Northstar Vale A new reason to smile.

She huffed at the thanks, and resisted rolling her eyes at the rest.

Raise as his own - sure, that's great. He'll raise any of your sons to do the same to their sisters, to their future wives, great. That's perfect, Reiko. A new start and we're already trying to clean up a mess by some idiot man. Ibis couldn't help but let her thoughts flow, vitriol and all, until they ended. It wasn't what Reiko wanted to hear right now - nor what she deserved. She should have been sympathizing and doing her best to soften the situation, but Ibis was angry, and she could rarely control herself when her energies got so focused.

A new thought struck her then: What about me, Reiko? She couldn't shake the obvious worry in her voice. Reiko had shared a deep secret, and now it was her turn - but seeing as how all of this stemmed from Reiko's view of promiscuity, how would she react to the truth of Ibis' so-called vacation?

You worry about your two - suitors, careful now; but... My vacation, as you call it. I needed to get out and stretch my legs, but I did more than that. I.. Lost count of how many, but there were men. A woman, at one point. She could have rattled off names if she had known them; but then the only names she knew for certain were Mal and Akavir. Thinking of the dark man she'd brought home, she felt her cheeks flush. I never considered that I might.. be pregnant. It was fun, that was all.

The tense look Ibis passed to her friend said it all: was she to be joyous in this possibility, as she had been for Reiko? Or would she be condemned, for her apparent crime of being open with her body?