Chapter 118: Three Fathers, Three Attentions
Even though Maeve was wearing high boots and clothes that covered every inch of her skin, Ikarus and Axan still took turns carrying her. Some of the sharp grass could still pierce through her clothes, and neither of them wanted her to get hurt.
"Have you ever been inside the Sylvara Tribe?" Maeve asked Axan, who was walking beside Ikarus.
She was riding on Ikarus’s back, her arms loosely wrapped around his shoulders. Resting her chin on his shoulder, she turned to look at Axan while waiting for his answer.
"I haven’t," Axan replied. "I only met one of them once when they happened to see my mother and me by the river. After that, I think my mother met her a few more times by herself since they’re such a secluded tribe."
Ikarus nodded. "They probably don’t want too many outsiders interacting with them, even if it’s only a child."
Maeve nodded in understanding. "That actually makes sense. In this world, being too open with outsiders isn’t always the safest choice."
Even though the Azuryn Tribe wasn’t as strict as the Sylvara Tribe, they still didn’t allow strangers to enter their settlement whenever they pleased.
If the Lumivale Forest had fully recovered, Maeve believed they would probably do the same. They wouldn’t let suspicious people wander into the forest and damage it without a good reason.
After all, the Lumivale Forest was the Azuryn Tribe’s greatest advantage. If the wrong people secretly stayed there for a while, it wouldn’t take long for them to learn the forest’s layout and use that knowledge against the tribe.
As they continued walking deeper into the mountain ahead, Maeve began to notice that the dry land throughout the Lumivale Forest was slowly becoming greener as well.
The grass was the first to return, spreading across the once-barren ground. Even the dry tree trunks that had looked lifeless before were now covered with tiny green buds, showing the first signs of new life.
Maeve looked around in amazement. "Just one placenta... and it can bring this much life back to the forest?" she asked, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.
Axan smiled and nodded. "Yes. It’s all because of you, Maeve."
He glanced at the fresh greenery around them before continuing, "The Aether Energy flowing through this place has also brought the rain back. Before long, I don’t think we’ll ever have to worry about running out of water again."
Maeve couldn’t help smiling as she looked at the recovering forest. The changes were happening much faster than she had expected.
And in about three months, many babies would be born throughout the Azuryn Tribe. With more placentas returning to the forest, the amount of Aether Energy would only continue to grow, allowing the Lumivale Forest to recover even faster.
"I hope so," Maeve said softly.
Since they also had to avoid the growing number of wild beasts roaming through the forest, they moved at a slower pace.
It wasn’t because Ikarus and Axan couldn’t fight them. They were more than capable. After all, Axan and Cerus had once even competed to see who could arrived at the mating cave first while fighting off the wild beasts.
Still, they chose to be extra careful. Maeve’s body was much more fragile, and neither of them wanted to risk her getting hurt during a fight. Therefore, avoiding unnecessary battles was the safer choice.
By the time night fell, Axan had already set up an invisible barrier around their campsite, giving them peace of mind that no wild beast would be able to reach them while they slept.
Meanwhile, Ikarus gathered dry branches from the forest floor and built a small campfire in front of them.
He placed a clay jug filled with water beside the fire. After waiting for the water to warm up, he carefully handed it to Maeve. "It should help keep you warm."
Maeve let out a small giggle. "I don’t think I’m cold anymore," she said with a smile. "I’m already wearing several layers of clothes."
Even so, she accepted the jug without hesitation. The warm water spread through her body the moment she took a sip, washing away the last bit of chill and leaving her feeling calm and relaxed.
"The forest is so lively at night," Axan said while standing beside the invisible barrier, his eyes scanning the darkness beyond. "Luckily, we found the perfect place to rest."
Instead of sleeping inside a cave, they had chosen a spot beneath several enormous rocks that curved overhead like a natural shelter.
Although they were still outdoors, at least they weren’t completely exposed in the middle of the forest, where something could approach them from any direction.
"But that’s a good sign, isn’t it?" Maeve said, smiling as she listened to the sounds of the forest. "It means this place is finally coming back to life."
Soon, even ordinary animals would likely be able to live here again. Most of them would eventually become prey for the wild beasts, but that was simply how nature kept its balance.
Even so, the distant howls and roars of the wild beasts still sounded like something out of a nightmare to her.
She was only able to stay this calm because Ikarus and Axan were by her side. If she had been here alone, this would have turned into her own personal horror show.
"When you were little, did you find more wild beasts too?" Maeve asked curiously.
"Yes, we did." Axan finally walked over and sat down beside her, leaving Maeve comfortably between him and Ikarus. "Our father used to take us hunting at night. Afterward, we’d set up camp and spend the night in the forest."
"But it didn’t last for very long," Ikarus said softly. "By then, the world had already started falling apart, and the forest slowly began to dry up."
Although babies were still being born at that time, the damage spread far too quickly. The growing stress also made it harder for the females to become pregnant. Things only got worse after their father passed away and the triplets became the new leaders.
"I hope the world keeps getting better," Ikarus said softly as he gazed into the campfire. "Then one day, we can take our children camping and hunting, just like our father once did with us."
The moment Maeve heard the word children, her cheeks turned red again. She lowered her head slightly before asking in a small voice, "Speaking of that... how many children do you actually want?"
Ikarus and Axan looked at each other for a moment before answering in perfect unison. "As many as you want."
"If you think one is enough, then one is enough," Ikarus said with a gentle smile. "But if you want ten, that’s fine too."
Maeve’s eyes widened in horror. "I-I don’t want ten!" she cried, shaking her head so hard that both of them couldn’t help smiling. "But I don’t want just one either! Maybe... three to five sounds good."
If her pain tolerance really continued to improve, she might even be able to give birth to more than that.
Even so, raising more than five children sounded incredibly challenging.
"I honestly don’t know if I could be a good mother if I had too many children," Maeve admitted. "I don’t want any of them to feel left out because I couldn’t give them enough attention."
Axan smiled faintly. "You won’t be raising them alone. There are three of us," he said. "Three fathers."
Ikarus nodded in agreement. "Even if we have several children, there will always be three parents looking after them."
He gently took Maeve’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "If one child wants to play, another needs help, and a third starts crying, there will still be someone to stay with each of them."
"Aren’t we already doing that now?" Axan said. "We came with you, while Cerus stayed behind to take care of our son, although he also has to divide his time between looking after him and fighting off the wild beasts."
He continued, "My point is, you don’t have to force yourself to have more children than you truly want. But you also don’t have to be afraid that you won’t be able to give them enough attention, because the truth is, no one can divide their attention among so many people all at once."
"That’s why, our tribe selalu join hand in hand to take care every child yang kita miliki," Ikarus said. "To raise good children, we always need the whole village’s attention."
Ikarus smiled gently. "That’s why our tribe has always worked hand in hand to raise every child," he said. "It takes the care and attention of the whole village to raise good children."
He looked up at the star-filled sky, his eyes soft with nostalgia. "That’s how the three of us grew up."
All the worries in Maeve’s heart slowly faded away. "That’s really such a wonderful ideology."
She had already known that the village would help take care of her children, just as they did with every other child. But hearing those reassuring words from her husbands made her feel even more at ease.
"Then... I don’t mind if we have a second child," Maeve said.
But the moment she noticed the looks on her husbands’ faces, she quickly added, "Of course, only after Lior no longer needs to breastfeed!"