"
Watching her fuss over him, a smile full of warmth spread across his face as his eyes began to tear up.
"Ah! You really are still hurting! J-Just hold on! I'll cast another healing spell right now!" Selunara panicked as she tried to both calm Nevaris and herself.
She looked nothing like the cold-blooded dragon princess, and every bit like the overbearing, frantic mother.
"Awe, the little baby is crying~! Should this beautiful sister of yours get your binky~~"
Just as he began to lose himself in this new familial affection, a voice he would have nightmares about broke up the warm reunion.
Nevaris craned his head up mechanically as he located the source of the roguish intruder.
A bat the size of a rottweiler hung from the canopy of his bed. Its wide blood-red eyes blinked innocently as its face held a mischievous smile that was, frankly, disturbing to see on any animal. Humanoid or otherwise.
"And why are you here?" he asked with an unamused expression.
The bat let out a melodious laugh as it dropped from into inverted perch and landed lazily on his head.
"Come on, don't be like that~" Elizabeth purred. "We're as close as family aren't we?"
Nevaris' brows twitched as he struggled to restrain himself. Constantly reminding himself that she was strong enough to completely delete and wipe his existence from creation's save file.
"Is that what we call assaulters and murderers now? Guess I missed that memo," he said dryly.
"Hahaha! The new you is much better than the cowering loser you were before. Even if you are an imposter, I'll put in a good word for you with Selly!" Elizabeth laughed with mirth.
"Elizabeth Va Ravenshade…" Selunara's voice was gentle, but the smile on her face was anything but. "Get off my son's head. Now."
Elizabeth shuddered as she gulped nervously, and even though he wasn't the target of the thick murderous aura wafting off the angry mama dragon, Nevaris gulped right along with her.
Not wanting to poke the proverbial bear anymore than she already had, Elizabeth transformed into a puff of dark smoke that landed on the chair opposite the bed by the fireplace. Putting a good ten feet between her and the homicidal nutcase cradling a grown man like he was a small infant.
Freeing himself from the fleshy, yet admittedly comfortable, prison that was a mother's chest, Nevaris locked onto the new person sitting in his room. '
Feeling a sense of familiarity, he knew she was the crazy vampire lady from before.
Seeing him watching her so wearily, Elizabeth flashed him a playful small as she gave him a small wave.
Finally getting a good look at her, Nevaris fell into a trance as he noticed how beautiful she was for the first time.
"Like what you see boy~?" Elizabeth said playfully.
She lounged languidly in the chair. Pale white hair spilled over the backrest in soft waves, catching the morning rays like the melting snow before spring.
Her figure wasn't as explosive as Lilith's or his mother's, but was elegantly curved and toned, the relaxed tilt of her hips and slow drape of her arm over the chair giving her an air of effortless confidence and arrogance.
Porcelain skin contrasted sharply with her dark attire, and when she lifted her crimson eyes, they gleamed with quiet amusement–and the faint, predatory patience of a lioness waiting for the precise moment to pounce.
"Nonsense!"
Selunara's shrill shout destroyed the tense exchange as she got to her feet with her hands at her hips and glared at Elizabeth.
"Don't you dare try to seduce MY Nevi with your devilish charm you old hag!"
A vein surged to life on Elizabeth's temple as she shot Selunara with a strained smile that looked worse than crying.
"S-Selly, I've told you before I'm just joking with–"
"I don't care!" The irate dragoness stomped her foot with devastating force, the whole west wing shaking due to the sheer kinetic force being distributed. "You stay away from my son. I'll die before you can get your withered old claws on him!"
"You bitch!" Finally having enough, Elizabeth screamed with rage and jumped to her feet, her nails elongating into deathly knives.
"Humph! Bring it on! I haven't lost to you in 113 years, you emo slut."
As she spoke, her slender tail, which had been hidden behind her tall frame, swished back and forth in clear excitement, silver scales appearing on her face like a ready made helmet. Sparks of silver flame escaped between her fangs as she smiled condescending at the infuriated vampire.
"Take that back! We both know I'm still a virgin!"
"Horny bitch said what?"
"FUCK YOU!"
Just as they were about to start the equivalent of world war three in his bedroom, Nevaris broke out into wild laughter.
Both women stopped mere inches from their fists connecting with the other's face.
