Rivin

First was Haruko, who never wanted anything more than a night's company.
Next was Delfina, who wanted to catch the eye of another male.
Third was Zeria, who was different from the rest.

Zeria, who saw the light when I only saw darkness.
Zeria, who experienced the world with every one of her senses.
Zeria, who was content to ignore life's hardships and just live.
Zeria, who laughed when I cried so that sadness wasn't the only thing I see.
Zeria, who hated to eat anything other than plants because it made her feel cruel to end the life of another.

Zeria... who taught me how to love.

She was the daughter of some close friends of mine, but I didn't notice her for a long time. She was always their kid daughter, the she-dragon who did all of the lairwork for Juliet. I didn't think of her as a potential lover. She was a stranger to me and off-limits. Byron and Juliet were her parents, for Plaguebringer's sake! Why should I think of her that way?

But she noticed me.

And little by little, I began to notice her, too.

The first time Zeria talked to me, I had been crying. Which, as you might have guessed, I did a lot back then. I was hiding out in my special cave - well, it wasn't exactly a cave, more of a tunnel that I had dug into the decaying soil of the waste. It did open up into a sort of cave, though, where I could coil myself up in a corner and forget the world. It was never intended to be big enough for more than myself, but there was theoretically enough room for two more spirals inside. Small ones, mind.

Imagine my surprise when mid-self-pity, a little mulberry head popped into my tunnel.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, and I swore my heart skipped a beat.

I didn't know who she was, that first time. If I had, things might have gone differently, but I didn't. And I thank Plaguebringer every day that that was the case.

-

"You're really okay with it?"

Zeria had talked to her parents earlier in the day. She had wanted to tell them about us first, worried that hearing it from me might stir up some emotions. I felt the opposite - I was worried that they would be more angry hearing it from her first. Zeria insisted, though, and as is often the case, I gave in easily. If I faced backlash from her parents, so be it.

"We're okay with it," Byron assured me. "If anything, we're relieved that it's you she chose. Zeria will be the clan matriarch when Juliet and I step down someday, and it's reassuring that she'll have you by her side to help take care of things."

Juliet was quiet for a moment. "I'm actually more worried about you than her, Rivin. Are you happy?"

I think back to the early days of growing up in Ashfall Waste, sneaking out of the clan to dig tunnels and play with Juliet. I think of Haruko, who did not want me. I think of Delfina, who took advantage of my feelings. I think of the crippling loneliness and hopelessness that I felt living there.

I think of the letter inviting me to join Byron and Juliet in the Wasteland. I think of the days spent building this clan into the home that I now call mine. I think of the night I first spent with Zeria months ago. I think of every stolen moment since.

Before I know it, I'm crying, and Byron and Juliet are comforting me. Juliet laughs, just like Zeria did back then.

"I never thought that I could be this happy," I finally say when I've calmed down.

"Good," says Juliet. "Welcome to the family."