Chapter Three: Waffles

Fire. Brightly burning flames screaming and roaring. The pain. Oh the piercing and agonizing pain in his lungs as they felt like they were burning inside his chest. He couldn't see the flames, all he could see was darkness all around him but he could feel them clawing at his skin as they crept up over his body. He could smell the horrid stench of burning flesh, his flesh as it was being cocked slowly and alive. He tried to let out a scream of agony but nothing came out, not a single noise could be heard from his lips over the sound of the roaring fire. How did it come to this? Why did things come this far? Why did she do that? So many questions, so much pain. It hurt, it hurt so much. He couldn't let the flames touch her. He had to protect the small bundle in his arms. Even if he was cooked alive, she-must-live!

"You have the heart of a warrior" a voice called out over the flames "Stay strong, endure this trial of will. Things will be different from now on, but you must stay strong little one. They need you to hold-on."

Dimmetri awoke with a sudden start as he sat up suddenly in his bed. He immediately broke into a fit of hacking and coughing as he clutched his chest in his hands, struggling to catch his breath. He must have woke Iris up as he felt her cold touch of her hands over his and on his back as she sat up beside him.

"Breath. Breath. Come on, take a deep breath in with me" She said in a calm soothing voice but Dimmetri could hear the worry behind it.

He began to try and focus his mind on breathing, taking a long yet shaky inhale of breath and holding it a moment as he tried to collect himself. After a few moments he let the breath go and turned his hand away from his chest to hold hers. With a gentle nod, even though he was still trembling a little, he affirmed to her that he was going to be alright.

"You had the dream again?" Iris asked as she reached up with her other hand and ranger fingers through her hair.

Dimmetri nodded his head again as he let out another slight coughing fit before he was able to regain control of his breathing again.

"Yeah. Think it's because we spoke of her yesterday" Dimmetri replied with some strain in his voice before he laid back down in the bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh sweetheart" Iris said as she laid back down with him with her head on his chest.

Her long purple hair cascaded over his torso as she looked up at him with her glowing blue eyes. He could feel her hand resting under her head on his chest as she gently clutched his shirt, he had scared the shit out of her and felt bad now for waking her up.

"I'm sorry, I should have known this would have happened" Dimmetri sighed as he reached an arm around his wife.

"Don't be sorry," she said, shaking her head a little "You know I'm always here for you no matter what right? It comes with as a perk to being married to someone as great as me"

Dimmetri smiled down at her in her attempt to lighten his mood a little. It worked as he chuckled softly, shaking his head as he leaned down and kissed the top of hers.

"For better and for worse?" Dimmetri asked

"Bet your ass Mr. Ioena. You proposed to me remember, you wanted this" she teased with a slight smirk on her ever glossy lips.

"Best decision of my life. But don't act like you didn't want this too. If I recall you were saying yes and going in for the kiss before I was even done asking you" Dimmetri replied.

"Mmmm semantics" Iris hummed as she laid her head sideways on his chest and gently rubbed it "You going to be okay?"

"Golden, love" he smiled after taking a deep breath, causing her head to rise and fall with his chest.

She seemed content with his answer as she let out another low humming sound in a sigh of relief. Dimmetri could feel her feet swishing back and forth under the covers, occasionally brushing up against his leg. This made him smile a bit as the two of them both shared the same physical tell for whenever they were either happy or extremely comfortable while laying down or in a reclined position. Wrapping an arm around his wife, Dimmetri settled in against the headrest and gently rubbed her shoulder as he looked out the windows in their bedroom.

It was technically the Winter season in Auburnhelm already. The night had been long and cold, causing a layer of frost that had left a beautiful pattern across the glass windows. The morning sun was just starting to crest its way over the Galrock mountains and bathed the room in its warm glow as it brought about the new day. The trees of the Elkwood forest gleamed and shimmered with frost as the sun reflected off of their branches. Towards the back of the house, Dimmerti could see lake Sol Amor also glimmering in the morning light. Small waves rolled and crested out on the lake and he could make out the blurred figures of the local goose family floating on the water. He couldn't help but smile as he was reminded yet again that he was living the life he thought he'd never have, having all that he ever wanted and more. He had a home with a roof over his head that he had built with his own hands on a large piece of land in the mountains right on a lake with a picture perfect view. He no longer had to work to survive but instead did what he wanted when he wanted too. Most of all, he had a family. Long gone were the days of just Razgriz and himself struggling to survive. They had Mama and Papa now as their loving parental figures. Wyatt, Destin, and Ozeag as best friends and members of the Bastards of the North. Above all else though, he had Iris and Violet. There wasn't a morning now he didn't wake up and count his blessings from whatever celestial being took pity on the poor orphan boy and gave him his best friend and love of his life. A purple haired drow with soft smooth purple skin and an attitude to match his own. Together, they had their beautiful daughter who could light up the darkest of hours with her smile. Yeah, Dimmetri counted himself lucky, and though he wasn't particularly the religious type, he did find himself looking to the sky with a silent thanks from time to time.

