[ Such a new, slumbering thing, so small, so precious. So foreign. But he adjusts as best he can, catches the hours of rest he needs so he might be attentive. So he might reach out and curl his hand around Araceli's. ]

That seems far more practical than burying him in stuffed toys he will grow out of and clothing that will last a few months at the most. [ Books. Books to prepare him for the future, to teach him about the world they live in. Which means teaching him his letters, teaching him common and Antivan and Orlesian. A whole world of possibilities-

and so very few of them manageable. ] Yes, that and crawling about. He has his first few teeth, now, and it is all about the biting.

[ He pauses between one nudge of the hanging basket and the next, eyes dark. Somber. ] I want him to be safe- but I do not wish him to know the same fear every elven child grows with in Antiva. In all of Thedas. I wish him to be as brave, as calm, and as open as he is now. Everyone he meets? He smiles. There is no fear. How can I give him that when there is so much to be wary of in this world? How can I prepare him without tainting that?