Taking Inventory

Characters: Aikuen, Amy

Location: Moledeep

Moledeep: Mole Hall

Aikuen is still in Molehall. Fira is snoozing in one of the big ole' armchairs. Paw on her belly. Aik is sorting through one of baskets of veggies he just recently harvested. He hums lightly to himself. Seeming quite perky today. Fira has been nicer, and her mood swings have been less frequent. Which, in Aik's case, is a good thing. He holds up a carrot and chuckles.

Amethyst wheels herself up into the hall from the cellar only somewhat aware it's occupied from light rustling sounds coming from Aikuen and the basket of veggies. "Hello?" she calls out experimentally heading for the table and the sound, though she usually goes toward the table first anyway since unlike some things it rarely gets moved.

Aikuen blinks and looks up, "Oh. Hello Amy. How are you?" he smiles at her, and places the carrot in a pile with the others.

Amethyst smiles a little recognizing the otter's voice. "Hello, Aik. I'm fine. Still in this chair," she sighs, "... how much longer do you think I'll be stuck in this thing?"

Aikuen leans on the table and glances downward at the chair. He hmms and scratches his chin "Er... From the information you guys told me... and the severity at the time, in which you are healed... I'd say... a week, maybe two weeks... Until your bones fully heal. Now getting out of your chair... That could be awhile..." he nods, and reaches for another carrot and place it in a pile, "Because you have to learn to walk again..." he sighs and nods.

Amethyst nods, more to herself than the otter, "Ok. Two weeks and my legs will be better, right? .... How will this learning to walk again work?"

Aikuen thinks about for a moment and chuckles, "You might be learning to walk... Along with Chris. He is starting to learn how to walk also... Lets see. Its just like learning on your bad legs. But now you will be learning on your good legs." he pulls out a rotted carrot and puts it in the discard pile, "Its going to be tough. And very painful. your muscles have probably atrophied by now. And your... well, blind... So that makes it harder to balance...Lots of crutches and lots of help...." he nods.

Amethyst says, "So in two weeks I can get out of this chair and fall down a lot til my legs start working. Is that what you're saying?"

Aikuen nods, "Aye. That's exactly what I'm saying. That's why i said it be awhile till you get out of the chair. Your going to be using that for awhile... don't know how long. Depends on your will to walk again, and the commitment you put in it. Also how well your body can adjust. Lots of factors to deal with..."

Amy leans forward with folded arms on the table. "I see. Might take a while ... but I /will/ walk. How'd the gardens do?" She can smell the veggies mainly the rotten ones and it has nothing to do with her legs or Fira so a safe topic.

Aikuen smiles and nods, "Sure you will, We'll all help." he nods and holds up a tomato. It looks like its beaten up, "Here feel for yourself..." he goes over and nudges the fruit into her paw, "That's one of the tomatoes. The good ones. That's what happens when veggies grow for longer then they should, with lack of water. But enough to actually keep it alive. So it doesn't rot. It makes it look all... Crazy!" he chuckles and sighs, "Three fourths of the garden is like that. The rest have rotted away, and is unusable..."

Amy takes the thing that is pushed against her paw and feels it. "Mmm. Doesn't look much like a tomato. We should plan to stay home next year then." She turns the fruit around in her paws slowly, "Most of it's good you said and it's food. Can't ask for more than that. We have food, water, shelter. We have it pretty good really. Sure it's no palace but it's better than a lot of places."

Aikuen shrugs, "Its all edible. Yeah, a little blander then what it should taste like. Buts it's all good!" he chuckles and snorts, "Better than a lot of places? Amy! This place is paradise. I was raised in a one room shack. Then after that I lived out side in tents and trees for 7 seasons. Living what I could eat or..." he clears his throat and nods, "Anyway. Before this, I haven't had a spot to call home is 12 seasons. This is a wonderful place!" he grins and laughs.

"Yes it is," the maid agree still turning the tomato around in her paws thoughtfully. "How many lived in your one room shack? Were there any beds or did you all sleep on th floor?" she asks.

Aikuen smiles at her, "Umm. Two at the time, at the most. Yes, there were beds... sort of. When i was younger. There were a set of hammocks, stacked like bunk beds. One for me and one for my father. Then when i got the farmhouse. I bought a bed for me and my first wife, and... a crib..." he sighs and nods.

