Chapter 482 The Birth Festival: Day 1
Bekka Osa Tathamet doesn’t wake up early.
It’s just the sort of phenomena that doesn’t happen.
You are more likely to win the lottery twice in a row, and half Rihanna stick her finger up your ass than you are of seeing her get up before noon.
That is, other than a few special occasions.
The birthday of herself or one of her family, an imminent danger, or…
A festival day!
In the early hours of seven in the morning, Bekka opened her eye and formed an immediate smile on her face.
Staring back at her was the only other bedmate who shared their excitement, Valerie.
The two of them smiled at each other before exchanging a small fist bump and whispering to themselves in hushed excited voices.
“”Festival dayyyy…!””
Without a doubt, there was no occasion that either of them loved more.
For Bekka, it was the unlimited street food cooked by the most passionate of citizens and dedicated grannies.
Valerie on the other hand was excited that this would be the only time it was acceptable to drink beer before 9. A.M. and play all sorts of fun carnival games.
Their interests were aligned, their goals were focused, and they couldn’t be more excited!
Bekka: *Whispering* “I’m so excited, I skipped lunch and dinner yesterday to prepare for this..!”
Valerie: “I haven’t had a drink all week, and I’m sure my tolerance is right down to the bottom again…!”
The two girls let another round of quiet giggling ensue.
Finally, the two of them sat up and stared at the rest of their family.
Without exception, they were all sleeping rather hard.
Even Lillian, who was normally a light sleeper, was wedged between Abaddon and Lisa, and it was easy to tell she wasn’t moving any time soon.
“We… shouldn’t wake them, right?” Bekka clarified.
“Definitely not, it would be rude..”
“Right, right…”
“…”
“…”
“…This is torture..! They aren’t waking up?!”
Bekka nodded her head in agreement. “M-Maybe we should take a bath and wait for them, huh?”
“A-Alright…”
– 15 minutes later
Now with their hair and bodies wrapped in bath towels, both girls were standing above the bed and staring down at their entire family.
They were still asleep, and Bekka and Valerie were still jittery.
“…We can pick out their clothes for them? Cut down on the time it takes us to get to the festival.”
“Good idea!”
The two girls rushed towards the wardrobes and started planning clothes for each of the sleeping deities in their bed meticulously.
“What are you thinking for Audrina?” Bekka whispered.
“She plays a lot of games at these things and doesn’t really eat a lot, so you can put out those leather pants that make her butt look big, and that burgundy blouse. Lisa?”“That black and yellow bodysuit I got her for her birthday that she never wears.”
“You know she feels it’s too racy.”
“…Give her a sweater to wear over it, she’ll be fine. What about our husband?”
Bekka and Valerie paused on a dime and stared at each other with some sort of internal mind link.
They didn’t say a word, but they did move to the same cabinet and put together the same outfit without saying a word.
“Do you think it’s weird that you gave your husband a vest made of your father’s fur?” Valerie asked curiously.
“Not when he looks that damn good in it.”
“Amen, sister.”
The two of them finished getting the rest of their family’s clothes laid out not long afterward, and turned their gaze back to the bed with the hope that someone would be rising out of it.
Tatiana: “Zzz…”
Erica: “Honey, let my horns go…”
Abaddon: *Unintelligible snoring.*
….No such luck at all.
Just as the two goddesses seemed to be on the verge of tearing their hair out from stress, their gaze suddenly traveled towards their bedroom door.
Smiling like mad, the two of them watched as three of their bundles of joy burst into the room loudly.
Yemaya : “Rise and shine, mommies and daddy!”
Yemaja: “It’s our first festival day!”
Straga: “Does Straga look handsome??”
Abaddon and his sleeping wives opened their eyes groggily and looked at the door.
Needless to say, their kids were adorable.
Yemaya and Yemaja had clearly put a lot of time and thought into their outfits.
Both girls were wearing bright colored teal skirts and crop tops; allowing them to expose their flat stomachs adorned with waist beads.
Their hair was bundled up overhead with two long strands coming down to frame their faces nicely.
They were very beautiful young women who were stepping into adulthood gracefully.
Their little brother was between them holding each of their hands, and he looked absolutely adorable.
Like the two men he idolized most in his life, Straga wore a sleeveless black and gold robe over his little torso, along with pants with a similar matching pattern, and sandals that he’d placed on the wrong feet.
