Tiger

"That was lots of fun," Muin said as she accompanied Zella into the house. "I'm gonna miss doing that stuff, but well, we'll be mommies though. A whole new adventure," she chuckled.

Zeph came downstairs and saw Muin and Zella. "Only an hour?" He smiled. "Good."

"We got tired," Muin admitted. "That and for a little while Zella got too nauseous and irritable."

Zella just shrugged. "No one's perfect." She nodded at Muin. "Good night Muin, I'll think about what you said too."

"You should." Muin smiled. "I already gave mine names. If it's a boy, it'll be named after Zaria. If it's a girl, I'm calling her Cooey," she laughed. "Having names already picked out makes it funner than calling it an 'it' all the time."

Zella agreed. "Still, I don't know if the name Oogi is what I want to call it."

"Oogi?" Zeph frowned.

"No, if it's a boy," Muin reminded her. "If it's a girl you could call her Niggy or Noggy or something. Oh, maybe Nignog?"

"Nignog?" Zeph's face squished together and he held out his tongue like he'd just tasted something rancid.

"Well yeah," Muin grinned. "Since you have no clue who the daddy is, it's up to her. My vote goes for Oogipoc and Nignogella."

"Girl or boy, it's not gonna be named either of those," Zeph disagreed as he crossed his arms. Those were dang nerd names.

Muin humphed. "That's Zella's decision, not yours." She nodded at her sister. "He may be protecting you, but don't let him tell you what to do for the baby. That's not his jurisdiction. Okay?"

Zella smiled. "Alright Muin, good night."

Zeph watched as Muin headed out the door then just jumped off the staircase. "Zella?" He frowned. "You're not really gonna call it Oogipoc or Nignogella are you?" 

"I haven't really thought of names." Zella confessed. "I'm just going with it right now." She felt her stomach. "I get too nauseated to think about it too much at this point." She looked over at Zeph and smiled. "I know. They aren't the best names."

"That's an understatement," Zeph said. "You should name it something a lot nicer than that. Something that's fitting."

"Well, I did have a girl's name I was thinking about a little bit," Zella admitted. She smiled. "I always liked the name Carressela. It's pretty and it…" She seemed to fade off a bit. "…it was my real mother's name."

Zeph smiled gently. "Carressela?" He looked at Zella's belly. It still wasn't growing that much. "Carressela what?"

"Carressela Saga Sauvage…Cattral," Zella decided. "And the Cattral name continues anyhow." She smiled. "I'd rather she have that, Saga will stick too hard. Still, as a middle name I think it's fitting."

"I think you're right." Zeph smiled. "That's very fitting. No ideas for boy though, huh?"

Zella shrugged. "Not really."

"Well maybe you'll come up with something soon," Zeph replied.

"I'm sure I will." She grinned at Zeph. "If you've got any ideas let me know."

Zeph laughed. "What, wouldn't I be passing my jurisdiction?"

Zella just laughed with him. "You're allowed to for that." She started to head for bed. "I'll ask Xiam too, he might have a good name."

A name. Zeph looked at his watch. It wasn't really late but if Zella was ready for bed, he better keep his biological clock in sync with hers. I never even dreamed I'd have a kid. He started to lock the front door. I'm a Guard, this feels so weird. A Guardian that's a dad? He started to head up the stairs. It's not supposed to be this way. Although, maybe it won't be too bad? He started to think. This kid will be smart. It'll definitely have some skill. He grinned and sauntered down the stairs. If it's anything like me, he'll be a real Tiger. "Yeah, a Tiger."

"A what?"

Zeph looked back in surprise. He had got so would up in his own feelings he hadn't realized Zella was coming down.

Zella stood beside him side by side "Why are you talking about Tigers?"

Think fast. "I was thinking of a boy name," Zeph lied. "Tiger? What do you think?"

"Tiger?" Zella chuckled. "That's weird, I've never heard of anyone named Tiger before." She chuckled. "Goodnight, Zeph."

Zeph watched as Zella went back up the stairs. That was a close one. I can't believe I said that out loud. Tiger? He thought about it and grinned. Actually heck, that is good. It's unique, no one's ever been named Tigyr around here. He walked to his room as he continued to think. Tiger has a strange ending though for a name. Tigyr? I don't know. Traditionally the father chose the first-born's name. He opened his door and stepped into the silver abyss of his room. He turned the light on and stepped over to his bed. I can't raise it, I can't see it, and it's going to be hard just to get the chance to name it.

The path he should take was supposed to become clearer as time passed by, but it was only becoming foggier.