I don't know. I might go see them. I mean, they are family, right? I didn't know I had any other family. I thought I was alone, have been since my parents were killed. So I have to at least go see them if they're really my family. Brit stopped there for a few moments. But I don't want to leave the ranch. I don't want to go live some noble life, I want to stay here to work.

"They're your relatives," Seamus corrected, going from talkative to a bit pensive. "Family's different." He and Kaladin had relatives out there, sure, but the only family they had at the moment was each other. "You can't help being related to people, but family are the ones who stick with you through everything, not just when it's convenient to have you around."

Brit was quiet for a few moments, thinking over that difference. She had no personal experience with that, not really, so she figured Seamus probably knew better than her.

Even so, they're related. That should warrant some time, at least. But not much. Just enough to cement her decision to stay at the ranch.

"Only if you think they do," Seamus replied. "Just keep in mind, they never came looking for you before now." He held her close, his arm around her snugly. "Do what you need to do." He put a small kiss on her cheek. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back." He paused, grinning a bit. "So will the others, but me in particular."

Brit smiled. Good. Don't worry, I won't be gone long. You'll hardly notice I'm gone. She snuggled closer to him, content to just be there for a little bit.

"I'll notice," Seamus disagreed, holding her close. "I'll notice more than anyone." He stayed there, content to hold her for as long as she would let him.

Brit smiled, inexplicably pleased by that, and stayed there. Yeah, she could get used to this. She wasn't used to being the center of anyone's attention, and she decided that she could definitely get used to Seamus's attention.

Gently, Seamus gave her a kiss.

"You don't have to leave," he said softly. "You can stay here and ignore them. Nobody here would blame you for it."

Brit paused as she thought that over. Yes, she could stay there and ignore them. They were relatives, but it wasn't like they were close or anything. Hell, she barely knew them. They could hardly expect her to drop everything and go running.

And yet... And yet she was too curious to just leave things be.

I can't. I'll still be curious, and that won't leave me alone unless I go visit them.

Seamus nodded. He could respect that, even if he didn't like it.

"Just make sure to come back, alright?" he said softly. "Don't get so distracted that you forget about m-- us."

Brit smiled at his almost slip up. Don't worry, I have every intention of returning, she wrote. Besides, I couldn't forget about you.

"Make sure you don't," Seamus replied. He pulled her closer. "You belong here."

Brit smiled and snuggled a little closer to him, winding one arm around him after a moment. Yeah, she could very definitely get used to this. He was spoiling her, but somehow she just couldn't bring herself to protest.

Seamus grinned and kissed her. Oh yes, he could get used to this, too, very easily. He knew he was spoiling her, but he didn't care. She deserved it.

Brit kissed him again briefly before settling in against him for a little while. She didn't have to leave for a few days, and she didn't have to pack just yet. So she figured she could take some and relax with him.

Over the next several days, Hazel ended up being busy. Between running the ranch and organizing the party she intended on hosting at the manor, she had very little time for anything else. She was fairly sure that babies were going to start arriving across the ranch pretty soon, too, and that was going to give her more paperwork. She would rather the paperwork than the work outside, though.

Brit had decided to stay at least until the first few babies were born. There were some creatures she wanted to keep track of herself and be there for the birthing, and she had no intention of letting anyone or anything drag her away from that.

So when the first baby, a ceryneian, came, she was there to watch and make sure everything went okay. Even though it happened in the middle of the night.

Seamus was there as well; extra hands just in case they were needed. He didn't mind being up in the middle of the night for a birthing, although he was surprised to see Hazel awake as well.

Hazel, to her credit, stayed well out of the way. She was really only there because she wanted to see what was going on, and it seemed too important an event to sleep through.

Brit smiled when everything went fine, and the mother even let her close to give the baby a quick exam, after which she fed the mother an apple and retreated.

Healthy little boy, she wrote with a huge grin. He's just fine, he'll probably be up and running by morning.

Hazel smiled a bit.

"He'll be able to stay, then," she said softly. "I have a request for a female, but nothing else from this herd. So he's staying."

Brit nodded, clearly pleased. I'm sure we'll get at least one female out of the other three, she wrote. It would be odd not to.

Plus she got to try her new idea when she got back from visiting her relatives. Hazel had already given her the okay, so as soon as she got back she was going to be spending a lot of time in the ceryneian pen.

"I hope we get more than one female," Hazel replied. "To keep the herd relatively even." She knew how excited Brit was to try her idea, though, and was glad she had a personal project to work on. It was definitely worth a try.

Brit nodded again. Well, we won't know until the others drop. She shrugged. She figured one more would probably be along in another few days, judging from the female's size. And she wanted to stick around for one unicorn mare, since that one had had problems in the past. But other than that she wasn't expecting any difficulties.

Hazel nodded and got up, shaking out her skirts. She'd thrown on an old dress for this, since it was the middle of the night, so she wasn't worried about getting it dirty. She was, however, now getting a little self-conscious of it. She hadn't had anyone help her put on her corset, after all, and she felt a bit exposed without it.

"I think it's about time for me to head back, now," she said. "Paperwork can be done in the morning."

Of course. Go back to bed and get some sleep. Come in a couple hours late so you can catch up on your sleep. Brit grinned at her. She didn't notice the difference in dress, other than it looked more like a dress that Hazel would wear on her more casual days, but she figured that made sense.