"Mmmm so when are you going to start breakfast?" his wife said with a cooing sound to her voice as she looked up at him from his chest.

"I'm sorry?" Dimmetri replied looking down at her confused.

"Mmmm, I'm pretty sure a certain someone promised a rather ambitious little girl his world famous waffles this morning," Iris said with a little laughter in her voice.

"But that requires getting out of bed" Dimmetri groaned and complained as he slid back down into bed and pulled the covers up over both their heads.

"Mister Dimmetri! Are you insinuating that there's something else you'd rather do this morning?" Iris asked, smirking a little as she bit her lip.

It took Dimmetri perhaps a moment longer than it should have to realize what his wife had meant. He saw the look on her face as she looked up at him with those hypnotizingly stunning eyes and he felt his heart skip a beat for a moment. He had been the one to pull the covers over the both of them, but he didn't mean anything more than just spending a little more time in bed with her. However, he wasn't exactly going to pass the opportunity up either.

He smirked a bit back down at her as he cupped her chin with his fingers and brought her lips up to his own. She let out a sweet, sexy little giggle as their lips touched and Dimmetri could feel his heart racing again already. His hands moved over her smooth skin as he traced the outline and curves of her body with his finger tips. He swore he felt goosebumps along her skin from the woman whose body almost always felt chilled to the touch. He smirked a bit into their romantic kiss as his hands were on the small of her back and continued their way further down when he heard the door to the bedroom open.

Dimmetri let out a quiet groan as Iris began to chuckle softly. Their moment together was interrupted and gone as the bed bounced up and down with a new arrival as she bounded across the sheets up towards where their heads lied. There was a moment of pause as Dimmetri felt the weight in the bed shift by his shoulder and felt his wife's hand hold his shoulder.

"Maybe if we don't make a sound she'll go away" Iris whispered.

"Stay perfectly still. Maybe she'll think we already got up" Dimmetri replied.

"You know I can hear you guys right?" came Violet's voice as she giggled and pulled the sheets away from their heads.

Luckily Iris caught the sheets before they were pulled back too far and she quickly pulled them up to her face as if she was hiding away from the morning light as Dimmetri let out a pretend groan of pain. Violet laughed and giggled sweetly as she bounced up and down on the bed.

"Come on, come on! It's morning time! Time for waffles!" she yelled out as she tried to shake her parents from their bed.

Iris covered her head back over with the sheets as Dimmetri let out a laugh and reached over and quickly snatched Violet up in his arms before pulling her into one of his infamous dad hugs.

"Quickly! I got the bug! Run for your life! I'll hold her off as long as I can!" Dimmetri yelled as he began to tickle his daughter.

Iris quickly moved out of the way as Violet's body jerked and contorted as she laughed hysterically and pleaded for father to have mercy. Dimmetri laughed as he heard her cute giggles and laughter as Iris peaked over the bed sheets with a smile as she watched her two favorite people having fun. After a few more moments of intense tickling there came a loud thunder of heavy foot fall coming from the hallway and through the door. Dimmetri instinctively pulled Violet into his chest and rolled over towards Iris as a pair of monstrous paws came down on the bed and suddenly Dimmetri felt a long wet tongue licking away at both him and Violet as she squealed in delight. The now bear sized baby dragon was also awake and must have heard the commotion upstairs from her own bed before she came thundering into the bedroom to join in on the fun. Dimmetri did his best to hide his face and ears from Amerera as she licked away excitedly like a dog. Violet managed to squirm her away from Dimmetri's grasp as she crawled over him and quickly threw her arms around her own best friend's neck, causing the dragon's attention to be split away from Dimmetri. Opening his eyes back up, he saw Iris's gleaming smile as she laughed at his misfortune. With his face covered in slobber he gave a devilish smirk and quickly began pulling her towards him with one purpose at hand.

