System Change

“You named him… Hunter?” Derek asked as he crouched down a little and cooed. He held his finger out and, most likely by complete accident, the baby’s hand found Derek’s own and wrapped around his finger. “Oh… this little fellow is going to be a strong one,” Derek said with a gently smile. Finally, he looked back up at Rayna. “Are you sure naming him that is a good idea?”

Rayna looked over to Jacks, then back to Derek. “We are. We decided on the name months ago if we had a boy.”

“I see,” Derek said as he playfully poked at the baby. Then, he turned his attention to the boy’s sister in Rayna’s other arm. “What about this little cutie? Have you decided on a name for her?”

“That…” Rayna started, but was interrupted by Silvi’s voice chiming from the crystal around her neck.

“Silvi! Silvi is great name. Would grow up a strong chef just like her aunt!” Silvi had hopped onto the couch, positioning herself in the small space between Rayna and Jacks.

“That…” Rayna started again, but seemed to be tongue-tied.

“Silvi wouldn’t be good,” Derek said, much to his companion’s dismay. “I already know two Silvis…” he looked down at his companion. “And one of those Silvis just so happens to be the greatest Silvi. We wouldn’t want a name that would cause her to always be in your shadow, now would we?”

After a moment of silence, Silvi finally replied, “Guess not. Too much weight of responsibility to bear such a great name. Burden would be much too much… so, soo much.”

“I agree,” Derek said.

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Derek said. “You’ve already named the boy after my surname.” He shook his head. “That is too much as it is. I couldn’t possibly name your child.”

“Derek…” Rayna looked at Derek, all playfulness gone from her face. “We are not stupid.”

“I would never think you were,” Derek said. “Even though you thought I was the first time we met.” He tried to bring back the playfulness, but his words didn’t help.

“What I am saying is… we know you won’t be here much longer. Whether that is weeks or years, we don’t know, but you will eventually do as Ms. Swan, and go,” Rayna explained. Only a few people actually knew what happened with Alanah, but everyone knew that it wasn’t a bad thing by how those who knew acted and spoke about it. So, it didn’t take much of a leap for those around Derek to figure that it had to do with her strength. And it wasn’t like she hid her ascension from everyone.

And, if her leaving had to do with her strength, then it would be only natural for the same thing to happen with Derek—after all, he was already stronger than the siren was in many ways. It had been something that lingered in the air, but nobody really talked about. It didn’t help that it was pretty much impossible to talk about the specifics, anyway.

“So…” Rayna continued. “We wish for each of our children to have something important to know you, and I can think of nothing more important than a name. Jacks and I have discussed this in great detail, and it is our decision. We hope you will honor it.”

Derek looked over to Jacks, and the older man nodded firmly back. Derek took a deep breath in, then removed his finger and backed away, back to his seat. “Honestly, I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Derek said as he looked down at his hands. A lot of names went through his head, and one kept coming to the top, above all others, when he tried to think of meaningful names. But he shook his head.

“Stacy,” Silvi’s voice called out again, this time saying what Derek didn’t have the will to say. Derek’s head shot up. His eyes bore into her, but Silvi only stared back—she didn’t back down.

“Silvi… no,” Derek said. Other than Alanah, there was only a single other person who knew Derek’s sister’s name, and that was Silvi. Derek and Silvi shared almost everything—she was the one being who he could speak about anything with, and not have to worry about any system interfering in the conversation. And, over the last few months, he had shared with her the same story that he did with Alanah. It was much easier the second time—especially since he was speaking to someone so close to him. Ȓ𝔞ꞐỌ₿ĘŠ

“Who…” Rayna started to ask something, but seeing the way the two were looking at each other, she stopped. “Never mind… it’s not my place.”

Derek continued to have a stare-down with Silvi, but, eventually, his eyes broke away. “It’s okay…” Derek said as he shifted his attention to Rayna. “Stacy… was my little sister.” Nobody in the room seemed shocked at the announcement. Mostly because Derek had mentioned his family on occasion—though, he’d not spoken about his sister until he spoke with Alanah.

Even though nobody seemed surprised at the revelation that he had a sister, a few of the faces in the room turned from interest to that of sadness. It didn’t take much to figure out from the way that Derek spoke of her that she was dear to him, but also that she was gone.

Preparing himself, Derek sighed, clenched his fists, then gave the room an abridged version of what he’d told Alanah and Silvi. In that abridged version, he didn’t speak of Earth or college, or a lot of the other important details—just that he’d had a family, and that they’d all passed away in a tragic accident. Nobody called him out on the lack of details, every person in the room Derek, and knew that it was something he didn’t want to talk about.

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“We… don’t have to call her Stacy,” Rayna said.

“No…” Derek said, after thinking about it for a while. “It’s a good fit…” he looked at the little girl being held in her mom’s arm. He once felt that Rayna reminded him of having a sister. She and Stacy were actually similar—not in looks, but in personality. They both had the same strong personality, but both also showed genuine gratitude when someone helped them. “Stace… Stacy is a good name,” he finally said.

“Are you sure?” Rayna asked. “I don’t want to upset you. We can think of something different.”

“No,” Derek said with a short laugh. “Stacy is good. She would love it if she were here. I can’t go about my life, never saying her name out loud, anyway. It’s also the name that came to the forefront of my thoughts when you asked me to name her—I just couldn’t.” Derek looked back over at Silvi. “Thank you, Silvi.”

“Stacy is good, strong name,” Silvi said with a nod of her head. “Your sister would be proud.”

Derek couldn’t be mad at his companion. She’d put him in a situation that was painful, but after speaking of his sister to all of his friends and found family, he felt even more of the weight he bore lessen, and the void he always felt in his chest got ever so smaller. It was almost as if Silvi knew him better than he knew himself. She knew that he needed to get it out, and she knew that it was a good name… no, it was THE name that the girl should have.

