It had been a long time since Brenna had had a chance to rest her feet, and when she finally got the opportunity, she took it immediately. Whether goddess or human, she knew carrying a child was hard work. It was not the first time Brenna and the man she loved, Kaoru, had had a child. This child was their twenty-ninth.
While rubbing her hand gently over her enlarged stomach, Brenna looked out from where she sat - on one of the many porches of her home. Brenna marveled at the beauty the moon’s surface in the setting sun. When most humans saw, heard, or thought about the moon, they imagined a dry rock and a barren wasteland orbiting around the Earth. Brenna’s view of the moon was completely different. Her father had constructed time fractures around the entire moon so unwanted creatures would not intrude while her mother filled the moon’s surface with plants and animals by providing air for them to breathe. As her thoughts wandered, Brenna watched other mothers, animal mothers, bring their children back home. She glanced over the meadows to witness the glowing, white morning lilies radiate their glow for another night.
As a gentle and cool breeze glided past, Brenna began to reminisce about her youth, when her father, known by their locals of Earth as “Father Time,” would tell her and her siblings stories of his youth and how he would explore the universe for entertainment. Brenna laughed inwardly as she remembered when he advised them all to never marry or mate so that they would not be held down.
Don’t even think about it. What you want, my children, is freedom. You don’t want to be held down. Roam through the universe without a care in the world. That’s the best advice I can give. Her father’s words still made her smile.
Then her mother, known as “Mother Nature,” would smack him upside the head. How could you tell them such a thing? You should be ashamed of yourself. Her mother would then turn to them. Never be afraid to fall in love my children. It will always be your greatest adventure. She would finish by patting them each on the head.
Brenna had loved her mother and father, as well as the effort they had put into maintaining their home so it would be safe and comfortable until the day both of them finally left their children to fend for themselves. With Brenna being the oldest of her five siblings, she was the one who gained the most power and knowledge from their parents and took over the responsibility of watching over time and space.

Over the decades while she was acting as “watchman” of time and space, even though her brothers and sisters would come and visit her, she started seeing what her father meant when he had talked about his boredom.

There’s never anything to do unless you look for something. I mean, I wandered so much that I eventually ran into your mother. And let me tell you, it was the absolutely, … her mother came around the corner looking at her father questioningly. It was absolutely fantastic. It was the best moment of my life. Then her mother would turn around and go back to whatever she was doing.
She herself was starting to feel reckless, so as watcher of time and space, Brenna started traveling from time period to time period simply by taking a portal of her own creation. She just had to step through the whirlpool of color and she would be in an entirely new place. During one of her excursions she met Kaoru for the first time. She exited the portal onto the edge of a cliff overlooking the most beautiful scene she had ever seen. After a minute to collect her thoughts, Brenna realized she was in the late Jomon Period, around 300 B.C. in the country of Japan. She watched as creatures from birds with human faces and centipedes with human halves roamed around the nearby forests and skies. Brenna could tell that this was a time prehistoric for humans just by looking at the few villages that barely existed. As for the other creatures, it was clearly present day. It was in that time period that Brenna first spotted what she assumed to be, a wolf demon with jet, black hair and a playful, but powerful demeanor. Of course, Brenna was taken aback by the fact that he was chasing female wolf demons, with several of his friends, around a meadow so openly.
Strong, powerful legs moving swiftly through the knee-high grass while hair ranging from blonde to black blew in the wind as the six wolf demons ran around. The meadow, however, was filled with a pure green grass and several varieties of flowers that Brenna had never seen before. Brenna had no previous experience or knowledge when it came to dealing with the creatures on the planet’s surface, but over the accumulation of several weeks she became used to the routines she saw through all of the different species.

Brenna chuckled as she remembered Kaoru’s face as he happened upon her one night while she was bathing in a nearby hot spring. It was the most exquisite bath and shower put together. Brenna had been standing right under a waterfall that perfectly connected one hot spring to another when she heard a rustling in the brush. What Brenna did not expect when she moved out from under the waterfall was to find the same black-haired wolf demon staring at her.

GASP! What are you doing? she exclaimed as she hurried into a squat under the water’s surface.
She recalled the innocent look in his eyes as he first saw her, and those same innocent eyes becoming lustful and full of ideas as he continued to stare.
Why do you keep staring at me?
Because you are one of the most…no, you are the most, beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes upon.
Blushing, she had to ask, What is your name, wolf demon?
Kaoru. And your name, fair maiden?
Brenna
And that had been their first encounter. Feeling connected to the wolf demon on some strange and foreign level, they kept on meeting each other to just talk and enjoy each other’s company.
Brenna stopped rubbing her stomach, filled with her child, as she thought of when Kaoru had claimed her as his mate in front of his pack and family. She could still feel the emotions that had swirled around when he proclaimed his desire for her. She could feel the happiness, the embarrassment, the fright, but she could also feel the bond that they both shared that even she knew could never be broken.

Suddenly in that moment, Kaoru walked up behind Brenna and knelt down so his chin rested on her shoulder.

“How are you feeling, my sweet?” he asked gently.

“I’m feeling quite alright,” she replied while bringing her hand to caress her husband’s cheek. Brenna could feel the lines of stress around her husband’s eyes from his continuous worry over her health. As she moved her hand down his face, she could feel the stubble that speckled the jaw of his unshaven face. She gripped his chin and let out a long sigh.

