Upcoming Birth

Amora had felt really sick, her stomach ached, her stomach seemed to have grown and Leon and Reyon confronted her about it, explaining that they already knew, and they were happy for her. She cried for a bit, feeling bad for not telling them, despite them deserving to know.

She felt pain and felt very hungry. She didn't understand why she felt so strange as well, but according to Reyon, Elementals giving birth was similar, but not completely like humans giving birth.

Amora just laid in bed all day, waiting for the day to come. The day she would give birth and meet her child. To meet the child she could care for and not lose. The child she could hold and hug and play with. The child she could give the life that she never had to.

***

Cole scanned some items at the store for customers, bagging their items, helping them bring them to their cars. On his break, he peeled off his bandages to see his injuries were healed. It had been another month since the fight, so he was lucky that they healed so early.

Cole took his break only when he felt like it, never for any other reason, and on his break, he would message Amora, checking in on her and making sure everything was going okay for her.

He exited the break room and returned to the cash register, where his co-worker was taking his place for him. He motioned that the co-worker could go before beginning to write down some of the items that wouldn't scan.

Someone stepped up to the register and put an umbrella on the belt, letting it slowly be carried over to Cole. Cole looked up and smiled instinctively. The person was a person made of smoke, they looked around to make sure nobody was nearby and kept their current form.

"I need this. How much would this be?" The figure asked, looking around once more.

"I can see that. You wouldn't like water too much... would you?" Cole said, noticing that water would definitely kill the thing.

The thing laughed behind it's floating mask, looking at Cole, it spoke once more, speaking it's name.

"I'm Mos. Always have been and always will be. I knew I'd seen you before. You're with Amora. How has she been?" Mos asked, taking the umbrella from Cole.

"Oh, just... tired." he said, taking out his card and swiping it. "On the house." he said, smiling.

Mos looked surprised. "You... are a nice human." He said, but Cole could not see if he were smiling or not.

Cole's manager began walking down the stairs and Mos began to change form, he ended up looking just like a human with a mask on. Cole was quite surprised and smiled. His manager headed outside and Mos switched back once more.

"So... are you originally an elemental or... is that smoke form your real form?" Cole asked, quite confused.

"I'm neither human nor elemental. I wasn't created, either, that I can recall. I've just... always been here." Mos said, stepping outside and opening the umbrella, just as the rain began to fall. "Goodbye Cole." Mos said.

Cole didn't recall telling him his name.

Later that day, Cole was on his last customer before his shift would end, and it was a man who was buying some strange supplies. A med kit, zip-ties, an axe... a kitchen knife... peroxide... but Cole wasn't one to judge people for buying what they needed.

"Hey there." The customer said, leaning in closer and squinting to see Cole's name tag. "Cole... huh?" he said. "Name's Xol."

Cole almost laughed. It was such a strange name. Almost sounded like an Orc's name or something. Instead he smiled. "Alright. Have a nice day." he said after the payment went through. As Xol walked out the door, he dropped a note on the belt, leaving it behind as he left.

Cole picked it up and looked it over before opening it.

"Don't think the fight is over." It said, written in red dried liquid. Blood.