"Mr. Ioena, don't you dare! No! Nooooo!"

A short time later, after a rather fun morning shower with his wife and cleaning off all the dragon slobber he'd rubbed off on her in bed, the family was in the kitchen as Dimmetri was making breakfast over the stove top. Violet was sitting in her spot on the center island table as she eagerly watched her father cook. Amerera was by her side with her massive head on the table watching just as intently as her massive tail swayed back and forth over the hardwood floor. Iris had handed Dimmetri his morning cup of coffee while he cooked and was standing to the side with her own cup of tea in hand as she enjoyed the small respite of not having to cook that morning. After taking a sip of his coffee, Dimmetri began pouring the waffle mix into the iron and closed the lid before turning around to start a new, separate batch.

There was a sound of shuffling feet from down the hall as Dimmetri turned his head to see a rather frazzled looking Razgriz as she emerged into the kitchen. After her husband had to go back home for work the next morning, Raz had gone stay the night over at her brothers instead. She had actually been the one to nearly plead for the waffles the night before in a drunken stupor. Violet of course joined in on the begging and Dimmetri reluctantly agreed.

Raz looked like shit as she entered the kitchen and immediately began bee lining it over to the coffee pot on the counter top. Dimmetri had no doubt that his sister was hung over and probably hurting like hell that morning. It took a lot to get his sister drunk but last night they had certainly drunk quite a bit after their shots they'd taken on the balcony. Thankfully, Dimmetri had the sense enough to quit while he still could and was cured of his drunken state before he left the party, thanks to Destin. However Raz had kept drinking even on their way to her brother's house in a different plane! Memories of her younger teen years flashed to mind as Dimmetri remembered finding her passed out clutching a bottle of Jaciquo's Finest Bourbon in her arms. She seemed like a totally different person now from who she was back then, and certainly Ezra had much to do with that. His wild child, the party animal of a sister, now only came out during celebrations like last night and she certainly paid for it the next day.

No one spoke to her until she had nearly drowned herself in her first cup of coffee and had her second one in hand as she went over and leaned her head on Iris's shoulder. Dimmetri smiled and shook his head as Iris patted her sister-in-laws head in a slight bit of pity for the poor girl. Violet and Amerera watched from where they sat at the island and Violet leaned over and snickered slightly to Amerera at her Aunt's current state.

"Rough night?" Dimmetri asked with a shit eating grin on his face.

Raz didn't say a word but shot her brother a cold glare before she steadied herself upright and made her way sluggishly over towards him. With a deflating harumph sound, she leaned her weight into his arm and leaned on him. Dimmetri just shook his head and rolled his eyes at her. She didn't move as she brought the scalding hot liquid up to her lips and took a long swig of the bitter beverage. AS per usual Dimmetri saw that her coffee looked more like milk and he knew she had put in an absurd amount of sugar in it as well.

"That's disgusting. I can't believe you drink your coffee like that" he taunted as he let out a sigh.

Raz turned slightly and placed her middle finger against his chest. Dimmetri laughed and at least appreciated that she had the common decency to hide the gesture from Violet, at least this time anyways. Raz was every bit a bad influence on her niece then anyone else had the right to be. On more than one occasion he'd caughten Raz red handed teaching Violet things that she knew would drive Dimmetri crazy. Of course, he never left a challenge unanswered and if he didn't find a way to get her back then, he'd find a way to get back at her in a much worse way later on. It was just the nature of their relationship with one another. Outwardly they looked to hate each other's guts at times, constantly testing the others patience, pushing each other's buttons, it wasn't even uncommon for the two to get into a yelling match at one another. However anyone who actually knew the two siblings knew that beneath all of that the two shared an unbreakable bond that had been tested and tried on more than one occasion. They were still brother and sister and deep down, they did love one another very much.

"At least I'm not a sadist who drinks his coffee black" Razgriz replied and blanched a little as Dimmetri actually felt her shiver against him a little.

"How can you even taste the coffee with all that milk and sugar in it? Why not just drink a cup of milk then and pour in half a container of sugar?" Dimmetri asked as he knowingly took the bate Raz had laid out for him.

"Ew gross, coffee all on its own is bitter and disgusting. You mind as well be drinking literal mud at that point you know. The milk and sugar bring out the refined taste and make it so much easier to consume"

"First off, you're bitter and disgusting. Second, what the hell do you know about refined? The only refined thing in your life is Ezra and we both know none of that refinedness isn't going to rub off on you any!"