Panicked, Kaoru jolted to his feet and rushed around the porch bench to kneel in front of Brenna. “Are you sure you are feeling alright?” he asked.
“I’m alright, Kaoru. I just feel like this child’s birth is happening faster than the others.”

“You can’t mean that it’s time already…?”

“Yes, it is, my darling,” Brenna replied as she slowly raised herself off of the bench as if she were an old woman with creaky joints. She knew the body never got used to carrying a child.
After Kaoru helped her get to her feet, Brenna gave him a hug that was strong enough to hold him to her, while weak enough not to crush the growing child inside of her. The two of them slowly made their way to the ceremonial hall, where they were going to give life to their twenty-ninth child. Moments later, they entered the hall. It was a large room filled with extravagant carpets and rugs. Expensive silk of all colors hung from the ceiling, creating an awning for them as they made their way to where they would find a foster family for their new child. Kaoru threw the doors open and Brenna walked up to a globe-like machine which acted as their television to the planets of the universe. Beneath the giant monitor, a few benches were scattered about the room. The space lacked color and emotion, making it the ideal surgery room. Brenna raised her head to look at the crystal ceiling revealing all that was outside. She heard the twittering laughter of her other children, and she could just think of the power running through their playful and active bodies. Brenna never liked the idea of being the only one her siblings to have the most power, so she devised a plan to have her children each take a chunk of space or time, in order to give her a break from all of the work, but also so that none of her children would feel left out.
There has to be some way to share the power.
Brenna, what are you talking about?
Kaoru, I see myself with many children with you. They had been in bed late one night talking. She laid her head on top of Kaoru’s bare chest. My siblings never had the chance to have even half of the power that I control. I don’t want our children to feel the same pain that I see in the eyes of my siblings every time they visit.
He stroked her hair with a gentle caress. I know that whenever you put your mind to something, anything can be done. Brenna, I know for a fact that you will find a way around this problem. He kissed her lightly on the head, nothing intimate, just loving.
And she had found a way around the problem. She was able create a link with her children on a level her parents had with Brenna and her siblings. That was the key to giving her children all equal power.
As Kaoru closed the doors behind him, Brenna began searching across the planet Earth’s surface for a couple to take care of their child because it had come time for their time period to have another protector, so that Brenna did not have to watch each and every time period or planet. Images flew by as Brenna began.
Meadows. Mountains. Lakes. Oceans.
Everything was so beautiful. So peaceful. Then images of cities, big and small, popped up in between the images of the untouched earth. Untouched by any human disease, any human corruption. She stroked her hand down the screen of the monitor as she mourned the loss the planet was going through or had went through already.
While searching for the right couple, Brenna recalled how she would transfer every child to a creature on whichever planet she chose. A shadow formed and flew by. Brenna looked up to see one of her daughters jumped from tree to tree with the agility and grace of a cat that she looked like. The process of the transfer was always exhausting for Brenna, but it was necessary for the living of both her newborn and also for the rest of the family. There just wasn’t enough time and energy for Brenna to take care of any of her children. So the transfer was the most ideal way to go. It made keeping an eye on different time periods a lot easier, but it still saddened her every time she had to let her children go. Their children always came back when they reached adulthood. Brenna would see them for the first time as they walked through their own liquid blue portals, and she would relish the fact that her children realized their power; she would know exactly who they were, and treat them as if they had never been separated. By now, it seemed routine, but it never ceased to amaze her. The thoughts of reuniting with her children gave her comfort.
When Kaoru walked up behind her, he fitted his body into hers and held her in place with his hands placed onto her hips as they looked for a new home for their unborn child. Suddenly, a couple came into view as they were strolling through a park. Brenna knew the monitor was correct in choosing a woman awaiting a child because that is how Kaoru had programmed it.
“Do you think they will take care of our child?” Brenna asked hesitantly, looking up at Kaoru.
Before answering right away, Kaoru placed his hand upon the screen and closed his eyes. Opening his eyes, Brenna saw the usual glazed over look in them. “I can’t tell what I’m feeling from these humans, but I don’t think that they mean us any harm,” Kaoru finally responded as he looked down into Brenna’s eyes. “We should take this chance before the couple disappears from the screen, and gets replaced with a new one,” he said while she continued to stare up at him.
After a lengthy pause, Brenna asked, “But what if that insecurity is something that will cause hurt to our child? I don’t know what I would do if–”
“It will be fine,” Kaoru answered, cutting her off. His eyes glowed lime green and it seemed as if the moon was reflecting light off of them, giving his eyes a look of all knowing. “If anything happens to our child, I will personally seek revenge on the ones that caused it.” He stroked his finger along her jaw, calming her in an instant.
Content with Kaoru’s answer, Brenna turned back towards the monitor. Closing her eyes, Brenna placed her hand on the screen, and suddenly, a bright light engulfed her. Silently, Brenna imagined that child within her own womb in the womb of the woman she had spotted on the screen less than a minute ago. She pictured the woman’s long black hair, and her deep blue eyes. Brenna could also see the woman’s husband, and his short brown hair and milk chocolate eyes. During the transference, Brenna dreamt of what this couple would do with her child as it grew. As she thought of the years she would miss with another child, a tear slowly ran down her cheek. All too soon, the light faded away – once again, Brenna was a woman eating for one.