Their heads snapping toward Nevaris rolling on the bed clutching his stomach. They then turned back to face each other with wide, confused eyes.
"Nevi baby…are you okay?" Selunara asked cautiously.
"Hahahaha…I-I…haha…I'm more t-than okay…hahahaha!" he squeezed out through fits of laughter.
"...Has he finally lost it?" Elizabeth asked to no one in particular.
BANG!
Almost reflexively, Selunara thrust out her slender fist. Sending the unaware vampire straight through the wall.
Seeing the pure unconscious destructive might of his mother, Nevaris choked as he stared at the new hole in his wall wide-eyed.
Selunara didn't even spare the hole, or her friend, a glance. Rushing to Nevaris, she placed the back of her hand to his forehead, the scales on her face retreating as she asked with worry.
"What's wrong? Did that disgusting creature disturb you so much your mind broke!? Talk to me Nevi! Tell mommy what's wrong!" Selunara pleaded, looking to be on the verge of tears.
Nevaris met her gaze with a complicated look. The emotions held within them too tangled up to decipher. But one stood out against the flood.
Yearning.
When he first experienced Nevaris' life, he saw the former's interactions with his mother. He saw the way he treated her like she was an enemy. Like she was the cause of all the wrong he was 'induring'.
And as he watched, he saw her as well. Her pain, whenever he came home with new injuries and freshly broken bones. Her heartache, when he refused to talk to her. To let her in.
But through it all, he saw it. A light in her eyes that never faded or weakened even once when she looked at him. A light that pierced the heart of Caleum who had never seen or felt such a thing.
Hope.
Pride.
And love.
Unconditional. Unhesitanting love that branded itself deep in the soul.
A love he had yearned for all his human life, but could never quite get. A love Nevaris ran from and rejected.
But sitting on the bed, held in her arms and covered head to toe in her warmth. He wished to never escape. To hold onto this feeling. This bond. For a lifetime.
Selunara, unaware of his inner turmoil, was about to cast another round of over-kill healing when she felt a pair of unfamiliar arms wrap around her.
Initially suspecting some assassin had snuck up on her, she was about to go nuclear, but then froze solid.
Her eyes blinked rapidly as she began thinking clearly.
'There is no other presence here. That hag disappeared somewhere in the confusion.' (You literally punched her through a wall, but whatever.)
'T-Then that means the person h-h-hugging me is…'
Her head shifted downward mechanically as she saw a sight that she hadn't seen in sixteen long years.
"N-N-N-Nevi! W-What are you!?"
"Ma…"
His voice came out as a whisper. But it sounded like a roaring clap of thunder in Selunara's ear.
'H-H-H-H-H-He….he called me mom…'
Nevaris tightened his hold, snuggling her as he basked in her motherly warmth.
"I missed you. I missed you a lot."
Selunara's eyes shook wildly as they began to roll into the back of her head. But through straight godly, motherly willpower, she pulled her consciousness back from the brink as she hugged her son back fiercely. Her own voice choked with sobs.
"M-Mommy missed y-you t-t-too, baby! She m-missed you so much!"
A smile of a purity Nevaris would never know touched his face as he felt the shimmering pearls of her tears fall into his silver hair. The two of them stayed in that comfortable silence, both holding each other like the other was the only thing holding them down.
The loving, comforting ambiance lasted all but ten seconds.
BANG!!
"DARLING!"
"HUSBAND!"
The two reunited family members turned toward the door at the same time.
Standing at the threshold, Ana and Lilith were breathing heavily. Their hair a mess, faces slightly drawn, probably from a disturbed sleep, and their eyes still puffy and red from crying.
The two of them standing there looked like they had crawled out from a house of horrors.
Meanwhile, the two newest additions to the family were met with an equally comical sight.
On the bed was their husband, who they had assumed to be dying or worse, looking perfectly fine and even a little giddy. And a strange woman they didn't recognize was sitting next to him, fresh tears still rolling down her rosy cheeks.
Seeing the intimate position they were in, Ana quickly deduced the identity of the woman manhandling her husband.
Just as she froze in shock and sudden self-consciousness, a murderous shriek tore through the stale air from beside her.
"BITCH! GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF MY MAN!!"
Ana slapped her forehead in mortification. She had forgotten, arachnes don't use their critical thinking skills when other women are around their man.
And so began Nevaris' third day on Elysium, the day his family began to take shape.