It was tradition for Keturah to meet up with her friends after they all worked their respective shifts. In fact, it was likely just tradition for guards to meet up at the Blue Bull Tavern. A tavern on the edge of the town, it was nothing fancy. They made it a point to have something always going on for everyone. She particularly liked the nice outdoor area with a fire pit.
"Hey Pops!" Keturah greeted the older man at the bar as she approached. "I'll take my regular and a dish of whatever your cooking tonight." She ordered as she stopped by at the bar. She was a regular and was quickly met with a mug full of her regular order. "I'll have Molly bring the food out to you, Ket."
"You're awesome." Keturah smiled, taking the mug from him and making her way outside. It didn't take her long to see a familiar pair of bright blue fairy wings. "Keturah!" She didn't need to see who yelled her name. She knew who it was.
"Why did you have to break that poor kids arm this morning?!" The fox rolled her blue eyes at the accusation. "Kiera!" She greeted her happily, ignoring the fairy's reprimand of her. "I'm glad to see you brought Adam with you!" She said in clear deflection as she walked up to the fairy's werewolf mate and hugged him with her free arm. "Hello, Ket." She was greeted by him with a chuckle.
"Ket!" Kiera squeaked at her. Keturah was sure that the fairy was not happy about being ignored. "It was for his own good, Kiera." She then told her friend with a roll of her eyes. She knew her friend was a bleeding heart. This was why she became a healer; to help people. "It's better that he learns this lesson now. If he learned it in combat he could loose his life." Her words were direct and dark, but true.
She saw how her words stopped the fairy from advancing on her. It was a truth that they all knew. Keturah and Adam had both experienced war. They had plenty of scars to prove this as a fact. She sat down on the edge of the table and took a good swing out of her ale.
The fox felt the flutter of Kiera's silky fairy wings as she joined her on the table. Followed by the leaning of her head against her shoulder. It was a silent apology. "How was the princess today?" Keturah heard her sister's voice softly ask.
"She was good, a little nervous, but good." Keturah responded. "We spent the day preparing for the Nyderian visitors." She added, taking a long swing from her mug as remembered the steps she went through with the princess today. She couldn't mention the suitor outside of the castle.
Seeing Molly come out with her meal, Keturah's attention shifted as she waved her down to get her meal. "What's new with you two?" She asked. She wiggled her eyebrows at them in attempt to lighten the mood. She smirked as she watched her sister blush a bright red. "Did you guys decide to try that thing with your tongue I taught you?"
Keturah was shameless. She asked the question as if she was asking her Kiera what the weather was going to be like tomorrow. Where the fox was more open sexually, Kiera was more closed and conservative in her thoughts. Especially when it came to talking about intimate things in public. It was something that she was clearly about to take advantage of.
Keturah smirked as she watched Kiera's face turn an even brighter shade of red. "You did, didn't you!" She then exclaimed. "Did you pair it with the finger up his butt?" She laughed lightly as she went to high five her. She wasn't surprised when she was left hanging and Kiera stuck her face in her own drink instead.
The fox heard the laugh from Adam as she picked on his mate. Keturah's jokes didn't have the same affect on him, which is why she focused them on the fairy. "That's not exactly it." She heard him say. She turned her attention to him and watched as he put his hand on Kiera's knee in reassurance.
Unlike her sexual relationship with Maverick, Kiera and Adam had been mates for several years. They had their official mate bonding ceremony over two years ago. Keturah smiled at the pair. "Don't keep me in suspense!" She teased, gently elbowing the fairy.
"We decided to start trying to have a baby." Adam was barely able to get the words out before Keturah's face lit up. "That's awesome!" She responded. She unfortunately had a mouth full of food when this happened and nearly spit her food out from excitement. Her reflexes were quick enough to keep any food from actually leaving her mouth.
Keturah noticed that, since her mate took over the announcement, Kiera seemed to be less red in the face. This wasn't something she could allow! She was having too much fun making her red in the face. "Do you guys have any thoughts on if you want a boy or a girl?" She asked, letting the question seem innocent at first.
She watched as both Adam and Kiera shrugged in response to her question. "It doesn't matter. As long as they're healthy." Kiera respond with a smile towards the fox. "That's a crap answer and you know it!" She teased with a chuckle.
"You know... doggy style increases your chances of having a boy." Keturah responded. Her tone was matter of fact like it was earlier. Her blue eyes had a hint of humor in them. However, she was not prepared for a response that played into her comment. Let alone be sarcastic. "You would know, wouldn't you?"
Kiera's words caught her off guard and Keturah was stunned for a moment. Just a moment though. She started laughing as the fairy paired her words with an eye brow wiggle. "I think I'm rubbing off on you too much!" She added, hearing Adam's laughter join into her's. "And yes, that's how Cypress was conceived!" She then added, her laugh continuing.
This time though, it was Kiera who chocked on her drink. Keturah gently slapped the fairy's back to help her get her breathing back to normal. "Guess you could say that I know from experience!" She then added, with a wink at Adam as his laugh continued with her's.
Keturah's son had long since grown up. He had his own life and had been out of her house for at least the last twenty years. "I get to be auntie Ket, right?" She then let the subject change. She didn't think Kiera's face could turn any redder. Her tails bushed out behind her. They slightly wiggled behind her unconsciously in excitement behind her.
"Of course." Kiera confirmed for her, giving soft sigh. She was clearly glad that they had switched to a less sexualized topic. "I doubt a child would be able to pronounce Keturah for a long time." Keturah didn't doubt it either. There were a lot of adults that could pronounce her name correctly. Hell, some even mispronounced her nickname as 'Kit' instead of 'Ket'.
Keturah was too caught up in her excitement. With her food finished, her attention was drawn to her friends. She failed to notice the familiar scent that entered the outdoor area. The familiar scent of a certain dark skinned phoenix. That is, until one of her tails were suddenly pulled on from behind.