Once that was decided, Derek looked around the room once more. Brandi was sobbing, and Malorie had a sad smile plastered on her face. “It is a very good name,” Malorie said with a nod as his eyes met her own.

“Now,” Rayna broke the silence that was beginning to fall. “Would Uncle Derek like to hold your niece and nephew?”

“Of course.” Derek’s mood brightened a little instantly, and he wanted nothing more than to change the current mood in the room. So, as soon as he was asked, he shot to his feet and walked back over to Rayna. Carefully, the new mother brought both children up—and Jacks stood and crowded them to make sure nothing happened—and Derek soon found himself holding a baby in each arm. “Whew…” Derek let out a sigh of relief. “You two got really lucky.”

“We did,” Jacks said. “But why do you think that?”

“Well…” Derek said. “Silvi is right that they look a bit potato-ish, but most all babies do, at least to me. But I can see that they are both going to grow into some beautiful adults. You’re lucky because that means that they get their looks from their mom and not from their dad.”

“That’s what was hoping!” Rayna said from the couch.

“Hey!” Jacks put his hand over his heart and sucked a deep breath in. “I don’t think I’ll ever recover.”

“It’s okay, dear,” Rayna patted at the space next to her, which was now vacant, as Silvi had found a new place looking down on the children from atop Derek’s head. “I still love you… no matter your looks. And I’m sure the children will come around to you. Just try not to sneak up on them.”

“I don’t see it,” Silvi said from above. The next instant, there was a potato floating beside the children and Derek. “Still looks more like a potato, see?”

Derek glanced at the potato, then at the newborns… he almost laughed, but held back. The resemblance to the potato that Silvi had taken out was uncanny. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was the luck of the draw, or if she had been searching through her storage to find the potato that had the most striking resemblance. He really didn’t know what to say.

‘Silvi…’ he sent to her through their bond. ‘You’re being rude. You don’t say that someone’s children look like potatoes… or any other food, for that matter… even if they do.’

‘But…’

‘No buts…’ Derek said.

‘Fine… but it’s a yummy-looking potato,’ Silvi said. ‘I don’t see why that’s so bad…’

‘It just is,’

Silvi put the potato away, then said, “I’m kidding. They are pretty… round little humans, with opposable thumbs. The perfect small humans.”

“Thank you, Silvi,” Rayna said. Neither Rayna, nor Jacks, had gotten the least bit angry at Silvi. They knew the bunny well, and didn’t take offense.

“Congratulations,” Derek finally said as he rocked the babies back and forth. “They really are amazing.”

“Thank you,” Jacks said.

“They’re going to have an easy life,” Derek said. “Don’t let them grow too spoiled.” He’d already said as much to the couple a time or two, but he couldn’t help but say it again.

“We won’t,” both Rayna and Jacks answered at the same time.

Then, as if in sync, both babies began crying in Derek’s arms.

“You broke them!” Silvi half-shouted, panicked. The next thing they knew, there was a red health potion floating above the babies. “Here… drink!”

“They are fine,” Derek said and realized that Silvi had never actually met a baby before. Sure, she’d seen one on occasion in the street, but it wasn’t something she was ever interested in, and she never got familiar with one, so, for all she knew, crying meant that something hurt. “It’s just what babies do. They are either hungry, or need changed, or need their momma, or a hundred other things.”

“Oh…” Silvi said, then the potion vanished.

“Thank you for being worried,” Rayna said as she stood up and walked over to Derek. “I’ll take them now.”

The moment that they were back in their mother’s arms, both babies stopped crying, and Derek clicked his tongue. “I guess I’m not good enough.”

“They just needed their mother,” Malorie said.

“Looks that way,” Derek replied as he sat back down. There was, however, a question on his mind that was sure to make him look dumb in front of everyone, but he didn’t care. He had to know. “Jacks…”

“Yes?” the man answered as he cooed over his newborns in his wife’s arms.

“This may seem ignorant, but how did you deliver the babies?”

“How?” Jacks looked at Derek, confused.

“Yes… how?” Derek asked again. Then, to explain, he said, “Where… where I’m from, there were specialists that delivered the children. I… uh… never really heard of the father doing it. That, and there was usually a lot more… noise from the delivery room.”

“Oh…” Jacks said, but still seemed confused. Eventually, he just shrugged and two potions appeared in his hands. “This is a numbing tincture and a Greater Health Potion,” he began to explain. “The contractions begin, showing that it is time. Then, I made her comfortable, rubbed the tincture on her belly, then cut. After that, she drank the potion and healed up. Now we have two beautifully healthy babies.”

“Ah…” Derek said. I guess it is like a very crude version of a cesarean section, he thought. “Is that how everyone does it?”

“Everyone who can afford it,” Jacks said. “Take Rayna, for example. She is strong and has relatively high endurance and vitality. She is extremely durable. But, the babies do not have access to the system or any stats. They are as fragile as they come. Luckily, I am stronger than she is durable, so we were able to do it this way. Technically, there are ‘specialists.’ But really, they are just those who have the ability to cut with precision, even if the person they are cutting has very high defenses.”

“In the village,” Rayna cut in. “Most would deliver the natural way. The poor villagers usually don’t have much in the way of vitality or endurance, so it is less harmful on the mothers and the children to birth naturally with the cost of potions unattainable for many. But for those like us, this is the quicker and safer way. Do you understand?”

“I think so,” Derek said with a nod. “Thanks for explaining it.”

“We are happy to,” Jacks said.

“Now,” Rayna said as she looked at Derek with a serious expression. “Do you need to know how babies are made, too?”