Iris closed her eyes and sighed as she listened to yet another senseless argument turn into another berating venture between the two siblings. It was sad to say that she had grown all too used to their antics by now. Even Violet had known that once they got started there was no stopping them as she had already snuck away to play with Amerera as she waited for breakfast. Though Iris supposed they had gotten at least a little better over the years that she'd known them. It'd seemed like just yesterday to her when she first met Raz when she openly attacked her own brother in the streets outside the Innbetween. Now their fights were merely nothing more than hot headed spouts back and forth between one another. Raz hadn't even bothered getting up from leaning on Dimmetri, while he was still flipping waffles while they went on and on.

Yes, Iris had grown a little too used to their antics and even now found some entertainment as she listened to them go back and forth. She smiled slightly as she brought her cup of tea up to her lips and took in the fresh aroma of berry blend she had spent hours perfecting the recipe for. She was transported away from her kitchen for a moment, away from the squabbling and the noise of Violet and Amerera playing in the other room as she took solace in her morning cup of tea. While her husband considered himself a coffee connoisseur, Iris was openly considered the queen of teas. She had become an expert in making and brewing her own blends together. Using natural ingredients she'd even made blends that gave certain benefits to whoever drank it. She was proud of her work and even had her own line of teas sold at the Heavenly Coffee and Tea at the InnBetween. She really loved her teas and everything tea related for that matter, but the berry blend always had a special place in her heart.

Opening her eyes, Iris looked back over at the two siblings. They hadn't stopped and she could see that Dimmetri was losing as his temper was beginning to rise a little as his voice grew louder. She couldn't help but smile as she looked at him. She loved everything about him, both the good, the bad, and the things he buried so deep inside him that at times she wondered if she was the only one who knew the real Dimmetri Ioena. Her husband was certainly attractive to her, no doubt about it. She'd climb him like a tree any day of the week and almost never wanted to come down from that overstimulating high. He had slightly defined cheekbones that were outlined by the short hairs growing on his face into a small beard. She'd never seen him actually grow his beard out before and didn't think he'd look terribly bad with one either. He had jet black hair that curled a bit towards the front of his head and Iris could see strands of grays that never seemed to spread nor go away anymore. His eyes were piercing blue that shined in the light and if Iris was being bluntly honest, was her favorite part about his face. She could stare into those baby blues forever and just the thought of it…

She had to take another sip of her tea to suppress those thoughts till later, preferably when Raz was off playing with Violet maybe. Her eyes fell to his neck and she could see the parts of his skin Dimmetri had spent so many years of his life hiding away from the world. His right shoulder along with his entire arm, had suffered from some pretty bad third degree burns. He had gotten the injuries when he was younger and ever since then had severely damaged his mental image of himself. It had caused so much mental damage in fact that he had dawned his infamous suit of blackened armor and hardly ever took it off in front of anyone. It had taken Iris forever to get him to be comfortable enough to take off his helmet in front of her and see his actual face for the first time. She remembered it wasn't very long either. Besides his own mental imagery of himself, he also needed his mask to still breath at the time. However, it was that moment that really cemented her deep rooted love for him and caused the two to finally end up together. It had been mostly due to her efforts that Dimmetri was given the ventilating lungs to fix his breathing issues. It had been her mission after that to get him slowly more and more used to the way his body looked. Still, even now though at times he still wore his black long sleeve shirt that hid most of his upper body. His burn marks had never bothered her in the first place, in fact at times she found them kind of sexy. She didn't always fully understand how Dimmetri still thought he looked ugly at times though. Though Iris would never tell him, she'd caught a fair amount of female patrons at the Inn eyeing him with lust in their eyes. Luckily enough though, as observant as he always was, he never seemed to catch on to those lustful looks he received. She supposed it worked out as all she needed to do was to wrap herself around him or his arm to ward off any… wandering eyes. He was her man and anyone who knew better would stay away.

She found herself thinking of her husband a lot. She loved him to the ends of the world and back and she was very thankful to know that he loved her back just the same. She was smiling as she watched her husband's face turn red with anger a little before she heard a gentle rumble. At first she thought it might have been Violet and Amerera in the other room, but as she looked out the window she saw dark clouds forming over the mountains as one of the area's infamous freezing rain storms began to roll in. Her mind wandered a bit as she looked up at the approaching storm. The distant rolling thunder gave her a gentle reminder of the first time she had met Dimmetri, and how he had saved her life.