Page 128 of Phoenix's Fire

"Nor do you, Mom!" Rymar snapped. "She isnotmy girlfriend, okay? Ayla is not interested in that, and if you make her feel pressured, Zasen will take her home."

"Well, I just..." Cailyon tried.

The pale man gestured to be let through so he could make his way over. "Ayla, it's a pleasure," he said, offering me his hand. "I'm Levin. Ignore Cailyon. She's just hoping for grandchildren sooner rather than later, and any woman who doesn't run away from her son seems like a good prospect in her mind."

"Levin!" Cailyon gasped.

"You do, Cai," Levin said with a laugh. "And you'd probably have more luck if you waited for him to find a woman before making things awkward. Besides, this one looks like she's strong enough to beat our boy back with those krael she's wearing."

"They were a present," I said. "Rymar helped get them for me."

"Okay, enough!" Rymar finally yelled. "Mom, Dad, Father, Papa!" He sighed. "Ayla is not used to being crowded. For most of her life, men were not very nice to her. She didn't have a relationship with her parents the way we take for granted - and she certainly did not have three fathers and two mothers." He glanced over at the woman standing quietly beside the tailless man. "And Farina, you're the only one of my parents who isn't trying to embarrass me."

Which was when Zasen leaned into my ear. "They are loud. They are kind. They also love him very much, and while it's confusing, they only want to make sure he's going to be okay with what's coming tomorrow."

"But he's staying here," I said, looking back so I could keep my voice down.

"And we're not," Zasen said. "Losing a friend hurts, Ayla. That's what they're worried about, and trying to make sure he knows they're willing to help if the worst happens. It's what Dragon families do - usually loudly and without the manners you're used to."

"But I'm not his - " I tried.

Zasen shook his head, cutting me off. "They don't care. What they're trying to say is that they approve of you if you are. If you aren't, then they approve of you as a friend. That's all."

I nodded. "Okay."

"So meet them. Talk to them," Zasen said.

"Will you make sure Meri's okay?" I asked.

Which made him smile proudly. "I will." Then he grabbed the shoulder of the yellow-headed man. "And Emerton's the calm one of the bunch. If they get to be too much, you let him know and he'll get you some space, okay?"

"Promise," Emerton said, gesturing for me to come closer. "Oh, you're a tiny thing, aren't you?"

"She's actually packing on the muscles," Rymar said, pausing in the middle of what he'd been saying to someone else.

So the tailless man made his way closer. "So you'll be with the militia tomorrow?" he asked me.

I nodded. "I'm helping Zasen."

"You are braver than me," Farina, the tailed woman said. "Just take care of our boy, okay?" My brow creased at that, so she pointed at Rymar. "I meant this one, but all of them work."

"All?"

"Kanik and Zasen too," Ahmik explained. "I was with Cailyon when we moved beside Zasen's family. Those two boys were instantly friends, and they spent days at a time at our house."

"And then would disappear for days at Naomi's," Emerton chuckled. "But you missed Kanik."

"I got to know him when the boys got their first place," Ahmik assured him. "Always felt bad for him with Tasult, Zasen, and Rymar getting him into shit."

"But he loved it," Emerton said, giving me a little nudge. "I have a feeling you don't mind those boys - "

"Men," Farina corrected. "They're grown up now, Emmy."

"Yes, they are," Emerton agreed. "And Ayla? If they make problems for you, then you can tell us. I promise having three fathers chew a man out - no matter his age - solves things pretty quickly."

"Or his mother," Farina said.

"No, he's nice," I assured them, feeling overly self-conscious. "And he's very patient. I was so confused when I first got here, but he's helped."