He was indeed the most handsome young prince you ever did see!
Abaddon rubbed the sleep out of his and Lisa’s eyes as he yawned and took in the sight of the room.
The clothes for all ten of his wives were already laid out on the sectional sofa inside their bedroom, including an outfit for him as well.
“Ah… I suppose we shouldn’t keep you all waiting any longer then. Let’s all go out and have fun today, hm?”
“””””Yea!”””””
–
The Tathamets weren’t the only individuals who were getting a jump on the festivities.
Even though it was still early, there were several stalls and booths that had already been opened up and were seeing customers.
The stall currently receiving the most visitors had nothing to do with what was being offered.
It was because of the tall man standing at the head of the line, who was waiting for his order with bated breath.
“Alright, here you are, your majesty! One Irish coffee!”
Abaddon gratefully took the cup of burning hot joe while focusing hard on preventing his tail from wagging.
He didn’t consider himself to be an alcoholic like Valerie, but after being married to her for so long he was definitely something of a connoisseur.
Taking that first sip of spiked coffee, he felt his bones warm from the cold and his soul began to sing.
‘Ahhh… I love festival days.’
Once he stepped back from the line, Bekka stepped up excitedly with the young Straga on her shoulders.
“Alright, what do you got for me today, Mr. Leo?? I can hardly wait to see!”
“Straga is excited too!”
The old dragon smiled proudly as he folded his arms across his broad chest proudly.
“I’ve been preparing all week for this, Empress ! I think I have something that will really impress and fill you up this time around!”
“Nothing fills me up but my husband!”
*Cough!* “A-Ahem, well, be that as it may…”
Abaddon made it a point to turn away and look at… anything else, so that he could pretend that he hadn’t heard that.
Mr. Leo reached behind him and pulled out a tray of pastries from a warming oven.
Like an overgrown bloodhound, Bekka sniffed the air happily and picked out every ingredient within the treats without missing a beat.
‘Mini pancakes with cinnamon, brown sugar, and wild nuts… awesome…!’
Mr. Leo held out the tray in front of Bekka and tried to contain his boastful expression.
“Alright then, Empress! Let’s see you try to get through these hotteok without-“
– 5 Minutes Later
*Burp!* “Thanks for the grub, old man!”
“No…”
Mr. Leo dropped to the ground with both knees in the dirt as he let out a cry of disbelief.
The crowd around Bekka was in complete awe of her abilities.
“T-The empress has done it..!”
“Wow..”
“Scary…”
Abaddon watched his wife walk away while looking for more sugar to demolish with a smile on her face.
He very nearly followed her before he saw something that made him pause, if only just a little bit.
His father was up and walking around in the festival alongside both of his mothers.
The two of them were giggling happily as they held up the prizes that had been won for them like they were made of gold.
They hadn’t noticed him in time, but Asmodeus did.
He glared at Abaddon before turning away eleading both women down another street; out of the dragon monarch’s line of sight.
Just as ugly feelings started to creep into his chest, his vision suddenly went dark when a pair of hands were suddenly placed over his eyes.
“You shouldn’t let our people see you looking so tortured on a day like this. You might worry them needlessly.”
Smiling softly, the dragon turned around and stared down at an equally charming redhead.
Erica looked absolutely ravishing, wearing a comfy outfit that consisted of black leggings and a sporty half-zip pullover.
It made last night’s festivities after the game not seem like nearly enough.
Erica could see that her husband seemed to be slightly apprehensive about something and elected to help take his mind off it, if only just a bit.
She hooked their arms together and stole his coffee to take a small sip.
“Ahhh~. You know we haven’t been on a date in a while. Why don’t we do something new for a change?”
“Oh? I wonder what exactly you have in mind.”
“It’s my understanding that you never visited the couple’s district before. It just so happens that I haven’t either~”
Without waiting for an answer, Erica started pulling Abaddon along to the “No-Kids Allowed” part of the city.
His heart was admittedly racing when he thought of what they could be about to get into, and yet his mind was still focused on the earlier look he had witnessed from his father.
He and Asmodeus bickered all the time, but this time it felt like he was truly upset with him.
And the look that he gave him… it reminded him of his human father back on earth.
The one who hated him just for being alive.
And with the resurgence of that memory, his heart hardened just a bit, in anticipation of their relationship never going back to normal.