"There were fourteen of us and we all slept on the floor even my parents from what I can remember," Amy says then frowns a little when he brings up his previous wife and child. ".... Well there will be a new crib filled with a little otter before long." She tries to smile, "Before you know it they'll be getting into everything same as Chris is now and running around and stuff."

Aikuen tilts his head. Fourteen? Dang! But he is trying to push those ancient memories behind him, with new ones, "Yah, there will be..." he glances over to Fira he is literally draped over the armchair, and he cant help but chuckle, "Oh boy. Young otters are the worse. They gain there mobility faster then any other beast after they are born... I hope i can keep up with it! I'm sure we will!" he laughs, but it seems week.

Amethyst chuckles, "You'll do fine. And if you do need a break you can get Kentar, Garnet, /anyone who lives here/ t watch them for you. Besides it'll be little while til they'll be able t walk too fast still so you'll have time to think up a plan if that's not enough."

Aikuen gets what she is insinuating. Probably be easier if she just asked flat out, "If push comes to shove. Yes Amy, you can watch our little one" with Fira's permission of course, "But i must warn you. Otters tend to clamp their mouths down on things. Arms, legs, and nose included, if they can reach it..." he chuckles, "I think we can handle one. Aye. Plus give Fira a chance to warm up to the idea of being a mother..." he nods and crosses his arms, "It will be an experience for her..." he smiles.

Amethyst smirks, "Uh huh. Little otters bite anything just because. You say this as if only otters did this. I think I'll survive and I think very soon the baby will learn not to bite, hard. I doubt Fira would like being bitten."

Aikuen chuckles, "Well the difference between otters an others... Are that otters are born with teeth right off... And they are razer sharp... And they will learn, once they pull blood for the first time... hopefully..." he then smiles and laughs, "She might like it. I enjoy it, but that's me. Lets me see that they are growing properly... It's kinda like a connection thing..." he nods and shrugs.

Amethyst blinks a little, "Ok, but like I said by the time they can they'll be pulling on Fira's skirts or doing whatever they can to get her attention if she isn't paying attenion to them as much as they want her to so there shouldn't be much of a problem with her not being able to hear them. Besides they'll like being able t sneak up on her."

Aikuen shrugs, "They might... but she wont... She is still worrying about that fact... that she wont be able to hear them... She has gotten better, but its still erks her to no end..." he sighs and walks away for a minute, before retuning, "She is very late... " he hmms more to himself than her.

Amethyst shrugs, "It's not that unusual. Maybe you miscounted or something."

Aikuen rubs the top of his head, "Unless she is not telling me something... she is almost a week and a half overdue..." he sits down, "I cant help but worry about things like that..." he sighs.

Amethyst says, "Should be soon then, all we can really do is wait. Other than her being overdue there isn't anything actually wrong with her or the baby. So we just need t wait it out unless there's something more to it but some babies /are/ born late and some are born early. I doubt any are really born exactly /on time/ anyway.

Aikuen nods slowly, "I know its not on the exact day... Just have bad experiences that's all... And week and a half is longer than most overdue births..." he sighs, "But... I'm still getting an abbey healer. If she hasn't had it by the end of the week... just in case..." Sounds like he made his decision about that. He rubs his face, "Its funny. She worries about how she and the baby will be, after its born. And i worry about her, and the baby.. before they are born..." he chuckles lightly, "We get through it..." he aims a small smiles at his wife, who in turn snorts in her sleep.

Amethyst nods, "Having a healer around would be best but wouldn't want t worry Fira unless you have reason to. It's getting late." The maid rolls away from the table and turns toward the cellar, it didn't take too long for her to refamiliarize herself with where everything is but it is different with th chair. "Well, good night, Aik," she says pulling open the cellar door and heading down the sloping tunnel that leads down to her room.

Aikuen keeps quiet. There is a reason. But he doesn't even want to say it aloud. For anything. To worrisome. He nods at her and says, "Night Amethyst..." he smiles faintly. He gets up from the table and the vegetables to head over to the couch. He carefully plops down next to Fira, and places a paw on her belly on her left side. He then moves it to the right side. He sighs and runs his paws against his face.