Honestly, all she really wanted to do was nap in this lovely, safe place and wander about admiring the flowering trees. But she reminded herself that there was business that needed to be attended to.
“I need to get some things for the babies, and a few things for myself. Where are such things found here?”
“Like what sort of things?”
“Diapers, baby clothes, baby food ...” She blushed. “Women’s underthings.”
“Ah.” Tyr turned slightly pink as well. “What you need is a store.”
“Oh, I want to go to a store!” Cela knew what those were. She had read about them, she’d even seen pictures, and she was very curious to experience the reality. But then further details intruded. “You need to trade money for things in stores, don’t you?”
“Yes. Did they give you any to start out?”
“Some.” She showed him what was left of the money.
“That’s not gonna go very far.” Tyr frowned. “The usualthing when we go walkabout is that we start off with some funds from the island’s general cash reserves; then we’re supposed to get a job to learn how the human world works. But usually there’s someone to help you. Didn’t anyone help you?”
“Not—not like that.” She thought about telling him of his sister’s kindness to her, but decided to hold back for now. She wasn’t sure how much he missed Lirin, or if it might hurt or anger him to mention Lirin’s name.
His handsome mouth twisted, but Cela knew he wasn’t angry at her; the relaxed state of her griffin told her so. Tyr rose and strode back and forth around the kitchen, detouring around the babies who had collapsed to sleep in a heap of fur and fluff on a blanket brought out from Cela’s bedroom.
“I’ll buy you some things,” he decided. “If you want, you can pay me back later, but I don’t feel like you owe me anything. Someone is supposed to show you how the human world works, and guide you, and make sure you’re not completely alone out here. Right now, that someone is me.”
“I wouldn’t want anyone else,” she said in perfect honesty.
Tyr gave her an unhappy look. “You don’t know anyone else. Not here.”
This was unfortunately true. But she couldn’t imagine that anyone other than Tyr could do a better job of supporting and guiding her.
“Can we go now?” she asked. “I’ll put the babies in their carrier. They’ll sleep for hours after tiring themselves out.”
“Yeah ... that’s gonna be a problem.” Tyr looked down at the twins in their adorably fluffy napping pile, and once again the look of warm, slightly befuddled affection crossed his face. Cela wondered if he knew how soft he looked like that.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Shifters aren’t known out here. Your tattoo and mine will stop us from telling anyone about Griffin Island, but it’s not exactly subtle when a lion cub turns into a baby, or vice versa. I imagine they don’t have much control over their shifting at such a young age.”
“Not really,” Cela admitted. “Well, maybe you could get things for me? And I could stay here?”
“You’re the only one who knows what you want. Anyway, I can tell how much you want to go.”
She flushed a little to realize how much it showed. “Maybe I could go and you could stay? No—I don’t know how to get there.”
“Or what to do when you’re there. No ... we need a babysitter.”
“Do we have one?” Cela had a vague idea what a babysitter was, once again from books. On Griffin Island, infants were cared for by the covert in general. There was never a shortage of older aunties, grandparents, and general interested relatives and neighbors to help.
“We’re about to,” Tyr said with a grin. “Luckily it’s Saturday, and I happen to know a couple of kids who very likely have nothing better to do.”
TYR
In spiteof a rather lackluster response from Austin on the phone, both kids seemed into the idea, or at least not wholly opposed. The response grew more positive when Tyr offered them babysitting money. Austin said they’d have their mom drop them off.
“Will they be all right with babies?” Cela asked. She was now sitting with her kids on the floor.
“They should be. Several of Paula’s friends have babies or toddlers, shifter babies even, and they’ve spent plenty of time around them.”
Seeing her anxiety, he sat on the floor with her and instinctively reached out to touch her arm to calm her. He remembered a split second too late why it was a bad idea. Cela gave a little cry, and Tyr jerked his hand back with his tattoo on fire. The babies twitched but fell immediately back asleep.
